Cathleen Elliott Interview part 2: The Dreaming Anastasia Cover story

Today Cathleen lets us see the covers that didn't make the cut and explains her thought process behind each one. I seriously had NO IDEA about how this works. I had, however, seen a couple of these, but not all of them. So here we go:

Here are some variations I presented for Dreaming Anastasia. It helps illustrate the strategy of what I hand in and sheds light on how a final cover is selected. In this comp you can see my attempts at turning a dark story into a bright whimsical cover. Now, even though this is a colorful solution for a dark tale, it could hit the target with the marketer, who may not want a dark cover. Understandably, they tend to want things that “pop” off the shelf and catch your eye. It also at the same time stays true to the story, as the nesting doll plays an important role as a protective force for Anastasia. It also alludes to the tragedy as all the other Romanovs fell in the execution except Anastasia. Some believe due to some form of magic. This is represented by the smallest doll still in the center and protected, while all the others tumble around her. This cover was a metaphorical solution for me.
Here is my literal cover for the story showing Baba Yaga’s hut in the woods, with the fire that burns as Anastasia sits next to the burning fireplace holding her protective nesting doll. Anne is described as being very thin. I also chose this girl for her skirt that looks like a tutu, since she is a dancer. The girl has curly hair like Anastasia is described having. Is it Anne or is it Anastasia? In the story, the lines between the two girls is blurred. Anne starts to feel what Anastasia feels and feels compelled to save her. The dark elements are represented by the trees and hut. While the type takes a somewhat romantic bend. So, here I tried to show many parts of the story
literally. Note: this cover is made up of 5 photographs. The girl, the doll, the cabin, the tree and sky are part of the same image, and the flame (which is actually a picture of a lit match).

I created this one in case the marketers wanted to position this book as a romance. I gave it a general “dreamy feeling” and the butterfly represents the nature that is described in many scenes. Note: This is a low-resolution sketch. The woman is actually patched together. The neck and face are one image, while the hand, butterfly and dress are another.

This one was a response to the darkness and mystery in the story. Baba Yaga’s dark hands reach out and grab things. Or her mouth opens so wide she swallows you! Ohhhhh scary... The roses were a hint at the romance, but still treated in a vintage way. “A novel” in italic over her mouth is meant to suggest whispers from Anastasia from the past, or at least that’s what I was thinking when I placed it there. I felt like this was Anastasia looking through the smoky widows from the cabin where Baba Yaga held her captive.

In this one I focused on the fantasy. The forest became a set of graphically drawn branches that I hoped would be spot varnished on the final cover. The shadow however would be printed on the boy’s face in the background. Again this type is romantic. I drew extra flourishes coming out of the type to integrate it with the drawn “forest”. There is a mystery to how Anne is treated. Her look suggests she is “going somewhere” or “has something to do.” Ethan in the background with ice blue eyes, suggests his interest in her and his supernatural aspect. Considering he is at least a hundred years old! I felt this one had darkness, mystery, romance and spoke to the story being a fantasy.

This is the cover they went with. It has an obvious bend toward fantasy. Also, the girl in the selected design has a modern look but has on a dress that looks vintage. The Romanovs were concerned with wearing too flashy of clothes. So, I thought this dress was perfect for the period and also was true to the story. It has a romantic and historical feel. The smoke in the background is from the lit match idea I used in the hut earlier. Now that I was working on this design I chose to just use the smoke from the flame not the actual flame. I thought it made sense, looking like she had passed out and was starting to dream. Smoke being the symbolic reference of her traveling to the woods. Hinting at something mystical or magical happening. Ethan is changed to a photo of a different guy, but his ice blue eye remains the same suggestion of him being a supernatural being. I like this one a lot because Anne looks very pensive and dreamy. She was also known to pass out and wake in the woods. The stone slab was the perfect reference to the woods. The last cover I handed in as the “selected” design.

All that said, I have to mention that in my design education I was taught that everything is put on the page for a reason. I was taught to remove anything that was meaningless. Now, when someone looks at a cover I have done, they shouldn’t necessarily be aware of my every thought. It should just speak to them. Even if they don’t know why.

When I hand in work, I try not to ever call the Art Director and explain myself. I feel like if the design doesn’t speak without me talking, then it has failed! Let’s face it, this needs to sit on a shelf without me. I can’t stand in Barnes and Noble and give a long winded explanation to everyone who picks it up!!! As an Art Director, I didn’t allow designers to speak to me about their work until I was able to look at it myself. Alone, and not aware of their thought process. I wasn’t trying to be mean! I was just trying not to be colored by their words. Designs need to speak and I needed a clear view.

Wow Cathleen! Like I said, I had no idea of the artist's thought process. What is most amazing and humbling to me is that Cathleen has to really "get" my work in order to do the covers. How thrilling is that?? Trust me, very thrilling indeed!

Tomorrow we will get to see what you've all been waiting for - the real Ethan and then..... the HAUNTED cover. Whoot!!

Stay tuned.

Til next time...

Interview with cover artist Cathleen Elliott, part 1

This is Cathleen Elliott - aka girl genius - aka the creator of the Dreaming Anastasia cover - aka the creator of the soon to be revealed Haunted cover. Trust me when I say, this woman rocks!

