This image was done for the cover of Move Heaven & Earth, by Christina Dodd. My model was the truly beautiful and talented actress, Ewa Da Cruz. I wanted to get across the stormy determination hinted at by the title and I think the portrait here captures that kind of personality. I liked giving this a true Regency look, but with a twist from the historical portraits of the period, in that she is looking away. That is a distinctly modern approach and creates a feeling of being there as an observer. When I create a book cover, there is only one chance to get across the story. One image. Many different approaches to that problem have been tried over the ages, including incidental clues that help imply a context, having multiple scenes from the story meld together like movie stills fading into each other. But my favorite way is to let the eyes tell the story. The eyes and the body language. The stormy background helps support what we are seeing in her lovely and quite powerful expressionPlease leave your comments!
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4 comments:
Hello James, how are you?
Beautiful cover, the woman is beautiful, although I do not know the blurb of the book I can see the storm in her eyes. seems to be watching a scene that did not want to see. Now she is angry but also hurt the heart.
I think that Dodd is very excited about this cover.
Hi Veronica! I'm well, thanks. I was away on vacation.
I'm glad you liked this cover. I enjoy depicting emotion, - and not always the happy kind. Romance is full of all kinds of stormy feelings. What you said about it was perfect!
Thanks, James
Absolutely stunning. I can't think of anything else to say but that.
Thanks, Noelle! That is such a nice compliment. I think in some ways a troubled look on a face draws you in maybe even more than a face with a nice smile. Maybe because we've become accustomed to having products advertised with smiling people and we don't buy it anymore. Or maybe it's because we connect with the sadness or trouble in the eyes, because life is just like that, partly sad. You look and wonder, what is going on? what bothering her? And you begin to fall into the story.
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