The Search for the Cover
Like I said in the previous post, we've lost our cover artist. No idea where we misplaced him (I think it was in Italy somewhere, or was it Greece?), but we just can't get ahold of the guy.
Which is a shame- we actually really liked "slert's" work. But that just means we get to find another artist, which is fun all on its own.
So, back to the drawing board we went. And I mean that quite literally. The first thing we did was draw up a sketch of basically what we wanted the cover to look like.
Then we chose three likely candidates and, after chatting with each and explaining the vision, commissioned a cover from each.
Book 5 Cover: The Scene
Book 5, for those who don't know, sees Wyoming Bones and his friends back in New Block City. While Wyoming tries to get back into normal life, an imposter, someone who looks exactly like Wyoming, frames our hero by stealing the Founder's Blade. A diamond sword, the Blade was created by the Founder of New Block City, and might just be the key to a mystery that could bring the entire city to its knees.
At one point in the story, towards the beginning, Wyoming and crew confront the Imposter in a brick bell tower. Wyoming enters first, followed shortly by Leila and Blurble. Given that both men look exactly alike, our friend Leila is pretty confused about who she should help!
Also, the observant reader will notice that this is the first time we've seen Wyoming in his human form. We've typically shown him as a skeleton on the other covers, as that's kind of integral to his character. This time, however, we needed both Wyoming and the Imposter to look like the human Wyoming for the plot to work... So you get the treat of seeing two of the most handsome, square jawed adventurer's out there.
Even if one of the two is actually an evil imposter who might be trying to destroy all of New Block City. But which is which? Can you tell?
Leila sure can't.
Book 5 Cover: Options
That was it. That was the cover we sent to our three contenders. From that, we got three different takes on that scene, which I'll share with you now.
The first is at the top of the page, but I'll post it here again, just for fun.
The lighting and modeling of this one is probably my favorite. Blurble and Leila look delightfully confused, coming in from the stairs in the far wall. Its not what I had in mind in my head (I was picturing red brick blocks), but I have to say I really like this one.
Another solid choice, this one better captures my vision for the scene, form the red brick, to the interior staircase, to the large windows around the exterior of the room. I also like that they took the model for the small bell in Minecraft and blew it up jumbo to put in this bell tower.
And that brings us to Cover Option 3:
Option 3 has a bell made out of golden blocks, similar to what I did on my fake cover for the book (see the last post if you missed it!). I probably don't like that as much as the other two bells, but the facial expressions on the two Wyoming's. Leila, and Blurble are probably my favorite of the three options.
Book 5 Cover: A Choice?
And now, we just need to decide which of these three we like the most, and which will help sell the book the best. It's not an easy decision, and I find myself really torn.
How about you, my wonderful readers. Do you have a favorite? Which do you like and why?
Come on, help a struggling author out.
Until next time, keep reading!