Tag Archives: book cover

Corsairs of Cthulhu – back cover art

08 Thursday Jul 2021

Posted by in Fantasy, Fantasy art

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I’ve always fancied creating an image of Cthulhu…

… and so when putting together some pre-made covers I mentioned I’d done something to Ben of New Comet Games. He really liked it and decided to use it for the back cover of this book “Corsairs of Cthulhu” which you can pre order on that page.

Stormy seas are something I’d like to visit again soon. That was a lot of fun.

Corsairs of Cthulhu back cover art

As usual the work of Frank Frazetta and Todd Lockwood, as well as Alan Lee, Brian Froud, Rodney Mathews, and Peter A. Jones filled my mind and I hope I channelled it into something that was more me than anything else.

Please like and share on social media.. Every little helps 😉

Posters available here

First Breach

19 Saturday Jun 2021

Posted by in Fantasy, Fantasy art

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This is the third in a series of covers I was asked to produce for “The Planar Cycle” series by Chamberlain Potts.
An incredible fantasy that gave me lots of amazing imagery to work with. Here I depicted “The Bleeding Elm“. A thirty-foot gnarly leafless tree with an abnormally thick truck. They’re covered in thick thorns and have vines that run along the ground to capture and impale anything that ventures too close onto the trunk. Along with the Cymarion in the foreground. I always do my best to ensure all my customers get the maximum value and impact and I also really enjoy doing this.

You can visit here to check out the books

First Breach Front Cover

Lots of fun with this one. Dark forests are always a challenge. Once again the inspiration of Frank Frazetta and Todd Lockwood, as well as Alan Lee, Brian Froud, Rodney Mathews, and Peter A. Jones, play a big part, but hopefully I’m mostly channeling me!

First Breach Front, back and spine

Posters are available here

The Loyalty of Water

04 Saturday May 2019

Posted by in Book cover, Fantasy art

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When Stephani approached me to produce a cover for this book I knew it would be a Challenge.

The Loyalty Of Wate600 px

However, in the end, I feel I produced one of my best covers. The story’s conflicts characters and environments meant I had plenty to work with. The influences of Frank Frazetta and Todd Lockwood, as well as Alan Lee and Peter A. Jones,  are very prevalent in this painting, though I’m always trying to add my own twist.
If you want to check the book out, go here.

Posters available here: https://www.deviantart.com/keithdraws/gallery/

Vampire Squid – My Interview

07 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in Comic Art, Fantasy art, Interviews, Science Fiction

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I meant to post this when it came out, but I got very busy… I hope you enjoy it.Vampire Squid Interview with Keith Draws

From the Interview:

“A doodler from an extremely young age, encouraged by the freedom to do as he pleased at school, Keith Draws has been an artist at heart for his entire life. Inspired by the sci-fi, fantasy and superheroes that amazed him as a child, he has gone on to create art for bands, books and games.

With a new sci-fi novel series proudly displaying his artwork on the covers and a crowdfunded superhero anthology in the works, Keith is more in demand today than ever before. He has mastered the art of telling a whole story in just a single frame, using shape and colour and detail to create intriguing and captivating pieces that draw you into everything his named is attached to.

We spoke to Keith to find out how he developed his skills and where they will take him next.

Kirstie: How did you get into art?

Keith: Drawing and painting is something I always enjoyed but it became something more when I started school. At the time the school were running an experiment (it was in the ‘60’s). The whole infant block was open plan and the idea was that kids could enter and leave any lessons they wanted to at any time. So of course, I would wander off and draw pretty much all the time. It’s all I remember doing for those two years. More…”

Meghan’s Dragon

17 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by in Fantasy, Fantasy art, Illustration.

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I’ve been working with E. M. Foner for a few years now.

He writes science fiction and Fantasy with a light comedic twist. In this case the cover for “Meghan’s Dragon” was to feature a young girl and her Dragon (who happens to also be extremely hungry all the time). And I have to indicate the humor found in the story.

Comedic illustration is never the easiest thing to do but when it’s done well it can be hilarious.

Mort Drucker

Mort Drucker

For me, there is nobody better at this than Mort Drucker (famous mainly for his work in Mad Magazine).

