The Cover Evolution of OTHERBOUND

It's been awhile since my last Cover evolution post after reading this blog you might forgive me. Usually, I give a couple short phrase about how each stage progressed. This post is a little different. Senior Editor Maggie Lehrman and artist Vince Natale will guide us through the cover evolution of OTHERBOUND by Corinne Duyvis So let's get started.

First things first your need to know a little about the story.

Amara is never alone. Not when she’s protecting the cursed princess she unwillingly serves. Not when they’re fleeing across dunes and islands and seas to stay alive. Not when she’s punished, ordered around, or neglected.

She can’t be alone, because a boy from another world experiences all that alongside her, looking through her eyes.

Nolan longs for a life uninterrupted. Every time he blinks, he’s yanked from his Arizona town into Amara’s mind, a world away, which makes even simple things like hobbies and homework impossible. He’s spent years as a powerless observer of Amara’s life. Amara has no idea . . . until he learns to control her, and they communicate for the first time. Amara is terrified. Then, she’s furious.

All Amara and Nolan want is to be free of each other. But Nolan’s breakthrough has dangerous consequences. Now, they’ll have to work together to survive—and discover the truth about their connection.

So now let's hear from Maggie Lerhman, Senior Editor:

Otherbound is an incredibly original book, unlike anything I’d read before. It has interweaving perspectives, male and female POVs, a “normal” Arizona world and a “fantasy” world of the Dunelands, and characters that cross back and forth between them. The incredibly original can be tough to conceptualize in a book cover, since they tend not to have easy comparisons—and Chad and I found to be true in this case. We wanted to get across the idea of seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, and the general concept that there would be two worlds. But pretty much the rest of the cover was up in the air.

The first few comps that Chad and our designer Sara Corbett came up with tried a photographic/typographic approach. We liked the idea of having one eye open/one eye closed, but these felt a little slick, and they didn’t get across the strangeness and the seriousness of the central concept.

Then Sara and Chad came up with these, which were definitely more mysterious and very striking. Eyes are a natural thing to focus on—Corinne’s original title for the book was Blink. But in the end we felt there was something cold about these. 

Our publisher expressed the problem concisely: These feel like science fiction, and we wanted to get across more of a sense of the magic and the fantastical. 

By this point, we realized we needed to start from scratch… 

but we’d spent a lot of time on what we’d done already, and our Advance Reader Copies were due to the printer. This was a crucial deadline so that booksellers and reviewers could start reading and talking about Corinne’s amazing book in advance of publication. We hate to have to print an ARC with a non-final cover, but sometimes it happens, and in this case, it was unavoidable. But Chad and Sara made an effort to find a typeface that read more “fantasy.”

Some of these felt “fantasy,” but a much more medieval-style fantasy that what Corinne had written. The Dunelands are a gritty, rough-edged world. There’s magic, but it’s an earthy, painful strain of magic, not a gowns-and-potions magic. The gothic feel of that type didn’t fit in with how I had pictured that world. Plus it didn’t hint at Nolan’s real-world environment at all—which is half of the book. We eventually went with this blocky interconnected type, which felt to me as if it had been carved out of stone.

We liked that type for the ARC, but for the final cover, we wanted a more evocative image to go with it. Chad put together this sketch. The idea is from the book: it’s the magical tattoo that servants wear in the Dunelands, with some actual dunegrass below. Something about this didn’t feel right, though. Perhaps it was too mechanical-looking. After all, this is a book that’s very concerned with its protagonists’ bodies—who’s in control, who’s in pain, who gets a say.

( psst, its Chad, At this point in the process I felt a bit lost and tired but not defeated. I wasn't super happy with this direction but it felt right at the time. Mainly because I think it was different than what we had been doing. Which doesn't mean it was the right direction. )

 

So finally Chad suggested we approach an illustrator he’d worked with before (on the absolutely gorgeous Megan Whalen Turner Attolia covers), Vince Natale. 

(CHAD: I had been waiting to work with Vince again and this was the perfect fit for him. It just took me awhile to figure that out. Thankfully the idea of using Vince was conceived.)

 

We had total confidence that Vince could bring the fantasy feel to this cover while also introducing compelling characters. He sent several sketches of composition options, all with that old gothic font we’d toyed with for the ARC. Chad took our favorite composition and combined it with the more blocky interconnected type we liked so much in the ARC and Vince went to final.

 

And now I’ll let Vince take over to discuss some of his process!

These sketches are my effort to work out details of how to handle the imagery at the bottom of the cover art to include in my tight sketch. I needed to show the separate and differing environments each of the protagonists of the book inhabited - one a typical suburban southwestern U.S. neighborhood, and the other a mysterious, magic filled seaside world.

