Final Book Cover Design

After I had sorted out the composition of my final book cover design, I drew it out and began adding colour. When I first started I tried Watercolour paint, however this wasn't creating enough definition or contrast, so I went on to using acrylic. This allowed me to paint accurately and get bold, saturated colours that could be edited in Photoshop later if needed. I used my own photos to create the Polaroids, however in some I used my imagination to turn my own countryside images, into seaside, beach scenes.

I wanted the background of the cover to have some sort of coastal link too, so I played around with the idea of using drift wood and a tablecloth/picnic blanket. Normally I would go for a more simple background to create contrast between that and the main subjects, however I liked the effect that this created. It makes the cover look busy and interesting, linking to the chaos that Cherry and her family are feeling in the novel. Having the photos scattered around the page, suggests a sense of investigation, gathering evidence and searching for the little girl that has been lost at sea. 

Once I was happy with the overall painting and composition I scanned the cover into Photoshop, where I could add the fundamental conventions of a book cover; Title, Author, Publisher, Blurb etc.

Because the background was relatively dark the text wasn't very clear, so using the brush tool with a low opacity I highlighted the areas where the text was placed.

Final Drafting

When it came to creating my final drafting ideas I realised I wanted to include all of the previous compositions I had explored previously, so I came up with a Polaroid picture concept. As well as allowing me to include all of my favourite compositions it also links in well with the story; the photos are evidence of the girl's disappearance. Before drawing out my designs I found it useful to create a composition in Photoshop, so I could alter things easily and pick photos for each Polaroid. I made sure to leave space for a blurb and information, and put the majority of the photos on the front cover. 

Once I was happy with my composition I wanted to experiment slightly with different media and the effects they would give me. I tried pen and then pen and watercolour, however I found that this didn't give me enough contrast, so when it came to actually creating my final cover I chose to use Acrylic. This meant that the whole cover and all the photos got the definition they needed to stand out.