cover art that hints at the story

1 The thumbnail stage

The team picks one of my thumbnail ideas, and we add the tentacle in the tree to allude to the story. The scene looks beautiful and powerful, but there’s also a sense of danger. I also add some colour ideas for our colourist, Romulo Farjardo Jr.

2 Digital pencils

I use Photoshop to do the pencilling, using Ray Frenden’s Blue Pencil brush (you can buy it at http://ifxm.ag/ray-pencil). I prefer to work up all the elements in the scene during this stage, because it makes the following inking stage a lot easier.

3 Inking the image

Once the pencils are done, I print the image directly on to Bristol paper and finish it with ink and traditional brushes, transforming those rough lines into fine lines and textures. I want everything to be ready so Romulo can start his colouring.