Unit 2 Final Evaluation
The Brief
The brief was to create a book cover based on a theme of our choice. It could be for a novel or an instruction guide, all we had to do was make the cover. In response i did research by looking at other book covers similar to the topic that I had chosen. I created scamps and drafts of other book covers before creating my own in order to make mine look as good as possible. I took photos in order to get a grasp of the book cover I wanted to create.
Artist Influence
He isn't known for being an artist, he's mainly renowned for being the author of Lord of the Rings and wrote an entire universe of books, but he also did most of the original illustrations and paitings. I really like his illustrations and the typeface that he created using pen and ink, this is where I got inspiration for me book cover. I attempted to create my own typeface replicating his style. I looked at the works of other artists who have made book covers for either The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings and took great inspiration from lots of those. I emulated some techniques like watercolour and created a piece of my own.
Experimentation
I experimented with copy and emulation. I first of all copied a piece that I liked using the same watercolour technique. I tried several times to produce an accurate enough copy. I then used my own ideas and the same technique to create a new piece of my own. Watercolour can be a difficult technique to use, since a lot of drying time is needed. Luckily I had a hair dryer to help me with the drying problem.
Refinement
I put a lot of effort into the drawing and colouring of my front cover. The colouring was something that took a lot of time and effort, and doing it using a mac mouse was not the easiest of tasks. Colour is very important on my cover since it incorporates a number of drawings that I did using pen and ink. I refined my colours by choosing from a variety of colours in a colour pallet.
Final Piece
Since he did most of the art for the Lord of the Rings, its hard not to be influenced by Tolkien's work. I have been influenced by his work, especially on my back cover drawing which is of one of his original maps. I really like the design/final drawing on my front cover. It looks well coloured and I really enjoy how it turned out, but with some refinement to the edges and some of the colours it could perhaps be improved. I would definitely change my background/full cover image, instead of it just being one solid colour. I will definitely add gradients to my work to make it look more appealing and give it depth.
