Five Simple Steps

When Andy suggested asking the amazing illustrator Kevin Cornell to produce the front cover for Hardboiled Web Design, we were so excited by the possibility! So, when he said yes, we were made up!

Kevin has produced a work of art for Hardboiled and we're thrilled! We'll be revealing the finished cover when the book goes on sale on the 19th October but read on for a few clues to what it will look like.

1. Tell us about yourself?

Well, after an unsuccessful stint as a resurrectionist, I decided to pursue illustration. It doesn't pay as well, but it leads to a lot less arrests. And I need to wash my clothes WAY less often.

2. Tell us about your work on Hardboiled?

I worked on the cover. My main concern was setting a scene with a story that fell in line with the principles of the book. The kind of situation where someone has to take a less than sunshine path to solve their problems. After that, the hard part was working in that pulp fiction style, which is a tough mix of realism and comic exaggeration. Finally, I needed to spend hours trying to make that damned fedora look right. They're tricky critters.

3. What were the tools and processes that you used?

I started out with a pencil drawing, over which I did a couple watercolor washes, just to get the shadows and everything right. Then I brought the cover into Photoshop and worked it into the finished drawing. Finally, I added the texture and aging effects to give it that beat-up book feel.

Have a look at a few of the sample thumbs Kevin produced before settling on the final cover:

4. Where did you get inspiration for your work?

Well, Andy, god bless 'em, had already put together a set of sample art that captured what he wanted, so there wasn't much of a need for me to do my own reconnaissance. The rest of my inspiration was pre-programmed into my brain by 30+ years of tv and movie watching.

5. How do you like your eggs?

Scrambled for the most part, though when I make them they're over easy. There's less bowls to clean that way.

Look out for our more 'Five Simple Questions' with the editor and author photographer!