Of Wings and Chains by Mei Harize is a steampunk fantasy novel that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. I was approached in 2023 by the client to create a cover that captured the essence of the book. The book was released in January of 2024.

After some discussion about the illustration style, the client approved my idea of digitally mimicking a shadowbox made of cut paper and lit from within. Black is the most common paper color for this type of art when it is done analog, and the emerald green hue was chosen at the author’s request, drawing from a recurring theme in the book. Crows are another theme in the book, so the silhouette of a crow was included as well. Market research I conducted showed that, within steampunk literary spheres, it is customary, often necessary, to indicate the genre of the book with gears so steampunk fans immediately know that this is a book written for them.