Note: I have not uploaded all the images I wanted to for this post yet, but since I haven't posted ANYTHING for this blog since I created it, I was impatient. So, when I start talking about sketches....I promise, you'll actually see them someday. Maybe.
`I am really, really bad a journals. I've been trying to remedy this lately, but it's a really steep uphill climb for me. By extension, blogs are also difficult. Which is why I have been so bad at updating this one.
BUT. This is important. And I really, really want to do it. So here we go. One post a week! Yes, that sounds doable.
Anyways, today I am going to talk about two things that I love: books, and book covers.
More specifically, this one:
Mmmmm. Good stuff.
Anyone who knows me well knows that The House of the Scorpion is my absolute favorite book. Which is to say, I've read it at least eight times and still love now at age 21 as much I did when I first read it at age 12.
I'm not even really sure why. I mean, it's a really good book, to be sure, but I've definitely read ones that are probably 'better', at least from a critical standpoint. But....it's still my favorite. For whatever reason.
Anyways, I bring this up because recently, I received an assignment for my Illustration class to do a book cover for a published book or magazine. And I, of course, had little difficulty choosing which one I wanted to do.
Book covers are awesome things. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we can't help but judge anyway. Admit it, when you are looking at books, you pick the ones with the interesting covers - the ones that stick out to you, that look intriguing, making you want to know what's inside. Plenty of excellent books have less-than-excellent covers, but we've probably never heard of them.
And the book I chose already has a pretty darn good one, if a bit generic. There's a lot of red. And red, as we all know, is the color to which all humans automatically connect, regardless of whether or not it's actually our favorite color. And scorpions are cool. Creepy, but that's the whole point. This book is geared towards tweens, who are craving heftier, darker fare than the bright and sunny children's book one normally grows up with. And House of the Scorpion, behind the cover, fit the bill perfectly.
For those not in the know, allow me to give a totally unnecessary summary of it here:
Taking place in the (presumably sort-of distant) future, in a country called Opium that lies between the United States and Mexico (now called Aztlan), Matt is a young boy who discovers that he is the clone of powerful drug lord and ruler of Opium, Matteo Alacran (referred to most often as "El Patron"). Nobody in this world is particularly fond of clones, viewing them as animals and abominations. Pretty much all clones aren't even allowed to have a real life, the law being that all clones must receive a shot at birth that stunts their intelligence. The story begins with Matt's creation, then jumps ahead to age 7 and then follows him through adolescence, as he tries to figure out who he is, or even what he is - is he even human, or is he a soulless animal? Is he going to become exactly like Matteo Alacran? Or can he become someone else? Who knows. You have to read it.
As an awkward, shy kid, this spoke to me for some bizarre reason. Maybe it was the theme of figuring out your identity, which is a pretty big part of pre-teen and teen life. Maybe it was the feeling ostracism and not being wanted, which I felt pretty profoundly at school and around strangers (even though it was mostly in my head). Maybe it was the feeling of not fitting in. Maybe it was all of these things. Regardless, it is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it to anyone, pre-teen or adult.
Which brings me to the cover.
I began with some rudimentary sketches, which I will upload someday (hopefully soon).
Contrast is a big thing for me. It's one of those concepts that I love to emulate and observe, not just in art but in life. Perhaps too much. Here, though, it seemed suitable: the contrast between El Patron and Matt, biologically and physically the same exact man, joined by their identical DNA. And yet, as the book goes one, we see that they are not inherently the same person.
(Don't ask me, just read the darn book)
So, the taller figure is El Patron - the original Matteo Alacran. He overshadows Matt, the smaller figure. Everything he does and has done dictates Matt's life. What he is going to do....well, we don't know. And we're not sure we want to find out.
While I do like this piece, I see some problems with it. It looks too simple. It catches the eye, but is a little too vague. It doesn't draw you in like it should. And besides, it doesn't have a scorpion in it. And that's just unacceptable.
I was unwilling to start all over again, though, so I kept the same image, but with a small tweak.
BAM. Scorpion. Now all the requirements are meant. I can just go on to line work and value study.
Wait, what's that? Stupid? Psh. Away with you. I am an ART MAJOR. CLEARLY I know more than you do about this sort of thing. Who are you, anyway? The audience?
......
OKAY. FINE. It's stupid. Here, let me just go all the way back to the drawing board and start ALL over again and....
Oh. Okay.That worked out.
Here, the symbolism a bit clearer. I took out the plain black-and-white contrast and overly simplistic image and replaced it with one that was a bit more personal. Two hands clasped together are often used to symbolize union, love, and connection. What El Patron and Matt have isn't exactly "love", which is where the scorpion comes in. The hands create the head of the scorpion, the stinger prominently featured in the foreground, referring to El Patron/Matteo's chosen surname, Alacran.
(It's Spanish. For scorpion. In case you missed that. Because that's easy to miss. If you don't know Spanish. Like me. I don't know Spanish. I only what 'alacran' means because I read the book.)
(Anyways......)
What the scorpion symbolizes and why it's so darn important....well, you'll just have to read the book, won't you?
(SLAP)
Okay, okay, okay, I'll stop doing that. Happy? Good. Let's move on.
(owwwww....)
I also added a little circular, stone window at the top, which....well, at risk of being cyber-slapped again, let's just say makes more sense after the story is read. As it is, it adds another source of light, which adds some of that lovely contrast which I love so much. It also makes the cover more interesting, just in general, with another shape. It...completes the aesthetic? I guess? Yes. Yes, it does.
