Final Cover 1 (Alternate)

Final Cover I

Final Cover I (Alternate 2)

Final Cover 3

Transcendental Warrior Dark Sea

Transcendental Warrior 5

Spiritual Warrior

Transcendental Warrior 6

Transcendental Warrior 2

Transcendental Warrior 3

Transcendental Warrior 4

Warrior of Light

Completed on: 3/7/2005

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: One of the first pics in the second series of cover designs for my brother's book where I concentrated on a strong light source. My brother had spent many years working tirelessly compounding, editing, proofreading, and revising his material. It had been his dream to publish this book series for quite some time. I have read the book, and I can honestly say (not just because he's my brother) that this is one of the most thought provoking and deep works I have ever read. Don't take my word for it. There are many esteemed writers and martial artists who have said the same thing as well. In a nutshell the book is about the role a warrior of light must play in an evil society plagued by nescience and godlessness. It mixes in the role of martial arts, spirituality, and faith as well. Basically it is a way in which we can learn to better ourselves and overcome darkness in our lives.

Completed on: 3/7/2005

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: After a lot of work and even more revisions I had completed my second series of covers which I thought at the time were going to be the final iterations. I was satisfied with their look for a while knowing they weren't as amateurish as they once were. Not long after that I realized that I still needed to push the designs to the next level since the overall look still wasn't where I wanted it to be.

Completed on: 3/7/2005

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: Here I went with an icy, cold look which ended up not being very suitable for the end cover. I still think it came out nice though.

Completed on: 3/7/2005

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: The cover design which was destined for the last tome of the Tanscendental Warrior trilogy. Obviously, the focus here was on a night time setting. I like how I was able to get the feel of dusk while also keeping the original design intact, although now I would opt for even more realism in order to convey the feeling of night a bit better.

Completed on: 11/5/2004

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: After the fifth cover design I decided to take the image in a new direction as I had been working with the same figure and background for all five pieces and would do the same with the sixth as well. Here my focus was on lighting and mood. I intensified the oppressive tone of the agitated sea making it darker and more ominous. To counterbalance this I added a strong golden glow which would blanket the warrior's medallion. The light might be a bit too strong for some people's tastes, but I like it just the way it is. The reflection looks pretty interesting, and I'm pleased with the rain and water effect.

Completed on: 11/4/2004

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: It had been a few months since I had touched the Transcendental Warrior cover designs. I hadn't even intended to do anything but a small touch up one night, and the next thing I knew I had a design on my hands which I liked much better than my previous four. I had learned much in school over the last few quarters, and I applied much of it in this piece. The overall message and feel I was going for was a soul who is lost in the tumultuous waves of an unceasing ocean. That ocean of misery cannot be overcome unless one appeals to the highest and supreme spiritual source. The warrior calmly raises his arm in victory as he emerges from the ocean of illusion and nescience. I truly like how everything came out here even down to the reflections in the water. Also I tried to address the proportional issues in the figure which had been bugging me for a long time in the earlier designs.

Completed on: 6/22/2004

Modified on: 3/30/2006

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: This was the original warrior design from which the first two series of cover illustrations sprung from. At the time I wasn't as proficient with drawing and painting as I wanted to be, but I tried hard to capture the essence of the warrior my brother wanted featured on his cover. Most of the important aspects were in place and certain designs I kept even for my final reworkings of the covers (such as the armor and outfit), but in the end this warrior illustration proved to be too simple and ineffective. Oh, well :)

Completed on: 12/5/2004

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: I decided that the dark sea design was so appealing to me that I wanted three different versions of it for my brother's book. Transcendental Warrior is so hefty and also divided in such a way that my bro decided to release it in three equal sized parts with each tome tackling a specific topic and agenda. Naturally I figured it would be better to have the same cover (albeit with a different color scheme) for the parts to create uniformity. Here I went with a golden reddish hue which reminded me of an old photo. I particularly like how the color shifts as it reaches the sky.

Completed on: 6/27/2004

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: To get more info on my brother's book visit www.artofbodyandmind.com. This is the second cover design in the Transcendental Warrior series. My brother published the book in three parts as it is a lengthy piece of literature. We both decided this one was strong enough to serve as the second design, and in some ways I felt it was better than the first. Even now I really like the way that the warrior is merging with the light and clouds almost as if he's not of this realm. The light emanating from him was also a little detail I almost forgot to add at first. I went to town with the soft brushes on the lights in the background which was a big change from the warrior who was painted with a lot of more precise brushes and strokes. My fear was that when I combined the two the differences would be striking and painful to see, but the adjustments I had to make were minimal.

Completed on: 6/25/2004

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: This is a cover design which didn't make the final cut so to speak after my brother and I discussed its look. He said that the look of the design was a bit too dark, and I have to say I agree with him. From afar it looks like a cover for a gritty fiction novel, and that's not what I was aiming for. My goal, as every artist's should be when designing a cover page, is to know the intended audience and do a solid job of creating a work which both interests and intrigues. We both decided on this piece not being inviting enough and a bit too "scary" for some in the color choices. I included it in the gallery because in the end I still like it as a piece overall. I think the negative background effect looks cool as does the ghostly outline of the warrior. The fire effect on the sword came out pretty nicely as well.

Completed on: 6/24/2004

Medium: Ink sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: This is yet another design in the Transcendental Warrior series. One of the earlier designs as some final aspects were still missing here. I refer to this piece as the ghost warrior since he looks pretty ethereal in the picture. Not a bad start, but definitely not a final design since it's too empty and not engaging enough. There is way too much negative space around him. Still I really dig the bluish light emanating from him.

Completed on: 7/12/2003

Medium: Original pencil sketch on regular paper, coloring completed in Photoshop

Info: Another blast from the past. This was the very first cover design for my brother's Transcendental Warrior series. I had never completed it truly because as I learned newer techniques and skills in school I saw this as something which wasn't truly professional looking and stopped. The standard for a winning book cover is higher now especially when it comes to a book with an intense and interesting subject matter. Back then I had tried hard to make this as realistic as possible, but now I can see how many things went awry. The shading on the body is off and looks wrong. The head is big and looks more like a cartoon rather than a real figure. The pose is still pretty good, and the background looks decent to me even now, but the overall feel just wasn't there, and you can't have a finished product on your hands when you're missing that vital piece. It's good to see where you were in order to look ahead.