Concept art for the cover of "The Sorcerer's Lackey"

There are some advantages to being forced to stay at home. I’ve been indulging in a bit of electronic housekeeping and found some preliminary sketches of various characters from The Sorcerer’s Lackey that I want to share with you.

Derek Companion, the “wise one” who is, yeah, Hapless’ companion on his adventure. I like the slim moustache and supercilious look with the lowered eyelids he is giving us. Compare this version with the final cover.

Well there’s no mistaking the pointy ears and proud demeanour of Elf, one of the rable that goes with Hapless on his adventure. I like the fact he isn’t looking at you and the braided hair beside his ear is a nice touch.

Elfin, the pretty elvish sister to Elf, is well captured by this drawing. She has the same braided hair and is demurely looking down at the ground, avoiding catching one’s eyes, in a most endearing way. I also liked the hairstyle.

This, of course, needs no introduction. No good fantasy adventure would be complete without the requisite dragon. I love the rather shabby wings, the enormous talons and the snake tongue. A fitting problem for a hero, no?

And here we have an early concept art for the cover with Hapless in a characteristic pose. You need to read the book to understand some of the illusions. The masked woman on the right is Assassin, by the way. I love the idea of her eyes on the lookout for trouble.

Another cover version with some colouring. I like the fact that Elf is looking down with some annoyance or perhaps worry. He seems to have acquired a headress and lost his tresses. Elfin is more of a waif in this version, but the tresses are evident. Hapless is also looking a bit worried as if he’d done something wrong. Derek’s expression is like that of an irritated butler. Compare the composition and layout to the final version.

And here is the final version. Not too dissimilar to the earlier versions. There’s Dwarf added as well as Fighter. It has lost either Elf or Elfin, depending on how you see the elven on the left. Derek is now looking supercillious and Hapless is mouthing: “Not my fault, gov, really.” Well, it was.

I hope you like these drawings and how the cover evolved from concept to what is the published cover.