THE BEAST OF CRETACEA
THE EVOLUTION OF THE COVER
The first cover I was shown for the book was this white and blue illustration.
While I liked its nautical theme and the idea of sailors struggling, I felt that it failed to convey a sense of futristic science fiction adventure. A friend in the fashion business even said the manta ray-like beast reminded her of a woman’s dress. Straps, bust, waist, and widening skirt.
I asked my daughter Lia, an artist and illustrator, if she would help. To steer her in the desired direction, I provided her with some visual prompts.
A painting of Moby Dick.
Some mantas.
A contem-porary whaling ship.
A Zodiac-type boat, like the ones I imagined the hunters in my book would use when persuing beasts.
Lia’s first version was inspired.
But I realized that having the zodiac and men so close to the beast would give the reader a sense of the creature’s size that I prefered to leave mysterious.
Lia gamely tried again.
The two barely visible survivors in the foreground would have been made to look more realistic.
Finally, we decided that the sailors simply weren’t necessary. Next, the art director at Candlewick added a background that would convey a sense of space travel.
This Hubble telescope image isn’t the exact background, but I think it must have served as inspiration.
For the final product, the art director at Candlewick moved the ship under the beast’s left wing so that he could make the image of the creature as large as possible on the cover.
Thar she blows!