Cathleen took time out of her busy artist/designer/baker/sculptor/every other creative endeavor known schedule to let me interview her about her creative process. It's beyond fascinating. During the next few days, we'll get to see how she thinks, works, and creates. She pulls back the veil on how she takes her image of a novel and works it into a cover and how she uses raw images and changes them into what we'll eventually see on a book. Very cool. She even shows us the REAL Ethan - who let me say is just as hot as the cover Ethan and the fictional Ethan and the Ethan that was in my head when I wrote. I can hardly wait for you to see!

So let's begin with a few questions and answers today. And then tomorrow - pictures.

1. So, Cathleen, tell us about you. What is your art background? How did you get into the business of cover design? Was it a typical journey?

I have a Fine Art degree (BFA) with an emphasis in Graphic Design from, a very small school in Ohio - Ohio University. I actually don’t think there is a standard path for book designers. My training was intense, but it was in all forms of print design. It was the summer I spent at school taking extra classes in paper making, print making, book binding and letter press that really opened my eyes to books. I combined the skills of the four classes and started making my own little books. Hand bound and printed. Paper made by me, type set by me (letterpress), die cuts and embossing by hand etc. I was in love, and I swore I’d never use a computer!! Ha. In fact, I had so little money that I hand painted most of my projects. Color prints were expensive! When I interviewed for my first job one guy commented on my “hand skills” and said “Wow, you could have gotten
a job 30 years ago.” I guess that was a compliment?

2. Do you do other types of art?

I love oil painting and drawing. I have done stained glass, photography, print making, pottery and I enjoy Sculpture in all mediums. I’ll try anything and I do anything I can to keep my hands busy. I cook, I sew, I knit, I fix things constantly around the house...

3. When you’re creating a cover for a book, what exactly is your process? Do you read the entire book? Part of the book?

Typically, I start by reading as much of the book as I can. One trick is to read the beginning, middle and end. I read as much as I need to - This can vary from project to project, depending on the subject matter and time constraints. I am also a good skimmer.

Does the publisher give you certain parameters?

I am given a design brief. It lists basic information, the trim size of the book, cover text and a blurb about the story (usually from the Amazon description, or the back cover copy) It also lists the competing books.

What exactly are you looking for?

When I am reading I am looking for the author’s tone. I try to get in their head and get a sense of what they think of the book. Then I imagine myself as someone from the audience picking the cover up off the shelf. What are the things that attract this demographic? What is the mood of the potential reader? What books sit next to this book and why does someone pick this one up? I try and find a “moment” or a visual in the story I can leap from. Something that triggers me. Most times I wind up creating a general sense of many moments in the story that speak to me. My desired outcome, which can be extremely tricky, is: -
- To have the author say “That’s what I pictured”.
- To have the publisher or Barnes and Noble representative say “That cover will sell”.
-To have the end reader, who is blind to all of the above, just look at the cover and feel like it depicts a world that they want to escape into. I like to say “there are a lot of voices in my head as I work and I have to listen to them all equally.” The publisher is my client, but I sincerely hope I deliver for everyone involved. The best way to sum it up: when I work I am not thinking it’s my job to make a pretty picture. I am not motivated by self interest or just impressing my fellow designers (although that would be nice bonus).

4. Exactly how do you create covers anyway? Do you use stock photos? Take actual photos with models? Draw or paint? At what stage do you show your ideas to the publishing house?

After I’m done reading and looking over my brief, I start to research. That is sometimes the longest part of my process. Research includes learning about the audience, what they wear, what they like, what they read. It includes sifting through hundreds of photos and illustrations online. I use stock photos mainly for budget and time constraints. The images that appear on book covers are usually the product of very careful shoots from skilled photographers. Ideally, we would all love to hire a photographer, the model and direct the shoot. So that our images are exactly what we envision. Often, we find ourselves with the seemingly daunting task of finding “The right girl, at the right age, in the right dress, the right lighting and time period.” It can be challenging. So, that’s why a lot of manipulation happens. Changing hair color, dresses, coloration or switching out backgrounds. It’s funny, I can grumble in my head as I work, thinking “Oh, I’ll never find it.” Then at the same time, I love it. I find that huge limitation of needing to use “what’s out there” can lead to some very creative solutions!

I start every job sketching my ideas on paper. I also return to paper if I get stuck on the computer. Once I have moved the computer most of the “painting” and “drawing” happens in Photoshop and Illustrator. When I’m designing I have to keep in mind that meeting room and what they are going to say about what I have done! I REALLY want to help my Art Director get a quick approval! So, I have to be organic, creative and remember my responsibility to get an approved cover. Sometimes, I get an approval on the first round. That always feels good. On average though, a selected direction comes out of the first round and is then tweaked or revised for 2-3 rounds. I also like to try and hand projects in a little early if I can. That always helps to hit deadlines. The turnaround for projects can be anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks. I would say that 1 week is my average time line for the first round of designs. I am always asked to give 3 unique ideas, but I usually hand in more like 5. Or 3 unique, with some variations. I like to give as many distinct options as I can, in order to show different moods of the book.

TO BE CONTINUED...

HAUNTED cover teaser

Quick post this morning. Am finishing up an amazing couple of posts with my cover artist, the very talented Cathleen Elliott. She is going to lift the curtain about how she works and creates, even show us some raw images and how and why they ended up looking like they do on the actual covers. You're going to get to see all the covers that didn't end up being the Dreaming Anastasia cover. And.... you're going to get to see the REAL Ethan. Yes! I had no idea, but Ethan is a real guy. And yes, he is quite the hottie. Whoa momma! And at the end of our series, I will reveal the HAUNTED cover. It is, in a word, amazing.

Til next time...