I'm happy to unveil the latest issue's cover, ahead of schedule:
I can also announce the launch date: the event will take place on July 9 at Café Younes in Hamra.
I will announce it again as we get closer to the event and via several channels, as usual. In the meanwhile I have a pdf copy for review should anyone know journalists or publications that might be interested in covering it – let me know!
Below is a look at the work process on the cover, not including previous, discarded ideas. After giving up on a few I thought of using elements from my High Ones design, in particular the two that were here relevant. And oh look, they make a circle!
Figuring out what the characters should be doing without overloading the image took the most time. There's little action but a lot of reflection and revelation in this volume so Malaak was best looking thoughtful.
Barkshamash looked rather lame though and I didn't like having him so evident, or having both of them look thoughtful. I tried having him shoot energy as on page 18, but the contrast between them was too jarring. Eventually I decided to only half-reveal him, while hinting at fire, with a pose that would demand a harsh lighting effects (we all know how much I love complex shading.)
First color attempt... The first 3 covers leaned towards a dark blue-green that is associated with Malaak, and here I really hesitated to break the continuity by "contaminating it" with the red-orange (not fond of complementary contrasts), but it added something striking.
A bunch of adjustments were suggested, so I revised the color of Malaak's top, the typography, the central background...
And then in the end returned to some of the colors in the previous step, because it just looked a lot more attractive! The final result is what you saw at the top of the page.
I can also announce the launch date: the event will take place on July 9 at Café Younes in Hamra.
I will announce it again as we get closer to the event and via several channels, as usual. In the meanwhile I have a pdf copy for review should anyone know journalists or publications that might be interested in covering it – let me know!
Below is a look at the work process on the cover, not including previous, discarded ideas. After giving up on a few I thought of using elements from my High Ones design, in particular the two that were here relevant. And oh look, they make a circle!
Figuring out what the characters should be doing without overloading the image took the most time. There's little action but a lot of reflection and revelation in this volume so Malaak was best looking thoughtful.
Barkshamash looked rather lame though and I didn't like having him so evident, or having both of them look thoughtful. I tried having him shoot energy as on page 18, but the contrast between them was too jarring. Eventually I decided to only half-reveal him, while hinting at fire, with a pose that would demand a harsh lighting effects (we all know how much I love complex shading.)
First color attempt... The first 3 covers leaned towards a dark blue-green that is associated with Malaak, and here I really hesitated to break the continuity by "contaminating it" with the red-orange (not fond of complementary contrasts), but it added something striking.
A bunch of adjustments were suggested, so I revised the color of Malaak's top, the typography, the central background...
And then in the end returned to some of the colors in the previous step, because it just looked a lot more attractive! The final result is what you saw at the top of the page.
