u/United-Car2623

I'm looking for an experienced fantasy illustrator/painter to create the final painted artwork for a full-wrap book cover. I'm needing a traditional-looking digital painting.

I already have a detailed composition sketch that has been approved by the publisher. The composition is established, so I'm looking for an artist who can work from the existing sketch rather than redesigning the cover.

The art style I am looking for comes from the original book covers of Thieves World (see attached). The first six novels had a similar art style that I am looking for. Painted by Walter Velez.

Classic painted fantasy — naturalistic, dimensional, richly painted artwork with a traditional/old-school fantasy illustration feel. High-key, high-value colors, grounded in natural colors. Dark like Thieves World but also bright, sun-drenched vintage look that feels optimistic, with thin lines.

The scene is quite complex (see attached composition sketch) and includes:

- multiple characters

- a Hollywood movie-studio setting

- 1920s/old-Hollywood elements

- ghosts/supernatural characters (which will be see-through)

- cars and motorcycles

- architecture and street scenery

- Hollywood Hills/Hollywood Sign

- a dragon from an old film

- a very small separate group of a few ghosts I'll put as an overlay on the title

It's meant to be one continuous image. In the attached composition sketch, there should be a wall in between the left and ride side connecting them (the space is where the book spine goes but the publisher wants the painting to continue on the spine).

No AI-generated final artwork. The publisher specifically requires human-created artwork.

I will provide:

- the approved composition sketch (see attached)

- visual references for the painting direction from the publisher

- character/reference information

- any additional references needed for the individual elements

I'm looking for someone who is comfortable painting over/working from an existing composition sketch and preserving the established placement of the major elements. Also someone that has a good eye for color—specifically, executing the artwork with high color saturation and rich, low black points to capture that heavy, dramatic, and theatrical pulp vibe.

Budget: $500 USD

​Rights: ​Work-for-Hire / Full Commercial Buyout. Because the artist will be rendering an existing, approved composition sketch and utilizing established character IP, the publisher will retain full copyright and ownership of the final image. The artist may not sell prints or monetize the image, but absolutely retains the right to showcase the final painting in their personal portfolios and on social media.

Timeline: approximately 2-3 weeks, so availability to start soon is important. Timing is important as the publication date of the book is nearing, but at the same time we do not want to rush the artist as the quality of the artwork is of most importance.

No book layout is required (that's already done on my end and I'll share it with you so you have a good idea of what it will look like finished).

Please comment with your portfolio and examples of full-scene fantasy/narrative painting, particularly work involving multiple characters and environments. I'm especially interested in artists who have experience with traditional-looking digital painting or painted book-cover illustration.

Please comment with your portfolio rather than sending a generic DM. I'd like to look through the work first.

The publisher will have other books coming up in the future to work on in a similar style, and it's very possible to contract the artist again if we find the right artist.

I'm looking for an experienced fantasy illustrator/painter to create the final painted artwork for a full-wrap book cover. I'm needing a traditional-looking digital painting.

I already have a detailed composition sketch that has been approved by the publisher. The composition is established, so I'm looking for an artist who can work from the existing sketch rather than redesigning the cover.

The art style I am looking for comes from the original book covers of Thieves World (see attached). The first six novels had a similar art style that I am looking for. Painted by Walter Velez.

Classic painted fantasy — naturalistic, dimensional, richly painted artwork with a traditional/old-school fantasy illustration feel. High-key, high-value colors, grounded in natural colors. Dark like Thieves World but also bright, sun-drenched vintage look that feels optimistic, with thin lines.

The scene is quite complex (see attached composition sketch) and includes:

- multiple characters

- a Hollywood movie-studio setting

- 1920s/old-Hollywood elements

- ghosts/supernatural characters (which will be see-through)

- cars and motorcycles

- architecture and street scenery

- Hollywood Hills/Hollywood Sign

- a dragon from an old film

- a very small separate group of a few ghosts I'll put as an overlay on the title

It's meant to be one continuous image. In the attached composition sketch, there should be a wall in between the left and ride side connecting them (the space is where the book spine goes but the publisher wants the painting to continue on the spine).

No AI-generated final artwork. The publisher specifically requires human-created artwork.

