The Book Pushers is excited to host Riptide Publishing for their 1st Anniversary Blog Hop. Today we have an awesome interview with LC Chase, art director at Riptide!
Thanks for joining us on the Riptide Publishing First Anniversary Blog Hop Bash! All month long, we’re bringing you guest posts and interviews from your favorite authors, artists, and Riptide staff. As a thank you for helping us celebrate, we’re also giving away $10 in Riptide store credit to one lucky commenter at every stop! Simply leave a comment below by 11:59pm on Sunday, October 21st to enter. Be sure to check out our complete tour schedule to find out where else you can enter to win—one Grand Prize winner drawn from commenters at all the stops will also win a Kindle that we’ll load with every book we publish in 2013!
Today we have an interview with L.C. Chase. L.C. is the Art Director for Riptide Publishing, and a published author.
Hi, LC! Tell us about yourself.
Thank for letting me stop by! Let’s see, there’s what I call my “elevator” bio: ‘Artist by day, author by night, dreamer 24/7/365.’ Then there’s my Art Director bio for Riptide Publishing, which you can find here, but we’ll leave that for the end of the post 🙂
You’ve created so many amazing covers for Riptide. What mediums do you work in? How does digital art compare to working with traditional media? Do you prefer one over the other? Was it tough to make the switch?
Graphite pencil is the traditional medium I enjoy the most. I also do pen & ink pointillism, but that takes a ton of time and patience so I don’t do it as much these days. I dabble with acrylic painting, and am dabbling learning the ins and outs of digital painting and drawing. I have fun learning new techniques and I guess I’d have to say digital painting creates far less mess than traditional. I don’t have to wait for the paint to dry. 😉
One of your latest covers, for Aleksandr Voinov’s Gold Digger, was absolutely stunning. Which other book covers have you helped create for Riptide Publishing? Which are your favorites?
I’ve done several covers as well as the typography for most of the painted covers, with the exception of Imaliea. She does her own typography. It’s really hard to pick a favorite out of the bunch because I enjoy creating each and every one. I love being able to work in an area where I can exercise my creativity, so they’re all my favorites.
How do you get the inspiration to design individual covers? How do you conceptualize a cover that represents the tone and feel of the book inside?
There is usually enough information on the cover art form requests, including a short scene, to give me an idea to start off with Sometimes I’m able to read the story ahead of time, in which case I often don’t get too far in before images start flashing my head. What I like to do is read the information and then leave it for a day or two so it can percolate. More than once I’ve woken up in the middle of the night or morning with a whole concept clear in my mind, and then run straight to the computer to flesh it out.
Explain why you feel book covers are important.
They’re the first thing a potential reader sees when shopping for a new read, and a standout cover can draw initial attention to one author’s book over another.
What do you think of the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover?”
As much as we shouldn’t, we do. I’ve not purchased books because their covers were such a turn off and bought other books because their covers were gorgeous—yes, the ugly cover was an amazing story and the beautiful cover wrapped a terrible story. We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we do, so as a cover artist I strive to make sure every cover is worthy of an amazing story.
Has the ebook industry changed what it means to be a cover artist? Do you think readers still form the same connection to the covers of their favorite books in digital format?
I wasn’t doing cover design before ebooks, so I can’t compare. I do think readers still form a connection to favorite book covers though. I know I do. 🙂
Bio: Artist by day, author by night. One of L.C.’s very first drawings was adding bridles and saddles to an oil painting of wild horses when she was four years old. Mom wasn’t very happy with the defaced painting, but a blank sketchbook and set of crayons solved the problem.
Reaching professional artist status (under her real name) in her late teens, L.C.’s illustrations have been published in several periodicals and a sports training book. Her award-winning fine art and private commissions reside in personal galleries across Canada, the USA, France, the UK, Australia, and Switzerland.
In the graphic design field, L.C. has spent 20 years working in the publishing industry, from retail catalogues to newspapers and national magazines. L.C. is also a published M/M romance author. The melding of all these fields has armed L.C. with the skills and experience to manage a diverse stable of cover artists and design cover art and book layouts for Riptide. To see more of L.C.’s work, please visit http://lcchase.deviantart.com.
You’ve got a lot of great covers out there, the new ones for Lanyon’s Dangerous Ground series are great, but my absolute favorite is the one you did for Anne Brooke’s Where You Hurt the Most.
melora.derryth(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you – that was really interesting. I’m very much guilty of buying books based on the cover art…it’s something that I really appreciate about Riptide; good covers & good contents 🙂
Riptide does have exceptionally beautiful cover designs, which speaks to the quality of the production in general.
thanks for this interview, I adimit I am very much guilty in judging a book by its cover, fortunately Riotide does have beautiful covers, so I am really lucky there;)
Book covers can and do influence people. Readers do notice good covers and appreciate them.
I can’t say how often I didn’t even read the blurb of a book just because the cover was awful…
goingtoreadnow (at) gmail (dot) com
Hi, L.C.
It was nice to meet you. I don’t read too many artist interviews and I enjoyed this one. I’m heading over to look at your works. If they are anything like the one above, I know I will enjoy them.
Happy Anniversary, Riptide!
