Book #2 Cover Design

I don't know how much people will be interested in reading this but I thought I would post the actual document that I use to communicate the initial starting point of the book cover design. This cover design spec is not as detailed as I might normally make one because it leans on book #1's cover design. Books one through four are part of a serial story and are tightly linked. The story continues uninterrupted from book to book. So the covers reflect that uniformity. This serial is a bit unusual in that all four books cover roughly an eight week period on the storyline (plus some history of the childhood of some of the older characters). Anyway, here is the cover design:

Cover Spec for Book#2:

Overview of Cover Design

This cover design is for book #2 of a four part serial novel. Because it is a serial and not a series, the story line continues uninterrupted across all four books. Therefore, all four books have a similar look, with some parts of the cover being exactly the same. The titling for the books will be in bright cyan. In the upper left-hand corner of the cover will be the same exact crystalline pyramid with aurora-like glow from within and a pulsing beam from the top apex shooting across the page. Whatever the final design for this element is in book #1, the exact same image needs to be used in book#2. In the top right corner of the cover needs to be a large number 2 indicating that this book is number two of the series. It should be the same style and size as the numeral one used on book #1.  Either along the top edge or the spine edge needs to be "Children of Sophista Book Series". It needs to be in the same location and in the same style as book #1. Near the top of the cover in exactly the same style as book#1 should be the main title: "The Saeshell Book of Time". Below the main title should be the subtitle unique to the book: "Part 2: The Rebirth of Innocents". The title should be in the same style as book #1's subtitle. This should complete the fixed elements of the cover.

The Cover Scene for Book#2

The same Stefan and Tova2 characters created for book #1 will be carried over to book #2. Both Stefan and Tova2 will be near the center of the cover, next to each other, facing toward the reader. They will be the most foreground of all cover elements. Stefan is still a seventh-grader with the same sixties retro hairstyle as in book#1. His hair is a very light brown with two fluorescing thin bright red streaks coming from the crown of his head and running to his forehead: one going to the left front side and the other one going to the right front side. Parallel to the red streaks are two thin fluorescing blue streaks, one on each side. A streak of his light brown hair appears between the blue streak and the red streak. The light brown hair does not fluoresce.  The color of the iris in Stefan's eyes is bright golden and they are glowing. He is holding out his two hands slightly, palms up, and is looking down at them. A purple jewel is floating above his left hand and a purple mist is streaming from it to Stefan's right hand. Floating above Stefan's right hand is a statue of a lizard like man, made of the purple jewel material. The purple mist streaming from the jewel in Stefan's left hand is materializing into the purple lizard man statue floating above Stefan's right hand. You will need to draw the jewel and the lizard man so that it is clear that the jewel is dissolving and the lizard man is materializing.

Tova2 is still nineteen-years-old in this picture, just as she was on the cover of book #1. Just as it was for book #1, her hair is platinum blond with a long ponytail extending down in the back. Since she is facing forward, you cannot see it probably, but her hair style is the way it needs to be having been pulled into a ponytail in back. She has the same two fluorescing red and blue hair streaks as Stefan. The irises of her eyes are blue and are emitting a blue glow. Tova2 has her hands out in front of her, palms up, just as Stefan does. Floating above her left hand is the same purple jewel as Stefan's. Floating above her right hand is a real purple flower with large petals made of real living flesh. A purple stream is streaming out of the dissolving jewel above her left hand and hitting the flower above her right hand. The flower is in the process of materializing from the purple stream.

Both Stefan and Tova2 are wearing the same shimmery white satin pajamas: a collarless shirt which is not button up and featureless pants. On both of them, their left sleeve has two color bands around it: one band is blue and the other is bright red. Be sure the blue band is truly blue as a cyan band means something different in their culture. Remember, the top of Stefan's head is even with Tova2's neck.

The next cover element is a group of small nine-year-old kids called the Pauls. All Pauls look almost identical. The Pauls have platinum blond hair. The iris of their eyes is blue and it has small green triangles embedded in it. Paul1 and Paul25 have blue eye shadow on their eyelids. Paul7 has black eye shadow on his eyelids. All Pauls wear the shimmery white satin pajamas. Each Paul has their number printed in blue on the front of the left shoulder of their pajamas. Paul25 is floating up in the air above Tova2 looking down at what she is doing with a big smile. Paul1 is floating up in the air above Stefan looking down at what he is doing with an intense, thoughtful expression and displaying a muted smile. To the right of Stefan and Tova2 and slightly further back, Elof2 and Paul7 are standing side by side. Paul7 has his two index fingers pointed at each other, about a foot apart. A bolt of lightning is jumping between his two index fingers. Elof2 has one of his hands on Paul7's shoulder and is watching what he is doing. Elof2 is dressed in shimmery black satin pajamas. This is the same twenty-year-old Tibetan-American character that is on the cover of book#1. Don't forget the red fluorescent hair streaks (two on the left side and two on the right side) running from the crown of his head to the front.

Sitting on the ground at the foot of Stefan and Tova2 is Stefan's three-year-old little sister, Aleah. She has platinum blond hair which reflects light in such a way that it looks like little lights of different colors of the rainbow are in her hair. She is wearing the same pajamas as everyone else except that hers are shimmery purple. She is holding with both her hands a large purple jewel and she is examining it. Her eyes are bright golden.

All people in the picture are barefoot. The setting for this scene is a lush tropical garden.