Capturing the viewer with your art is no more important than when it’s on a book cover. Tommy Arnold reveals how to make potential readers linger.
There are so many images in our day-to-day world, all competing for our attention. As artists, we tend to think that sheer beauty through rendering is the key to getting attention, but the average viewer can’t tell the difference between something immaculately painted and something painted just well enough to do the trick.
You should certainly try to paint well, but you need to remember that your target audience is actually non-artists and that’s the vast majority of people. As a cover artist, my job is to make someone who wouldn’t have picked up a book or magazine stop, take notice, and pick it up. After that, my job is done.
This simple little interaction happens at something near the speed of light, and the time it would take for a potential buyer to “appreciate” an image doesn’t even come into play before they’ve made up their mind.
How can I make up their mind for them? I can simplify and organise my image in ways that make the image easy to look at and understand. I can make sure my cover is unlike the other images next to it on the shelf. I can make sure my image reads well from a distance as well as up close. I can ask the potential buyer questions in the form of an unresolved narrative, or try to bring my image to life by giving it a sense of movement. In every cover that I create, I try to use all these strategies and more if possible, because the battle for their attention is all-out war, and no one’s taking prisoners.
Sketching the idea
Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av ImagineFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av ImagineFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
PAINT EPIC BATTLES IN TRADITIONAL INK
Warhammer illustrator THOMAS ELLIOTT shows you how to create an epic science fiction fight scene with this step-by-step guide
CONJURE MAGIC ILLUSTRATIONS
Daria Anako demonstrates her process for creating a whimsical piece of art with some spellbinding touches
First Impressions
We discover the early influences that inspired the artist
ZBrush for iPad
GAME CHANGER The desktop version of popular 3D sculpting software ZBrush has been redesigned for iPad - and it's brilliant
BenQ GW2786TC
GET AN EYEFUL Don't scrimp out on your health with a monitor that's kind on the eyes and good for creative tasks
Huion Kamvas Pro 19
TABLET WARS An attractive pen display does an excellent job of balancing price and performance as it sets out to challenge its rivals in the mobile marketplace
DRAGON OFORCEC
Legendary D&D artist Larry Elmore explains the keys to crafting timeless fantasy art.
DUNGEON MASTERS
ImagineFX marks the milestone 50th anniversary of the launch of Dungeons & Dragons with a look at its rich tradition of illustration
Erik Ly
Gamer's haven Why the artist enjoys a maximalist aesthetic more than the minimalist approach.
2D meets 3D: How the workflows are merging
Interdimensional As VFX and animation evolve and tools become more accessible, Tanya Combrinck asks whether the separation between the mediums is reducing