Site premiere: Cover art, Triptych Continuum (print) Book #3 -- and Book #4 announcement, plus targeted launch date · 6:36pm Sep 1st, 2021
So before we get to the reveal for the cover of Book #3... we need to talk about Book #4.
Book #4 will be the initial third of Triptych.
...right. That's why we're starting there. Due to its length, Triptych has to be published in three volumes. This means that by committing to its first cover, I am locking in for two more beyond that.
So here's part of what I'm asking for today: your own proposals for what that next image might be. And because it is for Triptych, it may not be possible to keep it at two depicted characters. I recognize that, and am prepared to deal with the results. Just tell me what you picture, when you think about that part of the story. And we'll see where it goes from there.
(However, it can cost more to have extra characters shown. As such, I've temporarily raised the Ko-Fi goal amount. Just in case.)
Now: I am not Harwick's sole customer. Every time I post one of these blogs, I make sure there's boilerplate trying to drum up business for him. I can't say whether it works, but he does have some other pony art to take care of. As such, while he and I are going to talk about the next cover on September 8th, he won't have time to work on it until October.
Additionally, we now have three finished covers. And that means I need to get the actual books up.
My current temporal target is to have the initial three volumes formatted and available on Lulu by the end of this month. This means a number of things. Commitment. A lot of time used. And I may wind up screaming a lot, because formatting might turn out to be very difficult for the code-blind. If I blog-ask for advice and help from those who've worked with Lulu before, that's why. Desperation to follow as losing all my work for the ninth time warrants.
I have yet to really look at pricing on the books, because I won't know what Lulu will charge to print them until the formatting is complete. Additionally, cover art is part of the cost, and I have to factor that across a given number of books. (I am not expecting to sell that number.) And I probably have to figure out if there's a coupon code for Patreon sponsors, and how to make that work.
Where does the money go, if someone other than me buys a book? Well... I've been fighting against wanderlust for months now, and it's reached a near-Trixie level of I Need To Get Out Of Here For A While. That's why my found coins jar is currently dedicated towards, and that is the ludicrous goal of any expenses recouped.
(I'm not expecting to succeed. But some people say it's nice to have a dream.)
Where am I trying to (impossibly) go?
For now, let's just say I went after that passport for a reason...
So. Book #3. I wanted to go with the most requested topic for a story collection, because it's also nice to have a bestseller and in this case, that potentially means two copies. And what did people want more than anything else?
The sisters.
Going with the Invictus siblings offers a lot of stories to choose from. (Minus A Mark Of Appeal, which will be a book onto itself.) But... I wanted to have them together. And there my troubles began, because quite a few of the stories have them working alone for a while. And with the others...
Trav(ap)est(r)y absolutely has a signature scene. It takes place in the dark.
Mint Condition? Here they are in the throne room, staring at a giant coin. Whee?
The interactions in Horsefeathers are a little too downcast.
Bringing in Good For Nearly All Princess Labor meant designing rock doves.
And so on down the line. I couldn't find anything...
...so we went with Artist's Choice. What was Harwick's interest? Which tale sent his imagination towards the siblings?
Turned out it was the one which gave him the chance to show both of them in the same emotional state.
Pissed.
Off.
The winning story (which now has this as its cover art) was A Good Trot, Spoiled.
To give Harwick his honors, you can comment here or on his DeviantArt page. Those wishing to commission him for their own stories can contact him through FIMFic. He also has a Patreon. I still have yet to talk him into setting up his own tip jar and could really use some help there.
SeriouslyI'vebeentryingtogethimtosetitupformonths...
...ahem.
UPDATE: He finally did it. This link goes to Harwick's Ko-Fi page. This is not a drill. Harwick's tip jar is live. Also, he has been having trouble with his tablet monitor, so there is an initial goal.
My own tips are currently dedicated to funding more covers. If you like what you see and want to pitch in towards the cover art for the initial volume of Triptych, this link goes to my Ko-Fi jar.
And now that you know what the next book is going to be, and that it'll have the initial third of the 'verse's central story... tell me what you'd want to see for its cover art.
We're locking in.
For better or for worse.
...mostly worse.
Yup, Harwick hits it straight down the fairway, as per usual.
I had forgotten about the badger until I reread the story having seen it in the picture...
