Cover Cafe is pleased to feature a new graphic artist and also one of our newest committee members, Amanda Kelsey. Amanda has an interesting bio and a definite flair for graphic design. She has created some beautiful and distinctive covers for ebooks and we are fortunate to have her expertise involved with the Cover Cafe annual contest. The only down side for Amanda is that she cannot vote on ballots featuring her cover creations. Welcome to Cover Cafe Amanda!

Q: What is your educational background and how did you become an illustrator for both print and ebooks? Which format is your favorite?

I have a bachelors degree in, believe it or not, theater arts. And actually I never studied graphic design or even had the idea to go into the field until much later. I have always been a creative person. Painting has been a hobby of mine since I was very young and I studied many forms of art throughout high school and college but always for the fun of it, never for a career choice, until about two years ago. I became involved in a small online writers group and through that I was educated about the electronic publishing industry. I began seeing ebook covers that inspired me and soon I met other artists. Not long after I tried designing a few test covers and found a new challenge. I love being a cover artist and I’m always reading books and tutorials to become better.

I didn’t start off applying for print work but sort of fell into it through chance. I really can’t say one or the other is my favorite. I do like the challenge of creating a print cover only because I haven’t had the opportunity to do many of them so far. But all my ebook designs are made to print specs so there is not much difference, to me, in the design process.

Tease Publishing
Published - August 2009

Q: How did you break into the business and who gave you your first break? What are the challenges of breaking into the illustration field in the current publishing market?

My first job was for Aspen Mountain Press as a cover artist, which I hold to this day. I was hired by Celia Kyle the art director. She gave me my first chance just from seeing a few sample designs and has continued to steer work my way. Thanks Celia!

There are so many talented artists working in the electronic publishing industry it is difficult to stand out and get your name recognized. I’ve been building a brand since I started but it is definitely a challenge. Things are always changing and growing and as an artist you must change and grow too or be left behind.

Q: What was the first ecover and/or print cover you had published? What process did you use to design the cover(s)?

My first ebook cover was released by Aspen Mountain Press entitled Private Intentions by Emma Pearce. I can’t tell you how excited I was the first time I saw it on the website.

Aspen Mountain Press
Published - November 2008

The process is basically the same for all the electronic publishers I work for. First, I’m given a form questionnaire that the author filled out. It will contain information about the novel. I like to read the blurb and a basic summary of the novel as well as descriptions of the main characters. Usually, there are a number of other details included as well which help inspire me.

Next I will do a photo search on stock photo sites. At this point, for me, it’s like brainstorming. I gather any and all comp (free with watermarks) images that I find inspiring or that fit the descriptions well. This can take from several hours to several days. Once I have enough comp images to play with I open Adobe Photoshop and start working things out. My process is very fluid and organic. I usually have a general idea of where I’d like to take the design but nothing is solid until I get the images together and start working on it, like a puzzle.

Click here for a step by step breakdown of designing Hotter Than Hell


Liquid Silver Books
Released soon!

Q: What is your all time favorite cover from your portfolio? What process, if different from above, did you use?

That is a very tough question. I imagine it is like asking a mother which child is her favorite or an author which of her books she likes the best. Still, I will try my best.

I love Kate of Kratos by Robert Appleton. Not only is it the very first cover I did for Eternal Press but it is also fits the story perfectly—in my opinion.

Eternal Press
Published - May 2009

I also love Invisible by Kimber Chin because I believe it has a great composition and portrays the right mood, plus I’ve gotten some great comments about it.

Champagne Books
Published - February 2009

And Jen by Nick Dienst is a favorite of mine because it’s different and interesting.

Eternal Press
Eternal Press Published - May 2009

I used basically the same process for all of them. A really well written and detailed Cover Art Form is the starting point.

Q: What is the cover you wish you could redo or at least change something and what would you change?

Of course, as I grow as an artist and learn different skills I always go back to my early designs and see how I could have done it better. No specific cover sticks out to me as needing to be changed though.