HOW TO MAKE YOUR PERFECT (FOREVER) MAN

Creating a book cover that will properly represent the story in way that is emotionally compelling and visually intriguing is always a challenge.

Many times, a good first step is to check out stock photo sites and see if something you’re looking for is already out there. More often than not, you’ll find some things that work and some things that don’t, and never one that has everything you’re looking for (a lot like dating!). Sometimes, you just have to create your perfect (Forever) Man from scratch. Want to know how I did it?

Browsing stock photo sites are great way to spark inspiration, even if they may not always have the exact thing you’re looking for. When considering what kind of image would work for the Forever Man cover, I kept coming back to this idea of music and musicians and the thriving arts community in the city of Santa Fe, and even the deeper soul/spiritual connection that resonates through the land and the people there. A picture of just any guy with a guitar wouldn’t do. Then I found a really cool grayscale image of a musician and his guitar… This image had an intriguing concept and unusual angle for the guitar, suggesting the performer was caught just before going on stage in a moment of reflection, with an air of mystery about it. Problem was, this image was only available in black and white– and needed something that would make it stand out.

The guitar was a natural focus point– so I began searching for another picture of a guitar that would work. Red guitars were particularly appealing– both because the color would pop well against a black and white background, and red/gold coloring is prevalent a lot of Southwestern US art. So I decided to try a few on for size…

Then I turned my attention to the next problem: those awful baggy jeans. Again, the challenge is finding source art that not only fits the look you want, but also has to look like it belongs with the other elements in the image. The right angle, the right shape, all make a difference in how well the new part blends in. Let’s try a few on for size:

Then I happened upon this guy. 

Not perfect, but the fact that he didn’t have a shirt (that wouldn’t match) hanging down past his waist was a bonus. Good raw material– a little creative shading to disguise the funky pockets, converting to grayscale to lessen the patchy coloring… this I can work with. As I started to work with the image, I realized the guitar I liked wasn’t fitting as well with the legs and butt. The angles were just off enough they didn’t look like they belonged in the same picture. Since it was easier to find another guitar than it was to find another stock-photo of a good looking bottom half, the old guitar had to go.

I was lucky enough to find this– beautiful red-gold tones, and the nicks and scratches on the guitar made it a good match as an instrument that had traveled many miles with its owner. This was the one! But, as a straight-on shot, it didn’t have the dimension like the guitar in the original inspiration photo– so I had to give it some tilt and depth by copying the outline and offsetting it just enough, then using some creative shadowing.

Things progressed well…

I was tickled how converting the legs to grayscale made the odd faded patches on the legs of the original art look more like natural effects of the spotlight on the guitar spilling over into highlights on the legs, and gave them more dimension. BONUS!

The next step was cropping the composite image for the cover, using the pop of color in the guitar and the line of the neck to draw the viewer’s eye across the cover and down to the title. Paring a weathered typeface that had a sense of the Old West (Go2OldWestern by Galdino Otten), with original scratchboard art of a “sacred heart” milagro (echoing another important story element) made the look complete. If you are interested in taking a sneak peak at the Forever Man story, or want information on how to order the book from Interlude Press, CLICK HERE.