 |
The Fractured Publisher A Humorous Gallery of Press Releases
|
 |
||
| Back Issues Staff Submissions Disclaimer | ||||
|
Great Balls Afire! My Happily Ever After Syndrome
|
Interview with Deron Douglas Talwyn here.
Today we are speaking with Deron Douglas, an extraordinary cover artist, publisher of my favorite genres, and of course, he's a fellow dragon. Need I say more? Well, I guess I'll have to if you hope to learn anything further about the man as an artist, but really, telling you he's a dragon is pretty impressive, don't you agree? Okay, now that I
have your attention, I'd like to focus this interview on the man behind
the creative covers at Double Dragon Publishing. There's that dragon
reference again. Now I ask you, what else does one need to know? Except
well, you may be curious about the man and his creative process as well as
check out his graphic design business – Cover Art by Deron Douglas,
especially if you need a cover designed for your own books! Since I hear
Fierona Draconus
Anyway, back to the interview. Recently, I sat down with Deron Douglas and while we enjoyed a tankard of dragon's brew, or two or five, I lost count, he shared with me a bit of insight into his creative process. Okay, I confess, after a few tankards, the normally shy guy was ready to tell me anything. When I asked him how he managed to come up with concept after concept for so many different titles, here's what he had to say: If I'm not sure what kind of cover to place on a book (a subject or genre I'm not used to) I like to do research. I look at as many covers as possible for books of the same title and genre, in as many places as I can. I try to dissect the composition and the use of specific images, and then try to decide why they were used in the first place. Not all covers will contain images of characters within the story. Icons are used, as well, which may not specifically relate to the story. I've a friend with Harlequin Romance. She commented that Double Dragon's romance covers, on a whole, follow the same specific formulas that Harlequin uses. Other than giving me that "feel good" warmth, it confirmed my belief that these covers – actually, all genre covers – have a very specific formula for design and images. Something that a cover designer must always remember is that the role of the cover is to attract the reader and make them want to look inside and ultimately want to buy the book. A book cover needs to include a concentrated design that is distilled to a powerful overall image that includes consideration of text placement, font, and size of text as well as concept image. All these elements are important and enhance the design. As far as ebook cover art is concerned, what do you see as the most common problem in today's market? In general, and with the chance of sounding too "big-headed," most covers found within the ebook industry (among independent publishers) are too amateurish. This isn't to say that they all fall into this category, but rather "most" that I have seen do. It's getting better, mind you, but in many cases the cover art has been created by people that are not qualified to create them. Either the execution is poor, or the design is bad (trying to fit too much into the scene), or the composition is non-existent. I prefer using the Japanese Woodblock print method of composition; it's a minimalist form of composition in which the use of negative as well as positive space is important. In fact, the use of negative space can be said to be more important. I also find that some of these artists don't spend enough time on the backgrounds. The background is as important as the figures in the foreground and the details of a picture will make a difference. To get an idea of what a good science fiction or fantasy cover should look like, go to Amazon.com and browse these genres. Or log onto one of the NY publisher sites and see what they are using. In order for the ebook industry to be taken seriously (and the independents involved), their covers must be the equal to these covers. After all, a book IS judged by its cover, as is the publisher. Now, I'm not saying that ALL my covers are of this quality, but I do the best I can in order to make them as close as possible. I can give you a huge list of artists better than me, in fact when I look back on some of my earlier covers I cringe. But I also see a progressive improvement in my work, which is important to me as an artist. Of course, as a dragon, I already know all I need to about you, how could I not with all that brew flowing, but for those reading this, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself and your graphic arts background? When you were a little dragon, did you like drawing more than you enjoyed flying about with the other hatchlings? When I was a very young dragon I used to enjoy carving pictures into sleeping humans, I soon found that I made a terrible mess and since I enjoyed drawing, I realized I would soon run out of canvases if I didn't find another source for my canvas and artistic expression. I can see how the human canvas might limit your creative expression, being so small and all. Here, let me get you another tankard of brew while you talk, and maybe you could point that claw that way, okay? So, let's hear more about your graphic arts background, shall we? I graduated from university with a B.F.A. [Bachelor of Fine Arts] (I also have a BA in sociology and computer science), started my first job in the industry as a stripper [Talwyn scolds: Now readers, not that kind of a stripper…honestly, gang, where does your minds go?] and graphic artist for a small printing company which lasted about five or six months. After going from job to job for a few years, I finally entered the advertising industry as a professional photographer. This lasted about five years. Sometime around 1985, we were hit by the first recession and advertising money seemed to dry up. Somewhat concerned by this occurrence, I decided to try something new-ish and entered the publishing industry as a Production Coordinator or mini-publisher for a large New York-ish publisher. While my function and title changed, I must stress that I continued to enjoy a career in the visual arts field where I used my visual skills as well as my management abilities. During this period I also taught photography, visual design/composition, and computer programming at a local college part-time (lasting 10 years). While maintaining a constant connection with the Toronto art scene, I delved into sculpture and continued with my first love...oil painting on large canvas. Around 1990, I discovered CGI and computers. I used a DOS based program called POV RAY to create computer-generated scenes that totally amazed me. Here was a medium that could create in mere hours, something that took me days or months to accomplish with a paintbrush! I was hooked! So, you now use CGI programs to create all those covers? No, in addition to CGI programs, I also use photographs and a combination of oil paintings, ink drawings, and sketches to create the atmosphere and characterizations needed for my cover designs. I like to mix various sources and create layer upon layer to give a specific feel...then meld them into what appears to be one source. I'm, in fact, going back to my fine arts training and layering various mediums. I use Photoshop almost exclusively for my "post-production" work. In the future, I see my style shifting more toward a "painterly" style. I'm also intrigued by the comic book and graphic novel images that are currently being produced and can see myself using more hand drawn sketches in combination with Photoshop. Incidentally, a lot of the effects you see in my covers are hand drawn with Photoshop. In my opinion, the randomness of nature is something that computers are still not able to fully express. We all know dragons are hard workers, but what many don't know is that dragons work hard at relaxing, as well. I enjoy lounging on a big pile of soft gold coins. What things do you do to relax? When I'm not doing drawing/creating, I relax by riding my motorcycle or making paper airplanes with my four-year-old son. I unwind by practicing Iaido, admiring my collection of 600-year-old Japanese swords, wood carving, or just slumped on the sofa watching (and re-watching) one of my many science fiction DVDs. I like that these movies make me think which usually leads me back to cover designing. Deron, it's been great. Thanks for chatting dragon to dragon with me and giving our readers a peek into your creative process. What? Oh, yes, the bar tab. It goes to him. What? You don't remember saying you'd pay for this? While Deron's busy counting out his dragon gold, I'll take this time to say if you'd like to learn more about Deron and his cover art, you can visit either of these links:
http://www.derondouglas.com/index.htm Hate to chat and fly, but I think Deron has just recalled it was supposed to be my treat! Until next time! This is Talwyn signing off.
|
|||
|
© Copyright 2007 The Fractured Publisher |
||||
tapping her