Hikishio no Toki #1 by Synapse

2D • Illustration • posted on Nov 12, 2005

Open full image in new tab Zoom on image

Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.

Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.

Description

My first book cover commission :-D I was approached by Kurodahan Press a recently established publisher based in Fukuoka, Japan, which caters for both Japanese and English reading markets. They asked me to illustrate the front jackets for five Japanese novels in a series called Hikishio no Toki (Time of the Ebb Tide) by Mayumura Taku. From Kurodahan's website: "Administrator, or Shiseikan in Japanese, took the Japanese SF community by storm when first published in 1974. Unlike traditional space opera, it pushed technology into the background to present a compelling portrait of colonial governors, the Administrators, trapped between the conflicting demands of Federation government, native inhabitants, and Terran colonists." I was lucky to be given a very free hand indeed in designing these covers - they were after abstract feelings and impressions rather than directly illustrated events (which was just as well as I only had some brief synopses to go by!) To date I've supplied full artwork (including my own typography) for the first two books, which will be printed later this month - the remaining three will be done in the months ahead. Thank you as always to everyone who takes the time to stop by and give me feedback on my posts :-)

Comments (19)

bern

6:16AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Congratulations, Jim !!!

)

erlandpil

6:24AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Very good picture and work erland www.pillegaard.dk

)

spidermurph

6:33AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Dude this is fantastic. Man, it makes me want to read the book (must lean Japanese first. What is that cool looking structure to the right of the image? Great work mate. Murph

syndroid

6:53AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

I find this quite japanese, because it still has this feel of advanced technology, because of the image on the left. Kind of like a post-apocalyptic re-emergence of humanity aided by what is left of technology... Looks very good anyway. The only thing I'm not sure about the right side, which is kinda blank...

)

Synapse

8:23AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Yeah I know, the right side is just the bit that partially wraps round the back, so no need for much detail there. The strip with the vertically-running text is of course the spine. You interpreted the left side pretty well by the way, ambiguous as it is ;-)

dragonfly2000

9:10AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Excellent, congrats on the commission - i've see cover art before the wrap so it makes sense how've laid this out. Well done!

)

suresh_krishna

9:34AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Congratulations. This is truly a fine way to express yourself. And, you have done it with class and elan. I like the design and the colour. Super.

gwfa

10:05AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

congratulations! well done...

)

TheGroovyDude

11:35AM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Groovy work............ congratulations on the commission.......... I like the palette, very SF........ The text works well with the abstract.........

)

saldegal

12:03PM | Sat, 12 November 2005

WOW! A real sense of other-worldliness ... and congrats on the commissions woohoo!

)

tibet2004uk

1:17PM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Oh man Jim this is wicked!!! Congrats!! U deserve it for sure!!! I'm so happy for u!!! And I love the image!!! Very stylish and....u! ;)

)

2Loose2Trek

7:44PM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Congrats!! Really excellent work.

)

Naichan

8:38PM | Sat, 12 November 2005

Oh Jim! I can't help but envy you!!! But really I'm just delighted, as it couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke ;-) Your design, I like the way you evoke a cool SF mood through what seems like abstract reflections and refractions rather than recognisable objects. Just what I could have expected from you, really. Have to look out for these books! I checked the publisher site. Looks good, as they are to publish Edogawa Rampo... Anyway, Well done you dark horse! Any more surprises up your sleeve? :-)

)

Synapse

8:44PM | Sat, 12 November 2005

No more surprises just yet, no ;-) I couldn't remember if I'd mentioned this to you before or not. Anyway... you're the one who had a piece of your music used for an avant-garde dance act! I'd love to see my own music used in that way so I sure as hell envy that ;-)

claridad

1:34AM | Sun, 13 November 2005

You truly carried out the expectations. This a wonderful futuristic appearing abstract. What I like most is that it isn't overly abstract. I found myself still trying to see what it might represent. That's a real hook! Excellent work Jim. V

)

bevchiron

2:02AM | Sun, 13 November 2005

Great to see how these turned out Jim, you've done an amazing job & I'd find it very hard to resist picking up a book with such a stunning cover! Excellent work ; )

Aaronius

11:53AM | Sun, 13 November 2005

Wow, interesting work. I think the Japanese text really adds something to your work here. Plus it means something - not just just Japanese text for the sake of it. Congrats on the deal. I'm duly jealous. :)

)

cbender

1:57AM | Tue, 15 November 2005

what an awesome design...!!!! thank you!!! :) superb work here... !love those metallic reflections in the pic... and so well composed together with the font and everything...! WOW...!!! that's a true link between art and design...!!!

)