I love making promotional images. However, I noticed I had fallen into a rut. Or, more accurately, doing what everyone else does. Not a terrible thing, because it works.  Mostly you slap a picture of your book on top of the cover art. It looks nice. The colors work well and it creates a harmonious drama to the image. 

One thing I try to force myself to do is to deconstruct something and try building it completely differently. This is super hard when re-writing stories. You’ve put a ton of work into an outline or a first draft. it’s difficult to scrap all that work. I know, I’m attempting to do it right now with a picture book that’s been sitting around for a couple years. Thankfully, it’s much easier to do with art.

Scratch up a doodle in a couple minutes. Don’t like it? Scratch up another one. Each time I do, I attempt to redraw it in a unique style or angle. It’s the same with book promos. I’m fortunate that I’m also the artist. I don’t have to charge myself for a few extra drawings. That’s why I should push myself more outside of the creative comfort zones.

With this image, I thought it would be cool to have a few of the characters loitering around the book. And I wanted them on a white background instead of a heavy, moody background. Voila! A few doodles later and I have some of the cast just chilling. Looked good on a white background but I tested out throwing in a subtle background. It works...kind of. I need to test it out and see if people respond to it. 

The lesson learned is that even when you’re doing something you enjoy, you need to prevent it from becoming a grind and step outside, walk around it and see it from fresh vantage points. Creativity doesn’t just happen. It takes thought and discipline.