Covers are a key part of producing a polished publication. They should grab the reader and be targeted to your audience.
With thousands of books being published each week, your cover needs to stand out. If you are an unknown author, readers who come across your book cover will scan it for less than two seconds before deciding whether it appeals enough to them to take a more considered look. …And that does not mean that they will choose to purchase, either.
Whilst book covers can be expensive, we are able to produce book covers using in-house artists at no or little cost to the author. However we also have access to a plethora of book illustrators and we will go to tender on your behalf, should you wish to go down that route.
Below are details of those artists we have used commercially.
Mardi Illustrators
Jules A. Sykes
Short story collection
Jules A. Sykes is a professional artist based in West London. She works in pencil, oil and acrylics on a variety of surfaces ranging from paper to board and canvas. More recently she has produced a body of mixed-media works. When not painting she’ll be doubling as a tree surgeon, somewhere in Isleworth.
Becca Hyman
Toast and Jam competition winners
I am a second-year BA Graphic Design student at Central St. Martins. I am still working out my style and experimenting with illustration and design and graphic novels as well as animation and film. I think the key thing I’m trying to develop is story.
Aly Torns
Alyson Torns paints, sketches, lino cuts, etches and writes everyday from what inspires her inside and outside. She paints in different mediums and writes poetry from her everyday life. An outsider artist visited her home and described her work as outsider art, naive and childlike.
Diana Winkfield Rasle
“There is more to her painting than the mere statement of such an image, however so pretty – and these are manifestly pretty things. To accept and then transcend that superficial prettiness takes a certain nerve in any case, and to carry it off, as Ms Winkfield does, is altogether admirable.”
Doodles
Doodles originally trained as a Theatre Designer and Scenic Artist working mainly at The Leicester Haymarket Theatre on a variety of shows on both the Rep and West End circuits. Currently she alternates between illustration work, silver jewellery design and house renovation.
Roxana
Roxana P. Radulescu is professional Romanian digital artist, currently studying in the UK. With work ranging from concept art to mixed media illustration and design, the young artist has already produced work for various companies, such as EA or McCann Erickson. Roxana is available anytime to discuss upcoming projects, large or small.
Natalia Povalyaeva
Natalia has been painting and drawing since the age of two. She studied at an art studio under the Belorussian artist Vasily Sumarev and has taken courses in sculpture and art history. She is doing a lot of book illustrations and book cover designs (mostly for Russian publishing houses) and graphic art in mixed media, as well as writing fiction and drama.
Sara Aghlani
“I like to experiment with art in as many creative mediums as are available to me, from oils and pencil sketches to making films and writing. I am the illustrator of the logo for SassyDesigns© and have produced other art pieces for this creative company.”
Matthew Shaw
My entry to the Mardibooks/IdeasTap competition to produce an e-book cover for Hide it! Anthology of short stories for young adults represents an odd dream scape. The title ‘Hide it!’ is found within a strange alien being creeping out of a worried priest’s head whilst he tries to disguise himself and hide it.
Peter Ball
Peter’s forays into the world of art include cartoons for the underground press in the 70’s, several years as a stained glass painter and window maker, and colourful animations. These days he just likes to portray the idiosyncracies of people and nature.
Contact Peter Ball
Christa Leask
Christa Leask studied Textiles & Fashion at Manchester School of Art, graduating with a collection of interactive sculptures. Her collection exhibited at ‘Preserve Your Instinct’ exhibition at London’s Sloan Square Joseph Store. She worked at iconic British Fashion Label Pretty Green Ltd for three years as a menswear designer for print and embroidery, accessories and footwear, outerwear and tailoring. In 2013, she set up Pierrot Doll Design Studio, working as a freelance illustrator, sculptor, and materials designer. She also works at ‘T H E U N S E E N’ as The Anatomist, creating sculptures, and developing materials and concepts.
Contact Christa.
Isobel Power Smith
‘Ella out of Shape’ by Becci Fearnley
Isobel studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art gaining a Postgraduate Diploma in Set and Costume Design. She has worked at the Gielgud Studio, George Bernard Shaw Theatre, Riverside Studios and Grimeborn as well as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Joshua Hibbert
Joshua Hibbert is a multidisciplinary creative who’s work bridges the gap between digital and analogue fields. He graduated from the University of the Arts London specialising in Graphic and Interaction design. Joshua’s underlying interest is merging Neo-expressionism, Surrealism and Dada influences to create contemporary statements both visually and sonically.
Cover design comment:
Bold and impacting cover silhouette, playing on the emotional concept of identity within english culture. Textural wipe marks have been depicted as the cross to reflect anger,regret and passion.
Contact Joshua