I needed somehow to meld the two together visually, but keep them separate at the same time. I decided that the best way to do this was to draw them on the same plane at similar sizes and commingle some physical elements, and then make the point of them being separate worlds through the use of color.
In the top sketch I felt that there was too much detail in the 'neighborhood' scene, and that the size of the house was too "in your face", and the composition not fluid enough.

In the bottom sketch I felt that I got more of a 'feel' for the environment neighborhood scene -more houses and more obvious mountains in the background and not so much explicit detail.
The castle, though, I found had gotten a bit fidgety and detailed, and the silhouette didn't really scream 'castle' - it looks like ti could be some kind of medieval village. (which might have worked but that wasn't the plan.)

So, I combined the castle from the top sketch with the neighborhood from the bottom and that seemed to hit the mark.

In the completed tight sketch these elements were refined and modified slightly; In the final painting, even a little more -but those were really just details, such as grasses in the foreground to balance out the composition.

This is the underpainting - the first step in the painting process of the final artwork. It's a thin layer of paint applied on top of a very detailed line drawing on canvas or primed board.
This helps to loosely establish the basic color and value patterns as a guide for the top layer of paint.
Here you can see the breakdown of three distinct color sections - warm, orange-brown for the Southwestern feel, cool, silvery-grey for a mysterious mood, and both blending to violet towards the top representing the vast space between the two worlds.

This color scheme developed in my head as I was working through all the preliminary sketches so I had a good idea of where I wanted to go with color.Many times I"ll do color sketches for myself when I'm not sure what the best way to handle something is, if it hasn't just "come to me", or if a client requests one. It's hard doing color sketches for clients though, because most times my color sketches are what I call "failures" -a series of color messes that show me what I DON'T want to do. Also, many times they're simply color swatches that I find look good together, not always little mini versions of the final art. For this piece I gave the art director written notes of my intentions, and for this particular project it worked out well.

And so at least here’s the final over of Otherbound. For the finished book, we printed the type in spot UV so that it pops from the matte background. We’re very happy with the way it turned out and think it conveys everything we need it to—the points of view, fantasy, characters’ bodies, warmth, roughness, etc. It was a long road but good things are worth waiting for.

And I do hope you’ll read Otherbound!

Reviews:

“Original and compelling; a stunning debut.”

--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Numerous plot twists drive the story along, and it’s grounded in worldbuilding that creates a believable, authentic setting.  Duyvis makes ingenious use of a fascinating premise.”

--Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Duyvis creates a humdinger of an adventure that contains the agony of loyalty, the allure of magic, and, most gratifyingly, the element of surprise.”

--The Horn Book Magazine

The Evolution of The Unknowns cover

About the book, THE UNKNOWNS.

In a trailer park called Adjacent, next to the Folsom Energy Plant, people have started to vanish, and no one seems to care. At first Lady Di and her best friend, Tom Jones, barely notice the disappearances—until their beloved math tutor, Mrs. Clarke, is abducted, too. Mrs. Clarke has left them clues in the form of math equations that lead them all over the trailer park, through hidden tunnels under “Mount Trashmore,” and into the Folsom Energy Plant itself, where Lady Di and Tom Jones and a gang of other misfits uncover the sordid truth about what’s really happening there.

Benedict's sketches from 1st pass Manuscript.

Sketch I made before book was acquired to help acquire the book.

I had been a fan of Joshua Middleton's work for sometime and as luck would have it he was perfect for this unknown. Here is Josh's first sketch showing a wraparound jacket.

Only one problem. As beautiful as the image was when you separated out just the front cover. It didn't hold up. So in hopes of saving the image I reworked the composition. So that the front cover would work more effectively with the wraparound idea.

To make the cover have a bit of a science fiction, mystery edge I took Benedict's geometric sketches from the interior and add them floating on the jacket to add another layer of visual interest.

After a couple of revisions Josh delivered a color final.

But the colors where to vibrant which lessened the mystery angle of the image.
Thus darken the composition to help highlight the key action to help the viewer.

Next step I started working up type samples. All along keeping in mind,
"how do you make a math story visually interesting." Also at this stage the title changed
from FOLSOM ADJACENT to THE UNKNOWNS.

However we ran into a speed bum. The cover wasn't working as well as it needed to for the book. Again the mystery angle. With the current cover it wasn't working as we wanted it to. The cover was to character driven for what the story was asking for. So we quickly went back to the drawing board and re worked the idea. Here you my sketch revision. Which is totally not a Jame Bond influence . . . uh yes it is.