So when faced with this challenge I looked at what he does. And what he does is incredible, he sets up situations and then punctuates the joke using the characters facial expressions. I also looked at the Dragons created by Todd Lockwood, which are all pretty scary and used that as a direction to avoid!  So with that in mind, I set about working on ideas and after several roughs and some to and fro between the Author and I/we finally settled on this.

meghans-dragon-600px

My indicator that it works is that my kids laugh at it and immediately make up stories about what’s going on… Mind you, They are both under 9 years old and they laugh at my jokes too, so maybe that’s not the best guide… Anyway…

It’s probably the first time ever that I’ve welcomed people laughing at my work! Maybe I’m dragoning this post out a bit so I’ll end it here.

Here’s where you can get this book: https://goo.gl/iuLvGb

And posters are available here: http://keithdraws.deviantart.com/gallery/

Swords Of The Imperium

11 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by in Fantasy art, Science Fiction

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The challenge of producing art for a series.

Working on a series of covers is always a challenge and it’s important to retain a strong identity and feel. So far so good I think.

Swords of the Imperium cover art © Keith Draws

Swords of the Imperium cover art © Keith Draws

This is the second cover for the new series of science fantasy/dark fantasy books by Brian Choi and Erica Carson.
If you want to buy the book or want to know more about the Authors :

Amazon/KDP sale site: https://goo.gl/M9bxyO

Author website: www.carsonchoi.com

Author facebook: www.facebook.com/Bryan-Choi-16…

Author twitter: @bchoiemdoc

Posters here: http://keithdraws.deviantart.com/gallery/

Frank Frazetta Inspired

05 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by in Book cover, Uncategorized

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Frank Frazetta has always been a hero of mine.

So when I get the chance to produce work in the genre of Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Art I jump at the opportunity.

The Dark Forest cover art © Keith Draws

The Dark Forest cover art © Keith Draws

Now I don’t want to just copy the style of Frank, no, I want to pay homage by creating a piece of work that is clearly inspired by him, while being essentially my work. And it also must sell the book it is painted for by reflecting the atmosphere, characters and excitement contained therein.
David A. Brogdon gave me that opportunity recently. I read the book and discussed the concepts with him and above is the result.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express my appreciation for the impact Frank has had on my life but this kind of work goes some way toward that.

The Book is now up for sale here: www.amazon.com/dp/B01AQNRG7U
Posters are here:
http://keithdraws.deviantart.com/art/The-Dark-Forest-Landscape-613475874
and here:
http://keithdraws.deviantart.com/art/The-Dark-Forest-613477764

Alien Abduction

03 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by in Illustration.

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Nash- the Abduction by Mason Dodd

Alien abduction is not a subject I’ve explored in art before. This project gave me the opportunity.
The book is available here: https://goo.gl/ad2G4O
Posters here: http://goo.gl/hggfPw

Nash-The-Abduction- cover art © Keith Draws

Nash-The-Abduction- cover art © Keith Draws

Science Fiction and Fantasy Dreaming.

28 Saturday May 2016

Posted by in Book cover, Fantasy art, Illustration., Science Fiction, Uncategorized

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And How Those Dreams Came True.

As a youth I spent hours in bookshops, looking for scifi and fantasy art on book covers. I’d find a few I liked, buy them and when I got home, I’d study the art and try to learn how to do it. I dreamed about doing that kind of art for a living.

Jim Burns, Todd Lockwood, Peter A. Jones,  Chris Foss, Chris Achilleos,  Frank Frazetta, Boris and Julie Bell, Bruce Pennington and Peter Elson (to name but a few) were major influences. In the past few years, I’ve even been lucky enough to get to know a few of these people.

Even more amazing I actually now get paid to do work in that genre. I produce a lot of Sci fi images for the Great and Prolific Author Richard Tongue. In fact, I’ve done more than twenty illustrations for him to date, and they just get more challenging every time.

Always pursue your dreams. It’s worth it.

Here are a few of the more recent covers I’ve done for Richard:

The Battle of Hercules cover art © Keith Draws

The Battle of Hercules cover art © Keith Draws

 

Interceptor cover art © Keith Draws

Interceptor cover art © Keith Draws

Starfighter cover art © Keith Draws

Starfighter cover art © Keith Draws

Forbidden Seas cover art © Keith Draws

Forbidden Seas cover art © Keith Draws

Magic Times

26 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in Fantasy art, Illustration.

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This was something of a challenge

…and getting all the key element’s in place turned out to be a lot of fun.
Harvey Click always manages to overheat my brain cells in the best possible way!

I’m even thinking it might be cool to make a complete set of Tarot cards… If only I had the time.
Magic Times e book coverThe Fool Tart Card

Magic Times cover art © Keith Draws