WIP, ideas and new design

While researching book covers someone sent me a link to a site of a list of books with their redesigns. Each book has its own style and forms a story on the cover.

http://www.fromupnorth.com/graphic-design-inspiration-1333/

I liked the design of "The boy with a tigers heart"  and thought to use it on "The Last Unicorn" book.  So much is happening on the front cover and generates the story itself which interests the reader.

For "The Last Unicorn" I quickly sketched an outline of the bulls head.  I was thinking if using the body but it was too long and short for the page.  Inside the bulls head will be two waves climbing up the side.  These waves will be the unicorns trying to escape the sea which was told in the story.  It also shows another term for "white horses" in other words the white from the sea.  At the side of the head will be a rocky cliff with trees to form the horns.  I'm not sure at this point to leave it at that or to add the main character  at the top of the head on a bridge.  It's a working progress for now but ideas will change once I get to use illustrator. 

Also going through my list I'm thinking of leaving out a few books as I may not have enough time or have no ideas for them.  One of them is the "edge chronicles" as the idea for that design might be similar to "The Last Unicorn" and want each books to have different designs. Again I might change my mind and have a go to see what I can accomplish for the design.

Book covers update!

I have been working on two book designs. One that went really well, and one that did'nt. I think this may be due to too much research on one book that I am stuck on ideas. The first book was on George Orwell's "Animal Farm".

ehhhh nooo

It looks plain, boring and not what I expected. I decided to leave this one and work on another otherwise I won't go back to it.

The second book design is my favourite. I redesigned Richard Adams "Watership Down" after I watched the film. At first I didn't have any ideas apart from rabbits, fields and trees. Then I noticed the rabbits speaks about "The black Rabbit" whenever it comes to death, sort of like the grim reaper in the rabbit world. As the book and film was very dark I wanted to interpreted this without giving much away. This is my final design;

very nice

It looks professional in my opinion, I kept to the minimalism by focusing on large parts of the fur and the "Black Rabbit" thankfully resembles the pupil of the rabbit after showing to some people. The text is slightly annoying me as I use the text installed on illustrator, so i might have a look for more fonts online to see which goes with the style and age (I want to keep the book the same age as it came out but with a modern design).

I think I will fill out the whole page, rather than just a square in future. I'm stuck for ideas for backgrounds and if I fill out the whole page, it will look like a book.

Animal Farm

I've been researching (a bit too much) on the book Animal Farm, to try and see how i can produce the cover. The story is somewhat similar to the Russian Revolution, and I want to use this as part of my minimalism cover. There have been some covers already interpretted that way so I need to make my one original from those. My favourite cover would have to be this one by Ralph Ellison as it has that russian theme with the colours, style and typography.

The book was banned due to having similarities to the Russian involvement and the British & American alliances with Stalin during 1943-44
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Composition_and_publication

I want to produce something like this, involving the pigs, the windmill and certain styles.

Notes from Books

List of messages, objects, monsters, political state, etc from novels.

Animal Farm

• Abused at manor Farm
• Mr Jones prefers drink than care for animals
• went with other bad farmers
• came home drunker one evening, animals terrified
• night animal gathers for meeting by old Major - oldest pig when farmer went to bed.
• pigs are more clever, horses strongest, animals follow suit
• Old Major dying, wanted to say few things before too late.
• "few of us will never know the blessings of a peaceful old age. Boxer when you have given the last of your strength, what then? what ever we produce is taken from us, stolen from us and sold. our children are born cold and hungry, look at them while you can. You porkers, do you know what the future holds for you. do we deserve such a fate? is this farm too good to support us all? No comrades. When the farm is rich, but we would never get our share from farmer jones. Over throw this tyrant, so that we can be rich and free. comrades, revolt! But remember when you have got rid of jones. Dont adopt his vices. We animals are brothers, large or small, clever or simple, now and forever all animals are equal. " - Major
• animals starve as food is locked up. break in but farmer catches them. animals revolt and run the farmer out of farm. Snowball in charge gathers forces to go against other farmers that come to invade but they all defeat them.
• All apart from Napoleon will stay out of the house. Snowball thinks of laws of animal farm.
• Story similar to Russias change of power?
• Napoleon and Snowball strive for power. Snowball about setting a good example, providing a power source. Napoleon wants fear and brings up a pack of dogs as his army.
• army of dogs attack snowball, runs him out of farm. Napoleon takes over, puts the pigs at top, lesser animals at bottom. 
• Orders them to work, lies about Snowball, calling him a traitor that he was going to bring back Jones.
• Pigs breaks the laws (learns to walk on two legs, lives in Jones house, pigs get more food while others starve, kill off animals that can't work any more or against Napoleon)
•  Pigs make deals with other farmers by selling their work behind the animals backs for food for the pigs.
• Pigs become richer while the other animals become poorer and starve. beleive they are better than other animals.
• All animals unite against the pigs after pigs changed law that they are better than other animals. They tear down Jones house with the pigs still inside. Basic revert to the start.

Inspiration

Minimalism comes in all different forms. My main inspiration was the graphic design Saul Bass and his unique style of movie posters. 

"Anatomy of a Murder"
http://www.saulbassposterarchive.com/gallery/film-posters/

"Schindler's List"
http://www.saulbassposterarchive.com/gallery/film-posters/

He uses very simple shapes to come up with the object and has designed his typography using Futura, widely known for the Pink Panther title.

The Pink Panther
http://www.chud.com/articles/content_images/117/PINKPANTHERcartoontitle.JPG

Saul Bass was an inspiration to artists all over and some have used his style to make their own movie posters such as Star Wars, Batman, etc.

Star Wars by Malakh
http://orig05.deviantart.net/f867/f/2014/143/d/5/empire_poster_2_by_malakh788-d7jgjte.png

Some artists uses new movies to make these posters such as The Hunger Games:

Hunger Games
http://deathlytriforce.deviantart.com/art/Saul-Bass-inspired-Hunger-Games-Poster-334092927

There are a number of artists that are inspired by Saul Bass designs, however I want to use this style as well as another artists style which inspired me to create my portraits a few years ago. Magnus Voll Mathiassen inspired me by his Rhianna portrait. While he used curves for the shapes I would use points, and was also inspired by my class when they took up the style. While they would use the smallest points of the shadows I used the largest parts and made up my portrait.

Rhianna
http://agentpekka.com/artist/magnus-voll-mathiassen/