Fantasy novels set in different universes depend heavily on the art and culture of the real world, especially ancient civilizations. Princess Rouran relies even more so as it blends modern-day, mythology, and for this book, elements of the Rouran Khaganate who ruled over present Mongolia and northeast China. It takes some care to represent objects and mythical characters from a culture spanning thousands of years and putting in the effort makes artwork more effective and far more interesting.
Here are the preliminary concepts. My art direction for the covers was to choose elements that show something clearly modern and "real" alongside something fantastical. we decided to go with the dragon, who signals a shift in reality and is a guide for the protagonist. The doorway is perfect for this as both a literal and symbolic entryway to the "magical".
You can see in the color concepts that most of the composition has come together. Instead of talking about the rendering process, I want to look at the indirect reference material that went into important design decisions.
The dragon's name in this story is Qiuniu, which comes from the Chinese legend of the 9 Sons of Dragon. Much like the book's approach to "myths are real", I went with a literal approach to the dragon's anatomy, basing it off of traditional representation. The Chinese dragon has a consistent and iconic design, so finding good reference material was straightforward. The color scheme is a little less typical, but I did find plenty of colorful dragons for inspiration.
I was excited about the motif elements on this book cover and found a few examples with the cloud-like shapes I was looking for. The artifacts on the right are Han dynasty.
For the door knob element I was able to have a more direct Rouran influence. The author provided reference to an Iron Age exhibit of artifacts from the Great Steppe, which has a relationship to Rouran design. The horse was hugely important to the Rourans and nomadic peoples of the region, so when I found a horse-shaped motif, I sneakily turned it into a design for the door knob.
It's always good practice to be intentional with every aspect of an illustration!
I am bringing up an album cover illustration I did in the past for musician/composer Myles Power Davis. His EP is out and it is absolute fire! Definitely give it a listen if you like to jam to jazzy instrumentals.
Lastly, I have been slowly adding my art show pieces to my Etsy store and there are so many more framed pieces now!