Awesome Cover Art

My regulars all know that I was hoarding a pile of old manuscripts. I decided to post them all on Amazon and chose 2014 as the year. So far, I’ve posted Wild Concept and Panama.

Books need covers, and I think the cover is a big part of the sale. It can increase sales, but it can also decrease sales too. Choosing the right one can be difficult.

My regulars also know that I look at Zite magazine every day. This app customizes articles based upon my preferences. Artwork is one of the categories I always check. One day, there was an amazing piece by a young man named Leon Tukker. As soon as I saw it, I wanted him to make the cover for my next book, Arson.

It took me some effort to track Leon down. I learned he is a student in the Netherlands. Thank God he speaks English, because it’s my only language. He’s 22 years old and attends an art academy for interactive performance design. He taught himself to draw and paint. He would like to get a job as a concept artist at a game studio. He’s open to freelance work and more book covers.

We worked together for about a month. I wrote out an idea of what I wanted and sent him an email. He sent me some thumbnail sketches, and they were all wonderful. I had a hard time choosing one, because they were all that good. Another benefit is the fact that Leon’s a nice guy. He’s easy to work with and open to my input.

Two things to think about here. First if you are in the video game industry, you really ought to check this young man’s work out. Second, if you’re an author, Leon might be someone to consider for cover art. In my mind, if you’re Disney, Pixar, Marvel Comics, or George Lukas you should check Leon’s work out. (I know, all the same thing today.)

So let’s get down to it. Here’s the cover for Arson:

This is a depiction of a scene from the story. This is always a good choice, as long as the story has an exciting or dramatic scene. Some of the detail is lost at thumbnail size, but that’s always the case. This cover expresses the important theme even after some of the detail is lost, and that’s important.

Now I need to get off the stick and finish editing the manuscript. I’m almost done. A few more chapters, some specific word searches and I’m all set.

You can find Leon at the following sites:

DeviantArt

Drawcrowd

Facebook

Even if you’re not in the market for cover art right now, do yourself a favor and enjoy some more of Leon’s amazing art by clicking on the links.