lukavi-
Thanks a lot.

Downforit-
Thanks, and sorry .

Quote Originally Posted by Red_Rook
Something just occured to me on the cat cover with the pentagram, is it possible that the book case is a little too high up? im not really sure but something seems a tiny bit off, especially when i saw your ref. Maybe its my own mind though.
It's entirely possible. If you compare the ref to the painting you can see how I moved stuff around for composiitonal reasons, and rather than rework the perspective I just hoped if it was painted well enough no one would notice .
Quote Originally Posted by Red_Rook
The new batch are really really nice I like them alot Im curious about where the text goes in them, and if you plan that ahead of time, or if someone else worries about that later?
Generally when I'm doing cover sketches I try to leave the top third or so pretty clear, but if I come up with a compositon that lends itself to a differnt type treatment I'll suggest it. For the Magic series, for instance, the type runs through the center of all the covers. Sometimes the client will give me a cover design using my rough sketch for type placement, and I can take that into account for the final.

glickster-
Thank you.

Quote Originally Posted by Arctis
Great job on the children's faces ; however the pieces of glass (?) tends to be too similar in size, and the way they break lacks a bit of drama.
They're not actually pieces of glass, although I know it could be clearer. In the book the kids discover a puzzle that, when put together into a picture of dragons, transports each of them to a different time and place. So the dragon is supposed to be coming apart into pieces, but not shattering.

Sems-
Thank you.

Carnifex-
I know exactly what you mean.

vctr-
Thanks, and you're welcome.

Quote Originally Posted by Mort
i think the hand with the spear is a bit to masculine. perhaps its the nails? or the deep texture of the hand like shes been working with hard labour or something.
You're right, the texture of the palm of the hand could have been played down a little.

Quote Originally Posted by Denart
ah! oils over acrylics. I'v heard of many artists that do this (brom). any reasons why this is such a used method?
The fast drying time of acrylics makes them convenient for underpainting, while the longer open time of oils allows for more refined blending and paint handling.
Quote Originally Posted by Denart
the kids look like they're from the 90's... 8)
Well, the book was originally published in the seventies, so I was trying for something that could be now, could be then. I guess that averages out to the 90's .

Quote Originally Posted by nonie
Love that last pic - the sleeve and staff could maybe look wet, but if the person is sinking it makes sense that they're dry.
She is supposed to be rising, but it's the Lady of the Lake, so her magic allows her to come out of the water bone dry . (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)

bcarman-
Thank you, and please, feel free to add anything helpful, at any time.

Quote Originally Posted by MoP
That said, those last crits were rather outrageous nitpicks, and chances are the majority wouldn't notice them, wouldn't agree with me, or wouldn't care
No problem . As I said, I often play fast and loose with perspective for compositional reasons, and hope the piece works well enough that people won't notice/care. Fall of Night actually has a lot of that going on, if you want to look for it.

Jarri-
Thank you.

bdfoster-
Thanks!