Andreas finished up the cover art for The Cat in the Cradle this weekend, expanding it so it wraps around the spine to the back of the book. I think he did an exceptional job. Here’s your chance to see it without all the title and synopsis text that be present in the printed version. Clicky-clicky for a bigger version!

The empty white box is for the bar code, of course. Andreas came up with a lot of rough images before we settled on a final concept, and it’s amazing to see how the art evolved when looking through them in sequence. The earliest and roughest sketch, seen to the left, was later used as the basis for the art on the opening chapter. All together, there are about five unique images that came before the final art.

I’m very, very lucky to be married to an artist willing to take time out of his busy schedule to fulfill my silly whims. Andreas spent an ungoldy amount of time creating the twenty-five interior illustrations in addition to the cover, each with their own concepts and alterations. Believe you me, this is going to cost me a ridiculous amount of foot massages.

Despite being advised not to, we all judge a book by its cover, so it’s very important they look their best. What’s the best cover art you’ve ever seen? (Aside from mine naturally. Heh.) It could be anything from books, DVDs, album covers, anything. What’s your favorite?