Scifi Book Cover Illustration

The Brief: Welcome. We are looking for a talented illustrator to design an original, hand-drawn artwork for an upcoming novel. We are ideally looking for an illustrator with a background in detailed landscapes. Previous work with Sci-fi or Fantasy works would be highly regarded. This will be a paid commission, with payment released in separate instalments at the completion of agreed-upon milestones. We are targeting a "painterly" style with full colour and shading. We will be selecting the successful artist based on past works that demonstrate their ability to match (or surpass) our vision. Please ensure the artworks in your submitted portfolio are all your own work. Attached you will find several examples in a mix of styles to help demonstrate. Included in these examples is a rough initial layout sketch. The completed artwork will contain the main character in the foreground so the successful artist will need to be adept at character art in addition to landscapes. We have a clear vision in mind. However, you as the artist have influence over this vision, and we are happy to work with you to achieve a result we will both be proud to be a part of. The primary artwork: The cover is to depict a small farming colony on the outskirts of colonised space. Our main protagonist (Ellie) is to be positioned towards the bottom right of the foreground, facing towards the right edge and looking over her shoulder. She is to be situated atop grass or a grassy hill, along with clearly visible watermelons, still on the vine. The middle ground is to show, much further back, an armed farming mech firing upon a large group, or swarm, of quadrupedal alien creatures. Similar to the Zerg (Starcraft, Blizzard) or Tyranids (Warhammer 40k, Games Workshop). A large concrete spaceport/landing pad will need to be visible, even if partly obscured, and a rising cliff with a needle-like structure on top next to a hangar. The background is to show a brilliant sunset over a distant ocean. We are envisioning the landscape as mostly rolling hills with some rivers where appropriate. Towards the top of the picture, an inverted space fighter will be flying by at speed. This is what our main character will be looking towards. Finally, in the far, far distance, as if in space, two capital ships are to be engaged in combat, with one in the process of being destroyed/exploding. The artwork as a whole we are envisioning as highly saturated, in infinite focus, with highly detailed shading and not strictly adhering to a realistic perspective. This is meant to be a stylised representation of reality as opposed to a photo-realistic capture. Depth will be important to this piece. How this is executed and whether you feel this is the best way to achieve the desired result is down to you as an artist. We are willing to discuss these decisions as we go. There will need to be space towards the top and bottom of the artwork for the title and author name. The Back and Spine artworks: The artwork for the spine and the back cover are to be continuations of the landscape to allow the artwork to "wrap around" the book for printing. The spine and back cover will mostly be covered in writing. Technical specification: Our preference is for the artwork to be digital. However, we are open to artwork and artists who work with physical mediums. All the requirements below may not apply to a physical artwork, in which case we will discuss details with the successful artist. Dimensions and details: -A minimum resolution of 6,400 pixels in height by 4,000 in width for the front cover. Resolutions scale as appropriate for the spine and back. -The ratio must remain at height/width ratio of 1.6:1. For the front every 1,000 pixels in width, the image should be 1,600 pixels in height. -Any physical scans should be provided in at least 1,200DPI -We will work with you to develop this concept. Multiple revisions are expected. -Origional, lossless .PSD with intact layers to be provided.