Publishing & Editorial
Symphonies of Imagination, Issue 01
Cover for 2024 issue #1 of Symphonies of Imagination magazine. Editor: John Engeln
John provided two short stories that would be featured in the issue that summarize the overall image and concept of the magazine. Providing 2 thumbnails for each story, John and I agreed this one was the best because it showcased the wonder and grandeur of nature. Encouraged to be inspired by the amazing background paintings found in Studio Ghibli movies, I wanted to capture a sense of magic within a setting based in reality.
“The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”
By C.S. Lewis. Faux Book Cover
Bringing a dreamy, painterly look to a children’s fantasy classic, I created my own rendition of one of the famous volumes in “The Chronicles of Narnia” series. The cover itself is a carved, wooden wardrobe adorned with a lion head at its center. I wanted to create a dramatic contrast by using the warm colors of the wooden wardrobe to frame the cold, wintry scene that occurs when Lucy first enters Narnia and encounters the famous lamppost. In the forefront is Lucy gazing upon the lamppost and in the distance is the witch’s frozen castle of ice. On the back is a fun nod to the beavers that the Pevensie siblings meet later on in the book.
“Immortal Divorce Court” Vol. 6 & 7
By Kirk Zurosky. Art Director: Paul Barrett, Girl Friday Productions, 2023-24
I was given an excerpt from the book to bring the author’s desired vision to life. For Vol. 6, It described a pivotal moment in the novel where the main character finds the magical cave he’d been searching for amidst misty stone ruins, after parting ways with a giant condor that acted as his guide. With Paul as the go between, I created a few thumbnails for the author and after deciding on a composition, we worked through the rough color, partial render, and into the final stage to complete the illustration. My goal was to put an emphasis on the mystery surrounding the foggy cave and the wonder of the great condor as it lands.
For Vol. 7, as the final one of the series, the author wanted emphasis on the main hero and his dog companion. He wanted a triumphant smirk on the hero, with a general air of triumph. I was excited to be given the opportunity to paint the Colosseum in the dramatic, glowing red lighting of a comet.
Oh Reader Issue 11
Cover for 2023 Spring issue #11 of Oh Reader magazine. Editor: Gemma Peckham
The prompt was to create an illustration of a person reading a book within a clear setting that included pink and yellow flowers, perfect for the Spring. Various sketches were created but we agreed that a flower shop, with flowers subtly poking out of the border was the perfect setting for this issue.
“The Curly Girl Method”
Based off of an article from NaturallyCurly.com, written by Cristina Cleveland, faux full page spread and spot illustrations. Having textured, wavy hair myself, I was excited to create an illustration for the curly girl method, which is all about embracing natural hair textures and curl patterns.
I created spot illustrations that act as mini graphics for the Do’s and Don’ts of the Curly Girl Method and taking care of textured hair. The Do’s including blow drying with a diffuser, using gels and custards, and conditioner. The Don’ts include using straighteners, curling irons, and combs and brushes.
Not affiliated with NaturallyCurly. The actual article can be found here.
“Twilight”
By Stephenie Meyer. Faux Book Cover
A Vampire YA classic, I decided to create my own cover for “Twilight” that keeps the iconic motif of the apple from the original. Using Bella’s pale silhouette as a vessel, I was able to contrast the dark and muted color palette of rainy Forks, the main setting from the novel. It was essential for me to use a limited color palette so I could immediately catch the viewer’s eye onto the bright red apple, which does a great job at eluding to forbidden fruits and Bella and Edward’s forbidden love.
The full cover creates a Yin and Yang effect with the dark front cover versus light back cover. I was able to replicate the color palette and composition of the front cover to the back, via a red-orange crescent moon—another common fantasy element in the book and throughout the series.
“Price of a Thousand Blessings”
By Ginn Hale. AD: Nicole Kimberling, Design: Ginn Hale. Blind Eye Books, 2023
In need of a potential future physical cover as well as a poster for marketing, I was commissioned to create a character design poster of the main character Cymin with a handlettered title for Ginn Hale’s Patreon release of her novel series “Price of a Thousand Blessings”. I was asked to take inspiration from Danmei covers as well as traditional monk clothing for the design. The designer then took my illustration and handlettered title and added the background color and author title.
“10 Ways to Cope with Anxiety
When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed”
Faux full page spread and spot illustrations based off of an article from SELF, written by Bonnie Darves. These illustrations use the motif of ocean waves to represent a person’s state of mind. Rocky, stormy waves showcase how anxiety can take over a person’s entire being, while calm waves are linked to how healthy coping mechanisms can help to ease the mind.
Continuing the ocean and wave theme, I created spot illustrations based on 3 of the 10 coping mechanisms listed in the article. The subheadings are taken directly from the article and are not written by me: “Reassess your relationship with social media”, “Please, please prioritize sleep when possible”, and “Feel and move your body”.
Not affiliated with SELF or Darves. The actual article can be found here.
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”
By Jenny Han. Faux Book Cover
I wanted to emulate the bright energy that is Lara Jean’s love life, using pink as the overall color palette to represent innocent high school love. With Lara as the focal point, she’s surrounded by the many love letters she wrote throughout her life, as they fly away from her into a mailbox on the back cover—subtly showing the catalyst for the story’s main plot. It was important to me for the cover to be playful from the front to the back.
“Villains are Destined to Die”
By Gyeoeul Kwon. Faux Book Cover
Based on a Korean Webnovel. This novel involves a regular college student becoming stuck inside a dating sim game where she becomes the main antagonist “Penelope Eckhart” and must try to survive in a world where everyone despises her. The heroine and Penelope’s lives share many similarities, and therefore reflect each other, which I show with the handheld mirror. For the graphic design, I was deeply inspired by the options and game elements present in real life games like the one in the novel.
The back cover shows how the heroine’s only way to survive the game is to try to gain relationship points with the various male protagonists in the game. I used pink flowers and petals as a motif because Penelope is scorned for having hair that is red rather than pink. This is due to the fact that her main obstacle is the game’s female protagonist Yvonne, who has distinct pink hair.
