Behind the Cover

When exploring the theme of confidentiality, my initial thought was the symbolic gesture of the hushed finger indicating staying silent, but I also thought about the other side of taking on the responsibility to safeguard information. I wanted to explore the idea and nature of the work by using the front and back covers to depict two sides of the same scene. By revealing the “secret” on the back cover in the character’s hand, viewers can experience both sides depending on which page they’re on. After deciding on a composition for the cover, I then added harsh lighting and smoke to enhance the enigmatic atmosphere.

By Michelle Cao IG: @mi.ch.mich

Many of the compositional and design choices that I made were made with the Prattler cover in mind. For example, the harsh shadow adds a nice backdrop for the title so it stands out, and I made the back cover simpler than the front to differentiate the two. I also decided to make the character’s tie float in the direction of the smokes to connect the character to the motion of the environment around them. Textures were added to make the piece more alive, and I finished it off with little details such as the “no” symbol as earrings.