V here! The always super Siya Oum was kind enough to share her cover process for her cover to Charismagic #4. Below are the steps involved in creating an awesome cover image!
Before starting any cover, Siya and I discuss the elements of what will be on the cover and what we're looking to achieve in terms of cover theme. For this #4 cover, we knew there would be two other "Lady" covers for issue #4 in addition to the direct cover by Khary, so we decided on Hank's girlfriend, Alle Star, as our character for this cover. After discussing setting, Siya produced a series of rough sketch layouts--this one being the one we all liked the best.
After the layout stage, it's time to get in there for the heavy work--this is where the artist's drawing talents shine through as Siya draws in the more finite lines for the image: figures, background, etc. I've worked with Siya enough to know this is where I sit back and let her do her thing.
Once the lines are set, for a complete pencil-to-color illustrator like Siya, it's time to go in and establish the color palette and tones for the piece. Again, her talents take over as she sets the mood and feel for the entire piece at this stage. As you can see, the minor details like color fx, outfit accessories, and setting textures aren't added in yet.
Once Siya establishes her colors, she goes in and fully renders the figure and background elements. At this point we'll discuss the minor details listed above and also discuss any changes to the piece. SFX like her jewelry and outfit are added in. We also felt the sky should be even more green to reflect the setting (to be revealed in issue #4):
Now the process comes together and we have the finished cover art with sfx, accessories, and revised background added. Now it's sent to production where Mark will work his own magic and decide cover dressing colors and themes for the logo and other cover type:
And abracadabra! We have the finished cover for Charismagic #4!
