INSIDE THE COVER

Have you ever wondered how a book gets its cover? Well get FIRE'd up because we're launching a new monthly feature that gives an inside look into the process of designing a cover, straight from our incredible Art Director, Nicole Hower.
 
This month—Kalyn Josephsen’s The Storm Crow

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Nicole's cover creation thoughts:

​When The Storm Crow was first launched to the design team, it was clear that the relationship between Princess Anthia and the last remaining crow in Rhodaire was something truly special. I knew right then that I wanted to portray their relationship and Thia’s presence as an inspiring strong female on the jacket. Once we figured out the image direction, I delved into potential ways we could show their relationship in a new and fresh perspective. The key to making this cover direction work was going to rely on finding the perfect artist. Someone who could not only illustrate women with a strong presence, but also portray the deep connection between Thia and her crow.
 
Once I found Tran Nguyen’s portfolio, I knew she would be a perfect fit. We sent our initial ideas to Tran and she sent back sketches that took those concepts to another level. Since she works with traditional medium, it was key to address any major edits at sketch stage since digital editing would start to take away the final artwork. Once we had everything finessed, she got to work on the final art. When we received the email with the end result, our whole team was blown away with the magic of the artwork. Tran’s creative process and visual story-telling has truly brought The Storm Crow to life.

Preorder your copy here: