# The evolution of custom art: "Transfer" & "Countdown"



## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

*Update 3/2/2015:* Trevor Smith is done with "End of the Line" ebook versions. Rebecca Weaver is doing the typography for "End of the Line" as well as drawing a custom cover for the next book in the "Hallowed" series. Keith Draws is working on "Portal Wars #1"

*Update December 16, 2014:* Trevor Smith is working on the cover for "End of the Line" (military science fiction)
Rebecca Weaver is working on "Hallowed Ends" (classic fantasy)
Keith Draws is working on "The Big Bhang" (stoner science fiction)

Update: August 17, 2014: Trevor is working on cover #2, alien invasion stuff blah blah blah 

Update: June 5, 2014: Any cover artists out there who have time to do title/font work for my awesome cover? Ebook + Print Jacket. Message me, please.



> Right. So. Update 5/16/2014:
> 
> Trevor Smith @ Trevor Smith Art is now going to be the one who takes care of Diabolus for me. Thanks, Trevor!
> 
> See Post #17 for newest images / details


Hi all, Angry here. Once again, it is my pleasure to annoy everyone to death.

Now, I'm sure others have made similar threads to what I'm about to post, but since this is my first experience with custom artwork, I thought someone else might find it interesting to watch how rough sketches eventually lead to finished art.

My artist for two custom pieces is x, who can be found here: x (he has a thread in this forum section as well, I'll try to find it in case anyone else would like him to work on their art). Since I was the first to contact him with a serious inquiry, he gave me a pretty good deal (I won't say how much, but if you've ever had custom art done, you know it isn't a $59 book cover made with stock photographs, and it isn't cheap).

I have two upcoming books that he's doing the art for, both science fiction, and I'll try to give a short synopsis of the first one, which I have no problems talking about. The second book...I'm keeping that one on the quiet side because...because I can, and because it's a science fiction story that seems like a typical one, but by the end of the book, it has taken a wrong turn near Albuquerque.

First up: Diabolus (still a working title) - Science Fiction - Religion - Spiritual - Cyberpunk

_As the 22nd century rolls around, one of NATO's nuclear AI controllers, one of the first AI ever created, has malfunctioned. It claims to be Satan incarnate, come back to the physical world to bring about Armageddon, fulfilling the prophecies (of sorts) in the Book of Revelations.

As the world begins to panic, the Vatican tasks an older, disgraced ex-bishop and a new breed of 'tech priest' fresh out of Seminary to 'exorcise' the AI.

Think of it as "Skynet meets The Exorcist." And to be clear about two things...this is not a 'preachy' story (there's really no scripture involved, it does touch on theological-philosophical aspects for sure). It is a science fiction story. The other thing...is that I'm an atheist, but when I write about religion, I write it from the perspective of someone of faith (I don't believe I need to bash religion in my stories, I leave that to Facebook). _

I'll be making a 'blog' post at my website about this, but I thought it would be nice to share with fellow authors, and hear some of the experiences you might have had. This thread will be a continuing thing as more and more artwork comes back to me.

First up, three rough sketches based on a more detailed synopsis that I provided x (and yes, I have full permission from him to display any artwork he provides me).

Diabolus rough sketch #1
Diabolus rough sketch #2
Diabolus rough sketch #3

Now, if you were expecting finished art...that comes later. All art starts like this, and for me (a non-artist), the evolution of each drawing/painting is almost more interesting than the finished piece. I'm the type of guy who watches the extras on an animated movie DVD just to see the progression from rough sketch to storyboard to 3D wireframe to rough animation to the finished, fully-textured, high-poly product.

Feel free to comment!

Right, I should probably explain a little bit more about the story so the sketches make a little more sense.

The young priest is a graduate of the new Catholic Tech Seminary, now that the new Pope has eliminated the old decree of 'no neural implants' for both parishioners as well as clergy. More importantly, the Vatican no longer believes AI to be 'abominations of God' and 'man trying to play God,' and has in fact brought in the Vatican's very first AI, who chose the name "Aggelos."

"Satan," like Aggelos and all AI, are able to project a holographic image of themselves taking human form to make humans more comfortable (which is why you see the Satan character in human form in these covers, and yes, Satan will become much more evil looking...remember, these be rough sketches).

In this future, because of neural implants, users can 'jack in' to computer systems, in what is known as 'linkspace.' (Think of Gibson, Shadowrun, or I suppose "The Matrix") Linkspace is a virtual reality that can also provide limited feedback (known as Stimsense). In sketch #2, the rising priest with his arms outstretched is supposed to be the young priest's digital persona after jacking in to linkspace. The 'head' to the left of him is a representation of Aggelos, and of course the one to the right is Satan.

Same in #3, the two ethereal bodies in the middle are the digital personae of Aggelos and Father Castillo (the young priest).

Okay. Enough for now. I'm VERY excited, as again, this is my first time working with an artist to create something unique for my book covers. I'm even more excited for the second story, as it is a true alien first contact / invasion / post-apoc story all in one (one that is at least 3 books long as of right now).


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## squaredmotion (Sep 13, 2013)

Thanks for posting, Travis. (An update is coming for you soon, by the way!)

For anyone interested in learning more about my services, here is my KBoards thread.

I'm currently booked through mid-January, but if anyone is interested in custom art please don't hesitate to PM me!


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## SM Royall (Dec 5, 2013)

Looking forward to watching the evolution of this


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Hello again. It's been a while, been busy with a few other books, but x sent me some more concept sketches today, and I remembered I haven't updated this thread in a while.

First, we'll start with Diabolus (Skynet vs The Exorcist sort of story).

After agonizing over the sketches that x gave me, we decided to head down this path:

Diabolus secondary sketch #1

The 'line' in the middle will be right around where the spine of the print book will be, so everything on the left side will be on the back cover. It's going to be a challenge to not put too many words on the back cover because I really, really like the 'holo table' which is where the tech priest sits during the encounter with the AI (jacked-in to the system through a neural implant).

I really like the right side, which will be the front cover. It seems a little busy, but once the scene is cleaned up (remember, it is still a rough sketch), I feel like it will have a ton of detail, but not too much. The person on the right is the 'human' aspect of Satan, and the person on the left is Father Antonelli, the older, disgraced ex-bishop. The young tech priest, Father Castillo, is the man in the center. He's jacked-in to the system to take care of the virtual/tech side of the fight with the AI (Satan).

The two humanoids above Father Castillo are the virtual avatars of Father Castillo, and the Vatican AI, Brother Aggelos. The demon above is the virtual avatar of Satan.

x also gave me a rough idea of how the lighting would come into play:

Diabolus - Secondary sketch #2 - lighting

Again, it is very rough, but it gives me a really good idea of how the lighting will look/reflect/interact as the scene sharpens.

Now...my other book that he's making custom art for is a science fiction 'epic' or 'space opera' that I've not really talked about. "Extraction" is the name of the first book, and there will be two follow-up books in the series (already all plotted out). As mentioned in my first post, I'm keeping this one close to the chest, as the story, while seemingly a typical 'first contact' and 'alien invasion' tale, veers off the rails about 2/3 of the way into it with a very shocking, disturbing twist. In fact, it almost turns "Extraction" from a science fiction alien invasion story to a horror story.

Here are two of the initial rough sketches, which show two humans escaping from an alien complex. In the back/left, you'll see a very, very rough scene of two different alien races.

Extraction - initial rough concept #1

The second image is a continuation of the first sketch, with a bit more detail filled in (however, it is still in very rough stage).

Extraction - initial rough concept #2

x sent these to me sometime before Christmas, but I never got around to yapping about it. Today he sent me some more sketches, and I'm really starting to see how the scene from the rough sketches will come together. I don't want to give too much away, but the following drawings are focused on a single aspect of the larger scene, giving me a choice of which kind of 'technology' I think fits the best.

Extraction - Secondary - 3 different techs
Extraction - Secondary - Human tech
Extraction - Secondary - Alien tech
Extraction - Secondary - Hybrid tech

The last three are just close-ups of the sketch that has all three 'extractors.' I've got to decide which kind of 'extractor' I want. I love all three of them, to be honest.

We've had to come up with a way to cover the private bits of the human victims, as I'd rather not get too much flak from ignorants about how I'm some weird, hypersexualized misogynist or whatever ridiculous nonsense ignorants will complain about.

The truth is, if the book does well, I'd love to have x re-do the victims to show the nudity. There will be both male and female victims, but the main one that will be the most obvious is going to be a female. Both of us debated for a while as to whether the main victim should be male or female, and we both talked about our worry that ignorants would complain about it being some weird sexual fantasy of mine if it was a female.

In the story, one of the main supporting characters becomes a victim, and she's female, so we decided in the end to make the main victim on the cover a female. The initial cover will be somewhat like these sketches, with the nudity of the victims strategically covered. As mentioned, if the book does well, I want x to revisit and recreate the cover without the strategic covering.

Not because I'm a weirdo who has strange sexual fantasies about 'women in bondage' or anything like that (again, there will be males shown as well), but more because we both like the more raw, horrific aspect of aliens hooking up human victims to a terrible device. Aliens will simply not care two cents about human nudity (only humans seem to care about nudity, and of course in America, this is still taboo for some reason).

Okay, that's all for the moment. As each new drawing comes in, I get more and more excited. I've had plenty of 'custom' covers made for my published (and some unpublished) books so far, but none have captured my attention like what x is doing for me. I now have a much better understanding of the excitement that other authors have when I read their threads about true custom artwork.

In fact, I'm so pumped up about this, that I'm going to probably sell off a bit of unused computer equipment that is just laying around the house (we have I think twelve computers in the house, and there are only four of us living here, so computers number thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen can probably be sold without too much of a feeling of loss haha) and commission x to do one or two more custom pieces for some upcoming books. Of course if any of these books sell even slightly well, I'll keep him as my full-time custom artist .

Thanks, x, I'm really loving this so far!


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## Huldra (Nov 7, 2013)

Those are some damn, sexy sketches for Diabolus! I'm in awe at the detail and accuracy.


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## chrissponias (Sep 22, 2013)

I liked the first book cover more than the other ones.


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

This is awesome!  thanks for posting.  I love seeing the various concepts, and I think all the stuff for Extraction is very intriguing!


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## StraightNoChaser (Dec 29, 2013)

That is really cool, thanks for sharing. I like the differences between the techs, especially the organic alien one.

I do see a potential issue about the nudity though, even with the strategic covering. Too much nudity (especially partial boobies) on the cover might get your book put in the adult dungeon, even if it makes sense and isn't meant to be arousing.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Chase said:


> That is really cool, thanks for sharing. I like the differences between the techs, especially the organic alien one.
> 
> I do see a potential issue about the nudity though, even with the strategic covering. Too much nudity (especially partial boobies) on the cover might get your book put in the adult dungeon, even if it makes sense and isn't meant to be arousing.


Yeah, this is one of the major worries I have. There's absolutely zero sex in the story (other than implied between married couples). We've talked about how to 'cover' the naughty bits enough to keep the moral censors from hunting me down. It's a bit of a fine line.

My view is always going to be 'alien invaders don't give two [crap]s about human taboos such as nudity when they are exploiting our species.'

I have to balance that with 'there are a lot of prudish persons who think a woman wearing clothing that doesn't cover her to her ankles somehow feels I'm destroying the moral fabric of America.'

There's a middle ground, and no doubt x and I will find it. I also would like to believe that because this is not a romance/erotica story, I'll get slightly more leeway (whether this is true... we'll find out soon enough, I suppose).


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Got a bit of an update from x a couple of days ago, just getting around to posting it up. This one is for Extraction, the alien invasion story.

http://www.angrygames.com/angry/pics/writing/Extraction_rough2-01.jpg

Everything is starting to take on definition, detail. And yes, one of the two main characters is an African-American female. The other main character is a white male, a NASA geek (they are both NASA geeks), so will probably make a slight adjustment to the male in the image.

The 'bug' aliens will have a much thinner torso, and a few other changes (no antennae is a major one). He'll also blend in male 'victims' on the machine as well, right now they are all female because it's easier to duplicate them to make the scene appear detailed. I've also had him 'tone down' the breast size on the women, as I'm NOT shooting for weird male fantasy erotic art.

This is probably the single biggest positive to paying good money for a piece of custom art... I can get pretty much everything I want in the image, and it is specifically tailored to the story, instead of trying to find a random cover/image that maybe has something to do with a part of the plot. I can't afford to do it for every book, but for a couple that are my favorites, it is very much worth it.

I'm to receive some even more detailed art this week for "Diabolus." Will post those when I get them!


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## Callie Ray (Jan 6, 2014)

Oh wow. Extraction looks amazing. I want to read it already!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Nashira said:


> Oh wow. Extraction looks amazing. I want to read it already!


lol, disclaimer: the art is most definitely not indicative of the quality of story is is covering


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

Love those killer bugs!  And YAY for a sci-fi story featuring characters of color.  I want to read it, too.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

pew pew, got me an ar-teest!


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## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

Contact Todd Hamilton, [email protected] If anybody can help you, he can.


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## quiet chick writes (Oct 19, 2012)

Awww, it's a shame you lost contact with him because those were looking really cool! (Sorry, I know that's not helpful. Just sympathizing.)


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Meh. This is kind of the theme for me lately. I must be an absolutely terrible person to work with (I suppose it's hard to see yourself objectively from the inside). Maybe next time I hire someone to do some work, I'll just be a total bastard to them instead of being nice and agreeable. 

Becca: thanks, I emailed the person. 

Still hoping that someone will actually be serious so I can get this done. I'm in a bit of a rage, stomping around the house today. Earning my 'angrygames' name.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Hello again, everyone. I finally have an update for the custom art for "Diabolus" (which is published @ Amazon, but I'm using a placeholder image for the moment until the finalized cover is done).

Trevor Smith @ Trevor Smith Art (he has a thread in here but I couldn't find it) is the artist that has taken over. You can see from his site / portfolio that he's got the chops (not to mention a "Future Illustrators of America" award).

So... here's the initial panel of rough sketches Trevor sent my way (I definitely wanted the same kind of 'theme' as the original artist had done as per my instructions):










I'm going to leave out the 'return' image I sent with a bunch of markings I made, but to put it into words... I picked out the best stuff from each panel and had him make one more round of roughs:










So far, we both like #3 the best. The back cover (for paperback versions) will probably show up in these images in a day or three when he gets that far. Since the ebook version is already published (thanks, Richard Held, aka Tony Writes, for editing/proofing!), we're focusing on that first.

Trevor has assured me that he'll be done by June 1st, so this thread will get a bit quicker in terms of updates. I'm hopeful that he'll take on "Extraction" after this one is finished!

Oh, here's the blurb I'm working on, just in case you have no idea what the book is about:



> Salvatore Antonelli, a disgraced former bishop, and Benito Castillo, a young tech priest fresh out of Seminary, are tasked by the Vatican to confront DAMON-1: a nuclear capable AI that claims to be Satan incarnate, returned to the world to bring about Armageddon.
> 
> The two clergy must battle to restore DAMON and purge Satan from the AI's core. The bishop is forced to play a deadly game with billions of lives in the balance, while the young priest must confront Satan's digital persona within the network.
> 
> The eternal conflict between good and evil, fought in the space between time, brings humanity and their new AI creations to the dawn of a new age as well as to the brink of annihilation.


Since it has no sex, no adult language, no graphic violence (some 'digital' violence), and it has some theological / philosophical ideas in it, I'll be marketing it to both the Science Fiction and the Religion / Spirituality crowds. Blah blah. More in a bit when I get more back from Mr. Smith.


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## Paul K (Jan 11, 2014)

Nice. Thanks for sharing


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Another update, this should be the final "rough" sketch. Trevor is getting ready to start painting. I'm VERY excited! This is only the ebook / front cover, there's still the back cover to come.


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## TrevorSmithArt (Apr 26, 2014)

Hey guys. I am working feverishly--like a man possessed. Travis is a character to work with, but I assume this is necessary for a mind to come up with such outlandish stories. I'm stuck with him anyhow. 
Back to work...seriously though, I have a great job..

-Trevor


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

A bit of lighting / mood now. The question for this one was: a blue-ish glow to represent Satan's human form as a hologram, or make him more solid and keep the much better red / darker lighting. Definitely the red lighting, plus in the 22nd century, holograms are almost eerily realistic (according to this story, anyway).










Unfortunately Trevor doesn't like to be paid in Oreos (not even Chips Ahoy, he might be a communist agent). This is actually good, because I refuse to share my Oreos with anyone, which gets the wife very upset (even though she doesn't even eat them, some nonsense about 'sharing' and 'being nice' which is total BS but whatever, she's the commander of the USS Marriage and so I just "aye aye, Cap'n" her and grudgingly give ONE Oreo to someone, usually myself, which earns me a cigarette burn, sometimes an electric shock, she's totally the meanest wife ever).

More updates as they come. If you are looking for a custom-drawn cover, this Trevor dude is really good. Did I mention he won a "Future Illustrators of America" award? This "Diabolus" cover is going to net me TWO HUNDRED BILLION sales so I can afford to pay him his regular going rate (for me only) of sixteen gold bars. I think he charges a lot less than that to normal persons. But for me, sixteen gold bars is a pretty good discount. Then I'm going to use the rest of my trillion dollar fortune to make all of you fight for my amusement. Don't worry, they'll be easy fights, and not to the death (I can't experiment on you in my supervillain labs if you're dead, right?).

I wonder if there's a story in my head somewhere about crazed author driving illustrator to commit a heinous crime against author. I suppose if I get a picture of me with a sword through my neck instead of a Diabolus cover with demons and priests and such, I'll have to hurry up and write that story as the end is probably nigh. Near? N'or? Soon.

I bet you all wish I'd write a story where I never write another story.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Right. So. Another late night update. Definition is coming in, as the older bishop's face starts to see some detail.










I sold a book today! Only 1,999,999,999 more to go so I can put my world domination plan into action!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Once again, another update as more detail gets added and brings the scene to life!


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## Paul K (Jan 11, 2014)

looking pretty bad ass


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

wow!!!  love it!!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Right. So. An "almost finished" update of sorts.

This is the 6x9 paperback cover. The 'blurb' isn't finalized, and Yoly @ Cormar Covers will end up doing all of the font work, but this is the almost completed full cover image:










I think I might never go back to having the other kinds of covers made. I knew I'd like something that was custom drawn for me, but I didn't know I'd like it so much that I think I'm actually okay with spending for it each time (plus, it means I'd better be 100% sure of the book I'm buying it for haha). Not that $60-$100 covers aren't great. I love all of my covers except the two I 'made' using the Amazon beta cover creator thing. But they were free, and I probably should spend to get them fixed up with better covers.

Blah blah blah. That's all I hear when I read my own posts. Now that Amazon Prime has HBO shows, I'm just starting Episode 1 of Season 2 of The Wire. Binge watching it for the third time. The only show that might be better is Game of Thrones. My school teacher wife only has two more afternoons before 'summer' is here, and we're going to probably die of something awful from all of the binge watching of TV shows we have to catch up on. Six weeks of NHL playoffs are almost over. This post is now over (for now).

Go Trevor Smith!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

All right, looks like the final ebook cover is done:










Full-size image here:
http://www.angrygames.com/angry/pics/writing/diabolus/DiabolusFinalKindle.jpg

Yoly @ Cormar will be doing the title/font work on ebook and PDF print jacket (hopefully!), but wanted to let you see what it looks like all virgin and stuff.


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## Paul K (Jan 11, 2014)

I like


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Any cover artists out there who have time to do title/font work for my awesome cover? Ebook + Print Jacket. Message me, please.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

OOooooookay... Diabolus is done, now it's time for Extraction!

Here's the initial roughs from my ol' pal Trevor Smith (winner of the "Future Illustrators of America" award!)














































Can't wait to see how this one evolves


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## P.T. Phronk (Jun 6, 2014)

AngryGames said:


> Can't wait to see how this one evolves


Neither can I! I love this inside look into the cover creation process. Thanks for sharing, Angry (and Trevor).


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Right. Skipped a few updates, but Trevor (www.trevorsmithart.com, winner of the Future Illustrators of America award!) sent me an email tonight asking for another extension.

Not because he's a tosser (he might be, but he's American as far as I know, which woul... never mind, heh). But because he's sure this is the best painting he's ever done, and wants to really, REALLY get it as perfect as he can.

Me... I'm friggin blown away. I'm actually kind of pissed, as now the cover art is waaaay better than the story, so I'm gonna have to offer free marijuana or something when it comes times to publish.

I think you'll agree... (about the blown away part, and maybe about the free ganja part as well)










Above is something I received a few weeks ago. We'd decided to change the angle of the victim on the machine from most of the initial sketches, as once the full scene was roughed in, it would have been too crowded (or too empty, depending on which direction we went).










Just received tonight, and as I might have mentioned, I'm totally blown away. Keep in mind, this is still "rough" according to Trevor. There's a ton of detail he's looking to add, and all I can say is MOAR PLX!

And yes, the story has two main characters (main human characters, I should say), of which one is an African-American female (a lesbian, at that). Because in my worlds, strong, gay minority women can be the directors of NASA and no one bats an eye (I won't say 'patriarchy is dead' because that's too unbelievable, which makes me sad). I didn't invent the character this way to make a statement, though I've already had to make a statement once to a very ignorant person. She's the first character I thought of when the idea for the story first came to me. I cringe thinking about the nasty emails I'll receive from a fractional segment of the population, but I'm hopeful that other authors' experiences before me (which I am drawing from) are no longer the norm.

Anyway, this is the update. Pretty friggin' killer art. Authors... if you have a book you truly believe in (you should believe in them all, but you know what I mean), do yourself a favor and have a custom cover illustrated/painted. There's something magical about seeing your ideas come to life (even if someone else is bringing them to life, but it's awesome when the persons doing the painting is in tune with your brain). There's something even more satisfying to know that when a reader looks at a custom cover like this one, the reader is not going to disappointed that the cover and the story didn't really have a lot to do with each other.

Okay. Must sleep.

PS there will be other updates as Rebecca Weaver (Kboard'er) is painting a custom cover for "Return to Innocence," which is some weird (probably terribly lame) vampire story I wrote. She's also going to be drawing the cover to "The History of Books: The Self-Publishers Bible and a Not Accurate History of Books, Publishing, and Some Other Nonsense" (this is the real title... well, the working title for the moment... the cover might just be a lot of text haha).


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

That looks fantastic!!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

kward said:


> Awesome art - looks like something I would enjoy reading too.


Have you learned nothing yet?


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Okay, looks like maybe the final version. Let me know what you think. I've done a terrible mock-up just to see what it might look like (other than fecal matter until someone who knows wtf they are doing takes care of the title and such).



















And a larger version that I didn't want get prodded over:
http://www.angrygames.com/angry/pics/writing/extraction/ExtractionFinal.jpg


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Right. So. Rebecca Weaver (fellow Kboarder) is working on the cover for "Return to Innocence" (the beautiful book in my sig that screams professional cover art, thank you very much, well, thank me AND Amazon's cover creator).

Anyway, since people judge books by their covers, and people love vampire stories, I decided I wanted a nice cover for my lone vampire story. I'll keep this updated with both Trevor's progress and Rebecca's.

Below is the very first initial rough sketch. I like it already as I can see the details that will slowly but surely push to the front. I've also let Rebecca have almost complete autonomy for this cover. She likes to read vampire stuff, and is familiar with the genre's covers far more than I am. More importantly, I try to let artists have as much freedom as possible, as it allows them to pull from their own imagination and create art that is usually far more 'natural' than when an idiot like me says "I want a dog on my cover! He has to be crapping in a park! Near a bench! With lots of police officers surrounding him! Pointing at him with guns and bullhorns!"

Not sure what the book would be about, but now I want to write it and have someone draw a cover for it. Also, I apparently love exclamation marks. Or points. I love exclamation markpoints. Or is is pointmarks? Whatever! I love them! A! lot!


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## Istvan Szabo Ifj. (Dec 13, 2013)

All the art looks great. If Trevor will have some free time I might also going to hire him to outsource a few things what for I don't have time to make.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

kward said:


> Yep, got me some serious cover art envy goin' on over here.


Well, you know what they say about authors who think they have to overcompensate for their small words and short sentences, right?


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Another update from Rebecca. Things are getting cleaned up, and I'm really digging it!










Trevor has been at a convention all week, but sometime this week he should have the final version of Extraction ready.


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## Evan of the R. (Oct 15, 2013)

Man, this whole thread is the bomb. Amazing work from Trevor and Rebecca. 

Congratulations, Travis!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Evan R. said:


> Man, this whole thread is the bomb. Amazing work from Trevor and Rebecca.
> 
> Congratulations, Travis!


haha, thx. I need people to read your beer books, convince themselves they need a lot of beer, get drunk, then accidentally click on "buy this book" at Amazon to pay for these things . Or just do what Carol Kean does... gets really drunk and falls down head-first into her laptop (which is somehow on my author page at the time) and rolls around on it until the Enter key is repeatedly pressed.

PS Carol: it's not my fault that you own 71 copies of Diabolus. Drink less next time you surf the web  Also, don't try to sell them. You'll end up in jail for corrupting youth or jaywalking or selling pancakes without a license or something. Trust me, just don't do anything. Maybe burn them. Ooooh, yes. BURN THEM! Make a youtube vid for me. I like fire. Fire is neat. I burned down an entire neighborhood once trying to kill a spider. The neighbors were pretty pissed, but they didn't see this spider. Seriously. It was a big spider. Big enough that I needed to kick over a 5gal can of kerosene and crack a couple of road flares as I was running for my life from the garage.

*ahem*

I think I'm going to draw my next cover. It will look something like this:
*Front Cover:*









*Back Cover:*









So the whole cover view thing would look like this:









(Yes, the waitress at this little restaurant in Pendleton, Oregon, asked my wife if she was being held hostage against her will by a crazy man, and then asked if I was one of those weird clone experiments where they grow a human in two weeks but of course two weeks isn't enough time to learn how to be a proper, mature human who doesn't draw mushroom clouds on restaurant tables)


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

All righty-O, looks like this is probably the final version for Return to Innocence. I'm totally digging it, and that's weird because both vampire stories and these kinds of covers are waaaay outside of my normal tastes.










If anyone has any comments, now is the time before I tell Rebecca that she's done with this cover and can move on to the next .

Or

If you want to throw a rock at my head, well $%#@%#@ YOU!

er, I mean, if you want to throw a rock at... wait, I ju... someone already threw a rock at my head! Having a hard time remembering the

what were we talking about?

Oh. Right. Golf. I like golf. In the sense that I like machine guns mounted on golf carts so I can chase stupid golfers around and shoot them a lot. Haha, hole in 296. Accident on Aisle 9. Stuff.

The more I look at this cover, the more I am sooo digging it. Again, this is completely outside the bounds of what I normally like. If you all stop throwing rocks at my head, I can get back to being mean.


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## Rebecca Frank Art (Jun 9, 2014)

Thanks for sharing the cover I did! I'm glad you're happy with it!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Okay... Trevor sent me the final version:










The only thing left to do is for me to actually finish writing the book so he can get the spine part adjusted for paperback (going to be about 120,000-150,000 words total, so nice sized 6x9 pb).

Trevor is going to most likely start the next cover (definitely decided I'm going to go with Trevor and Rebecca from here on, I'm done with pre-made/photo manipulation covers other than for short stories or serial installments). This new one will be about a government operative in a top secret unit that has cloning + consciousness transfer technology. Imagine a field agent that could make an image of his or her consciousness, then go into a really dangerous situation like hunting down terrorists etc. If the operative gets killed, that's okay, as they'll just put his consciousness image into a clone and send him back off.

The problem with this is that the person who wakes up in the cloning creche... he only remembers up to the point when he made the consciousness image. So anything that happens after that, he only knows about based on news reports and his own check-ins where he sends vid, pics, voice, and text updates when he can.

Imagine waking up and being told that you'd been killed by a gang of terrorists, and that you were deep undercover and hadn't updated your consciousness image for six weeks. So now you've got to piece together six weeks of what the hell you were up to while trying to not get killed again. Plus, it gets into the question of "who is it really that wakes up?" because the guy that wakes up... he's not really the guy that died.

Yeah. Weird stuff. Anyway...

Rebecca... waiting to see which cover she wants to do next. Trevor has 2-3 that he wants to do, so Rebecca gets to choose whichever others are needing covers. I've got a 12 year old kid who has to play the ultimate game of pinball versus Satan to not only save his own soul, but save his father's soul who made a similar deal (though not over pinball haha), lost, and now that he's dead, Satan of course is who owns the soul. She wants to do this "The History of Books: A Historically Inaccurate History of Books & Publishing + Bonus: The Self-Publisher's Bible" (title is purposely long and annoying, and not set in stone yet) as well.

Basically, it's the story of the first authors, publishers, and agents, and the very first book review, except told as if it were set in a Dungeons & Dragons universe, where the big tech companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, etc. are all sorcerers, wizards, necromancers, and whatever pointy-hatted bastards there are that use magic (yes, even those %#$#@ tree-hugging, granola-eating, bike-riding, Seattle-dwelling druids). It also details the battle of Amazon vs the Big 5 & Apple (wizard fight!!!). Yes, the names have been changed to protect the stupid (ie: me, so I don't get sued).



> You see, during my pretend research, I came across some scientific stuff that proved no author in the history of humanity has escaped someone taking a crap all over their masterpiece. The term "author" was a bit smudged in these old texts, and the archivist, or maybe he was a curator, I get all the museum terms all mixed up, but anyway, this guy claimed the word was "artist." But authors are artists. We draw images in your head with words. Most of those images are likely to be you kicking the stupid author of the book right in the kidneys with a brand new cowboy boot. But that's still art.
> 
> That phrase, by the way, "taking a crap all over <insert whatever someone was taking a crap all over>," is actually from around 400,000 years ago. I know the title of this chapter says 43,000. I can't be bothered to change it. Either number works. Stop interrupting.
> 
> ...


Right. STFU, Travis. You can sense my giddy excitement as these covers are all coming together! I'm very sad, though, as these covers are soooooo much better than the awful, unreadable stories they go with =(. Whatever. Since everyone judges a book by its cover (even though we've been ingrained to never do such a shallow thing), hopefully I can fool enough readers who have suffered brain trauma into buying a book or two .


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## Claire Frank (Jul 28, 2014)

This thread is amazing. I'm working with Trevor for the cover of my first book and I am DYING to see what he comes up with. So excited!!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Claire Frank said:


> This thread is amazing. I'm working with Trevor for the cover of my first book and I am DYING to see what he comes up with. So excited!!


yay! Hopefully all of my nonsense helped you decide (and besides, Trevor will be glad to get new clients so he can tell me "Sorry, dude, but I'm all booked up. Go pound sound, you little nerd."). I think most of my excitement (other than getting such a killer cover) is hearing Trevor say multiple times while working on Extraction that he's quite sure it is the best work he's ever done.

So, Claire Frank, if that's your real name... don't be getting no ideas that are better than mine (or I'll run to Trevor's house and draw x-rated bits on your cover haha). 

But seriously, looking at Diabolus and Extraction... even though both books are absolutely stupid and make zero sense (and should never be purchased/read in the first place), you can tell you're going to get your money's worth from him.

Oh, even better. He knows Rebecca is doing other covers for me, and knows she'll be doing the title/typog work on the Extraction cover (and future covers since Trevor doesn't do it, and I don't blame him, the text stuff can be difficult to match up with the art), and is very willing to work with her to change anything necessary to make her work on the title/author easier/better.

We're even discussing allowing people to download the image (can't remember the site, will link it tomorrow) after paying $20 and they can blow the image up into a poster to hang on the wall). Since Rebecca is doing the text, we're waiting to hear if she's okay, and then the two artists can come to some kind of agreement over who gets what share of any sales (I don't want any of that money, even though the covers are kind of my ideas... I didn't actually do any work except annoy the ever-loving shit out of both of them lol). I definitely want both covers (and any future covers) made into decent-sized posters for my writing room, and I've had a couple of readers hint that they would def like the same thing.


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## Claire Frank (Jul 28, 2014)

AngryGames said:


> yay! Hopefully all of my nonsense helped you decide (and besides, Trevor will be glad to get new clients so he can tell me "Sorry, dude, but I'm all booked up. Go pound sound, you little nerd."). I think most of my excitement (other than getting such a killer cover) is hearing Trevor say multiple times while working on Extraction that he's quite sure it is the best work he's ever done.
> 
> So, Claire Frank, if that's your real name... don't be getting no ideas that are better than mine (or I'll run to Trevor's house and draw x-rated bits on your cover haha).


Fair enough! I'd hate to see what will certainly be a brilliant cover defiled.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Right. So. Another "Extraction" update.

Rebecca Weaver, the nice lady who custom-painted the vampire cover for "Return to Innocence" has shown me her first attempt at doing the title/typography for "Extraction" (cover by Trevor Smith), since Trevor doesn't do the text work himself.










I know, right So awesome!

If anyone has any thoughts about this cover (other than "the blurb on the back is gibberish... I wouldn't buy that book!") in terms of the title/text, let me know (Rebecca as well, she reads this thread). My wife and I absolutely LOVE it. Rebecca is probably impatiently waiting for me to actually finish writing it, as we don't know how thick the spine will be since I have no idea what the final word count will be.


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## Rebecca Frank Art (Jun 9, 2014)

Thanks Travis! It was a bit intimidating working with such incredible art, but I'm glad you like it.


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## Claire Frank (Jul 28, 2014)

This looks AMAZING! Well done!


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## Michael Buckley (Jun 24, 2013)

The last one is looking sick, in a good way.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

kward said:


> I am absolutely blown away by this artwork, Travis. Kudos to the artists - you're gonna get a lot of looks just based on the cover art alone. Congratulations, you must be so excited!


man... the story is never gonna be anywhere near as good as the artwork and the title stuff... wtf... don't ever let awesome artists ruin your book with covers so good that the stories they go with can never meet expectations =/

(totally let awesome artists ruin your lame book with super-mega-ultra badass artwork, it's the only way you'll ever sell a book!)

(also, the artists and I are talking about making this cover available as a digital print that can be blown up to poster size (or whatever size, maybe postage stamp size because you're only .36" tall, I don't know). Both with and without the text (Trevor would get full royalties with no text, Trevor and Rebecca would agree on some sort of split for images with text, I'd get nothing (and I'm perfectly fine with that since I did nothing but annoy the artists involved) but whatever, I'm the only one who gets this artwork for my cover!).


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Rebecca Weaver is now working on the cover of a children's book that I'm putting together. I've released a trio of the "General Megatron" stories in the various Eight Hour Fiction challenges, all very short stories with a "Calvin & Hobbes" feel (to me, anyway). The book is, hopefully, something like C&H, Bugs Bunny, Spongebob, even the new My Little Pony cartoon, as weird as that sounds, in that the stories appeal to both children and adults.

Here's the very first 'rough' that she sent me:










I had her make a few changes. I really like the drab, watercolor look of the "real" world, and I'm having her sharpen up the mirror scene a bit more, to make it more solid/vivid (as the char's young imagination would of course paint his fantasy worlds that way), and had her make the monsters slightly more 'scary' while making the General's adult version more grizzled, like he's been through countless space battles and years of imprisonment (but, you know, not too grizzled or scary or adult), along with a chest full of ribbons and medals (exaggerated). I also love the 'crayon font' and 'graffiti' subtitle.










I've asked for a final round of minor changes, mostly to the two monsters (the kid's parents, heh), and then it should be ready. I'm still having trouble with the fact that I've written stories for kids that have no violence, profanity, sex, or other mature themes that aren't (according to my morals, which are pretty loose, but still...) suitable for children. My hand gets all shaky when I have to pass over using an f-bomb or describe a character being tossed into an alien woodchipper.

(I don't, actually, but it sounds much more dramatic if you think I nearly have a seizure when it comes to writing PG-rated material)


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

All right, the final cover for "General Megatron"










Rebecca is getting ready to start another project for me on Dec 1st.

Trevor Smith is busy as heck but will be starting a new cover for me around the beginning of December as well.

And now, today, I have added Keith Draws to the mix!

As soon as I have something to show from Keith toward "The Big Bhang," I'll begin posting it here (with his permission, of course). I'll give you a hint, and you can guess how weird the book and cover will be:

Jeremy Jacobs Jefferson Jackson, Forjay to his friends and the rest of the human federation, grows the best marijuana in the galaxy. He's won the Earth-wide "Chronic Cup" 32 years in a row, and is about to retire from growing, when the Galactic Union, an organization made up of 187 other alien species, declares humanity unfit to exist, and puts them on trial to be judged worthy or not of extermination. When Forjay accidentally ends one of the four wars humans are fighting at once against other GU members, simply by lighting up with one of the enemy, he is enlisted by the Federation of Allied Planets to negotiate with the other 187 species in an attempt to sway their vote at the trial. He begins testing the aliens to see which are affected by the psychoactive properties of marijuana, and soon begins building an alliance to keep his species from facing their final hours.

(yes, it's a real, full-length novel about marijuana, and more "Douglas Adams" than "Cheech & Chong," which means Douglas Adams just cursed my career for even thinking such blasphemy).


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Received the first 'rough' from *Trevor Smith* ("Diabolus" and "Extraction" covers) for my new alien invasion / military scifi novel _"End of the Line."_ Basically, humans and two other alien species decide to tag-team the Kai, and when the Kai exterminate the other two, only humans are left, and they've been driven all the way back to our home solar system ("Sol"). Twelve Terran Marines face the end of the world together as they attempt to avoid the Kai for as long as possible across the Pacific Northwest.










This is just an initial rough of the Kai alien, so Trevor can make sure I'm onboard with it before adding it into the scene. More as it comes.

Updates from *Rebecca Weaver* will be coming soon. _"Hallowed Ends"_ is a classic fantasy story (D&D/swords & sorcery type of stuff) about a blacksmith's forging of a Hallowed Blade. We read all the time about how blacksmiths of old created these power-infused weapons, but I don't really remember ever reading a story about the actual forging of such weapons. There are a few stories I can remember that sort of talk about the forging of a weapon, but it's pretty vague for the most part. Then again, there's about 1 billion fantasy stories out there, so I've probably just not read the ones dealing with the forging of a weapon.

Updates from *Keith Draws* will be coming soon. _"The Big Bhang"_ is the story of Jeremy Jacobs Jefferson Jackson, Forjay to his friends and all of the human race. I've probably described it before. It's "stoner fiction" for all of the stoners in the world who are sad there are stoner movies, stoner cartoons, stoner comics, stoner video games, stoner apps, and stoner websites, but there really isn't "stoner fiction" to read.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

"End of the Line" - cover art by Trevor Smith:





































Now the final artwork is done, the covers are in Rebecca Weaver's hands as she does all of the typography for me. These are NOT final versions yet, but getting close:


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Speaking of Rebecca Weaver, she's been busy as well. This is from "Hallowed Ends" which is now published:



















and the final, published version:










Here's an upcoming fantasy novel cover she's working on:



















This is still very much "in progress."

And finally, Keith Draws is working on "Portal Wars #1":










(giant mechs boiling out of a portal @ CERN, soldiers and air support, all that great stuff will be more detailed, this is another "in progress" cover)


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## Shei Darksbane (Jan 31, 2015)

These covers are amazing.

On End of the Line, I definitely like the crosshair picture better. It's amazing and awesome and engaging. 

I absolutely ADORE the art for Hallowed Ends.


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## fantasy-writer (Dec 12, 2014)

What a great thread. And you really made me laugh, Travis. Don't worry, I'm laughing with you, not at you.  

Rebecca is also making my illustrated covers. She does a fantastic job!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Arshness said:


> These covers are amazing.
> 
> On End of the Line, I definitely like the crosshair picture better. It's amazing and awesome and engaging.
> 
> I absolutely ADORE the art for Hallowed Ends.


Going to try an experiment. I paid Trevor for both covers (ebook + print jacket) as he came up with two different ideas. I liked both so much I decided I would make the book available with an alternate cover (again, both ebook and print). Hopefully Amazon and other retailers won't throw a fit about this. I guess it's just how much I like the story (probably kind of a jerk ego thing going on, but whatever).

Crosshair cover will be the main, with the other as the alternate for ebook, but for print, I'm going to reverse it and make the non-crosshair version the main cover, with the crosshairs as the alternate. The crosshair cover isn't 100% finished yet, as I asked Rebecca to show me one or two different fonts, but the non-crosshair cover is pretty much done as far as I'm concerned.



> What a great thread. And you really made me laugh, Travis. Don't worry, I'm laughing with you, not at you.
> 
> Rebecca is also making my illustrated covers. She does a fantastic job!


It's okay to laugh at me. Everyone else does. After twenty-two published titles, it's still apparently all just a big joke to everyone and I'll eventually get back to my "real" career (which right now consists of playing video games and chasing cats all over the house while shouting or making weird "haunted ghost" noises at them).

Rebecca does great work no matter what I give her, but she really excels at fantasy themes. I'm very glad I found her and have somehow not made her run away screaming (or screaming into the phone for the police to hurry up and catch me).

Hopefully EotL will be ready to publish in a week or two. Just in time to depress the hell out of everyone as they read about how humanity picked the wrong side in a war and now face complete extermination. Good stuff. If you take Prozac. Or you're still in high school and wear goth makeup/clothes (think: South Park goths). Yes, I'm such a conformist.


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## Scila (Apr 13, 2014)

Wow, beautiful illustrations and covers. I love working with illustrators too and these are awesome. Congrats! I also really like the choice of typography on them. Is it expensive doing it separately from the illustration?


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Scila said:


> Wow, beautiful illustrations and covers. I love working with illustrators too and these are awesome. Congrats! I also really like the choice of typography on them. Is it expensive doing it separately from the illustration?


Rebecca Weaver and Keith Draws both do the typography themselves, so it is included in the cost. Trevor doesn't do typography, but Rebecca likes making a few extra dollars, and seems happy to take care of it for me. I can't say if only typography is expensive or not, as I think that boils down to each individual's definition of expensive (expensive for me is $1+ haha). I guess it also depends on how you feel about the typography (for me, bad text work on the cover can ruin even the best artwork, so paying for good work is sort of worth it).

My suggestion would be to start a thread asking if anyone does this kind of work, and what they charge (and of course, show you samples of their previous work so you can see if they are competent and will be able to give you what you want).

Slight update: asked Rebecca to show me some other ideas for the scoped version (non-scope is still perfect as far as I'm concerned). I normally don't ask for opinions beyond my wife's, but all of the scoped typography is good, and so I have no idea which one is the one I will decide on.


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## Johnny Dracula (Feb 20, 2015)

Great art!


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## P.T. Phronk (Jun 6, 2014)

I like the typography on the second one. 

Why is the scope aimed at the alien's armpit? Is that its weak spot?


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Phronk said:


> I like the typography on the second one.
> 
> Why is the scope aimed at the alien's armpit? Is that its weak spot?


No, it is off-center to show more of the scene behind the aliens.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

slight update. Rebecca has adjusted some elements of "Hallowed Journeys" and made the war hammer less "Thor" and more "war hammer" 










still nowhere near finished, but coming along very nicely!

EotL covers are finalized (ebook). Actual publication should be... soon.


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## Deborahsmith author (Jul 23, 2013)

AngryGames said:


> Yeah, this is one of the major worries I have. There's absolutely zero sex in the story (other than implied between married couples). We've talked about how to 'cover' the naughty bits enough to keep the moral censors from hunting me down. It's a bit of a fine line.
> 
> My view is always going to be 'alien invaders don't give two [crap]s about human taboos such as nudity when they are exploiting our species.'
> 
> ...


I seriously doubt you'll get those covers through Amazon. They're already way over the line in terms of nudity and sexual content (for Amazon, I mean.) Also, if I, as a reader, see an explicit cover like this, implying BDSM at the least, and the story doesn't pay off with that level of sexuality, I'd be pissed. Your other covers -- the AI intelligence book -- look crowded and too busy, and don't have the look readers expect from traditionally published science fiction novels. They almost look like the covers for some sort of YA horror novels. Sorry, but I'm telling you my opinion as a publisher of SFF books, also a lot of romances and paranormal romance. I deal with Amazon a lot and also do a lot of research on the current trends on covers. Maybe your finished art will look far different from the sketches, but even so . . .


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Deborahsmith author said:


> I seriously doubt you'll get those covers through Amazon. They're already way over the line in terms of nudity and sexual content (for Amazon, I mean.) Also, if I, as a reader, see an explicit cover like this, implying BDSM at the least, and the story doesn't pay off with that level of sexuality, I'd be p*ssed. Your other covers -- the AI intelligence book -- look crowded and too busy, and don't have the look readers expect from traditionally published science fiction novels. They almost look like the covers for some sort of YA horror novels. Sorry, but I'm telling you my opinion as a publisher of SFF books, also a lot of romances and paranormal romance. I deal with Amazon a lot and also do a lot of research on the current trends on covers. Maybe your finished art will look far different from the sketches, but even so . . .


Oh look, it's someone who trolls the internet looking for people to... troll! I've missed you, Deb. It's nice that you've come around to seek me out so you can try to poison my mood, but as you've maybe learned already, I'm immune to your shenanigans. But hey, I'll humor you just this once. Ready? Here goes!

_1. Those covers are already approved by Amazon, so you can probably shut up already.
2. They are not way over the line, so again, please shut your cake-hole. If you don't believe me, go ask Amazon. Go on, I'll wait.
3. Only morons like you would see a cover (a sci-fi cover at that) and think it implied something it didn't. Mostly because you're too ignorant to actually read a blurb or a sample. 
4. Don't bring your BDSM fantasies into my science fiction. Write your own books instead of trying to co-opt mine with your inane ideas. 
5. The AI book has the look readers of traditionally published scifi books expect because the artist who painted it won the Future Illustrators of America award (Trevor Smith, go look him up). If you don't know what the FIoA is, then you are a liar who has never been exposed to science fiction. You can still shut up at any time. 
5a. Also, because traditionally published science fiction novels ALL have such wonderful covers, right? AMIRITE?
6. What they look like to you isn't important to me at all (other than showing up long enough to tell you to shut the hell up as I'm pretty sure I didn't ask for your opinion). I'm glad you think they look like YA horror novels. Your post looks like an illiterate ******* hillbilly had an incestuous relationship with a decomposing primate then tried to write about it with a feces-covered stick. (see, I can be opinionated as well!)
7. You are a publisher of SFF books? God, I hope anyone stupid enough to sign with you had an emergency cyanide pill in a hollow tooth and died instantly when they gritted their teeth after realizing what a horrid mistake they made. I doubt I would let you published a soiled piece of toilet paper. 
7a. Anyone can claim to be a publisher. My dog published a story once. 
7b. I don't even have a dog. 
8. I deal with Amazon a lot too. What does this have to do with anything?
9. Wow! How much do I have to pay to get some of your research trend-y thingy stuff info I'll trade you three half-eaten hamburgers and the cap to an old toothpaste tube for some of that winning data! I MUST HAVE IT! I CANNOT DO ANY RESEARCH MYSELF!
10. Cover trends? Is this a thing? It sounds like a thing you made up because you actually did stuff your cake hole full of cake and had a sugar buzz (you're probably crying in the bathroom right now after coming down from that rush). Sugar makes people do stupid things. Look at your post in my thread! It's a classic example of sugary badness! 
11. I like exclamation points!
12. (and parentheses)
13. (and parentheses with exclamation marks!)
14. Maybe my finished art will look different from the sketches? Are you fucking kidding me? Did you fall down and hit your head on the corner of a hard enamel bathtub? Or did you forget how to internet? I think you just forgot how to be human because you've trolled so hard over the last 12-24 months that you no longer recognize yourself as human, and have now taken on troll qualities. 
15. You're not even a good troll. Do me a favor and shut the fuck up and get out of my thread. _

Now, assuming the moderators come rolling in with their whatevers on fire, here's some actual goodness:










Keith Draws hits the home run for "Portal Wars #1"!!!! If you look back a few posts, you'll see the very rough idea of what this cover now is. I knew Keith would do it up right (he loves killer robots and blast-y gun stuff!), but everyone I've shown this to so far is simply blown away.

