Contest of Covers

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The Contest of Covers CHAMPION!!

Posted on by J.W. Martin

We have a winner! And it’s Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill.

At times it was awfully close, but in the end the win was decisive and without controversy.  And although this book will forever belong to C. Robert Cargill, this contest has been all about the cover. That being said, let’s put the spotlight on the artist behind this masterpiece.

Dominic Harman is an illustrator that has been putting in work for over 20 years, and he’s worked with just about everyone. From just about every sci-fi and fantasy based literary magazine you’ve ever heard of, to some of biggest publishing companies like Simon & Shuster, Macmillan, and Random House (just to name a few) to CD covers for bands including the Insane Clown Posse, this guy has done it all. And though I have no way to confirm or deny, I like to think Dominic owns a panel van with a kick ass mural of a warrior woman riding a half-dragon, half-unicorn into a rainbow made of rock and roll.

Check out some of the additional SEA OF RUST artwork I found on Dominic’s website. It’s awesome!

Fantastic stuff, right? Now check out some of the other stuff he’s done. I can’t place it all it from books and magazines, but I’m in love with all of it.

ALL ARTWORK IN THIS POST BELONGS TO DOMINIC HARMAN AND WAS FOUND AT: www.dominic-harman.com

I want to give an extra special thank you to those that kept coming to this blog each round to cast their votes. Without you, the contest would not have been possible.

Fun fact about this post: Prints are available of many of Dominic’s pieces. Just saying, in case anyone was looking to get me a gift or something…
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Contest of Covers – The Final Showdown

Posted on by J.W. Martin

THE FINAL ROUND

Okay. I’ve been putting this post off for a little while, but I had good reason.

Ink had a very decisive win over Salt to the Sea, but Pride and Sea of Rust were stuck at a stalemate. I held off on moving to the final round in hopes that another vote would come alone and break the tie. That did not happen.

I could have cast my own vote, but that seemed like the wrong way to handle things. Instead, here’s what we’re going to do for the final round:

TRIPLE THREAT! 3-WAY! 1 on 1 on 1! Whatever you want to call it, we have 3 covers and only one will be the Contest of Covers Champion!

 

 

Which will you choose? Leave your vote in a comment below. Share this post with bookish family and friends!

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)

 

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Pride vs. Sea of Rust – Contest of Covers

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Semi-final Round – Match 2

We’ve already discussed these covers from round 1, so in this round I’m just going to shut up, let you look at the cover, and vote.

 

Which will you choose? Leave your vote in a comment below. Share this post with bookish family and friends!

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)

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Ink vs. Salt to the Sea – Contest of Covers

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Semi-final Round – Match 1

We’ve already discussed these covers from round 1, so in this round I’m just going to shut up, let you look at the cover, and vote.

 

Which will you choose? Leave your vote in a comment below. Share this post with bookish family and friends!

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)

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Contest of Covers – Wrapping up Round 2

Posted on by J.W. Martin

What a round!

The choices were a little harder, but most of the winning covers won by a fair number of votes. Honestly, most of the match ups went exactly as I expected, except for the final. I thought Nevernight was going to end up in the final round. BUT, I may have thought that because of the weight that the title NEVERNIGHT carries. And as we know, this contest is not about the story within the book, but the cover without.

The two match ups in ROUND 3 are going to be some of the toughest choices yet. I have my thoughts on what the championship round will look like, but I can’t wait to see if it ends up coming true, or if there’s still another surprise or two in store!

Thanks to everyone who has been voting all along. This series of posts would not be possible without you.

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)

 

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Nevernight vs. Sea of Rust – Contest of Covers

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Round 2 – Match 4

We’ve already discussed these covers from round 1, so in this round I’m just going to shut up, let you look at the cover, and vote.

 

Which will you choose? Leave your vote in a comment below. Share this post with family and friends!

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)

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Pride vs. Red Rising – Contest of Covers

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Round 2 – Match 3

We’ve already discussed these covers from round 1, so in this round I’m just going to shut up, let you look at the cover, and vote.

 

Which will you choose? Leave your vote in a comment below. Share this post with family and friends!

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)

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Hot Dog Girl vs. Salt to the Sea – Contest of Covers

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Round 2 – Match 2

We’ve already discussed these covers from round 1, so in this round I’m just going to shut up, let you look at the cover, and vote.

 

Which will you choose? Leave your vote in a comment below. Share this post with family and friends!

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)

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Ink vs. Jackaby – Contest of Covers

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Round 2 – Match 1

We’ve already discussed these covers from round 1, so in this round I’m just going to shut up, let you look at the cover, and vote.

 

Which will you choose? Leave your vote in a comment below. Share this post with family and friends!

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)

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Contest of Covers – Round 1 Wrap-Up

Posted on by J.W. Martin

This post is about a week late due to the whirlwind lifestyle that is thrust upon me when my job gets stupid-busy. There was also work-related travel involved, and the few days left over died at the hands of pure unbridled laziness. You have my deepest apologies.

Round 1 of the Contest of Covers was exciting. Some of the match-ups gave voters a really tough decision, while other match-ups were no-brainers. Here’s how to field ended up:

Round 2 will feature 4 match-ups and some tough decisions. If you thought some of round 1’s choices were hard, round 2 is going to be on a whole other level.

The first match-up of round 2 will (hopefully) be this Wednesday. See you then!

Fun fact about this post: More work travel this week, hence the “hopefully.”