dweiums

I need a cover. Since it's a romance it's fairly simple - Guy with a dragon tattoo. On his left shoulder blade. In purple and teal. Did I mention it's in water? Because dude has made a major transformation in his life and like the Chinese and Japanese legends, his is a coiling koi that has jumped the gate/waterfall and made the transition to dragon.

Awesome, right?

I see it in my head, but I have little time to execute it. Just because you can doesn't mean you should and frankly I don't even know that I can and have it come out professionally. So I'm searching for an artist that won't break my bank that can give me the tat of life. Or so to speak.

The book is called 'Year of the Dragon' - too obvious, huh? I'd like to get it out by the end of this month if possible. Oh, and I forgot - dude adds a Monkey Queen (based on the Monkey King) riding the dragons back to his tattoo near the end of the book. However, that scene may not be necessary unless there is a followup piece.

Yeah. Chinese astrology is a basic theme in the book. The next may be on the year of the monkey (my personal favorite).

I don't want to be a difficult commission, so I want to spell out what I'd like to see and hope for the best:

*This will be on an ebook and a regular sized 6x9 cover, so it is important that the art not be too elaborate. Clean lines without fancy background - if any at all. The emphasis is on the animal, maybe waves or splashes of water to show the ocean connection.
*This is an Asian type dragon - no wings. In fact, no limbs and very little fins. Since it is transforming from koi it should have that shape somewhere in its body, however I prefer the snakelike body. Definitely no antler-like horns.
*The body can't be too long and convoluted - it may not show up well on thumbnails. Maybe a couple of humps with a tail emerging from the sea.
*My first idea was to show the man's shoulder with the tat on the cover, but if the art is slamming it may just take center stage instead of the usually hunky male motif (thank the gods).
*The colors are important. Here is how it's described:
         "It's my dragon."  He turned his back to her again.  "I got this tat when I reached a major achievement in my  life and I make minor changes to it when I reach other milestones." Was he serious? So much for the sizzling burn – she wanted to laugh out loud, but he had become quietly serious as he turned and pointed to the purple beast rising from turquoise and teal foam on his shoulder.

At the end of the book the tattoo gets an addition:
"The paper in Rachel's hand had the original dragon with an intricate turquoise, yellow and lavender Chinese stylized female warrior monkey riding it's back, a multi-layered star on its chest armor plate with its tail wrapped around the dragons torso. Within the background of the design were integrated Chinese characters for monkey and dragon. Undulating in the azure sea were the words 'The Heart of the Dragon is His Magnificent Star'."

So yeah . . . that. I ask a lot, don't I? Well, if you think you can do it justice email me at my profile name and gmail so we can discuss commission and get the ball rolling. I have collected some works that fit the theme well and will send my favorites.