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
I love the covers, they are incredible 😀
Please count me in. Thanks!
gisu29(at)yahoo(dot)com
I do love looking at nice covers, but will not either buy a book or disregard a book because of them. They do often help to catch your eye and make you read the blurb to see if the story sounds interesting.
June
manning_J2004 at yahoo dot com
Thank you LC Chase! I’m reading this interview on the heels of a conversation with my youngest son. He’s telling me that he’s chosen graphic art and design as his major, and *poof* there you are talking about a successful career in the field.
;P
Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
How do all of your books able to get great book covers? I haven’t seen any one of those book covers that I didn’t like.
Great excerpt for the book.
kmccandle(at)yahoo(dot)com
@Melora: Thank you so much, Melora! 🙂
@Sarah: Thank you, Sarah! I do love when the whole package leaves you with a happy, and I love being a part of that process. 🙂
@Trix: Thank you, Trix! We’re all kind of perfectionists when it comes to our work, and I hope that shows. 🙂
@Orsi: I’m glad you enjoyed the interview, Orsi. Thank you! 🙂
@Jbst: That they do! There are so many great artists out there whose works I really admire too. 🙂
Nice cover and interview.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
@Julie: I have to admit I’ve done the same, but more often than not I end up going back and reading the blurb/excerpt and end up buying what turns out to be a wonderful story.
@Tracey D: Hi, Tracey! Thank you! I hope you liked the to other works too. 🙂
@Ally: Thank you, Ally! 🙂
Hi. Great interview. The cover of a book is always what 1st grabs me when I’m looking for something new to read.
Chris
ceagles48218@yahoo.com
@June: Thank you for stopping by, June! Yes, a good cover does draw the eye, which is why we work so hard to try and make that first impression a good one.
@Kai W.: Thank you so much, Kai! 🙂 I just simply love what I do. 🙂
@bn100: Thank you! 🙂
Yess… I am one of those people that if the cover is fugly I’ll skim right by it… I don’t mean to.. I’m just an art/graphics whore. It’s how I am with any/every book and movie cover. Anime and manga too… Games… >___>
*sigh* I try to read the blurb first and I can say that for a few books, the cover was repulsive and down right stupid but the story was amazing and I’m happy I didn’t miss them… but for most of the time… v___v It’s my loss… lol…
In any case, for me, so long as it’s clean and at least nice, It’ll draw my attention and I’ll pick up the book. 🙂
Judi
arella3173_loveless@yahoo(dot)com
I often will be swayed one way or tha other by the cover of a book…it surprised me how much it counted with me…I would have thought that it was less important than it turned out to be…please count me in , Thank you…chellebee66(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m always fascinated by covers, sometimes buying a book based on a gorgeous cover alone (which has caught me out sometimes because the book ends up 3* while the cover’s a 5*).
I’m addicted to the Rainbow Awards cover contest, rushing to vote as soon as it’s in my inbox. I wish you luck there!
Riptide covers are a bit different, and good. Remind me a bit of Less Than Three Press’s covers in that way.
Please count me in the draw!
Sue
corieltauviqueen(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk
@sylvan65: Hi, Sylvan! That’s great to hear about your son. Best of luck to him. Design is an exciting and challenging field and I love what I do so it never feels like “work”. 🙂
@Michelle (MiMi): Hi, Michelle! Yes, a good cover design is a very important tool promoting and helping to get books noticed. 🙂
@Judi P: Hi, Judi! I agree, it is a loss when we pass over a fantastic story because of the cover on it. That’s why I try so hard every time to create the best designs I can. 🙂
You’re so talented. And I sure love that their aren’t all one of the same. Looking at you deviantart account, I also notice lots of cover of books I checked out primary because of the cover…
Good job!
MC
contact@mchoule.com
Very interesting interview! I definitely buy books based on pretty covers 🙂
smaccall AT comcast.net
I totally judge the book by it’s cover. Even though this days I read 90% of books on my Kindle I always format them before with Calibre and the cover do matter, when I decide to add something to my library or not.
There are many artist who write and design covers (PL Nunn, Catt Ford, You) and I think the cover conveys a lot of the creator’s interests and sensibility. If you like someone’s cover you should like his/her books. I find most of you covers captivating (“Josh of the Damned Triple Feature” is my favorite 🙂 and I absolutely loved ‘Long Tall Drink’ (although this cover could be better).
Joan
0401romance(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m always fascinated to learn more about all the aspects of bringing a book shiny and polished to the reader, and frankly, I admire cover artists! Love your work, L.C.! 🙂
japoki at inbox.lv
@MC Houle: Thank you so much, MC! 🙂
@Joan: Thank you, Joan! JotD Triple Feature was a fun cover to work on. I’m so happy you loved Long Tall Drink, but I didn’t do that cover. 😉
@Aija: Thank you so much, Aija! 🙂
@Sue: Thank you, Sue! There are so many great covers in the Rainbow Awards. I’d hate to be a judge, I’d never be able to choose.
Thanks so much for the post! I love your covers and have tons of books with them! If I don’t know an author first I look at the cover then the blurb. A beautiful cover is so important for gaining my interest! And it doesn’t hurt when my favorite authors have good ones, too! Keep up the lovely work!
OceanAkers @ aol.com