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Work With Me — Book Cover Art Commissions

Hand-painted, story-driven book covers.

Cover Art by Emmy Lawless
Cover Art by Emmy Lawless
Cover Art by Emmy Lawless

Some of my earliest, most vivid memories are of reading. Words are powerful, and I love a rich narrative, but what really stuck with me were the illustrations. Whether that was Quentin Blake’s creepy characters for Roald Dahl or Pauline Baynes’ otherworldly sketches for C.S Lewis, art was how I immersed myself in these other worlds. 

Although there’s been a meteoric rise of AI, vector design and movie-posters on book covers… I believe there are readers and authors out there who place value on original, artistic covers. I know this because I’ve had the honour to work for one of those authors, and I hear from those readers in my Instagram DM’s frequently! Not to mention, I’m one of those readers. 

If you are one of those authors…

Let’s create your dream cover together.

Time Of Your Life - Back Cover

My Brush, Your Story —

A Creative Philosophy

I’m a fine artist and illustrator with roots in traditional painting. I first learnt how to pour my oil paint palette and how to think about lighting and form in high school, and I’ve never looked back. Since then, I’ve experimented with every artistic medium under the sun — one of my favourite approaches to book cover art is to combine multiple mediums into the same piece. I love how dynamic and textural these pieces can turn out. As a book cover illustrator, my work begins on canvas and ends on book covers.

Magnolia Parks Cover

Magnolia Parks —
The Project That Bloomed

When I first moved out of home to a new city, I never could have dreamed that I would quickly not only meet my best friend, but my life co-collaborator — Jessa Hastings. We met through a mutual friend, and although we didn’t exactly hit it off at the event we met at, we had obviously gone home and social-media-stalked each other, because as I was messaging her to say how much I loved her writing, she messaged me to say how much she loved my art. 

We met up at a shopping centre in Bondi, Sydney (on the same floor where one of our favourite bookstores stocks our books now) and decided to work together. She would send me pieces of writing, and I would do drawings inspired by them and send them back to her. Years later, she was ready to self-publish her first book, Magnolia Parks,  and asked me to create the cover. 

 

Neither of us had a clue about the publishing industry or what was expected from a book cover, but Jessa had a clear vision, and so I got to work. Jessa’s writing is poetic; she uses symbolism and metaphors, so we wanted to reflect this on the cover. We leaned on visual languages and colour palettes that we felt captured both the romanticism and the heartbreak of the story. We hid a bunch of easter eggs throughout the cover. This meant that new readers were often confused (and sometimes mad?!) about the cover, but often, after they read the story, it made sense to them in a new light. 

 

This experience shaped my style and approach to book cover design art, and I went on to work with Jessa on building a library of artistic book covers, which you can view here

A Cover Made Just for You — My Process

If you are an author looking for a cover artist for your book, here is a peek behind the curtain of working with me. 

Kicking things off

I start by delving into the world of your story and hearing your vision for what you have created and what you have in mind for your cover. This can range from a very defined idea with references to being totally unsure of what you’re after, and that’s okay! I like to work with direction, but I also like to collaborate, so wherever you sit on that scale will work. A great place to start is to check out my portfolio and identify what stands out to you.

Developing the piece 

Once we have aligned on the visual aesthetic and direction for the book cover, I will create basic sketches. Once these have been refined to a final sketch we are happy with, I begin work on the piece and send progress shots along the way. 

Completing the piece 

Once we have arrived at a cover we love, I send this to you in high res in the dimensions of your cover. I can also translate elements of your cover into pieces for your chapter headings and internal accents. And, I have a special spot for back covers, so hopefully we’ve created a custom artwork for this, too. All that’s left is to publish and celebrate.

Cover Art by Emmy Lawless

Behind the Covers — A Peek Into My Portfolio

What I Offer ~ Services

Whether you are looking for book cover art and design for physical or e-book covers, my services cover the following. Note that all projects include file prep in accordance with all print and digital requirements.

A hand-painted, story-driven artwork that captures the emotional soul of your book at first glance.

Front Cover
Cover Art by Emmy Lawless

A visual echo of your story’s themes—perfect for deepening the reader’s connection beyond the final page.

Back Cover
Cover Art by Emmy Lawless

Immersive illustrations that set the tone upon opening the book.

Endpaper
Cover Art by Emmy Lawless

Chapter headings, spot illustrations, and accents that elevate your world-building from the inside out.

Internal Assets
Cover Art by Emmy Lawless

Bring the Heart of Your Story to Life –
Let’s Work Together

If you’re exploring  book cover artists to collaborate with, get in touch with your vision and an overview of your story here.

  • What genres do you specialise in as a book cover artist?
    I am a fan of lots of different styles of literature, but I believe my artistic style lends itself specifically to literary fiction, romance, fantasy, children’s books and poetry.
  • Do you offer e-book and print cover designs?
    Yes! A print cover design can absolutely be repurposed for an ebook cover, or if the book is ebook-only, we can custom-create the cover for this.
  • How long does a typical custom cover take?
    It can take anywhere between 8 and 32+ hours, which is why I don’t charge by the hour. The price is a flat fee for each asset (e.g., front cover, back cover, chapter headings, etc.).
  • Can I hire you for fantasy or romance novels?
    Yes, I love fantasy and romance and can see my artistic style lending itself well to these genres.
  • What’s the difference between book cover design and book cover illustration?
    Designed covers are often created by graphic designers —usually utilizing photography or vector/digital designs generated in Photoshop or Illustrator. Fine art or illustrated book covers are created with more traditional artistic or illustrative styles, eg, painting and pencil. Even when elements of these pieces are created with digital tools like Procreate, they lean on traditional artistry. An easy way to distinguish between the two is that design is often done with a mouse, and illustration is done with a pencil, whether that be a stylus pen or a traditional pencil.
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