Adored by the Grumpy Ghost – Dust Jacket Creation Process

In the concept ideas given by the author, she wants to see the ghost handfeeding the FL with a strawberry in the kitchen. Though we later scrapped the handfeeding idea and instead went with him touching her nose. The setting is also in an old Victorian mansion so I gathered a lot of reference for this.

I also went back and check the original cover to make sure that even if this is a special edition, there’s still the resemblance of the original cover.

Here is the initial sketch and the thumbnail that I did with the base colors. At this stage, I was trying to find the right color that will match the bluish whimsical and romantic vibe that the client asked for.

Here’s a snapshot on the illustration of the kitchen with and without the characters. Between the Victorian kitchen and the characters’ romantic pose, the kitchen really challenged me. There are quiet lot of details but I love how it all came together with the sunlight coming in from the window. Those rays are what I used to make it more whimsical and romantic. It really ties the piece together.

As I work on the piece, I’m constantly sending progress shots like these to the client to make sure that we’re on the same page on what I’m working on and that they’re satisfied by the end result. The author, Ivy and the FatedRomance team really love seeing these progress shots!

And with that, here is our final book cover illustration and design for Adored by the Grumpy Ghost!