Home / Delve into the Depths in the Kobold Blog / Deep Magic: Crafting the Cover

Deep Magic: Crafting the Cover

Deep Magic: Crafting the Cover

Deep Magic Cover RoughWorking as art director on the Deep Magic project is a blast! In particular, working with cover artist Marcel Mercado was a creative delight, and I am THRILLED with what he came up with.

Initially, my direction to Marcel for the cover basically focused on Midgard magic (blood magic, rune magic, shadow magic, and geomancy). I also stressed that I wanted a bright, colorful cover image that is lively, dynamic, and full of action. I noted that a cool-looking menhir (standing stone) with runes carved was an important part of the image. Ley lines were another element we needed, which I suggested might be represented as glowing lines on the ground, radiating out from the base of the menhir. Of course, being a book all about magic, we needed a spellcaster, so I asked for a wizard of some sort (one of the Midgard iconics would be a nice touch), casting a spell, with lots of fiery, glowing magical runes in the air around him.

Deep Magic CoverI was blown away by the rough we received (seen above).

All four had a nice sense of action and movement, and they really captured the feel we were going for.

I like rough #1 best of all, in particular the menhir and the ley lines, although I liked aspects of the other three as well. So I worked with Marcel to incorporate the best parts of all four roughs into a single, awesome cover image. You can see where we are with that in the second image sneak peek I’m posting here.

After I had the final, high resolution image in hand, I worked on the actual cover.

3 thoughts on “Deep Magic: Crafting the Cover”

  1. Yeah, it really is beautiful!

    Just wait until you see it in person on the book cover (or as a high quality print, for those backers that get that is a reward!)

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join the Kobold Courier and Earn Loot!

Stay informed with the newest Kobold Press news and updates delivered to your inbox weekly. Join now and receive a PDF copy of Demon Cults & Secret Societies: Harbingers of the Yawning Void for 5th Edition (PDF)

Join The Kobold Courier

38878

Be like Swolbold. Stay up to date with the newest Kobold Press news and updates delivered to your inbox twice a month.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This
Scroll to Top