This is a recent project that shows how 3D graphics can be used in creating cover artwork for a science fiction novel.  This project went through a few revisions and the final book graphic may look differently than this posting.

Current Cover

This is not my work, but it shows where the project started out.

First Version

The first version was mostly some Photoshop work with a 3D rendering of an abstract molecule type machine.  I knew the novel had something to do with energy technology and I attempted to make something that reminded me of that.  Although my client seemed willing to go with this cover I felt that I could do better.

Second Version

After reading the novel I had a better feel for what I wanted to do on the cover graphic.  The novel really has a lot to do with the birth of new technologies and the resulting entry of mankind into the space frontier.  I wanted to convey a bit of mystery and feeling of adventure.

The mountain top image started out as a daytime picture of Mount Shasta that I took with my Panasonic Lumix camera.  Using Photoshop I adjusted the lighting to blue it up more and give it a nighttime feel.  It looked fine but I wanted to enhance the lighting so that the lighting effects on the top of the mountain were more emphasized.  Using terrain data from the USGS I made a 3D model of Mount Shasta and aligned the camera angle up so that it matched the photograph.  In Softimage I adjusted the lighting on the 3D model so that it looked good for the lava eruption effect and combined the result using layering in Photoshop.  The rest of the image is just some particle effects and modeling produced in Softimage combined with text from Photoshop and a night sky image.  Image credit for the Cats Claw nebula partially shown in the center of the spacecraft goes to the European Southern Observatory.

If you are interested, you can get a copy of the book here: Super Volcano on Lulu

(Lightsplasher is not affiliated with Lulu.com)