Behind the Scenes – Nairobi Bloodstar

This is a cover for Melange Books. In my first proof, I gave this more of a historical movie poster look, but upon learning the book had a bit more of an action-thriller bent, I put more of a focus on the train wreck explosion than the scenery and characters. Still, I added texturing to give the cover the historical feeling, and I played with the coloring (we wanted the red highlights for the ruby). After playing with positioning of the title and the hands with the ruby, this is the final result:

Stock images from Dreamstime:

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-old-stained-paper-texture-beige-image39122645

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-savanna-landscape-africa-amboseli-kenya-image29222114

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-black-hands-pills-two-african-holding-pain-image37001611

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-ruby-polished-slice-image9155467

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-giant-explosion-image11628125

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-train-crash-accident-image43972160