Cover Sketch

Here's a picture of my original sketch for the cover. For the most part, I was able to capture the figures just the way I wanted them from the beginning. I tried to keep in mind that I was going to cast the figures in silhouette, so I tried not to add too many details, like the little screws in the armor and the weapons. I played with the idea of giving the figure on the left a spear, but it seemed to clutter the image a bit. With the figure on the right, I placed the Renzai symbol on his chest but it was way too small and hard to see. You can see that in the final cover the symbols are much more pronounced. I wanted to make sure the reader could identify quickly with each distinct civilization. I drafted a couple other images but they turned out...well, let's just say they didn't. Oh, and by the way, I didn't burn the edges of my sketch. I just thought it was a cool effect. Enjoy!

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