I've always felt most comfortable in the realm of dark fantasy.
The book is now available in France and can also be ordered from the publisher (Actusf) here: Skin Trade Book
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BErR2ZipHBVUDcJtrghXAt_xpRVF4Xy0FwpsiwuSSzrnp-W5yZuL-afAFg9YwzwJtE3zrqdSKlrzyDDVSxTJwRaPejzSwEdcKAdTAA2xMJqMWH9T6af6YLM0FHnj8ezeteqHppYz9oHY/s400/SkinTradeMartinCover-Brase-web72.jpg)
I thought I'd dig into my files and share some of the process for this cover.
Rough Sketch:
Here's my initial rough sketch and idea... I ended up just going with the first sketch. The idea was to draw a very shadowy killer in front of a mirror that was framed with bones. The mirror was a bit shattered and had the image of a wolf. This wasn't to be any scene from the book, but more catch the mood and themes. I also drew this cover at a smaller size than some of my cover-type drawings. It was printed smaller, so I needed to limit myself.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguN4JlYeYLxuudouspF6QH7Q8ABS1P5ORbzpHL1RGoceloq30PA5C7Y005fLxY-RCgfgIQKGffD0P075erPvjZrhjaAxP1V2mB8dP2gnJEyRFjLCM9B3MSzMsfe3PEg_f0oD6Fmg04fjrL/s400/WerewolfCover-RoughSketch-Brase-LOWres72.jpg)
Wolf Skull Study:
A rough sketch/study of a wolf skull that I pulled from my sketchbook. This was actually an element that I had not used on another project and thought it would fit in the composition for this one.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifc1E5-LLPhipYHffHb_Kt8bsu1500VAfkj46US0YeLxaEqlzjm8XZ6vjlIhhTE92sCaFs3by6QK0_nEyb3kvIViVToOAd9e1CAaSgG9jhPZAmJkUlVlBLBwnN8MJTiBf7nTHFq2A18MV8/s400/WolfSkullStudySK-Brase-web72.jpg)
WIP Pencil photo:
As in many of my drawings, I didn't use photo ref on the main character. I still study anatomy and how the shadows fall on a character, though I'm not going for a perfect photo real look. I look for interesting shapes and designs in a composition and try to catch the character's emotion and a mood to a scene. Those things are most important to me.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGQfn5DYRvDmWKkNcW_BVGM79JjnW89Fkukon-RJEF3GQaalbWabJqvqQwt9PJjGfK_DRamYLhgs0yNHHtMTDrrr0bGdWkAjuWloCFmI0Uqep5P_2h6yrfWFoHMRB4p9XBOQ7jIC11vUc/s400/WolfMirror-WIPpencilPic-Brase-web72.jpg)
Pencil Version:
Here's the pencil stage. I left some areas rough, to be detailed out in ink.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeYtoclcUn1SaBdeEIPXs3geaR-WZq5_vz0q2PT6st1AzEyfsEXZjiPdRXHsRmAPyCvefE-FUHYONfDK9Exd3_BcS42GKMhUQLXvn-qIP1iO2ZIE06LuI2cwZ8au7Lko4Ky5eSRhztEOQ/s400/WerewolfCover-PencilWIP-Brase-LOWRES.jpg)
Ink Version:
At first the background was going to be more black and in complete shadow. I decided to add some more twisted shapes and mystery back there, to give it a more creepy look. I wanted to keep with simple shapes in back though, so the detailed characters would stand out better.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjyjOkcphoCd1j6m9WdVu6JplVhSqqX_noHVZdrmcrILVMLyLTsFPLS0flC2gejaIz5BkZpplGVGgUZ7SkmhSg7xnKkCRxck0M-Fry0NIxZ9aA8k4B5vh5ve5S8LMbYG4slobrDdCm4jJ/s400/WolfMirror-OriginalINK-Brase-web72.jpg)
Color Version:
My idea with the color on this one, was to just add a some minimal spot color in a stylized way. I think this sort of coloring works well, when the figures already stand strong in B&W ink. It also added to the horror feel on this book.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Y84LpXn9YLD9gHlmHrSE-KUiQ9QORHMaLcro-m8jGoHBH0XRbKmQ8bmBIDgtMmBryMM5EC1qtyboRBQYOSfTv-FgIs7ZIL_EJ2ww4YBnZVjvbYFYvkChdTlZZrFbOhzNcOfofKk_qmt9/s400/WolfMirrorV2-COLOR--Brase-web72.jpg)