I was surprised myself when I read the email: "I'm looking for an illustrator for my thriller." Um, I thought, have you seen my portfolio? A portfolio that mainly consists of children's books. Anyway, I love a creative challenge.
We scheduled a Zoom call where the author explained that he'd mainly worked with photo's for his previous book covers, but this time he just couldn't find or create the perfect photo. He thought an illustration would add more depth and mystery to the cover.
I was immediately enthusiastic. He then sent me examples, the book excerpt, and his cover idea. I started sketching. I had far too many ideas, and I narrowed it down to three different sketches. The author was enthusiastic, but immediately knew which sketch would be the final illustration.
I love that creative freedom. I genuinely enjoyed this project, and not long after, I was able to send him the result.
The author was happy. I'm happy. And hopefully the reader will soon be happy too, with a new thriller that you can definitely judge by its cover, so to speak. Unfortunately the book is only available in Dutch.
Looking for a good one? Tip: collaborate with Mireille van Yperen!
* After the cover was finished, the author asked if I could help create an illustration for the book that perfectly captures the mark on the cheek. Also with this illustration he was very happy with the result. When I showed it to an friend, he said, "Your illustrations make me want to read this book." That's quite a compliment!