Usagi Yojimbo Saga Book 2 cover step-by-step

[Steve Hubbell]

about an hour ago
I finished the art for The Usagi Yojimbo Saga Book 2 cover yesterday. Here is a step-by-step look. It was done with ink and watercolor on 4-ply 500 series cold press Strathmore bristol.

The colors are a bit washed out here, but you get the idea.



This is the first idea I had for the cover. However we decided to stay away from montage covers for this series and stick to scenes.



Since Book 2 includes Grasscutter, a scene with Usagi and Jei seemed logical.



This is the pencils on the bristol. The horizontal line at the top indicates where the title banner will be for the trade paperback. The hardcover will show the entire image.

The image area is 8.25 x 12.25 inches, so the tops of the trees will be trimmed off for the trades. I was thinking of adding a lizard hanging from one of the top branches, but decided against it.



Inked with a Koh-i-noor Artpen using Badger Black Opaque ink (old formula).



I masked off the foreground and the borders and painted the backgrounds. It was at this point that I decided upon the color scheme--greens and browns.



The foreground mask was removed and painted.



This is the art with the figure masks peeled off.



Clothing was painted in. Sorry about the washed out colors. The original is much more vibrant.



The characters are detailed, and shadows painted in.



Took off the border mask, and finished.

I used some white watercolor paint for highlights. It is very subtle--like on Usagi's forefinger of his right hand.

[TigerRider]

Always fascinating and impressive how it all comes together in these steps.

I look forward to this book!

Greetings
Jens