For his steampunk novel book cover, the client requested a bold and modern design. I created an illustration of one of the story's principle locations, a city on a floating island. To make sure the first impression is clear, I made the illustration of the floating island emblematic and stylized, with favella-like buildings as well as an emphasis on its function as a sky port and the docking air ships.
To further hint at the steampunk-pirate-theme of the novel, I included subtle background graphics of a skull, pipes and gears.