I will provide:

- the approved composition sketch (see attached)

- visual references for the painting direction from the publisher

- character/reference information

- any additional references needed for the individual elements

I'm looking for someone who is comfortable painting over/working from an existing composition sketch and preserving the established placement of the major elements. Also someone that has a good eye for color—specifically, executing the artwork with high color saturation and rich, low black points to capture that heavy, dramatic, and theatrical pulp vibe.

Budget: $500 USD

​Rights: ​Work-for-Hire / Full Commercial Buyout. Because the artist will be rendering an existing, approved composition sketch and utilizing established character IP, the publisher will retain full copyright and ownership of the final image. The artist may not sell prints or monetize the image, but absolutely retains the right to showcase the final painting in their personal portfolios and on social media.

Timeline: approximately 2-3 weeks, so availability to start soon is important. Timing is important as the publication date of the book is nearing, but at the same time we do not want to rush the artist as the quality of the artwork is of most importance.

No book layout is required (that's already done on my end and I'll share it with you so you have a good idea of what it will look like finished).

Please comment with your portfolio and examples of full-scene fantasy/narrative painting, particularly work involving multiple characters and environments. I'm especially interested in artists who have experience with traditional-looking digital painting or painted book-cover illustration.

Please comment with your portfolio rather than sending a generic DM. I'd like to look through the work first.

The publisher will have other books coming up in the future to work on in a similar style, and it's very possible to contract the artist again if we find the right artist.

I'm looking for an experienced fantasy illustrator/painter to create the final painted artwork for a full-wrap book cover. I'm needing a traditional-looking digital painting.

I already have a detailed composition sketch that has been approved by the publisher. The composition is established, so I'm looking for an artist who can work from the existing sketch rather than redesigning the cover.

The art style I am looking for comes from the original book covers of Thieves World (see attached). The first six novels had a similar art style that I am looking for. Painted by Walter Velez.

Classic painted fantasy — naturalistic, dimensional, richly painted artwork with a traditional/old-school fantasy illustration feel. High-key, high-value colors, grounded in natural colors. Dark like Thieves World but also bright, sun-drenched vintage look that feels optimistic, with thin lines.

The scene is quite complex (see attached composition sketch) and includes:

- multiple characters

- a Hollywood movie-studio setting

- 1920s/old-Hollywood elements

- ghosts/supernatural characters (which will be see-through)

- cars and motorcycles

- architecture and street scenery

- Hollywood Hills/Hollywood Sign

- a dragon from an old film

- a very small separate group of a few ghosts I'll put as an overlay on the title

It's meant to be one continuous image. In the attached composition sketch, there should be a wall in between the left and ride side connecting them (the space is where the book spine goes but the publisher wants the painting to continue on the spine).

No AI-generated final artwork. The publisher specifically requires human-created artwork.

I will provide:

- the approved composition sketch (see attached)

- visual references for the painting direction from the publisher

- character/reference information

- any additional references needed for the individual elements

I'm looking for someone who is comfortable painting over/working from an existing composition sketch and preserving the established placement of the major elements. Also someone that has a good eye for color—specifically, executing the artwork with high color saturation and rich, low black points to capture that heavy, dramatic, and theatrical pulp vibe.

Budget: $500 USD

​Rights: ​Work-for-Hire / Full Commercial Buyout. Because the artist will be rendering an existing, approved composition sketch and utilizing established character IP, the publisher will retain full copyright and ownership of the final image. The artist may not sell prints or monetize the image, but absolutely retains the right to showcase the final painting in their personal portfolios and on social media.

Timeline: approximately 2-3 weeks, so availability to start soon is important. Timing is important as the publication date of the book is nearing, but at the same time we do not want to rush the artist as the quality of the artwork is of most importance.

No book layout is required (that's already done on my end and I'll share it with you so you have a good idea of what it will look like finished).

Please comment with your portfolio and examples of full-scene fantasy/narrative painting, particularly work involving multiple characters and environments. I'm especially interested in artists who have experience with traditional-looking digital painting or painted book-cover illustration. And please let me know if revisions are included / how many are included. And price if you charge more for extras.

Please comment with your portfolio rather than sending a generic DM. I'd like to look through the work first.

The publisher will have other books coming up in the future to work on in a similar style, and it's very possible to contract the artist again if we find the right artist.

Thank you.