Fables 73

 Prelim:  5.5" x 8.5", graphite on bond
Final Drawing:  20" x 30", charcoal and white chalk on Rives BFK

A new style of cover for three part "War and Pieces" storyline!  James' comments from ProcessRecess:

 "I was asked to depict a flying vessel designed by Mark Buckingham on this cover. Instead of featuring the whole ship, I decided that it might be more dramatic to concentrate on the figure head, which would also leave something to the imagination for the story within.

Using vine charcoal, I laid in a basic tone and pulled away the lights with a kneaded eraser and darkened areas with compressed charcoal. At the end, I added the highlights with white chalk.

The shape and silhouette of the ship and the simple color scheme help the cover read well from a distance. I designed the type on the bottom of the cover, and carried over the blue color into the birds for a sense of continuity."