Cover Art - Birth of the Neví - part 2

Last time, I started putting together the image that I'm going to use for the cover of Birth of the Neví which I will serialize here in about a month - but plan to epublish before then.

2018_amara_romances_02_margin.jpg

I came to realize that I needed to build myself a new shaze. So, this time, I began with a freebie picture of someone holding a katana - one of the more visually attractive weapons that I have based the shaze on (though there are many forms to a shaze.)

Unfortunately, there are not a huge number of katana pictures to choose from.

Katana image

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(Image from PX Here)
I like this image because it's fairly clear, though it's not as sharp as I would prefer. Still, at the size I'm working with, it will be acceptable. The only real annoyance is that finger that's in the way of the hilt, but I can adjust for that too. The hand position could be better, to be honest, but it will be okay for what I'm doing.

I used the path tool on GIMP to isolate the katana and the hand holding it.

  • I copied the seletion and put it on a brand new image.

  • Then, I created a layer below the katana and sprayed it with a brilliant yellow at about 50% opacity. I used the sloppiest brush because I really want the scatter.

  • I created another layer above the katana and used a much smaller brush to spray more yellow over the steel.

  • I used 50% opacity to put a color on the hand (I may use other skin colors later) and another color on the hilt.

Here is my shaze:

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The shaze and disembodied hand float in space right now - which is exactly what I need!

So, now I flatten the image so that I can copy/paste it accurately onto my main image.

(Note: Although I used the flatten image for copying/pasting it, I then pressed "undo" before saving the file - because I want to be able to change it if I need...)

I use the scale and rotation tools to postion my shaze where I want it.

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(After writing this, I went back, moved my city image up a smidge and finished blending out the part below the shaze so that it made a more defined edge. I like the result better.)

Next, I go to Photoscape where I crop my image to a 6x9 ratio - which seems to be the normal one for book covers. Then, I put my margins and text. Since this image is fairly dark, I use my bubble tools with low opacity to create a lighter background for the text.

Here is my final:

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What do you think?
Makes me so excited about sharing this work with you! I'd better go and get that final edit done, I guess.

sword_shaze.jpg

Please catch up!

Rebound of Power is available at a digital store near you! It’s also still FREE – if you’re digital store has a price, try another! It’s also still available at Dbooks for free.

Friendship on Fire is available at a digital store near you for $2.99! It’s also still available at Dbooks for free – limited time only.

Courage to Trust is available at a digital store near you for $2.99! It’s also still available at Dbooks for free – limited time only.

Elect to Change is available at a digital store near you for $2.99! It’s also still available at Dbooks for free – limited time only.

Ocean of Empathy is available at a digital store near you for $2.99! It has not yet been released on Steemit or Dbooks.

At which point, the Rebound of Power collection will be completed.

sword_shaze.jpg

Don’t forget!

I’m still offering 1 Steem Basic Income share for any newbie (100 SP or less) who asks me a question which prompts an “Ask the Author” post! I’m thinking about putting these into a Dbooks ebook all its own, actually.

Image Credits:

A'mara Romances cover art based on:

  • Silhouetted couple image from Pexels – creative commons, no attribution required.
  • Katana from Pixabay

Birth of the Neví cover art based on:

Shaze divider based on:

All maps/editing by myself on GIMP and Photoscape, both free programs.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Although the penalty of knowing me in real life is that you will influence the creation of my characters; any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Writing and artwork copyright myself 2005-2018 – all rights reserved.
If you are interested in helping me publish these works, please contact me on Facebook or Discord, viking-ventures#2883.


Lori Svensen – A'mara Books & Viking Visual


Banner by @shai-hulud

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