TOPIC: Do you judge a book by its cover? (part 1)

Today I'm really excited to welcome a first-timer and incredible artist to my blog.

When the cover of my debut fantasy romance release, VENGEANCE BORN, arrived from my editor in my in-box I think I sat and stared at it for a good ten minutes, ohh'ing and ahh'ing over the incredible artwork, marveling at the details, the various elements that portrayed parts of the story and how spot on the cover model was to Annika, the heroine I'd envisaged (I also shed a few tears).

Long story short, I made inquiries about the cover artist and tracked him down to thank him for doing a wonderful job of the cover. Then promptly asked him if he'd mind being interviewed! :-) So without further ado, here's his intro!

Gene Mollica is a photo-illustrator specializing in fantastical and otherworldly images for the entertainment industry, most frequently for book covers. His work has appeared on the book covers of authors like L.A.Banks, Patricia Briggs, Richelle Mead, and C.E.Murphy, just to name a few.

Creating images that the authors feel translates their original vision and offering a window into that world for the reader is as much fun as he's ever had (in fact, he admits to it being a bit of an obsession!).

Gene, welcome to my blog! It's great you could visit.

So, can you tell us, what is a photo-illustrator? Have you always aspired to be one? 

A photo-illustrator starts with a photo and manipulates or paints over it to create the final illustration. You’re working with lots of images that you shoot yourself and combining them with traditional illustration skills.

I started as a traditional painter and then decided I wanted to do more commercial work in the entertainment industry. It was a change of heart in grad school, wanting to switch from traditional oil paints to doing something more contemporary in digital media. 

On your website I noted quite an impressive list of publishing houses and more than a few familiar paranormal romance book covers amidst your artwork (eg.Patricia Briggs, LA Banks, Richelle Mead, CEMurphy). How did you become involved in designing covers for these books? 

I’m lucky enough to have clients who are art directors at these publishing houses – I’ve built those relationships over the years. The art directors bring me these great projects. 

You created the covers for VENGEANCE BORN (released Feb.7th with Berkley Sensation) and ALLIANCE FORGED (July 2012, Berkley Sensation) - I have to admit I had a bit of a cry at how absolutely stunning they were. Many, many friends and complete strangers have also expressed their awe at the amazing covers.

On the cover of VENGEANCE BORN, the female model was the spitting image of how I imagined the heroine of the story and you'd included elements/features my editor and I had discussed in our cover conference. And ALLIANCE FORGED linked so well in style and design.

So, what's the process you go through once you've been commissioned to design a cover? Do you received a brief on the project? How long does it take you to complete a project? 

I start by peppering my clients with questions about the characters, wardrobe, any specific details.

VENGEANCE BORN cover shot

VENGEANCE BORN finished product

In this case, the art director, Leslie Worrell, is great about giving me the information needed to make a great piece.

Then, I work to gather the props and costumes necessary to bring the character to life.

In your case, I had a gown custom-made by a seamstress named Shirley Forster of Renaissance Sewing, who I’ve been working with for years.

I also had the necklace made by a friend of mine, Travis Conn, who is a metal smith and does excellent work.

Annika's necklace

I choose the model at the same time – I’m glad you thought she was the spitting image of your character, since I thought of her right away when I got the assignment.

Then, the next step is a photo shoot with the model in costume embodying the character.

The trick in the shoot is to light it correctly to create the atmosphere we want to come across on the cover – doing that is something I really enjoy.

I then incorporate an image from that shoot into a digital painting that I create. Start to finish, the whole process takes a few days.

 

You do a lot of urban fantasy/fantasy/paranormal themed designs - is this a genre where the work is? Or is it something you really enjoy doing? 

I just really enjoy doing it – it’s my favorite, and I’m lucky that there is a lot of work in it.

What's the most interesting aspect of your job? The worst? 

I love the whole thing - the photo shoots, the costume design, the propping and so on. I’m glad I get to work with art directors who really care about the process and getting to a great outcome.

The only stressful part is the time crunch – sometimes I’ve got to turn these jobs around really quickly. 

When I was developing my own craft of writing there were several authors who inspired and influenced me. Do you have any particular cover artists who inspire you? What sort of impact have they had on you? 
There are a lot of cover artists who inspire me. My original inspiration came from Boris Vallejo and Frank Franzetta. My current inspirations are a lot of my contemporaries.

A well know fantasy artist inspired Gene

(Boris Vallejo picture from this website). 

I’m also very inspired by the aesthetics of genre movies – Underworld was a big one for me.

What do you like doing in your spare time? 

Playing with my brand new (4 month old) daughter, cooking, and gardening. 

I also really enjoy sketching out ideas for costumes and photography.

Gene has sent along some recent work that he's done, folks. Just take a gander at them - aren't they great?!?!

Gene, thanks for giving up your time to be a part of this interview! 
Thanks for having me!

Now for the extra fun part, folks - I'd love to give away a VENGEANCE BORN eco-tote bag (a plug for Gene's great artwork not to mention my book! *grin*).

What do you like seeing on the cover of a book? What draws your eye and tempts you into picking it up?

Share your thoughts by midday, Tuesday 25th Oct. 2011 an your name will go into the draw- winner announced Wednesday 26th Oct. 2011 (open to local and international readers).

For those interested, Gene has some more amazing artwork displayed on his website.