Eater Bestiary. Nice!
Yes, the diagonals of Dawkins Biomorphs fit with what I was imagining too.
 
Penrose Tiling (With the magic word 'Escher' tom guarantee excitiement from all 3 of us, even if I can't manage that) 'eroding'/'decaying' to the back cover - excellent.
 
So much ink to spill. So little time.
 
Best:
Smuzz
----- Original Message -----
From: pinlighter
To: eira.sms ; Brett Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 1:25 PM
Subject: Re: etcetera

Try them out and see - I'll back your artistic taste over mine any day. 
 
Some more ideas - part from the Set Speech Rune idea, I had thought of looking at things like Dawkins' biomorphs as inspiration sources for an Eater bestiary - they are very simple but they are generated from genetic elements in a life-similar way 
http://www.truefreethinker.com/articles/atheist-and-darwinian-science-and-story-telling-part-5-9
 
 
 
there are several design elements that could extend the front cover illo borders or could allow a picture to be embedded in them.   One obvious one (in a NL context) is penrose tiling, which is the pattern used on the gaming table.  Google fro (very numerous) pix.  A tiling that looked as if it were mede of cut stones (ie some roughness, cracking) intrlocking with Escher-like elaborations, if it extended out from the front cover pic and steadily "decayed" as it got furthur away from the immediate frame might be a good way of hinting at the chaos of the Land surrounding the Redoubt.  
 
That's just one idea, I'll spin off more as I can.
 
Yes, the cover pic should be tinted, two colors
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: eira.sms
To: pinlighter ; Brett Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 1:03 PM
Subject: Re: etcetera

Ok.
I'm still of the opinion that some - very basic - border for the interior illos would be nice. Maybe just a simple rectangular frame with a little embellishment at the corners. Simple but elegant.
The cover illo would, I feel, benefit by being 'embedded' in an overall 'design' which might extend to the back cover.
I'm assuming the cover should be printed in 2 colours. I may be being simply damn stupid here in which case it's time you disabused me of this delusion.
 
Best:
Smuzz
 
----- Original Message -----
From: pinlighter
To: eira.sms ; Brett Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 11:58 AM
Subject: Re: etcetera

Ha!  A real artist is his own worst critic . . .
 
 
Borders . . on reflection I agrree with Brett + don't think they are needed except on the cover illo.   In fact I do think they would be a positive distraction in the interior. 
 
((The type of border on the cover depends on the type of picture we select.  The tentative idea for "set speech runic" is that the long-distance semaphore that is the Set Speech (displayed on the Tower in "quick darting flashes" to be seen out in the Night Land) is composed of straight lines joined up and so is a bit like runes: and that this has been elaborated over milions of years into a derived handwritten symblogy or series of such symbols or iconograph sets used in decoration, writing, etc.   I have occasionally used rune-names from the FUTHARK as descriptors, without implying that these are descended from AS runes CE 800 but simlply because they sound cool.  But all this depends on the type of pic, as I said.   If its set out in the Land a bestiary of Eaters might be a more effective marginalia . . .but cover pic before cover border
))