- First, you’re trying to get a good deal, but you’re trying to get good art. These don’t always go hand in hand.
- Next, you have to do a lot of back and forth messaging with people to figure out prices and quality of work and timelines.
- Finally, you start to see so much art that you lose track of what’s good and what’s amazing and what’s just alright.
That’s why I wanted to profile some of these Deviant Art artists today, much like I did in my post called 16 Deviant Art Artists for Fantasy and Sci-Fi eBook Covers and 3 Great Graphic Artists for eBook Cover that You Should Think About. And of course there’s the perennial favorite, Top 10 eBook Cover Design Sites.
These people can help you, and at a really great price. Let’s get started.
I was really impressed by some of the work Ugarte has here. You can see some of his gallery images here and I’m sure you’ll be impressed. Images are about $200 to $300, with prices going even higher possibly. I also liked this awesome dragon and this humorous fantasy scene:
This artist had some good stuff, and I really enjoyed the crazed berserker below. You can see his gallery images here. He charges $100 but if you get more than one image it’s $70, so that might work well if you’re getting a three-book set…as I’m going to eventually do with The Warring States series.
This artist’s name is Julia and you can see her gallery images here. I will say that the quality is quite good on many of these, and at $100 to $200 an image – depending on complexity – you’re getting a great deal. This image in the garden here almost comes a alive, and I’d suggest a look at her lich!
Someone that has great art with really majestic colors is Andrew Blackburn. I was blown away by some of his landscape techniques, and he’s also got some amazing sci-fi stuff. I highly recommend his gallery images, and with prices of $40, you can’t lose.
This artist has some amazing images in his gallery images. I really like the sci-fi and superhero feel. Mainly, though, you’re getting someone that really understands how metal and machine go together. Prices are at the $450 level for that quality.
Another artist is simply called wmeg, but they have some awesome gallery images. I love these dark nature images, the kind that have that eerie and spooky and spine-tingling feel. I know some of you can make those covers work for you.
Another artist on Deviant Art that contacted me was Michelle de Lange out of the Netherlands. Her gallery images are quite vibrant, and she does a lot with acrylics. Her prices are $70 to $95 (including layout), and may go up slightly. I’d check out her work.
Wow, this woman has some great stuff! I urge you to check out the gallery images on her site and see if you can get some good work for your next book.
Mikhail Greuli is another amazing artist, but one that’s above my price level. He charges $450 for images, and after you look at his gallery images, you’ll see why. These are stunning landscape scenes and space sequences that come to life. If you have the money, you might want to inquire.
Another amazing landscape artist that’s putting their work up there for digital consumers is Jeff Ward. You should check out his gallery images to see what some really world class stuff looks like.
Every time I’ve done art commissions I pay about $50 to $100 at a time, and then a few weeks later I pay the rest. One time I stretched the poor artist over 2 months and did a couple $70 payments. Anyways, things are often flexible, and deals can be made. Remember, they’re helping you and you’re helping them. You move up, they move up.
So contact some of these folks and make some real magic happen for your next book!