I don’t always work this way, but this series of covers has a specific look, and so I typically opt for a detailed underpainting to ensure everything goes as expected.

This painting began with a highly detailed pencil drawing. Once I have sketch approval, I begin the process of creating the original painting. They liked that the cropping was similar to the last book in the series, but asked that I make sure I differentiate the two as much as I could through the use of color. In this case, they selected the second sketch. Collectively, they decide what works best for the book, letting me know if they have any concerns or revisions. The Art Director presents the sketches to her team of Artists, Editors, and Marketing people. Since I know what the type for this series already looks like, I sometimes add type into my sketches in order to give the Art Director a better impression of what the final cover would look like. The ones that do make the cut usually develop into monochromatic color comps. I take the ones I like, and develop them into more detailed sketches, and abandon the dozens upon dozens of sketches that I don’t like. It’s a fine balance between consistency and redundancy.įrom there, I begin sketching as many ideas as I can. I want to cover to look different than the ones before it, but it still needs to look consistent enough that readers know it’s part of a series. I have done a lot of Mercy Thompson covers now (even more than what’s seen above), and so I need to be careful no to repeat myself. It may seem silly, but my biggest consideration when coming up with an idea is to consider what came before this cover. Once, I have a good feel for what the story is about, I go about sketching potential cover concepts. The Author and I speak on the phone for several hours, going over the story, discussing specific events and locales, and in general, how these events shape our main character. So instead, the job begins with a call to the Author. Because the book is advertised so far in advance, there isn’t actually a formal manuscript for me to read when I begin working. This cover started fairly typically for most books in this series.

Mercy must go up against an unknown enemy, facing deadly witchcraft in order to protect her pack. This next novel is titled ‘Storm Cursed’ and once again follows the coyote shapeshifting protagonist, Mercy Thompson.

The cover was spoiled this week over on USA Today, so I figured I would share some of my process for creating the cover here. I recently completed a cover for the next book in the #1 New York Times Bestselling ‘Mercy Thompson’ series, written by Author Patricia Briggs.

Patricia briggs storm cursed