March 2019 - Classic Cover - WIPs

Noice!

I'm calling "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." I love Phillip K. Dick and I'm definitely going with the Bladerunner vibe (even though the movie is different than the book). Love them both.

Good choice Hansnomad! If we’re calling then I’m going with either Dune or God Emporor of Dune.

Thanks, Charlotte. Sometimes when I need to shake off the cobwebs, I pop back in here and see what's cooking for the month. Been going through a dry creative patch lately where I'm bored of all my ideas and everything feels generic. I need a kick in the ass--so here I am.

Atto: Dune is another classic that can't go wrong. Look forward to seeing you give it a go.

I decided I want to design this cover with a bit of late 1960's/early 1970's graphic design paperback vibe in mind. I also want to use imagery from the Ridley Scott movie , but change it up a bit and get away from the crowded neon city with giant digital billboards and oriental signs which were a staple in the movie (but not the book which came out in the late 1960's, I think).

I want to use Harrison Ford's likeness, but not like in the movie, but an older, more world-weary version, more like he looked in the most recent Star Wars movie he just did (which is more of what I picture the character in the book to look like). I also want to use Rachael (Sean Young) also since her retro look in the movie will fit in to the look I want.

I want to show the city as a backdrop without the neon, but a more slapped together place (in the book, most of earth was abandoned in favor of Mars and other off-world colonies due to the radiation from war), so the cities did not look all neon and polish like in the movie, but in my mind, more like slums.

Deckard will be holding a gun on the cover (since pulp covers from the 1960's did that a lot), but it will not be the high tech gun from the movie, but a more traditional weapon that looks retro-futuristic.

I have sketched out the design (at least what I like right now) and will post it as soon as I scan it in (I scribbled it on paper--went retro myself).

That all sounds very cool and much more appropriate to the original book (which is far superior to the movie imho). ‘Androids’ was originally published in the late 60s as a series of novellas in a pulp collection of new talent as far as I can remember.
My copy has the original movie poster on the cover which I believe was drawn by the great Drew Struzan (weird how I’ve never actually checked that).
I like the idea of a bedraggled older Ford as well. I mean in the book Deckard was more of an accountant than a police officer.
I’m afraid I’ve plumped for the easy option of portraying one of the versions of Muad’Dib from the screen.
But not Maclachclan. I’ve started mine as a portrait of Alec Newman as the Kwizats Haderach. I want to add in some Atreides insignias (the hawk) and some graphic effects to indicate the characters prescient powers but I find it difficult to do all that at one time. So I thought I’d start with the portrait and add all the devices in as I go.
Here’s where I’m at......

Just decided to go ahead and post without the concept sketch. I'm pretty much sold on the idea so I'm just going with it. I started with the main character on the cover. There's a ton of reference for the outfits Deckard wore in the throughout the movie. Also a ton of reference photos of an older Harrison Ford. Don't know if it looks 100% like him, but it really doesn't matter.

All I did was paint the head (and a portion of the shirt) and the hands and gun. The overcoat was sketched in for form and then just filled in with solid black using the Photoshop fill tool (this will be used as a container for another image).

It's a transparent layer (and a bit messy in spots at the moment) it just shows up as white background when flat. I'll be adding the other elements of the cover on separate layers (so they are easier to edit as I go).

WIP01

Hansnomad: Wow, that's a lot of work there already. Very impressive. And great hands too!
The only thing that's stopping it looking like "Actor" Harrison Ford is the pale hair but if you're going more for a "character" likeness then none of that matters.

Atto: And that one's looking good too, all the planes of the face are well defined and the colour choices are working so far.
I quite liked Alec Newman in that TV version (and I remember a young James McAvoy in the sequel too.) It was a pretty good version considering the limits of the TV budget.
Are you looking forward to the new movies? They seem to be assembling quite an impressive cast.