From there, I practiced with some value:
Okay, I actually did this before the line-work one above, which is why the scorpion looks less....scorpion-y. But hey, values. I am very, very satisfied with them here. The composition needs work, of course, but it's still in the development stages here, so there's hope.
(Tip: references are AWESOME.)
(especially with scorpions)
Now....well, now I am currently working on the color comps. Here's what I have so far:
![]()
`I am really, really bad a journals. I've been trying to remedy this lately, but it's a really steep uphill climb for me. By extension, blogs are also difficult. Which is why I have been so bad at updating this one.
BUT. This is important. And I really, really want to do it. So here we go. One post a week! Yes, that sounds doable.
Anyways, today I am going to talk about two things that I love: books, and book covers.
More specifically, this one:
Mmmmm. Good stuff.
Anyone who knows me well knows that The House of the Scorpion is my absolute favorite book. Which is to say, I've read it at least eight times and still love now at age 21 as much I did when I first read it at age 12.
I'm not even really sure why. I mean, it's a really good book, to be sure, but I've definitely read ones that are probably 'better', at least from a critical standpoint. But....it's still my favorite. For whatever reason.
Anyways, I bring this up because recently, I received an assignment for my Illustration class to do a book cover for a published book or magazine. And I, of course, had little difficulty choosing which one I wanted to do.
Book covers are awesome things. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we can't help but judge anyway. Admit it, when you are looking at books, you pick the ones with the interesting covers - the ones that stick out to you, that look intriguing, making you want to know what's inside. Plenty of excellent books have less-than-excellent covers, but we've probably never heard of them.
And the book I chose already has a pretty darn good one, if a bit generic. There's a lot of red. And red, as we all know, is the color to which all humans automatically connect, regardless of whether or not it's actually our favorite color. And scorpions are cool. Creepy, but that's the whole point. This book is geared towards tweens, who are craving heftier, darker fare than the bright and sunny children's book one normally grows up with. And House of the Scorpion, behind the cover, fit the bill perfectly.
For those not in the know, allow me to give a totally unnecessary summary of it here:
Taking place in the (presumably sort-of distant) future, in a country called Opium that lies between the United States and Mexico (now called Aztlan), Matt is a young boy who discovers that he is the clone of powerful drug lord and ruler of Opium, Matteo Alacran (referred to most often as "El Patron"). Nobody in this world is particularly fond of clones, viewing them as animals and abominations. Pretty much all clones aren't even allowed to have a real life, the law being that all clones must receive a shot at birth that stunts their intelligence. The story begins with Matt's creation, then jumps ahead to age 7 and then follows him through adolescence, as he tries to figure out who he is, or even what he is - is he even human, or is he a soulless animal? Is he going to become exactly like Matteo Alacran? Or can he become someone else? Who knows. You have to read it.
As an awkward, shy kid, this spoke to me for some bizarre reason. Maybe it was the theme of figuring out your identity, which is a pretty big part of pre-teen and teen life. Maybe it was the feeling ostracism and not being wanted, which I felt pretty profoundly at school and around strangers (even though it was mostly in my head). Maybe it was the feeling of not fitting in. Maybe it was all of these things. Regardless, it is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it to anyone, pre-teen or adult.
Which brings me to the cover.
I began with some rudimentary sketches, which I will upload someday (hopefully soon).
Contrast is a big thing for me. It's one of those concepts that I love to emulate and observe, not just in art but in life. Perhaps too much. Here, though, it seemed suitable: the contrast between El Patron and Matt, biologically and physically the same exact man, joined by their identical DNA. And yet, as the book goes one, we see that they are not inherently the same person.
(Don't ask me, just read the darn book)
So, the taller figure is El Patron - the original Matteo Alacran. He overshadows Matt, the smaller figure. Everything he does and has done dictates Matt's life. What he is going to do....well, we don't know. And we're not sure we want to find out.
While I do like this piece, I see some problems with it. It looks too simple. It catches the eye, but is a little too vague. It doesn't draw you in like it should. And besides, it doesn't have a scorpion in it. And that's just unacceptable.
I was unwilling to start all over again, though, so I kept the same image, but with a small tweak.
BAM. Scorpion. Now all the requirements are meant. I can just go on to line work and value study.
Wait, what's that? Stupid? Psh. Away with you. I am an ART MAJOR. CLEARLY I know more than you do about this sort of thing. Who are you, anyway? The audience?
......
OKAY. FINE. It's stupid. Here, let me just go all the way back to the drawing board and start ALL over again and....
Oh. Okay.That worked out.
(It's Spanish. For scorpion. In case you missed that. Because that's easy to miss. If you don't know Spanish. Like me. I don't know Spanish. I only what 'alacran' means because I read the book.)
(Anyways......)
What the scorpion symbolizes and why it's so darn important....well, you'll just have to read the book, won't you?
(SLAP)
Okay, okay, okay, I'll stop doing that. Happy? Good. Let's move on.
(owwwww....)
I also added a little circular, stone window at the top, which....well, at risk of being cyber-slapped again, let's just say makes more sense after the story is read. As it is, it adds another source of light, which adds some of that lovely contrast which I love so much. It also makes the cover more interesting, just in general, with another shape. It...completes the aesthetic? I guess? Yes. Yes, it does.
From there, I practiced with some value:
Okay, I actually did this before the line-work one above, which is why the scorpion looks less....scorpion-y. But hey, values. I am very, very satisfied with them here. The composition needs work, of course, but it's still in the development stages here, so there's hope.
(Tip: references are AWESOME.)
(especially with scorpions)
Now....well, now I am currently working on the color comps. Here's what I have so far:
Yeeeeeah, still working on it. Please join me next week, in Part 2.
