How did you get your start in making art?
My interest in art came from my passion for comics, books, and video games. I would spend hours trying to recreate my own versions of whatever book, comic, or video game I was currently engrossed in. I eventually took this passion and worked my way through University where I studied animation. I felt animation combined everything I wanted from art and gave me a great freedom to jump between different mediums.
Sounds like you’ve had plenty of inspirations to lend to your rather unique style. What would you say lent the most to its development?
I would say the biggest influence has been comic books and anime, combining this with some traditional influences.
Have you always done book covers or are there other fields/areas of interest you work in besides?
My main area of expertise is in animation, particularly Art Direction for animation.
When it comes to making art for book covers, what tends to be your approach? Was there anything different you undertook when creating the cover art for The Shadow Regent?
I tend to work very loose at the start, with sketches that capture a very rough idea of what the final design will be. My main concern at the start of any book cover project is creating interesting compositions. This was the approach for The Shadow Regent, in which I wanted to work up some nice compositions of characters interlocked with Gurthghol being the backdrop to the scene.
As you made these compositions was there anything that stood out to you in general from the book you felt had to be included, incorporated, or highlighted on the cover in some way? And did you have any favorite scenes, characters, or elements you found yourself enjoying from the story?
I found the detailed and intricate relationships between the characters, the depth of conversation, and the immense amount of lore that was in each scene really captured my imagination. I wanted to work on the cover with all these things in mind, creating intrigue in the way each character is laid out on the canvas, each with a look and pose that hinted at much more.
I felt the opening to the story to be such a strong set of images, I think this epic description of the Void and a chained Gurthghol was a powerful one. This kind of imagery, something cosmic and mysterious, was incredibly fascinating.
Thanks, Dan!
The Shadow Regent will be publishing March 21st, with pre-orders presently available. And those interested in learning more about the world of Tralodren can also check out the Wizard King Trilogy wherever books are sold.
You can discover more of Dan Burgess and his art at his website: www.danburgess.art
