Author Clayton Tune wanted an understated cover illustration that hinted at the story without giving too much away. He also asked for a handful of interior illustrations as well, for key points in the story. 

I began by sketching out many cover ideas and then presenting the best ones. Clayton and I then worked together to refine the chosen sketch. We did the same for the interior illustrations.

For the cover, I illustrated the chosen scene in a graphical style with dotted textural details that matched the style of the inside black and white illustrations. Because I work digitally for most client projects, I was able to make adjustments when I sent the cover in for review, until it was perfect.

The cover illustration includes, of course, the book title in plain sight. I believe that just plopping text onto an illustrated cover is lazy, so I also design the title as if I'm designing a logo for the story. The final version of the title is balanced and evokes an old family business. I provide this title as a separate file to my client so they can use it for promoting the book and making merchandise. 

As a graphic designer, I can also design the typography for the spine and back cover of the book. For this dark story, I made the back dark and incorporated some of the unsettling spot illustrations from the inside. 

I always ask for a final version of the book because I absolutely love holding it in my hands! I think this cover turned out great.

I'm delighted to do book designs for novels and illustrated children's books alike.  ​

• I love reading many genres, so I can service anything from a fantasy epic to a slice-of-ife story. I can work with very illustration-heavy designs or very simple ones - it's the concept that matters.

• See my gallery for examples of my style. I do not typically do hyper-realistic drawings, so my work is most suitable for YA and children's levels of reading.

• I will not do work for stories that are NSFW, though I don't mind working in horror genres depending on the story. 

• If you have any other questions, feel free to ask at hello@studiohannah.com