For the design fans amongst you, Brian Wood explains the creation of the cover for his new series with Kristian Donaldson, The Massive, over at io9:
Sketch #1 took the day, and it was my favorite as well. So we passed it along to Kristian for him to make his own and take it to final. It presented a few problems that I could see: it was really crucial to separate the two halves of the cover, so that earth presented as the earth, and not some other planet looming in the sky. Or the foreground coming off like the moon. Or the earth not reading as a planet but some kind of giant rubber ball hanging in the sky.
I also didn’t want a realistically colored earth, with crayola-blue and green. I always favor limited palettes and non-representational color. Were it up to me, I would have kept it black and white.
It’s a really nice insight into Wood (and Donaldson)’s design process, as well as a chance to see some lovely work-in-progress sketches; I’m really looking forward to The Massive – which debuts today in Dark Horse Presents #8 – and this post works as a great tease for the kind of visuals to expect, if not for the story itself.
