Twinkle and Binkle, The Starr News: NEW Cover Reveal by Richelle E. Goodrich

Thank goodness for technology....that's all I can say.

Art tools have come a long way; they're nothing like they used to be. Not many years ago correcting a sketch meant reaching for a gum eraser or crumpling up the page and starting from scratch. Nowadays an artist can reach for the nearest scanner and computer to manipulate those 'errors in ink'. As you glance over the steps in creating my latest cover for

EENA, THE TWO SISTERS,

the fourth book in The HarrowbethianSaga, notice how the picture undergoes unusual changes made possible by a little computer clipping, pasting, and distorting. Enjoy this cover transformation!

The first step is scribbling out a rough sketch that somewhat resembles the picture in my head. I lightly penciled out the dragon and then used black ink to draw permanent lines.

Adding a little texture with scratches, dots, and tiled scales.

After erasing the pencil marks, I scanned my drawing into the computer.

Now comes the fun part.

I use the computer as a coloring book. Add some color, shading, and highlights...

Looking better, but I'm not happy with the faces. Luckily, I can redo, scan, and paste over the existing faces. Gotta love technology!

MUCH better!

How about a background--gloomy or sunny?

Blue skies and clouds to match the book's tale. I like it.

Wait, wait, wait!
My son commented on the unusual positioning of Naga the dragon's wing. He's not a sailboat.......duh. Okay, fine, back to the drawing pad.

After scanning in the newly sketched wing, I pasted it into place and erased the original one. Then a little color and shading....