I am pleased to be part of the Throne of Glass Blog Tour.
I was very curious about the cover art of
Throne of Glass because, besides being absolutely stunning, I was surprised to see that the model resembled author Sarah Maas. So I interviewed Bloomsbury designers Donna and Regina on how they created the cover.
How did you come up with the cover concept for Throne of Glass?
The cover concept was a really organic, collaborative process. We knew we wanted to feature the main character, Celaena, in a magical crystal environment. We tried a few different approaches and ended up combining two of them: the background is illustrated by a 3D artist and we did a photoshoot for the model image. The end result is exactly what we were hoping for which is a beautiful, mysterious, atmospheric background and a strong, gorgeous Celaena.
The model on the cover bears a resemblance to Sarah Maas. Was this intentional?
Luckily, the model matches the description we had of the main character very well. We hadn't really seen images of Sarah Maas before we chose the model, so it was a complete coincidence that they look similar. We chose the model because she had the best personality, presence, and appearance to represent the main character.
How long does it take to design a cover?
The time it takes to design a cover varies. Sometimes a cover will come together easily after one or two tries and it takes only a few months to get everything in line. In other instances, a cover will be developed over many months (up to one year). Within that time, there is continual development of concepts and ideas, photo or illustrator research, type design, possible scheduling of photo shoots, and post-production Photoshop work.
Did you add any special elements to make the cover stand out?
We added special effects to the cover in the hopes of making
Throne of Glass unique. There is holographic foil on the title that is meant to give an appearance of light reflecting through glass, there is spot gloss which adds shine to specific areas of the jacket, and embossing of the title type to slightly lift it away from the central image. The whole jacket is laminated with a matte finish which gives a luxurious feel when holding the book in your hand.
_________________________________________________
Wow, I can't wait to have my finished copy!
Throne of Glass will be available in just 3 days (August 7, 2012) in stores. Thank you so much Donna and Regina for answering my questions!
by Lisa Matchev:
