CRIMSON GLASS
Book Cover Design | YA Dark Fantasy / Gothic Thriller
Crimson Glass reimagines a classic fairytale through a darker, more psychological lens—where mirrors whisper, poison liberates, and the fairest one of all becomes her own reckoning.
About Us
COVER DESIGN
I designed the cover to reflect the tension between beauty and decay, innocence and control. From the beginning, I knew the visual narrative had to capture not just a moment of transformation, but the weight of silence that comes before it breaks.
Laying Eirwen in the forest clearing, surrounded by deep shadow and soft grass, allowed me to evoke that stillness—the illusion of peace—while the bitten apple, glowing with unnatural light, hints at what’s coming. The composition places the viewer above her, complicit in observing, uncertain if she is victim, villain, or something more unknowable.
The typography balances sharp elegance with restraint, keeping the tone gothic without overwhelming the imagery. A muted palette, save for the crimson apple, reinforces the central theme: something beautiful has been spoiled—or perhaps, finally revealed.
CHARACTER DESIGN
Her design reflects the duality at the heart of Crimson Glass: beauty and decay, stillness and rebellion, girl and myth.
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Visually, I wanted Eirwen to embody a haunted softness. Her skin is pale and still, her expression unreadable, as if frozen in the moment just before awakening—or just after betrayal. The bitten apple beside her glows with unnatural red, the only vivid color in an otherwise desaturated world, drawing the eye and suggesting that the story’s danger lies not in what’s hidden… but in what’s been revealed.
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Her posture is passive at first glance—reclined, exposed, surrounded by natural elements—but the framing invites discomfort. Is she resting, cursed, or reclaiming power? Her dark hair spills like ink across the grass, a visual metaphor for poison spreading. Shadows fall unevenly, hinting at something just beyond view.
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Eirwen is designed to blur the lines between victim and weapon. Every detail—from her muted palette to the soft lighting and eerily perfect symmetry—works to unsettle. The goal was to create not just a beautiful protagonist, but a presence that lingers. A girl who’s no longer asking to be saved… because she’s already decided what comes next.
THUMBNAIL SKETCHES
The early thumbnails were exploratory, focusing on character posture, composition, and symbolic hierarchy. I experimented with proximity between the girl and the apple, testing what felt more vulnerable, more cinematic, and more narrative-rich.
Each sketch was an attempt to balance the surreal with the grounded—placing Eirwen in a position that echoed vulnerability but withheld full clarity. Was she just asleep? Was she already shifting into something else?
Color and lighting studies helped guide the final atmosphere: natural elements remain dark and cool, while the apple and highlights on the figure pull focus—suggesting a cursed beauty that glows even in death.
This process allowed me to refine not only the story being told on the cover, but the emotional tone a reader feels before they even open the first page.
TOOLS USED
This project was developed using a hybrid digital workflow that combined intuitive sketching tools with professional design software. Working across platforms allowed me to preserve the organic, hand-drawn atmosphere of the illustration while refining the final composition for clarity, cohesion, and print-ready quality. Each tool supported a different stage of the process—from early ideation to detailed rendering and polished production.
Adobe Fresco
Brainstorming
Thumbnail sketches
Composition exploration
Lighting Studies
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Procreate
Full Digital Painting
Digital Rendering
Brush Textures
Atmospheric Effects
Adobe Photoshop
Color Correction
Tone Adjustment
final Polish
Adobe InDesign
Spread Layout
Typography
Print Formatting
Proof Mockup