Book Covers
"Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin is a book with a very complex story and characters, to the point that it may not be relatable to some viewers. Therefore, I decided to go for the De Stijl art style, which is more visually simple and pleasing to the eyes when place correctly. De Stijl art style also strives for universal harmony, which in my perspective, contrasts well with the story that James Baldwin spins in this book of theirs. During the process, I had a lot of fun playing with the typography and carefully placing the colors in every box to ensure it is all visually balanced. If given the chance, I may explore this art style in the future and experiment other ways to expand on it.
George Orwell’s “1984” is the type of story I probably would avoid, as the idea of everything you do is being watched and controlled by a bigger force. As for my take, this book cover was inspired by the Vienna Secession style, which was introduced into the art world when the Secession movement occurred when new artworks clashed with older styles. With this style, I believe it would be a good contrast to the book's original simplistic style. There was a moment where I struggled to convey the repeating pattern of rats behind the golden gates, but once I found the rhythm, I discovered the interest of just stacking layers on top of each other and putting them together like a puzzle. Now that I am more experienced using other programs to achieve the same result, I look forward to the chance to bring back this small memory during the process of work.