As I said in the discord (and got newspapered for), it nice to see Celestia let off some steam while Luna just chills.
That translucent mane effect for the sisters is quite interesting. Not many artists go for the full ethereal look. It gives a unique look for the verse at least. Good job Harwick!
a possibility for the cover for the first part of triptych that only actually needs a single character (granting that the others are just out of frame)
That may be the best representation of Celestia's mane I've ever seen. It's like a furious curtain of bubble soap.
With Triptych... Well, the temptation there is to do a triptych with the covers. I'm just not sure what to suggest for the set, and I'm not in a position to think about it at this exact moment. Going to put a pin in this one.
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Just getting the only four whom I know came in before the news did: Harwick finally went through with it. This link goes to his new Ko-Fi page.
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That's no badger. It's a gopher. No one gets a Caddyshack reference past me.
Here's a traveling song list for when you hit the road, Estee:
Roam by the B-52s
Runnin' Down a Dream by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles
Anything by Bob Seger
Movin' Right Along by Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear
Roll With the Changes by REO Speedwagon
Just a Song Before I Go by Crosby, Stills & Nash
Ramblin' Man by the Allman Brothers Band
Back in the USSR by the Beatles
America by Simon & Garfunkel
Horse With No Name by America
California Dreaming by the Mamas and the Papas
Vacation by the Go-Gos
Ride On by AC/DC
On the Road Again by Willie Nelson
That should be a good start.
I am reminded of the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a trilogy in four parts. Epic.
Definitely Discord. Also going to suggest a negative space Her, or possibly use that trick for Quiet
Alternately, go with a knockoff icon of Gentle that develops as the story does.
Maybe, for the covers you could have Triptych with the three "chaos bearers", Pinkie, Fluttershy and Twilight? Trip could be in her matching form for each (unicorn for Twi) and they could be looking at a painting of the "ideal" form for each race, or an anatomical chart? I think it has a lot of meaning because all four of them feel like they are wrong in some way. Twi for what she has lost and Pinkie/Fluttershy for what they never had. Have Fluttershy be first since she kinda kicks it off, then Pinkie and finally Twi. What do you guys think?
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A gopher in the picture it may be, but it's a badger in the story.
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It was inspired by the badger, but yeah…. I couldn’t resist the Caddyshack reference in the end.
Wait hold up, I can get physical books of one of my favorite stories soon? How did I miss this?
You know damn well you have to have the covers of the books for Triptych *become* a Triptych when they're lined up side by side, right?
Like you *have* to.
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Perhaps if we ask very nicely, Estee will change the story...
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Well, the bindings, at least...
I genuinely love that the sisters' hair in this image doesn't look like hair. It looks completely otherworldly, which is what I imagined when I first watched the show. Lovely art!
For Triptych, I agree with the others that the covers should be a Tryptich. It's just too fitting.
My suggestion would be a chaos Pearl that reflects a silhouette of Tish in her three different states. Alternatively, each cover could have her cutie mark in a different position with a key scene of the story in the center (since that is supposed to be 'nothing' this could give a way to show her cutie mark while working around the 'nothing'). For the first book I always keep coming back to Twilight bowing to Gentle. It the crowd is an issue due to cost per character, those could be rendered as pony shaped shadows?
Excellent art as usual; thanks, Harwick. :)
Regarding covers for Triptych, though, I'm afraid I'm not presently having any ideas that others haven't already had here. Good luck, though, with the books in general, and the trip you might take!
I don't know if it's just me but I seem to have trouble with Ko-fi, it doesn't let me go to PayPal. Does anyone else has that problem right now?
I'm not sure about the specifics of the images; I'm just thinking in terms of characters.
First, it should be a triptych. That makes sense. With, between the three images, all of the Mane Six. But nothing as simple as two ponies per picture, no.
Part I: Twilight, Rarity, and half of Pinkie.
Part II: The other half of Pinkie; Applejack in her entirety; and half of Fluttershy.
Part III: The other half of Fluttershy, and a triumphant Rainbow Dash.
Not sure what those ponies are doing, exactly. And we could swap Part I with Part III easily enough. But those groupings of ponies, per part, in a three-part triptych, sounds exactly right for this story.
I'm sure that you can all see why.