Penguin Book- More development for talking turkeys

 Adding a back cover for my thumbnails 

My original 10 cover designs only used the front cover to create ideas so I thought I would develop them moving forward. I like the simplicity of the first cover design however I don't think it expressed what's inside the book. I think to improve this design I could add a couple of illustrations in the background. 

The second idea doesn't look incredibly well done. But I wanted the background for this book to be made up of illustrations that hint at a couple of the poems in the book. But I would want them to not have full opacity. 
The third idea is more of a failed experiment. I tried to follow through with the idea of using a turkey flying with an olive branch, however, I don't think it is successful at all. 

I think that both of these ideas are very fun and exciting but what I love most about the first thumbnail is the fact that the cover looks very chaotic. I think this reflects some of the ways Zephaniah writes his poem. It shows that this poetry book is going to be fun to read. 
The second one is also very fun and exciting. I think it ties in both the title and the meaning of the book. The small illustrations are inspired by the poems in the book. I really like this idea and will develop it further. 

50% percent of book templates- without typography 

These two template ideas are a twist of the the title. I wanted to show the turkey telling stories and creating the ideas that Zephaniah writes. I think the colours are powerful and bright. However, I think on the second one I could make it better by getting rid of a few of the sections where the it doesn't look like the turkey's speech bubble. 
Shown below is the way I would develop this thumbnail further when I go into more detail. I think going forward in the black/dark section of this 50% template I could draw in the negative things about society that Zephaniah talk about throughout the book. Then in the bright colours maybe I could add the happier illustrations. I also think that the illustrations could be 3D when it is printed. 

On these two designs I tried to focus more on typography and proportions. I like how the top thumbnail only has one turkey in the middle and the feathers create the background. I think it looks very effective. But I don't think it's interesting enough to be a cover for the penguin book. 
I love how the second thumbnail is chaotic and the colours really add to that effect. I also like the typography I used in both of these I think its fun and you can tell it's targeted to kids. 

Development of one of my ideas 

At first I developed my idea by using acrylic paint to create the bright colours. I knew I wanted this book cover to pop and be very eye catching for the kid audience. I really enjoyed using this colour palette. However, halfway through I knew the proportions were off if I was going to add a title at the top so, I carried on my development through digital media. 

To carry on I first decided to move down the turkey so that the there was more room for typography. I added more details on top using a pencil brush to add in some texture that I felt was missing in the first painting. I also made the crown bigger and more noticeable. The problem with the crown is that it's a weird shape and going forward I will change that. Other than a couple of issues, I think this experiment was successful and by using using acrylic and digital I have maintained a traditional look to the artwork. 

Improved version of last idea;