Jan 19, 2024
"The Jade Setter of Janloon" by Fonda Lee
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"The Jade Setter of Janloon" by Fonda Lee
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Back to Tumblr after years away (hi folks!), so I guess I’ll share the cover art I painted for THE JADE SETTER OF JANLOON by Fonda Lee!
This is a wraparound cover for Subterranean Press’ limited edition of the novella; I got to do the title lettering too:
When coming up with ideas, I wrote a mini brief for myself: balance, power, mystery, family ties. The jade setters' neutrality is central to the story and a counterpoint to the clans’ power. (Alternative brief: make it jade as fuck.)
Figuring out the composition was tricky—the piece's rhythm has to work not just when viewed as a whole, but also in smaller sections like the back and front flaps. And while the novella introduces new characters, the Pillars and Horns still loom large as symbols over Janloon...a nod to both their power in the city as well as how readers would be coming off JADE CITY or JADE WAR familiar with the Kaul family or Mada and Gont Asch.
While reading the manuscript I jot down ideas as they flash by. The seed for this cover can be seen in the top left of this sketchbook page:
I then develop each thumbnail into a very rough colour sketch and put them together with reference images to send to Fonda and Bill Schafer at Sub Press. Sort of a combination of moodboard and thumbnails:
Got the go-ahead to develop thumbnail D, so I make a more detailed sketch of the full composition, with two options for characters’ gestures on the front cover:
And then it’s off to paint! I sneak in little references to the story where I can. The mansion is based on the Straits Eclectic architectural style of shophouses in Penang, where I live, while some of the buildings in the city are based on Hong Kong. Many hours of painting and finagling later, it’s finished, gets sent to the publisher, then the printers, then to Green Bone fans everywhere.
I recently turned in the cover for JADE SHARDS, a short story anthology that’s my favourite Green Bone Saga title so far, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it when pre-orders open next year! Don’t take my word for it: https://twitter.com/FondaJLee/status/1574248123463266304
Fonda’s also posted a peek at the signature page over on her Instagram, showing a crop of Shae and cormorants from the cover art. It’s been a real honour and pleasure getting to draw for a world I’m a fan of :)