Friday, March 25, 2016

Friday Flourish: Masque

Happy Friday and Happy Almost Easter everyone!

I've been celebrating Easter basically since February when my grocery store started stocking Cadbury Mini Eggs, the most delicious chocolatey-goodness ever invented. This weekend will likely consist primarily of massive chocolate consumption, but also some quality family time as well. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Before I rush off to my date with Mini Eggs though, I have another of my recent cover designs to share with you. I've had an influx of requests for illustrated covers lately, and it's made me ridiculously happy. The design memo author W.R. Gingell submitted for her fairy tale/fantasy novel Masque had me giddy with excitement not only because it's a bit of a Beauty and the Beast retelling and that's my very favorite fairy tale, but also because she emphasized her love for typography. You guys are well aware by now how much I love type and finding the perfect font for any given project, so as with last week's The Broken Crown, I started my design process by searching for the right typeface for Masque.

It didn't take me long to find a front runner – one that had a great deal of character to help create a brand for the series, as well as one that had a regal quality to it befitting the Victorian-era setting. Given the title of the book and the fact that masks themselves play a pivotal role, it seemed as though it might be odd if the design didn't incorporate a mask in some way, so once the type was in place I worked on putting the mask illustration together.

W.R. included a tagline in the artwork form she submitted to me, and when I saw the words "bloody murder", the concept for the mask really fell into place. I incorporated blood drips into the mask itself and added little blood spatter to the background, creating a bit of dark contrast to the gold and glitter of the mask and title. I couldn't be more pleased with how the cover turned out, so I hope you guys love it as much as W.R. and I do!


Beauty met the Beast and there was . . . Bloody murder?
It’s the Annual Ambassadorial Ball in Glause, and Lady Isabella Farrah, the daughter of New Civet’s Ambassador, is feeling pleasantly scintillated.
In the library is Lord Pecus, a charming gentleman whose double mask hides a beastly face, and who has decided that Isabella is the very person to break the Pecus curse.
In the ball-room is young Lord Topher, who is rapidly falling in love with an older woman.
And in the card-room, lying in a pool of his own blood, is the body of one of Isabella’s oldest friends: Raoul, Civet’s Head Guardsman. The papers sewn into his sash seem to suggest espionage gone wrong, but Isabella is not so certain.
Lord Pecus, as Commander of the Watch, is of the opinion that Isabella should keep out of the investigation and out of danger. Isabella is of the opinion that it is her murder to investigate, and that what a certain Beast-Lord doesn’t know won’t hurt him. . . .
Will Isabella find the murderer before Lord Pecus does, or will she end her investigation as a bloody spatter on the parlour floor?

Find Masque:


Find W.R.:


You can check out more of my cover design work at Seedlings Design Studio 

34 comments:

  1. WOW! That is a beauty...pun intended, but still true!

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  2. I love this cover design, it looks so beautiful Jenny! That detail on the masque is so pretty and I love the lettering.

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    1. Thanks so much Jeann! It's one I can't wait to have as a hard copy:)

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  3. I know you love doing illustrated covers and I think I love seeing them as much as you love doing them!! I adore the typography and the mask with the blood drops!
    Another case of cover lust when I must check the book because of the utterly lovely cover you've created!
    Happy Easter & chocolate eating Jenny!

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    1. WOO HOO! I do so love the illustrated ones Pili, I'm glad you do too:)

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  4. Breath taking!! I would be drawn to this book because of this cover and then the story is a wonderful added bonus!

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  5. All the design elements of this book cover are magnificent - gotta say, it's in my favorite top 10. Exceptional work Jenny!!!
    Oh wait. And may the bunny be exceedingly generous with the chocolate for your basket. Happy Easter!!! Pam

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    1. I know this one is destined for your wall, Mom:)

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  6. I'm still doing the happy dance about this cover! I honestly don't think I'll ever stop being thrilled whenever I see it

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    1. ME EITHER! Thank you so much for the opportunity to work with you on it:)

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  7. Oh my!!!! This is STUNNING! I think I need a shelf of outward facing books with just covers you designed. I can imagine people coming over and drooling over them and I can say "Oh yeah, my friend Jenny designed those covers..."
    Really, this is perfection. You got the colors perfect as they compliment each other so well. And I LOVE the typeface!

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    1. *blushes* THANK YOU!!! I have a couple shelves in my office dedicated to the books I've been lucky enough to work on, and it makes me happy every time I see them:)

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  8. WOOOOOWWW!! This is gorgeous, Jenny!!! I feel like I say this with every cover you design, but this is my favorite!
    And that tagline! I NEED!

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    1. RIGHT?! BEAUTY AND THE BEAST MURDER MYSTERY!!!! Yesssssss.

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  9. Wow! Love this cover....very eye-catching. I'm loving your illustrated covers as well. And I hear you about the Cadbury Egg obsession....I'm all about them. It's definitely my downfall around this time of the year. I hope you have a great Easter!

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    1. Cadbury eggs are the greatest thing ever. Aside from Nutella:)

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  10. Absolutely love it Jenny! the blood! It just adds to the beauty of it somehow.

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    1. Thank you Ali! I knew we needed a little blood in there after reading the tagline:)

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  11. I love this one. Font is perfect as well as the colors. The blood splatter is perfect because you don't see it right away but taking that with the red jewels on the mask... both become more sinister. Well done as always!

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    1. YAY! That's exactly what we were going for Melissa!

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  12. This may be my favorite of yours so far!

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  13. Jenny, this is so, so beautiful! I'm crazy about masque's on covers and this is just breath-taking--definitely among my favorite of your covers!

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    1. Thank you so much Keertana! It's definitely one of my favorites too:)

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  14. I think this might be one of my favorites of yours - and THAT is saying something because I love ALL your covers ♥ But man, I adore the colours, the type and the illustration! EVERYTHING just works perfectly together. You're a genius Jenny! xx

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    1. Yay!!! I'm so glad you love it as much as I do Micheline!

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  15. Happy Easter, Jenny! I love this cover so much! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Happy Easter to you as well Ksenia! And thank you:):)

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  16. Beautiful cover! I love everything about it <3 And the book sounds like a great read, I'm going to add it to my wishlist.

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  17. Hope you had a great Easter and enjoyed your eggs. :D Oh, this cover is really cool, Jenny.

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  18. Love. Love. You're so talented, Jenny!

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