MATS Book Cover
hand-lettering practice for book cover
Lilla Rogers runs the MATS (Make Art That Sells) class. For the first time, she offered the three-month Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering.
I had always wanted to improve my hand-lettering, so I signed up.
March assignment: Book cover
We had to illustrate a book cover using any lettering we liked in any way we liked.
The brief: Pick a country or city that starts with the first letter of your first name, plus an animal, food, or object that starts with the same letter. Then complete the sentence:
Travels to a location that starts with the first letter of your name, searching for ___________ animal or fruit that starts with the first letter of your first name. Well, I picked my fictional name, Sarah, because I wanted to illustrate a beach scene on St. Croix, and I was going to search for sunshine.
Rough Sketch
I imagined a couple sunbathing on the beach somewhere in St. Croix. The sun smiling on them with cute sunglasses.
2nd Sketch
Then, I decided San Juan and Puerto Rico would always be the closest to my heart, so I changed the book’s title. I also changed the sun because I felt it took over the whole design.
Final Book Cover Design
I picked my favorite Caribbean-influenced bright color palette but kept it at the minimum so the book is not overpowered by too many colors. This is my true style, which I often return to. The characters, the waves, and the palm tree give you a retro vibe, and they look like paper cutouts, so I paired them with paper cutout hand-letters.
I loved the practice and this font is going to show up in my future designs for sure.
Testimonial
Gorgeous! I love the art style and the color palette. Super cool lettering, too! I can see this on bookshelves.
– MATS class student