Oleg’s an amazing artist!

Last night I mentioned that I’d be visiting Oleg Volk this morning, taking with me my chosen cover image for my latest book, and working with him to turn it into covers for the print and e-book editions.  Here’s how the print cover turned out, with a wrap-around picture from edge to edge.  (Click the image for a much larger view.)

It’s amazing to sit next to Oleg and watch him at work.  He’ll examine a part of the image in minute detail, frequently blowing up a single letter or image feature until it fills the screen;  then he’ll nod absently to himself, conjure up a few Photoshop tools, click this, tug that, move the other, and hey presto – he’s completely transformed a mundane element into something that zings!  His talent as a designer is formidable.

The e-book cover will be basically the front cover of the book, cropped and resized for the slightly different dimensions and formats used by Amazon.  There’s also a handout card that I’ll be distributing at LibertyCon later this month, along with a couple of free goodies for conference-goers.  Both book covers are now going through the approval process at Amazon and CreateSpace, and I’ll be taking the card image to a local printer to get a couple of hundred made.

I’m utterly in awe of Oleg’s talent.  I may be able to write, but I’m pretty useless when it comes to the kind of visual imagination that he has.  He can pick fonts, sizes, print layout and other elements to transform a basic image into an eye-catching attention-getter.  Thanks, Oleg!

Peter