End-Semester Book Cover Redesigns

JennethArtwork, Book Covers, DesignLeave a Comment

This is the second half of my semester redesigns. For our Conceptual Communications class we had to create weekly artwork based on a prompt. I decided to redesign well-known book covers based on each. Below are each of the three covers with their original photo references that I used to combine into a single image. One of my goals for these projects is to create a professional book cover using entirely free resources from Pixabay, Dafont, and other online sites (with the obvious exception of Adobe, which sadly isn’t free). Below you can see each photo I used in each cover, and you can find every resource free online.

The Genres of Red Riding Hood

JennethArtwork, Book Covers, Design3 Comments

For my graduate Conceptual Communication class, I had to do a project that would depict the idea of “compare and contrast.” I decided to do a genre study and create a set of book covers that showed the classic story of Red Riding Hood in six of the biggest genres on the market.

Mid-Semester Book Cover Redesigns

JennethArtwork, Book Covers, DesignLeave a Comment

For our Conceptual Communications class we had to create weekly artwork based on a prompt. I decided to redesign well-known book covers based on each. Below are each of the three covers with their original photo references that I used to combine into a single image. One of my goals for these projects is to create a professional book cover using entirely free resources from Pixabay, Dafont, and other online sites (with the obvious exception of Adobe, which sadly isn’t free). Below you can see each photo I used in each cover, and you can find every resource free online.

Magic of the Real Kinetic Type Video

JennethDesign, Professional Videos, Videos, Writing2 Comments

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVkyWKQu5F0&w=560&h=315] Last summer I was able to attend the Realm Makers virtual conference, where author ND Wilson was the opening keynote speaker. His perspective on the fantasy genre and the Christian author’s role was game-changing to me, and it really left me with a new perspective on God’s creation and fantastic storytelling throughout history. Wilson believes that we live in “God’s fantasy novel,” in that, God’s creation and history is fantastic, and is the origin for all fantasy fiction (Marvel comics inspired by the Book of Judges, for example). In the original keynote, Wilson echoed some of JRR Tolkien’s and CS Lewis’s beliefs on the fantasy genre, and charged his audience to live in God’s novel as a character they would want to read about. Since a lot of his points stuck with me and other conference attendees, I wanted to adapt his talk into a short video that explained his view on fantasy, informing them of a new and unique way to see God and storytelling.

The Book of Esther Redesign with Commentary

JennethBook Covers, Books, Design, WritingLeave a Comment

For class we were tasked with redesigning a short book of the Bible. One of our options was Esther, and even though I wasn’t particularly a fan of that story, I knew there was a lot of interesting history there. I decided to not only redesign the book like the class required, but I also wanted to make it a historical and biblical commentary. My dad and I worked together to sift through the historical references–Dad came up with a timeline based off of James Ussher’s Annals of History while I read Josephus. Below is the cover jacket design and some of the spreads in the book. I’ve also included the introduction to read below the designs, in case you want to know more about what went into the in-depth project. If you’d like to purchase the book, you can find it here. I got an A- on this project.

The Editing Process for PCC’s Fountains Publication

JennethBooks, Writing1 Comment

Every year, the Copy Editing II class works hard to produce PCC’s annual literary publication, Fountains. This year, I had the fantastic opportunity to be one of two Senior Editors, and it wasn’t until this year did I realize the awesome process of creating such an incredible product.

Published in East Region Emerging Writers

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I had the privilege to publish two more stories in the America’s Emerging Writers series this year, a new publisher now nominating its best stories for Pushcart nominations. I’ve never written a horror/campfire story until the first semester of my freshman year, but staying several nights in a large Portofino resort on the end of a Pensacola island got my creative juices flowing. Four years later, the story is finally available for others to read in the East Region’s horror anthology, and anyone familiar with the island resort will notice the story’s resort bearing remarkable resemblance. The other story, published in the East Region’s literary publication, is a story I wrote as a college sophomore, and a version of it can be read here. Since penning it, the manuscript has evolved and developed, so be sure to check out the updated version in the paperback edition.

Book Design for “Beautifully Broken”

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I recently did the cover and interior design for Celeste R. Warner’s book, Beautifully Broken. It was one of those crazy hectic, last minute emergency projects, so there were several sleepless nights and plenty of euphoria afterward when it was delivered to a very happy client. This project was a ton of fun, and you can purchase Celeste’s book here for only $5.57! Here’s the cover I was able to design.

Book and Design for “Timelines”

JennethArtwork, Book Covers, Books, Design, Narratives, News Articles, WritingLeave a Comment

As a professional writing major at my college, seniors have to compile their best work from over the last four years into a bound, designed book. It’s been a project I’ve been waiting for with bated breath ever since I learned about it. Older students told me as a sophomore to save every paper I ever wrote, keep teachers’ notes, and to be thinking about a theme that can tie everything together. Back then, I couldn’t imagine picking out a theme that could encompass all my writing: after all, I liked to write about different things, and some of my stories were vastly different from others. But as my senior year came upon me, I found the perfect theme. My stories revolve around either hope or memory. Many of them look to the future with either a warning to society about our faults, or an expected adventure just out of reach. And when not writing a social commentary on America’s morals, I’m pulling nostalgia from the cracks of my mind. I thought “memory” and “hope” were much too generic for my theme, but finally it hit me: I also write about time. Time looking forward to the future or back … Read More

Cover Design for “Up the Ladder”

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I was able to design this cover for Pamela Collazos’s book, Up the Ladder, which you can purchase on Amazon for $5.00! She asked specifically for a simple, vector-like cover made from only artwork, as opposed to my usual style of using photography. This was an incredibly fun project, and I really enjoyed the process. The concept for the cover came from the idea of the biblical Jacob’s ladder. Pamela described her book’s theme as the idea of climbing this ladder to Heaven to gain enlightenment from God, then bringing it back to earth to share with others. Using that idea of enlightenment, I illustrated lightbulbs hanging from Heaven. The seeker for knowledge must climb a ladder, much like she would to change a lightbulb in her home. Through this image, I was able to convey the idea of Jacob’s Ladder, the quest for enlightenment, and receiving wisdom from God.