In fact, I'm so blown away that I won't even get mad if Ann or Betsy send me a stern warning about not retaliating with mentally retarded invertebrates decide to troll on my thread (and drool on it as well).

But seriously... Keith Draws... man... he's so good I even forgave him for being British!


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## P.T. Phronk (Jun 6, 2014)

AngryGames said:


> No, it is off-center to show more of the scene behind the aliens.


Oh okay, then I am stealing the idea of aliens with weak armpits. Thanks.

Portal Wars looks amazing. Love me some Keith Draws.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

New day, new stuff.

After taking about 6 months off (and after slamming Drive-By Deb for being an ignorant fool), I'm back at it. So you know what this means... a lot of babbling from me and a lot of awesome artwork from my cadre of artists.

First up, Trevor Smith is working on "Genesis-6," the sequel to "End of the Line." Initial rough:










Now, don't laugh at the little girl. She's just a placeholder while Trevor and I figure out what we want her pose and expression to be (she'll likely be holding a stuffed animal in one hand, holding hands with the soldier with the other, and her expression will be a mix of fear and sadness... keep in mind, the entire human race was exterminated in "End of the Line" and I can give you that spoiler because no one will read it). And yes, I like strong female characters (and minority characters as well). The soldier will be "cybernetically enhanced" by the time the cover is finished, and of course, everything will be sharp instead of rough .

More as they come. Keith is working on a cover right now (a superhero origins story about an 18 year old kid who wakes up to find he gains certain abilities depending on the style of his facial hair... yes, it's goofy but I don't care, I love coming up with weird shit like that). Rebecca Weaver is no longer Rebecca Weaver (she's a fool who got married! BOO! haha). I'll be tapping her (non-innuendo, her new husband looks like he could beat me to death with a single thumb) to begin another cover very soon.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

All righty. Update from Keith Draws, who is working on a cover for "Razor's Edge."










So... totally weird story about a dude who discovers he has certain abilities based on the facial hair style he shaves every morning (every day when he wakes up he's got a short thick beard to start over with... I told you it was weird, why are you still reading this?). Sort of a superhero origins story. His buddies (male and female) all pitch in and help out. One drives him around, while another has a laptop and police scanner and rides along as well, another is good at making cosplay costumes so helps him by making useful molded, padded yet rigid armor, etc. Man, the more I describe this, the dumber it sounds haha. And the other main char, she discovers she also has abilities based on her tattoos (and linking tats together can combine some abilities). Seriously, this is weird.

I boned the title, it's supposed to be "Razor's Edge" but he'll fix that. The only thing I'm sad about is that since women don't need to show skin (aka "armored bikinis") to be strong or smart or appealing or whatever, her tattoos won't really be visible (but Keith will add some around her neck, and maybe make her sleeves cut off at the elbow so forearm tats will be visible, though on darker skin they won't stand out as well in smaller images/thumbnails, but we'll see). I'd rather have barely any tattoos (I mean hell, I could just rewrite her power to be hairstyle or something else) and realistic clothing. My wife certainly does not fight crime in bikinis or tank tops (she's got that cool armor like Dynamo from "The Running Man" but sadly, no cool lit-up buggy car thing, and no opera voice).






Anyway... I'm kind of in awe of the cover. As I told Keith, every time I look at it, I see something new. It's like a Salvador Dali painting minus the LSD (but plus the "Travis writes weird shit").

PS I'm SOOOOOO growing that very same mustache/beard/hairstyle combo. I can't stop giggling

PSS I'm not growing that very same mustache/beard/hairstyle combo. Apparently Mrs. Angry is horrified at the thought of me in public with such a combo, and nearly dropped dead when I helpfully suggested I could come visit her at school and meet all of her high school students while sporting such a look haha. She's no fun. Don't ever get married. Spouses are like needles to your life balloons inflated with happiness. They also stand behind you and watch what you type into forums so I better go because I think I'm in a lot of trou


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

slight fix of the title...










there's no fixing the weirdness of the author or his story, however...


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## Rebecca Frank Art (Jun 9, 2014)

AngryGames said:


> New day, new stuff.
> 
> After taking about 6 months off (and after slamming Drive-By Deb for being an ignorant fool), I'm back at it. So you know what this means... a lot of babbling from me and a lot of awesome artwork from my cadre of artists.
> 
> ...


Bahaha have you SEEN my husband? I don't think that's an accurate assessment of his physical strength.

Then again, he does work out his thumbs a lot with all the video games he plays... But that's the extent of his working out. 

All the new stuff is looking awesome! Message me in early October for your next cover, I've got a big break coming up to make time for my ComiCon tables. 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Rebecca Frank Art said:


> Bahaha have you SEEN my husband? I don't think that's an accurate assessment of his physical strength.
> 
> Then again, he does work out his thumbs a lot with all the video games he plays... But that's the extent of his working out.
> 
> ...


If he needs any replacement thumbs, let me know. I got a dude who is into the black market thumb racket (don't ask, but it has nothing to do with video games).

We'll get together soon. I was just giving you ample time to poison him and get the trial out of the way. Btw, that little girl's black/missing hands is really creeping me out.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

*reads thread for the first time since mid-March when I was traveling.*

Travis, Travis, Travis....

*sigh*


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## P.T. Phronk (Jun 6, 2014)

AngryGames said:


> So... totally weird story about a dude who discovers he has certain abilities based on the facial hair style he shaves every morning (every day when he wakes up he's got a short thick beard to start over with... I told you it was weird, why are you still reading this?).


Bahahah, this is the best concept. And like I said, I love Keith Draws, so the cover is coming along great too. I love what you're doing, and it's a shame nobody reads it. You'll have at least one sale when it's done. (And maybe one review in a year or two when I get around to reading it).


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> *reads thread for the first time since mid-March when I was traveling.*
> 
> Travis, Travis, Travis....
> 
> *sigh*


Sorry, Ma'am. I'm rarely that big of a jerk to someone, but sometimes... especially when they drop their fecal matter on my thread for no reason. I will resign myself to do better in the future! Only with a positive mindset and a rigid regiment of mental exercise can I overcome my deficiencies! My new road leads to self-discovery and the betterment of my interpersonal relationships!

(don't hit me, Officer Quilter!)



> Bahahah, this is the best concept. And like I said, I love Keith Draws, so the cover is coming along great too. I love what you're doing, and it's a shame nobody reads it. You'll have at least one sale when it's done. (And maybe one review in a year or two when I get around to reading it).


Well, I read it, so that's better than no one, right? (don't answer that as I'm sure it will be a severe blow to my already fragile ego)

I'm having a tough time finding an artist who is willing to draw "marijuana themed" stuff (comics/graphic novels/cartoons/whatever). I'm thinking I should just not shower for three weeks then hang out in downtown Portland or Seattle and move in with the first artist-type person I meet. I'm pretty sure this is how it works in Portland/Seattle. I'm also pretty sure that according to everyone living in Portland/Seattle, the very first person I meet will be an artist-type person. And the second. And pretty much all of them. I'll be back in a few. I'm moving to Portlattle (or Seatland, either works).

(hey, this is fun making up new words. I invented a good one the other night. "Shithammer" is one I think I might copyright, but Betsy will likely pour cold water on that idea any moment with a stern frown and a shame-inducing "tsk.")

(and there it is... I felt/heard it from here)


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Update time! I think I'm in love with Trevor. Don't tell him. Let it be a surprise.










So, as you can tell, a proper little girl (one without creepy shadow-dimension hands) is now in there. The soldier's arm is a sort of regenerative metal/plastic, some cybernetic details will also probably get added. It's still not finished, but it's already looking crazy. Trevor says it's by far his favorite drawing, but he said that about Extraction, so maybe I'm so awesome that I draw out his very best.

(he was probably just really drunk when he wrote that email haha, but not drunk enough to send the one he really wanted to send that cursed me out for being a jughead)

The ship entering a wormhole will probably change a little, as it's going to be a jumpgate (keep in mind, this is 5,000-10,000 years after the end of "End of the Line"). I REALLY love the soldier. She's just... super badass. Okay. Enough rambling.

Go go Gadget umbrellacopter!

