Saturday, October 14, 2017

Shelf Candy Saturday No. 226: Crown of Ice, by Vicki L. Weavil



Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!



This is my weekly feature
showcasing beautiful covers!
It also provides information, 
if available, on their 
very talented creators!



Here's my choice for this week!




Crown of Ice
(The Mirror of Immortality, Book 1)
Vicki L. Weavil
Trade Paperback, 216 pages
Snowy Wings Publishing, 2nd ecition
April 30, 2017
   Fairy Tale Retellings, Fantasy,Romance,
Young Adult Fiction


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32786586-crown-of-ice




My Thoughts About This Cover

This exquisite cover is as beautifully detailed as a fine piece of jewelry, or perhaps an ornate tapestry. At first glance, I thought the predominant color was blue, but, on closer inspection, I noticed that it was really green. There are several shades of the color all over the cover.

There is an ethereal, magical quality to this cover that is perfect for this novel, which is a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's famous story, "The Snow Queen". And it's obviously the Queen herself who is portrayed here. She is pensive, perhaps pondering a dilemma or decision. A wolf off to the side is staring at her. They are surrounded by an icy, magical landscape.

I love the star-like glow around the Queen's head and shoulders. It is, I think, the glow of magical power, although it also seems to emanate from the hills in the distance. I love her simple, flowing dress, her long blonde hair that cascades over her back in twisting strands. I also love the fact that the whole scene is framed, as if in a mirror, which also fits in with the novel's theme. The frame reminds me of similar Renaissance designs I've seen in Art History books.

The font used for the title, subtitle, and author's name is a classic one, although it has been slightly altered. One very nice touch is that part of the letter "W" wraps over the "O", effectively forming a crown.

When I opened the Amazon preview for this book, the cover designer was listed as "Deranged Doctor Design". This is a group of cover artists who create covers for self-published authors. I was unable to find out which one of them was responsible for the STUNNING cover above, though. Perhaps all of their covers are created through collaboration. They do have a page on their website titled "DDD Team", and their names are listed there. However, only their first names, or nicknames, are listed, with very scant biographical information about each artist. The main ones seem to be Milo, Marushka, and "Kitten". There are samples of covers they have individually created. The cover above is not shown on this page, although it is included on their Portfolio page, under the category of "Young Adult Fantasy". Still, there's no individual attribution.

Whatever the case may be, the fact is that these artists are just BRILLIANT! A look at their portfolio will make that very clear! I'm bookmarking their website!


What do you think of 
this week's cover?
Please leave a comment
and let me know!








4 comments:

  1. This is another great cover Maria. I do not know a lot about this kind of art. But your SCS posts make me think about how one a particular color, or a combination of two colors, can be used to great effect. It seems that in when done by a skilled artist (or in this case a team), almost any color can be made to work.

    Here light blue and white are used so well. This cover is so atmospheric. I feel that I am standing outdoors on a frozen lake just looking at it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Brian!

      Since discovering Deranged Doctor Design, I will DEFINITELY be featuring more of their GORGEOUS covers, even if I don't know the name of the individual artists who created them. These artists are just AMAZING!! If I were to write and publish a book, I would want them to create the cover design. ABSOLUTELY!!

      Yea, in the hands of a skilled artist, one or two colors can definitely create the desired effect, as is the case here. This is such a BEAUTIFUL cover! I can't praise it enough!! I came across it on Goodreads, while browsing possible covers to include in today's post.

      You are SO right that this cover is atmospheric. I, too, feel as if I'm there! But I do like the mirror effect, as well.

      There's a second book in this series, also designed by DDD, with an equally STUNNING cover, that I might feature next week. The color scheme is a very different one, as the element on the cover is fire.

      Thanks for always leaving such great comments on these posts!! <3 :)

      Delete
  2. I love this cover and I love the fact that it's a retelling of HCA's Snow Queen, whick is one of my favorites ever!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Stephanie!

      Yeah, I LOVE this book for both reasons! And that happens to be one of my favorite fairy tales, too!

      Thanks for the nice comment!! <3 <3 :) :)

      Delete

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