Thanks to all my helpful forum friends on this one.

I really like the Octopus theme because you can get a lot of movement with the tentacles, and point to things of importance. Any critiques are welcome and appreciated. ~ Johanna

Here's my Old and New contribution, with my characters from last month's Octopus theme. This illustration had a lot of challenges but much thanks to the valuable feedback from @kevin-longueil @gary-wilkinson @jason-bowen @kathrynadebayo, it's one of my stronger efforts.

Johanna Kim

This illustration was technically challenging for me every step of the way, but I think it's time to let it go. I'm really enjoying everyone's different take on the prompt. Good luck and stay safe, everyone:)

Time to let this one go...fly away little illo. Kudos to my fellow SVSLearners @Gary-Wilkinson @RHirsch @demotlj @Miriam @Sofie_designed @Adrian-K for helping me make this a better piece through their feedback and suggestions.

As usually happens, I revisited my illustration and felt compelled to make changes. Please excuse my re-submission.

Love the super-charged creativity in all the submissions. Really inspiring to see.

@ShannonBiondi Thanks so much:) I wonder if you might suggest in your directions at top that in addition to uploading hi-res images to the Google folder, that we all share lo-res versions to this feed as well, as inspiration to each other.

Here's mine:)

Decided to do mine in ink this time. I imagined the following accompanying text:

With the Count's thick Transylvanian accent and obvious mirror challenges, his hair stylist never could understood what he wanted.

Hope you like it:)

@Neha-Rawat Congratulations! This is an amazing achievement!!

@carrieannebrown Thanks so much:)

@Coley Thanks so much:)

Love the super-charged creativity in all the submissions. Really inspiring to see.

@Coley This looks great! I really like your style and as others have mentioned, the silhouette is really striking. Re: the lettering, it works compositionally, but I personally tend to gravitate to titles with lettering that's more hand drawn, or fonts that feel hand drawn. If you have time and the interest, it might be interesting to explore options with the lettering. re: having to get a day job, I totally empathize. That's a whole separate thread (sigh). Sending big hugs to you and know you're not alone.

@Gary-Wilkinson Congratulations! Such wonderful news and so well-deserved.

@Eric-Droke Love your unique concept, attention to the details of the original story and final illustration! Looks very intriguing and professional.

What an ordeal! I'm so happy for you that's the book is finally going to be enjoyed by readers and of course, that you were compensated for your efforts. These images look fantastic.

Do you mind if I ask a question about your experience? Please only answer the following only if you're comfortable. Was the hold-up in payment also a result of a poorly written contract? Or did the publishers simply ignore the payment schedule, in which case, you could have sued them. But that would have been a huge hassle?

@carriecopadraws WOW, this is fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing. I also LOVE your work.

@Gary-Wilkinson Congratulations on the book project! I prefer #1, but would want to definitely see these three as thumbnails to make a more informed decision. #1 draws me in more and makes me think "Aww, poor cute T-rex:)". You want the text to be legible, but not too overpowering. Maybe find thumbnails of other books and see how your covers compare next to them. When working with a traditional publisher situation, they will usually have a graphic designer place text and choose fonts, and you would be providing the artwork with enough blank space for them to work with. If you feel strongly about choosing the font and text placement, definitely share your recommendations, but if there is a graphic designer involved, I would also suggest presenting the artwork without text so it's clear that you welcome collaboration on achieving the best possible cover. Good luck!