WOWSERS!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Another minor update:










Trevor is going to add in some background/clutter, and maybe add a weapon to the soldier. Basically, I tell Trevor a general idea of what I want, and give him a few specific things it MUST have, then let him do his thing.

I've found that letting artists do what they do best with only minor interference from me gives me two results:

1. Artist is free to create what's in their mind, which is always better than trying to paint exactly what is in my mind. 
2. Artist appreciates the freedom and usually goes that extra mile, plus is willing to slot me into his/her schedule anytime I need something done because he/she knows there will be a ton of freedom to work with.

Yay! Okay, will update some more when more stuff comes in. If Rebecca is reading this, tell me if it's proper for adding in the typog (will email about it eventually but I know you watch this thread):
"Genesis-6" (title)
"Travis Hill" (some douche who wrote it)


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Final cover art from Keith Draws for "Razor's Edge" (some weird superhero origins story where the guy gets super powers based on his facial hair style and the girl gets hers from how she cuts/styles her hair).










Still blown away by this haha. It's got everything! Except a story that isn't so weird that I don't know if I was smoking bleach crystals when I started writing it.

(I totally smoked bleach crystals and started writing it)

Thanks, Keith!

Next cover for Keith I think is "Countdown" which is a companion story for "Departure" (already published). Maybe. I usually give him 3-5 stories that need covers and ask which he'd be the most interested in.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Okay, so something new that Trevor S mith and I are working on. I won't go into too much detail, but I'll show a "strip" from a children's story ("Capture at the Hive" which won 2nd place in an SFWG contest, and is free at Amazon (second story in EHF #1).










Now, these are extremely rough still as we are working out exactly how to go about this neat little idea. It's supposed to be comic strip-ish on purpose (a bit of ode to Bill Watterson since the story itself is basically a textualized "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip).

Now... what I'm wondering is... could there possibly be someone who reads this who is female and has a good "mom" voice? You know, the good mom voice that you use to yell at your kids, make them do evil things like take out the trash or clean their room, torture them by explaining how there was no such thing as internet back then, etc. If you have a good "mom" voice, a microphone, and want to try something fun/new, hit me up.

If it helps, I think Mom / The Evil Queen Mother from the story only has 5-10 lines of dialog, the story itself is only 427 words long, so it's not like it will take forever. If it you're good, I'll pay you for your time, plus there are two more of these projects that will immediately follow this one. This first one is trying to figure out exactly what/how to do it and make a lot of mistakes so when we start Chapter / Number 2, things will be a lot easier (#2 and #3 are each about 1300 words, so best to figure out wtf we're doing on something very short and easy)

_Edited to shrink image to accommodate those using mobile devices or older monitors. Thanks for understanding. --Betsy_


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

No one reads this shit so just going to post pics from here on


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Scratch that last post...

Trevor sent me this:










This is for "General Megatron" - Chapter 1 "Capture at the Hive" (427 words)

You can read it here:

http://www.angrygames.com/angry/pics/writing/megatron_youtube/General_Megatron_vid-project-01.pdf

And since it's so short, I'll just post the text (there's a reason, keep reading)



> Capture at the Hive
> 
> "Eric!" his mother yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
> 
> ...


So, here's the bits you might be interested in. I'm currently looking to audition someone to play "Mom" (ie: The Evil Queen Mother). If you think you have a great "Mom" voice, send me a message, or better yet, a short recording of Mom's voice parts. If you're a good fit (and you can record your voice in high bitrate and without background noise), I'll pay you a proper rate (at least $50, shouldn't take you more than a 30 seconds to record the lines as this entire story only takes me 2:25 to narrate to completion) and you'll be credited on the YouTube page in the video's credits.

If it works out, there are two more chapters we'll be doing this for (check the PDF, the other two chapters are ~1300 words each). And if it REALLY works out, we'll hire an animator to maybe take everything a step further.

Just in case it's not clear... We're making a YouTube video where I (or someone with a better voice than me) will narrate the story and we'll insert voices for characters who speak. As the video plays, the "cartoon panels" in the pic above will be chopped into individual images that sync with the story. So... kind of like an audiobook, but more like a "videobook."

If you have questions, let me know. If you want to audition for one of the voice parts, let me know. If you do audition, don't be afraid to alter Mom's voice to be more like "The Evil Queen Mother" in certain places (read the PDF, look at the cartoon panels, decide for yourself... impress me!).


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Final cover for "Genesis-6" from Trevor Smith:










Rebecca Frank (Weaver) will take care of the typography.

This cover is siiiiiiiiiick (inside joke with Trevor, but it's friggin' SIIIIIIIIICCCCCKKKKK!!!!)


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Rough test of this video book thing:






I'm a terrible narrator, but again, this is a test. Opening title and ending credit panels are coming. Testing to see if all this stuff is going to work.

If anyone is buddies with Patrick Stewart Helen Mirren, Ian McKellan, James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, etc., let me know!


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Keith Draws sent me a rough WiP for "Countdown" (companion novella for "Departure"):










Still rough but loving it!

Trevor Smith also sent me a slightly updated cover for "Genesis-6" (sequel to "End of the Line") where he has replaced a cup with a battle rifle 










Rebecca Frank (Weaver) is still working on the typography for G-6.

Trevor is now ready to start on "Transfer" which is some sort of techno-thriller spy clone consciousness image transfer thingy stuff that I made up. Since Trevor really liked the first 5-6 chapters he read a few months ago, he's agreed to read the whole novel (125k-ish words). Because he's so fucking brave (or insane), I've agreed to let him draw *WHATEVER* he wants as the cover.

The ONLY stipulation is "no penises." That's kind of a rule. So, whatever he reads and comes up with in his mind... that's what I'm gonna get. It better not be no goddamn pensises... peni? penisees? You know what I mean. I'm watching you, Trevor Smith...

(Seriously, I don't know who is more stoked, me or him. He's getting the worst end of the deal because he has to read it hahahahaha. Sucker! But he can draw anything he wants for it, which is awesome for me since I heard artists love to do that kind of thing? I hope I heard that right. I heard it on Reddit or something so maybe I might have misread intended sarcasm or something...)


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

All right. Rebecca Frank (Weaver) has been trying to find the right font for G-6. I'm thinking the top row, far left is my #1, with top row far right as my #2. These are not finals, as I'm sure drop shadows / glows / stuff has to be done. These are just fonts to find one that is "serious" since it's a pretty serious (heh, scifi) story. We've already tried half a dozen others, but they all seemed to make the cover look as if it were a happy, YA-oriented pulpy fun story (it most certainly is not, nearly as dark as End of the Line).









(artwork by Trevor Smith)

On another note, Rebecca will be painting a cover for a new children's story about little league baseball. Kind of like "The Martian" meets "Bad News Bears" but not really BNB shenanigans (ie no sexual innuendo, fart jokes, etc, basically NASA geeks have to keep coming up with ways for these little leaguers to play on a dozen different worlds, such as ones with sulfur-methane atmospheres, 2.3x gravity, .15x gravity, against alien "kids" who are 3x the size of human children, etc).

This is the roughest of rough sketches, but I love being able to show a piece of art's evolution from the very concept stage all the way to finished product:










Somewhere near the final version, there should be kids celebrating around home plate while the UFO has landed in center field and an annoyingly snooty robot is lecturing humans about how the kids might be "Earth" champions but they aren't "Galactic Little League World Series Champions." Etc. etc. Stuff.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Newest final cover from Trevor Smith for new novel "Transfer." Just needs some typography.










full-size version here:
http://www.angrygames.com/angry/pics/writing/transfer/TransferFinalLarge.jpg

Final cover for "Countdown" by Keith Draws:










full-size version here:
http://www.angrygames.com/angry/pics/writing/countdown/countdown_ebook_final.jpg

(ahhh... ladies with machine pistols and such... I heard they were pretty badass. I should probably read it to find out for myself.)


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## bohemianedu (Jul 24, 2014)

Nice covers.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Keith fixed me up a full paperback cover and the proof is on its way. Going to go up and down the west coast this summer hitting as many pot shops, hemp festivals, and hippie communes as I can (plus I'll have the USB ebooks and posters as well!)


















*THX to Kerry Hynds @ Hynds Studios for help with the USB cards and the poster!*


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