On last thing just to make sure the mystery angle was working. Marketing placed the text " A Mystery" on the cover. Which turned out nicely.

Next and final step place the cover copy in place. I like to place text in a way that fits into the world of the art. Complementing rather than intruding.

Bonus Math Problem!

Nikki McClure • Interview Adventure Series • 1

A first in a purposed series of interviews from MISHAPS AND ADVENTURES talking with illustrators and authors. We will talk about their process and how they found there way into children's books.

To lead off this series I have interviewed Nikki McClure. Nikki is a self-taught artist who has been making paper-cuts since 1996. Armed with an X-acto knife, she cuts out her images from a single sheet of paper and creates a bold language that translates the complex poetry of motherhood, nature, and activism into a simple and endearing picture. She regularly produces her own posters, books, cards, t-shirts and a beloved yearly calendar as well as designs covers for countless records and books, including illustrations for magazines the Progressive and Punk Planet. She is the author and illustrator of Abrams’ Collect Raindrops. ALL IN A DAY is her first Abrams’ children’s book.

CW: Hi Nikki. Welcome to Mishaps and Adventures
first ever interview

NM: Very Exciting! Let's begin.

CW:Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

NM: I am a Puget Sounder. I grew up in Kirkland and then m oved to Olympia to go to college. Now I live on a hill in town with 30 fruiting trees planted. I am rooted here.

CW: What is your educational background? What courses or
training might be helpful in beginning a career in illustration?

NM: My Background is in Natural Sciences. I received my B.S. and stayed an extra year to get a B.A. but my art focus was Natural History Writing. I didn't make my first foray into the Art building until my last quarter to print linocuts I had made for a book about wetlands. Even though I didn't take any art classes, I now see that time spent drawing plants and flies as training my eye to see and my hand to respond. Training? Just begin! Don't wait to be "chosen". I illustrated the Brother's Grimm stories, not waiting for a publi sher to ask me. I published my own books at Kinko's and hand-colored them in. The work I do now is inspired by WPA posters. I am not waiting for the government to start funding a new poster series, I'm just making them myself. Less compromises that way. Making mistakes is the best way to learn.

CW: What drew you to children's book illustration?
How did your first book come to be published?

NM: The first book I made was "Wetlands". I felt there wasn't anything out there for grade schoolers' to understand wetlands. So I made it. I received a grant and rented a studio for $50 a month (!!!!) Put a desk, chair, and iron in it and started making linocuts all day (K Records was next door so I could just listen to the music they were playing). It is still published by the Wa. State Dept. of Ecology. I enjoyed exploring the motion of the book, examining how a book is read, how the images progress. I get really happy when I am making a book and little pieces start appearing in the images. Tiny stories start developing no matter how well planned. I like being open to the evolution of the book. Plus the smell of a freshly printed book is so delicious!

CW: What are some of your favorite books for children?

NM: Well. here are my favorites right now—I love having a child so I can read books all day long!

1. Wind in the Willows—I could read that book forever. I am often Mole and my son is Ratty.
I get rescued from the Wild Wood weekly.
2. The Moomin series by Tove Jannson—Finland, naked trolls, Snufkin. I would stare at the pictures when I was a child. She drew full moons so beautifully.
3. The Swallows and Amazons series—the world as children imagine it.
4. The Jungle Book—never let children watch the Disney version! It will ruin their minds.
5. The Animal Family—a perfect family
6. Where the Wild Things Are—even the paper feels good
Anything that Maurice Sendak touched.
7. Dawn
8. Winne the Pooh
There really are so many. Piles of good books are just behind me.

CW: Who are your artistic influences?

NM: Sendak, Jannson, Kathe Kollowitz, Frans Masreel, Lynd Ward, as well as mushroom gills, rain, pine needles on snow, leaf stains on sidewalks, chickadees, apple blossoms, and my family.

CW: ALL IN A DAY is your third children's book and the first book we worked together on. Can you describe your creative process?
And how you approached the challenges of this particular book?

