Harrow the Ninth | Official Cover
Back in 2019 when I was still pretty badly crippled with tendinitis, I had this to say on Twitter about this piece:
My cover art for Tamsyn Muir's HARROW THE NINTH, from Tordotcom Publishing! Even though my normal drawing hand is only barely on the mend I had to figure out a way to paint because this book is f u c k i n g a m a z i n g. To get this done with a busted dominant hand I used a process that was heavily reliant on drawing for its finish, and did the entire drawing with my left hand (which I've been training up to draw). Then, I put the paint on as fast as possible with my right hand (because my left hand just isn't to that level yet), using the lines to do most of the "heavy lifting" of volume definition. A million thanks to AD Christine Foltzer for her patience with me while I got this done. I think I ended up about 3 months over deadline or something like that, but she was always kind and understanding as I struggled with the drawing, saving my right hand for that last shot. Also, much love to Irene Gallo for hitting me up to do Gideon way back in April 2018. Having an excuse to read these books - AHEM IT'S FOR WORK! - has been truly awesome.
(For those who saw my last post here on ArtStation, called "Song of Fire" - same process).
The Final Cover!
Process | As I said in the description I used the same process as in my last post, going HARD on the drawing and then letting that do a lot of the work at final. Here's a detail from the finished drawing.
Process | More Drawing Details.
Process | More Drawing Details.
Process | More Drawing Details.
Process | An early WIP, showing "flats" getting plugged in under the lines. For more on this method check my last post, "Song of Fire."
The finished cover, with type by Jamie Stafford-Hill.
About a year later, this image was selected as the cover for Spectrum 27, which absolutely blew my mind.