For this project, we were challenged to do some sort of handwork as part of the project. It had been a long time since I got to break out my pencils, so I decided to do intaglio style illustrations of the animals for the covers. 

 

The 3 subjects I decided to do were Fish, Insects, and Reptiles. The 3 illustrations are below.

After being converted into vectors, they were ready to be implemented into the designs. I was inspired by the gold embossed books of older times, and wanted my book set to have that heavy, sophistacated feel. I used deep tones, popped with a bright yellow to signify the gold in the design. Scientific names were used as a subtle texture for the colors, and ornamental flourishes differed each of the books while providing a family template.  Below are the finished products of my book cover set, printed and modeled on books.