Evolution of a Book Cover

In developing the cover art for "The Miracle of Monterrey/Milagro de Monterrey" book, we went through several versions before arriving at the final art. The sketch above is the first in the series and is a gritty and dark image.







Still keeping to the gritty theme this one is more dynamic. We needed to get a finished cover as soon as possible so it could be used to advertise the book's release and hopefully tie it in to the movie before it's release. As it turned out the film release was delayed for a couple of years and the book was released long before the film. Bummer.The movie finally opened this past April to good reviews but by then the book was surviving well on it's own.




This time around it was decided try a "cartoonier" (if that is a word) look that might appeal to a younger crowd.


We finally arrived at this composition which both the art director and author liked so the next step was to put some text to the layout.



I have to mention that the book went through almost as many titles as art. It's pretty hard to come up with a good title.



I thought I was ready to paint when it was decided to go for a vertical format so it was back to the drawing board, quite literally, for a little while longer.



This a color study with text. There's still lots more to do but at least the composition and format are set.



The latest cover with the latest title which was not chosen because it sounded too much like the "Boys from Brazil".


We arrive at the finished product with all the bells and whistles in place. The final image was done mostly in photoshop. As I'm sure is the case with a good many illustrators I wish I had a chance to repaint this one. We artist are a picky bunch. Oh well. My wife still loves me anyway.