I just started the cover of HAWTHORN HEX, book six in the Kit Melbourne series. I knew I wanted to have a stone with carving on it, because it factors into the story, and because it would make a nice color contrast with the teal background I already had painted. This is just a draft, as you can see by the fact that the title is wrong and the back flap describes a different book. I’m going to have to fuss with the stone to get the shadow to look right, and to get the contrast to be strong enough to actually read the title. I have a couple dozen photos of the stone, but this was the one I liked the best.
The stone, a warm brown granite, did have some black lichen on it, but a lot of this is enhanced with acrylic. Carved words on stones make people think of petroglyphs and grave stones, so I’m happy with the choice, I just have to fuss with it until it works.
