For as long as I could remember, I’ve been defined mainly through my creativity, mainly in writing, drawing and graphic design. And that was understandable, because for the longest time, that was what I based my identity around.
Growing up as an Asian American with parents and an older sister who were STEM-oriented, while never having inherited a single drop of STEM-based skill, does not do well for one’s self-esteem. And it didn’t help that we lived in Cupertino, attending schools that also prioritized STEM with a very strong emphasis on academic performance and competition. Story writing went from being a simple hobby to a form of escapism as the other aspects of my life spiraled out of my control.
At some point during this time, I began to write a book, which then started to extend into an idea for a eight part book series, which then shortened to six, and now to four. This story has stuck with me through the lowest points of my life, and continues to be worked on today.
My parents never fully understood why I ended up the way I did, but they tried their best to support me regardless. They had suggested I go into graphic design, and I found out through using Canva and the programs on Adobe Suite that this was something that came naturally to me, and that I also found it fun.
So to showcase my love for both graphic design and storytelling, I’ve decided to combine them together into creating book covers - something that I could also use for when I want to pursue publication, along with sneak peeks over what the story is about.
I chose to write in the genre of modern fantasy, because I enjoyed the concepts of magic existing in a world like ours. I wanted to distance myself from our current reality, but also wanted to appreciate the little things that this world had to offer that were unrelated to my ongoing problems.
Some photos of the characters, taken from old Instagram posts from at least three years ago. My art has improved since then. These are sort of meant to capture the vibe and aesthetic that I wanted to go for in each book.
Chapter 1: Background Information
Before we begin, I feel like it would be a good idea to provide some context.
The story is divided into four parts. Each part takes place in a different location, which I partially wanted to highlight in the cover. There is also a book-specific character for each part who plays a significant role in the story that I also wanted to highlight, so because of this, the color palettes between books changes drastically.
The first book's design focuses on fire, as the main antagonist of the story is the god of fire (not based on any specific gods in general) who wants to kill the main character in order to use his soul to resurrect a close friend that he had lost. Some alternate versions could potentially feature them both, which I will provide later here.
The second book's main setting is on an island, hence the stronger emphasis on blue. The book-specific character also has a predominantly blue color palette in lighter colors, which go along with the initial palette. His design features three eyes, so one of the later designs I plan to add in (if I am unable to complete this in time) is a simplistic looking cover with three drawn eyes on a blue background.
The third book takes place in a mushroom forest, which covers a formerly abandoned castle that a group of fairies use for shelter and a place to hide. The book-specific character has a predominantly pink color palette, and is also the leader of the fairies. I attempted to use AI to recreate her appearance, but the results were mostly imperfect so I'll likely try again later.
The fourth book has a more mixed identity due to everyone ending up in unfamiliar places and a lot more traveling is involved. Each cover represents one of these locations, along with a different character who had a major role in the story. This was mainly just an excuse to test different color palettes and styles, and see which ones could translate to the other three.
Chapter 2: Sketches
A rough sketch for one of the ideas I had for the cover. Here are the notes I had written:
- Medallion is worn by the MC
- The purpose of the medallion is that it has magical properties that help him control his abilities (this is not really important to the title but more of an explanation to why it's important to him)
- The logo is of a sun, with a fire inside. This represents two
- In the fourth book, the medallion is now broken, symbolizing the MC's growth and how he no longer needs to rely on it
These are a few rough, incomplete sketches involving characters that I was planning to potentially include among the covers, but wasn't able to outsource someone or draw them myself in time for this project to be complete. I plan on continuing to work on this after the conclusion of this semester, and update this once I am done.
Chapter 3: Editing
The specific programs I used were Adobe Express and Picsart, as Picsart provides a variety of "magic effects" that can make photos appear as paintings. I am aware that there is a feature of Adobe Express that can conduct this known as AI, but Picsart is slightly easier to control as the effect is a filter that you can apply and adjust. I often like to adjust the opacity of the filter, which is a trait that Adobe Express lacks when it comes to its effects.
I plan on updating this project later once I am able to get all of the ideas I had for the covers complete, as well as experiment with taglines and the synopsis.
Epilogue: Future Updates
Here is a general list of things I plan to update:
- Recurring themes throughout each cover, so they would look more aesthetically pleasing together if someone wanted to collect them.
- Updated back covers for the ones representing Books 2 and 3
- "Jasmine's Version" - A monochromatic, minimalistic style for each cover, based around one of the main characters who also has a POV in the story.
- Covers featuring characters that are important to that specific plot on them. Considering the designs for Books 2 and 3 revolve around a specific character, I feel like it would be good to have a version of the cover that includes said character.
- Depending on how I feel, some cover designs for other major characters who have an important role in all four books
I look forward to implementing these and updating this project accordingly, and I thank you for reading this all the way through.
