Merrellart

Emailed SQUAWK! to Cal to format for Smashwords.  I decided to use the original 10 page graphic piece rather than the revised version.  I am now clear to begin working on ARTIST (and I need a better name).

The layout of SQUAWK! has been revised to the 1:1.5 ratio for ereaders.  It is the original version — story 10 pages — and will be a free download.  I’m working on the cover and intro pages before sending it to Cal Sharp to format.  I should be able to do that before the end of next week.

For the first time, I created a book cover totally on the graphic tablet.  Much trial and error, but have a layout I like.  I will redo and refine it.

Creating a custom header is always a guessing game for artists.  Should we use an existing painting or drawing?  Should it be abstract?  Is color more important than any imagery?  What should the imagery say?  Flowers are probably the coward’s way out.

I decided color this time with emphasis on the line drawings.  These are taken from a sketch book of flowers and plants I had done — I think it is a type of chrysanthemum.  I was corrected some years ago when a painting I had titled “Yellow Daisy Things” were supposedly Gerbera daisies.  I will let my guess stand unless otherwise corrected.

I did this on my graphics tablet — all electronic and a new tool.  I shall live with this for awhile.  And if I don’t like it, a new header is merely a few key strokes away.