This is a cover for Melange Books.
The novel is an espionage/mystery novel with a historical setting, and based on the art form, I pictured a setting or rising sun over the ocean with the WWII Japanese flag behind it. I had a few questions based on what I’d read on the form, though, so I sent an email to the author before creating anything to clarify a few points in the story. I’d thought about having some sort of era based aircraft in the background, but I wasn’t sure what would be appropriate to the story. Turns out there weren’t any references strong enough to warrant having it on the cover. However, in corresponding with the author, he mentioned an idea for the cover that sounded very similar to what I had in mind. So I went ahead and created a proof based on a combination of both those ideas, and in the end, this is the result.
In the case of the flag, I used the stock image for the basis, then extended the suns rays so that they would bleed off the edge of the cover. Another thing I found that may be useful to keep in mind is that deep reds don’t seem to want to translate well from sRGB to CMYK for the print version. As a result, I found that curves adjustments and color balance adjustments can be rather useful in trying to match the CMYK print version of the cover to the RGB ebook version.
Stock images from Dreamstime:
http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-islands-scenic-ocean-image7860079
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-sunset-image14014412
http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-kamikaze-image8000487
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-grunge-folded-paper-texture-image5110364
Stephanie Flint - Author and Artist 