Anne’s Art

Duty & Doubt Book 1

The cover of Book 1 is playing with the main themes of the book – identity, personal development, adventure and moving in different spheres (socially, educationally and spiritually). The cover combines those themes and creates a collage that alludes to the many storylines evolving around the heroine. The image merges facettes of Carolena’s past and present into one picture. The colour of the dress is important to understand the heroine’s emotional state and will change with each volume to show her personal progress.

Creating the cover

Firstly: Why were the first attempts discarded or altered?

While the first cover image seems quite static and a bit dreary, the second one has the colour intensity that was necessary to show the fantastic and playful element of the story. In addition – Carolena appears reluctant to approach the country house, which is not quite her character.

Secondly: Why change to a digital format?

Drawing with ink and painting with watercolour is always bound to accidental colour blending or blots. If the result wasn’t to my liking, there was no chance of erasing or correcting it – so I had to start all over again. I hesitated to use a digital tool because working with the real colours feels right and authentic, unfortunately it is not efficient enough for the purpose I need it for. So, I started with using my pencil draft as a sublayer for my digital painting. The cover of volume 1 is the first digital picture I have created, and I must admit, that it took a while to really familiarise myself with the tools, but I would not want to miss them now. It is a lot of fun working with multiple layers, trying different colours of dresses, background etc. and combining what works out best. Nothing is lost and can be adapted to changing requirements. Additionally: the digital version of the picture is easier to use for cover design.

Sketches of herbs, playing roles during the story.