FAN BOOK COVER DESIGN FOR YOUNG ADULT FANTASY SANG
In the fall of 2022 I read a young adult fantasy book called Sang (now a Topelius winner) by the Finnish author Elina Pitkäkangas, and completely fell in love with its rich and detailed world set in the imaginary version of a futuristic Asia. Immediately after reading the last page I knew that I wanted to design a fan book cover, trying out a bit different style than what I was used to.
After a very challenging few months of going back and forth with the illustration, I can safely say now that I am quite happy with the results!
In march of 2023 printed the design and turned my own copy of Sang to a fancy fan edition. See the video below!
#bookcoverdesign #illustration #printedgraphics
Sang book ©Elina Pitkäkangas
Original cover ©Kaisu Sangberg
Sang is a powerful story of a young boy called Dawei, who is trying to get back to his family in an unfair world. He wouldn’t go anywhere without his companion Qiu, a hawk who he shares a more than life connection to.
I wanted to include Qiu in the cover as a dark silhouette, for it represents both the innocence and vulnerability of Dawei but also the fantastical and powerful aspects of the story. The hawk is carrying a jiàn, a sword to represent both the internal and external battles Dawei has to face during his journey. The strong colour choices support this aspect as well.
Moodboard & sketching
2. Final design