Saga of the Goblin Horde: Custom Cover

I've written about presentation and supplement design in the past, and I've been applying those concepts to my new releases (such as the updated Savage Frost Giants, Eldritch Weapons, etc).

However until now I've only used stock art - and while stock art can often be very good, it's not unique. For interior artwork this isn't such an issue (in fact even most Savage Worlds licencees use stock art to at least some extent), but I really think it's important to have a unique front cover.

So recently I decided to commission my first piece of custom work, a cover (front and back) and interior page design for my upcoming Saga of the Goblin Horde setting.

While there are a lot of talented artists in the RPG community, when it comes to covers, my favorite is Lord Zsezse Works. They sell a wide range of Template Packs, and I've been using those in most of my recent Savage Worlds supplements, but they also offer custom-made covers.

I requested a cover with blades and blood-splatters, a color-scheme that would fit with a parchment-style interior paper design, enough space for a logo at the bottom and the title at the top, and a layered effect for the top and bottom, with a goblin portrait in the center.

I included a very rough sketch of what I had in mind, but said it was just a guideline and that I trusted their judgement, as they clearly know what works and what doesn't (and, as can be seen from my rough sketch, I'm no artist!)

They kept me updated as they progressed to make sure I was happy with the direction it was taking, and to see if I needed anything changing, and today I received the final version (as you can see from the screenshots in this post)

I'm really pleased with the results, I think the cover does a great job of capturing the feel of the setting!