made an impulsive purchase during my break ... so now i have to put my money to good use.

these are my first graphics on Adobe Photoshop and everything is running smoothly (such a good upgrade from Photopea).

The graphic quality is so much better than what I'm used to and it's taking some time to get comfortable using Adobe, but i really enjoy it so far.

voila .

this is my entry for plutointhestars Loki Graphic Contest 
(prompt 4) for a duology set.

+ thoughts/comments +

I had a hard time trying to find an item that would be a good focal point for the second cover and on my first draft, I used a different dagger from OWM. I didn't like that way it looked out of place and the angle (no matter where I had it) wasn't what I wanted it to be. I ended up using the same dagger in OWM to use in OWL to kind of fit into the narrative that I had for this set (which I'll get to later on). It just made things easier and less complicated than it could've been.

At one point I was struggling a lot with the typography--especially the placement. But when is it never a struggle? lol

The lighting/highlighting was also a bit of the struggle more so in OWL than OWM. Basic lighting i can make do.... but to go in depth and add more IS SO HARD.

+ backstory +

The story is set in a fantasy world where every human has a special power associated with the elements (any and all elements). The dagger that is seen on the covers is a mystical weapon that grants someone another special ability, but it must be wielded for said special ability. For instance, in OWM the vines are gold--in the first book, one could say that the dagger somehow altered the main character's elemental power. However, the dagger is sheathed still in OWM which could symbolize a few things (make something up).

In OWL, the dagger is unsheathed, and the gold vines are replaced with thorn-rose vines.

Ooo-la-la~ mystery plot.

+ more info +

font (t) - desire

textures (1+2) - unsplash

decorative ornaments - pixelsquid

gold vines - hwwostock

thorn rose vines - hwwostock

dagger - deviantart

(linked in comments -->)