Writer Thursdays – Creating a Graphic Blend

Welcome to Writer Thursdays, where I unpack my novel writing process from start to finish.

Today, I’ve decided to create a graphic blend to represent my hero and heroine. This is for fun and not client-based or commercial work, hence I’m able to use some graphics I might not otherwise be able to blend in to bring the creation to life. Here are some details about what we’ll be working with:

Title: PETALS & DUST
Heroine: Emily Ruhl
Hero: Noah Mills

Images

For the hero and heroine, images are easily found on Google. For stock imagery, I sift through stock photos from Pixabay and Unsplash, or other similar commercial free sites. I tend to search as I’m progressing as sometimes I’ll find a killer photo with a component I want to use, but it ends up clashing with the flow.

Here are some snapshots of how I compiled the images (click for larger view):

As you can see, between the third and fourth image, that dead tree wasn’t working anymore. I exchanged for a more verdant plant. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but if you’ve ever seen my drawing skills you’d run the other direction. So verdant stalk-like plant it is.

In regard to the dragon, this I found on a wallpaper site with no artist name attached. But it’s already become strong inspiration for one of the dragons who will appear through the TREE portal. I can’t wait to meet this guy.

Coloring

Once I have all the pieces in order and to the best effect, next is coloring. This is the area that can make or break the effect on an image, so I tend to use layers and layers of coloring, filters, and play with shadow and light until I can call forth the right feel for the piece. On the left below is the end result, but some days a grayer, drearier existence (right) can have a strong effect.

This sucker took me several hours to complete, but I still spent days afterward tweaking the colors. Although it doesn’t fully capture Nefira and Ronin’s adventure, it does give a glimpse into the deeper underbelly of how the portals work. Psst… near Ronin gives a strong view of this.

Anywho… that’s it. Doing blends like this takes a lot of practice, and a ton of mistakes. But they can be a fun way to kill time and get to know the characters in your world. 🙂

If you like this article, be sure to check out Writer Thursday for more on my adventure from dumpster fire to digestible story. You can also subscribe to this blog and be the first to know when new content is delivered.