Illustrator Spotlight: Corona Zschusschen

I don’t have to tell you all that I have some major Cover-Lovin’ going on for my book, Givin’ Up The Ghost. I finally got to show the front cover off last week during my cover reveal.

You know what else is awesome?

The back cover!

Check it out.

Of course, it’s all attributed to my very talented illustrator, Corona Zschusschen, who I am thrilled to be spotlighting and interviewing today.

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Illustrator Spotlight

Name: Corona Zschusschen
Nationality: Dutch
Occupation: Illustrator and graphic designer
Lover of: Nature, stars, books-books-books, sci-fi and cats

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Welcome Corona! Tell me something about yourself.

I'm Corona, 30 years young and I'm from the Netherlands. I live in a medium sized town called Enschede, with 2 cats and a great guy. Especially great, because without him I wouldn't be able to chase my dream of being an illustrator.

How long have you been illustrating?

I think I've been drawing all my life. As a child I moved around a lot. Drawing was one of the steady, constant things in my life. Something I could do anywhere at any time. Even though I've been drawing all my life, I've only started being serious about it the past few years. Now I feel confident enough to call myself an illustrator (Explaining you're an illustrator works better at parties than telling you draw things). At the same time I'm never done learning, you have to keep practicing to get better.

How do you start a new illustration?

I also do research and search for inspiration. Mostly online, but sometimes I go somewhere, take a walk after sundown, take pictures of things I see that may be relevant. Often I ask a friend to pose, so I see what gesture or angle works best. But sometimes, when I'm really lucky, it just happens. I sit behind my computer and I start drawing. It's rare when I use paper and pencils, I've become quite dependent on using my drawing tablet to sketch out ideas.

A drawing tablet? How does that work? I’m envisioning etch-a-sketch on a computer, but I imagine it’s a little more complicated than that. (Do they have etch-a-sketch in the Netherlands? Or is it something like Paintbrush in Microsoft?

I'm not sure if they have Etch a Sketch here, they do have this toy that has a white board with iron particles, and you use a magnetic pen to bring the particles up to the surface. Much easier than turning two knobs I think ;) A drawing tablet is a device that you can connect to the computer (see the picture attached, this is my current desk setup :).



It has a pressure (and angle) sensitive pen. The tablet can mimic brush and paint-like strokes. I use it in combination with Photoshop. The only thing you have to get used to when using a tablet like this, is that you have to look up at your computer screen instead of down at your paper.

That is amazing. And how do you color it in?

The same way I've drawn it. Also digital. The program I use (Photoshop) has a digital equivalent of a colour palette. So I can choose colours and paint those in. For me the process is similar to painting traditionally, except that the computer offers the (awesome) 'Ctrl+z' option. This means that when you make a mistake you can simply return to a previous non-mistake version. I once spilled a pot of black ink all over a drawing on paper, oh how I missed 'Ctrl+z' buttons.

How did you come up with the idea for my book cover?

I have to let things sink in and settle before I have any ideas. The best ideas happen in those few minutes before you fall asleep. After you mailed me I printed out the chapter and scenes you had on your website. I read them several times before I went to bed and underlined passages that described atmosphere, mood and appearance. I wanted your cover to tell a story, convey a sense of excitement and mystery, not to be just a static image. I hope I succeeded in bringing that message to the reader.
What also helped is that you clearly knew what you want and didn't want in a cover. This made it easier for me to think up a concept.
For example, the design of Indigo Eady was very important. Not just looks-wise, but also her facial expression and placement on the cover. Do we want her to look at us (the reader) or back at the mysterious people who are chasing her? Is she scared or confident? I went through several designs until Gwen gave the thumbs-up.

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And there you have it folks, the very talented illustrator, Corona Zschusschen!

How did I find this whole process?

Fascinating!

How did I choose my illustrator?

For my part, I knew I wanted something different than the usual young adult cover. I write what I consider Young Adult Paranormal Cozy Mysteries. The emphasis is on “cozy,” which I haven’t really seen in young adult fiction.

Lovely as they are, I knew I didn’t want the edgier, realistic photographic cover. I wanted something softer, cozier. I wanted middle-grade for young adult.

I found Corona's artwork as a heading/banner on another blog months and months before I even started thinking about a cover. I added the page to my favorites, and when it was time, I approached her for an estimte.

I couldn’t have imagined a better cover than what Corona created for me. It was exactly what I wanted!

Thank you for being here today, Corona. And thank you so much for creating my awesome cover and being part of my exciting journey.

You can find Corona at:


Her websites:

http://www.sjusjun.com/


http://www.afterhorizon.com/


Email:  sjusjun@gmail.com


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corona.zschusschen

Twitter: @sjusjun