Pricing
What I charge for a cover depends on what the publishers budget is for
cover art. Can you tell me what your budget is for cover illustration
and what it is for jacket design, or if both illustration and jacket design
are included in one price?
Whether the cover is a full wraparound or front cover only the price would be the same, since either way the art is still only one piece of art not 2 separate pieces of art.
Time
it takes to do a cover
From the time I read the manuscript to doing the color roughs and then
the finished art along with the jacket design takes about 3 weeks, unless
the editor or art director needs the cover sooner for some reason. I don't
like to rush a cover since the cover will be a major force in selling
the book.
My color roughs are close to what the finish will look like but stop short of being a finish. This will enable the client to get a good idea of what the finished cover is going to look like then if I did a lot of very rough sketches that are quickly done.
Outline
of how I work
1– First
I get a copy of the manuscript, either in paper or as a PDF file (I prefer
paper). If the manuscript is not available as is sometimes the case I
will read a synopsis. I like to read the entire manuscript and come up
with a concept for the cover, unless the editor or art director has a
concept in mind that they would like to see on the cover.
2 – I will then do 1 or 2 color roughs with the jacket design at this stage for the publisher to look at.
3–The color roughs will be posted at my website so the publisher can look at them.
4–Changes can be made to the color roughs if needed.
5–Once the color rough has been approved I will then carry it to a finish.
6–When the finish for the illustration has been done I will then also do the finish for the jacket design.
7–The finished cover illustration along with the finished jacket design will be posted it at my website for the publisher to look at, changes can be made if necessary.
8–All my cover art is done on the MAC computer, but the covers look like they where done with paint not with a computer.
9–-Once the finished cover has been approved I will then save it as a .tif file at 300dpi to a CD-ROM and mail it to you.
Will
send samples if needed
I
have paper samples of my work that I will send you to keep on file, please
let me know if you need them.
