|
Matt found
Mr. Steve Thomason through a mutual friend. As head of Spot
Productions, Inc., Steve works in many different styles: airbrush,
charcoal sketches, oils. He managed the caricature operation for six
years at a Las Vegas attraction before going into the ministry and ultimately
forming Spot Productions, Inc. Below are the various incarnations of
the cover designed for The Calling.
 Matt
described a scene to Steve near the end of the book showing Hsulor,
the main character of the novel, on the world of New Nexus. Hsulor kneels
on a beach, staring up at a half destroyed city, a giant robot hand
sticking out of the dirt, a broken vehicle burning to the side. Hsulor
was to have a samurai sword in scabbard strapped to his back. A ray
of sunshine, streaming through the clouds and smoke, was later to be
put in after color was added. This first black and white pencil sketch
was the result.
 The
biggest change Matt requested after the first sketch was to change Hsulor’s
location. Matt reasoned if the reader were to place himself in the picture,
it would be from the vantage point of Hsulor. Matt wanted an imaginary
line being drawn from Hsulor’s eye level upward to the ray of
sunshine streaming down (coming through the middle of the letter G in
the title “The Calling.” This up and to the right imaginary
line subconsciously would give the viewer a sense of upward movement,
a dynamic, positive feeling.
 For
the third sketch, Matt pointed out that the robot hand from the second
sketch looked too human. It was changed to be more robotic. Further
changes included making the car into a tank, to show that a battle had
occurred on this world. Initial colors were added to allow discussion
on the color scheme.
 The
position of the robot hand was still not quite right, and the two discussed
the proper orientation. It was supposed to look as if the robot armor
were trying to push through the ground and had died there, falling limp.
Other changes were to make the tank more futuristic as well as make
the samurai sword closer to the real thing. And finally, the color scheme
was changed drastically to add a sense of destruction with the ray of
sunlight streaming down.
|