NM: It might be my 7th—but it is my first published by someone other than myself. It has also been a long time since I used someone else's words as inspiration for images.
I read the text over and over, memorizing it, internalizing it, reading it to Finn (my 4 year old), reading it to friends. I then made sketches and talked about these with Susan, my editor. Susan and you had ideas too—we went back and forth with many ideas ditched and new ones drawn up. This part was really hard for me,but now I am thankful for the critique and challenges to push more out of the story. The text was challenging as it provided no character, no scene, no place, nothing but emotion. I was intimidated a bit by Cynthia being a NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER! and here I was making a narrative story with my images to her celebrated words. I had to remind myself that she wrote the words with my images in mind, and that this is what illustrators did. So I relaxed, wrote "Have fun" on my wall (a parting quote from Susan Van Metre our editor) and went at it. Once I got the final go ahead, it really felt great to race ahead. I felt like a horse at full gallop. The easy part was making the artwork! I'm not one to storyboard my own work. I usually just let the story evolve. But all the planning paid off in the end. I could just make the pictures. I just had to make the characters look the same throughout. I used clothing to help disguise the fact that I am not a portraitist. Remember my work is with x-acto knife, so it is hard to erase and redraw until the nose ids just the same as in the last picture.

CW: The use of color in ALL IN DAY and in much of your
art is minimalistic. How do you make decisions about color?

NM: When color is added to my work, I ask "Why is that colored in? What make that object so important?" Color is distracting to me. I like things black and white. I was asked to add more color in ALL IN A DAY after all the images were done. BY then, all decisions about value- dark/light had been made. To add color would have unbalanced the images, to me. I suggested alternating the background color from blue to yellow to blue . . . The use of color subtly interacts with the story and enhances it rather than being color used as decoration (make his shirt yellow with red polka dots).

My next book uses a lot of color, for me. Each color is added as the story develops.

CW: What did you find to be the toughest and most rewarding
aspects of your work on ALL IN A DAY?

NM: The redrawing, the redrawing, the redrawing . . . I used up a lot of pencil lead and erasers. It was also the most rewarding. When it came time to make the real art, the hard part was already done!

CW: I have noticed recurring themes of nature, cooperation,
and enjoyment of the outdoors in your work. Does your work
have a particular message? What do you hope people
take away from your images?

NM: If they take away those things, then great! I want my work to resonate with a deep collective memory of fingers in soil, growing food, talking to birds (not just listening), people working together in community. Some people do this everyday, but some people are in cities where the soil is deeply buried and the human noise drowns out bird voices. What is human nature? Cities aren't unnatural, but more can be done to encourage cooperation. I'm just trying to help recall a memory of that.

CW: You have built a strong local following through your cards
and calendars. What advice would you give an illustrator who
is just getting started? What are some ways she can get his or
her name and work out into the world?

NM: Share your work: Make it. Show it. Give it. Your work needs to be in the world. I donate my images to non-profits to use as holiday/thank you cards. The calendar has been great. I call it my spores. They get sent all over to people who don't know my work. They hang it up in their office or kitchen ( I love being in kitchens everywhere) and all those people who visit them see it- then they all want one next year, and so on. Better than viral marketing- spore marketing is more symbiotic. It has ended up next to the desks of designers and they in turn have called me. I didn't have to send out my portfolio. I did drop off my portfolio once at The New Yorker. They only use a half-sheet of paper when they politely decline. I should send them a calendar I suppose.

CW: What are your working on now?

NM: I have just started the final artwork for my next book with Abrams, MAMA, IS IT SUMMER YET? I'm in the gallop ahead stage. I will finish the image of gathering sticks today. I added loppers- so they are pruning the apple tree and the child has so many sticks in his arms that some are falling away. (I'd send you a pic of the sketch, but someone stole our camera in Hawaii and I am waiting for a new one to be delivered). I am also thinking of the 2010 calendar images, title, theme . . . . Today will will also send out valentines Finn printed on the printing press but we have to get stamps= a Big Day

CW: What is your idea of a perfect day?

NM: Today (minus typing a computer interview, sorry!)
The fog has lifted and the sun is out. Snow is melting and the green is so green and the blue so blue. I will finish a picture today. I might bake cake or at least make a pie. Secret Valentines will be mailed. There will be some slushy snowball throwing. Perhaps I will be rescued from the Wild Wood. Dinner at a friend's house who always cooks so beautifully and where we will read old Peanuts cartoons. Back home I will take a very hot bath. Then read a great book with a cuddly child and dream.

http://www.nikkimcclure.com

BUY ALL IN A DAY!

All in a Day:

Cynthia Rylant, Nikki McClure (Illustrator)

Abrams Young Readers

ISBN: 0-8109-8321-4

EAN: 9780810000000

Hardcover with jacket
US $17.95
Availability: Preorder (available in February 2009)

Spreads from ALL IN A DAY © 2009 by Cynthia Rylant. Illustration © 2009 Nikki McClure. Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers. New York. Posted with permission of publisher. All rights reserved.

Interview Adventure Series • 2 •
Starring Marcellus Hall illustrator of CITY I LOVE coming soon!