Aloha my digital denizens, this post is all about art! I love books and especially old, weird, & kinda cheesy sci-fi pulp covers. From really surreal/psychedelic non-representational graphics to photo-realistic airbrushed paintings like you'd see on the side of a van, they're so wonderfully varied. The cover I am currently using for my upcoming novel, SHIFTER is far from what I'd consider 'good.' I may be creative and a designer, but this kind of drawing and illustration is really not my bag.
I do however know what to look for and ask for and a good resource for finding this kind of artist is womenwhodraw.com/ which is a page dedicated to showcasing talented female illustrators from around the world. This is where I found the work of Alison Carl (http://www.allison-carl.com/). Her stuff is wonderfully cluttered and organic and friendly and personal. I've reached out to work with her, but she's booked solid for the time being :(
(The drawing to the right is one of hers.)
Below are some of the notes I've come up with while trying to describe what I want to get out of a collaboration with a freelancer. I initially had an idea to make an image of my heroine's cluttered desk and workspace that would be covered in easter-eggs relevant to the story, but ultimately decided that doesn't really draw in readers the way I'd like, so on to version number two.
The front would be a small, yet fierce woman with her back turned towards the viewer, facing off against an approaching subway train or the lights of one far off down a tunnel. She's standing on the tracks with a wrecked motorcycle to her side, brandishing a field hockey stick in one hand and her helmet dangling in the other. Depending on how well it could be integrated, I'd also like to have some bad guys and maybe some of her allies, but then it gets a little too much like some superhero movie poster.