Brimstone is a gritty werewolf fantasy, which includes real-world problems such as sexual abuse.
The cover needs to look realistic (photo manip.) Free hand probably isn’t your best bet to win. The cover needs to be elemental, and the central device should be an iron rose (This is a key item in the story, symbolizing love, strength, brittleness and darkness.)
The key elements I wanted to use is the iron rose, the werewolf and the blacksmith. It took me a lot of time to get the 3D impression of the iron rose right. I wanted it to look red glowing coming from the fire of the blacksmith and at the main time let the fire supports the title of the book: Everything burns. The silhouette of the werewolf is hauling at a bloody moon. The atmosphere of this design is very gripping. If this does not grab the attention of the audience, then what.