darkemeralds | Cover Art

I need a book cover!

There are quickie template-based designs online, and there's $5000 for original artwork, and there's not much in between.

"Well, what do you want to wind up with?" asked my sister Helen.

"Basically this," said I:
Working cover of Restraint, a photograph manipulated to look something like an oil painting, featuring Jared Padalecki's face on Johnny Depp's tuxedo-wearing body slouched in an enormous baroque brocade armchair, all in tones of red and gold

Working cover of Restraint, a photograph manipulated to look something like an oil painting, featuring Jared Padalecki's face on Johnny Depp's tuxedo-wearing body slouched in an enormous baroque brocade armchair, all in tones of red and gold

"...but a) without Jared Padalecki's face; b) not stolen from a copyright fashion shoot with Johnny Depp; and c) featuring a poet shirt and buckskin breeches rather than that 20th century tuxedo."

"So let's do our own photoshoot."

Well, why not? We have cameras. Everybody has a camera. We have tripods and lights and friends and junk shops and Craigslist. What the hell.

All we need is a tall, lanky red-haired model. And a high-backed wing chair. And some gold brocade. And a poet shirt. Some yellowish pants. A riding crop. A few gew-gaws that can pass for Georgian ornaments.

Yesterday I found the chair on Craigslist--twenty bucks! And they delivered it in an hour!

Wingback chair from the 1980s, upholstered in beige and puce chintz

(Just add gold brocade)

...so, feeling lucky, I went to the Rebuilding Center and came back with some ornamental junk for under $10.

Spray paint and some odds and ends that can be transformed into Baroque junk

...and then I found this thing at the corner resale shop. Weighs a ton!

Curlicue brass rococo looking brass wall sconce for four candles

Still to come:

Large quantities of gold brocade
Drippy candles
An oriental style rug
That poet shirt
A model

Wish me luck!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hi! I think that contacting the local Jane Austen Society or Regency Dance group might net you a tallish gentleman in the right era of garb. Also, with new fangled software, the image you have can be made to look hand painted enough to pass copyright. I have a friend, Walter Nelson, at lahacal.org who runs a fair amount of regency events. He might be able to point you to someone who could help. He's lovely, I've known him for twenty years and if you tell him I sent you, will probably be very helpful if he can.
Do you have the image above without type? I'd like to try messing with it if that would be okay.

Walter won't know me as gherkins, he'll know me as Joan Hulett. Also, I used to be Chickenfried_Jo and before that, fra_hulettaes. Times being what they are.

That is such a great idea! And as a matter of fact, a very dear friend of mine belongs to both the local Jane Austen society AND a dance group. So I did hit her up for leads, and she came up with a couple of poet-shirt possibilities (though no models, alas--those groups tend to the older side, apparently).

I don't have an unadulterated version of that lovely manip anymore, but you're welcome to fiddle around with this one that I turned into a phone screen a couple of years ago.

Not at all sure that link will work, because who the hell knows how Google Photos works, but sharing isn't their biggest thing. Let me know.

Perfect!! I'll mess around a bit and see what happens.

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