New Project! The Outsiders Book Cover

Alright, It's time for a brand new project! I've decided to move away from the Music industry for a bit by heading back to book covers. Gig posters/ Apparel and book covers are two of my favourite things to illustrate and as such are what I am attempting to build my portfolio around.

I am going to begin by taking part in the first of Penguins book cover competitions, the Puffins Children's prize for 'The Outsiders' by S. E. Hinton.

I'll kick this project off by showing you my first basic thumbnail sketch for the design, you'll be able to compare this to the final Ink in the coming days just as soon as it's finished.

This is the VERY early stage of the design, basically just a guide for me so I know where to place my inks, the basic premise is down and alive in my head, these thumbnail sketches help me to get an idea of composition, ensure it works, and give me a rough idea of where to ink. this is a major step in getting a professional looking cover. Jumping right in without making sure your composition works can sometimes leave you disappointed with your results.

Check out the Penguin Competition here!

Kerrang Tour Thumbnail and Inking Comparison

Heres the comparison I promised for the Kerrang Tour Project, you might be able to understand the Thumbnail sketch better now!

I'll be uploading each poster individually as it's finished so stay tuned for more in depth explanations then, for now, enjoy the early Ink work!

Kerrang Tour Project: Concept and Thumbnail Sketch

I plan to produce four different posters for the Kerrang Tour, each one themed around one of the four bands performing on the Tour. However, that's not all! I've also decided to ensure all four posters, put together, will connect to form one larger image. I may also produce and print one Large banner version of the poster advertising the whole tour using all four images together. So far I have nothing to show other than the simple thumbnail, I don't normally show my work this early on, but it may be interesting to see.

I essentially use the thumbnail sketch as a way to get down my composition quickly and make sure i know it's going to work, it's not always entirely 'readable' to people other than me, as they are sketched so quickly. I will post a comparison between the fully Inked image and the thumbnail sketch as soon as it's finished, so stay tuned!