So, I lied. Sort of.

Remember back in May when we announced the one-time cover branding workshop I agreed to teach with Dean Wesley Smith? Well, it turns out that I had quite a bit of fun doing it. So, I told Dean I might consider doing another one if he did, too.

Thus, the one-time Branding Fantasy Covers Workshop was created.

You can read all about it on Dean’s blog (here), but like the last workshop I did, this one will fill up very quickly and then go away. I simply don’t have time to do many of these, much as I enjoy them. So, don’t wait.

As you can tell from the title, this one is genre-specific. But what will be fun for me is the diversity of cover design the fantasy genre can represent. Urban fantasy covers look very different from high fantasy, for example.

The fantasy genre has been one of the most dynamic when it comes to cover design. There are many reasons for this, but chief among them has been the influence from visual media and the popularity of shows such as Game of Thrones.

And that’s the trickiest part of cover design: its dynamic nature. Popular trends have great influence on branding. And in today’s world of instantaneous communication, trends are changing faster and faster.

We just need to keep up.

I’m not going to say more about fantasy design at this point—I’m saving that for the workshop. But I will once again share the covers with you once I’ve created them.

So, stay tuned. I’m looking forward to seeing what we come up with.