On Cover Images · 8:38am Jul 20th, 2013
Several things to say about THOSE!
Gryphonies. Wow, that was something I drew myself, AGES ago, just for kicks. Then, I started writing Gryphonies, and then I actually finished a chapter of it, and then I needed a cover image... the rest is history. (Now, though, it doesn't fit with the story, which cites all of the pony-gryphons as keeping their eye color. But, purple eyes on that image just doesn't look as good, balance-wise, so the golden eyes stay.)
For my other comedy fics, I used a show vector imposed upon a photograph, that made it look as though the two characters were in the same place, with similar facial expressions. But, for That Elder Wand, the image wasn't big enough, so the left half is mostly a solid color, about the same color as the rest of the background.
My TCB story and Race Theory (which I should really rewrite to NOT be awful) are both just images I found online that seemed thematically and metaphorically appropriate. For Race Theory, I was actually thinking a diagram of the pyramid at the Louvre, and I got something that was pretty darn close.
The Gryphons has another cover by me. I used an inkwell pen to write the title out, but afterwards I started doodling a gryphon. The whole gryphon was there, but the bottom half was awful, so I just used the top half. Then I scanned it, and messed with the color settings until the scan of ink on paper was at pure black-and-white.
First Journey I drew on an online computer thing, then put a whole bunch of funny filters on it until it looked sorta like an old map.
Serpent and the Cidermare is a sketch I drew myself, then scanned, then colored over with a really stupid drawing program, then messed with the color settings until it looked alright. Then I added some fanciful red script to fill in the space.
Heh. Also I'm considering submitting Gryphonies to EQD, which I never did with BtE. Yes? No?
I say yes..
My advice is not to open that can of worms, but it's ultimately your decision.
I say submit it. Even if it doesn't go through it'll let you know that you have to edit it more. Basically submitting it to EqD is a litmus test of how good it is.