The year is 1525 in Germany. The Holy Roman Empire is in trouble. Incited by the ideas of Martin Luther, the common people begin rioting for the first time in the lands history – they rebel against taxes, forced labor and the privileges of the nobles. This story follows the choices of Tristan of Weinsberg as he gets swept away within the confusion of the Bauernkrieg (the Farmer's War).

When I create artwork for a book cover the most important thing for me is to represent the book truthfully while at the same time creating a cover that is striking and eye catching for a potential reader. 
 I want to ground the art in reality and the history that the story is set. So I did a lot of research to get the details correct. The main character Tristian wears the clothing of a Landsknecht of that period and bears the weapon of choice, a Rabenschnabel (warhammer). The castle of Weinsberg is an important feature in the story so I wanted to incorporate this into the cover so I spent a lot time researching and sourcing the images to illustrate from.  

The crows, dead soldiers and the smoke partially blocking out the sun are all symbols and all set a tone in which the story is set. It is a harsh story so it is important to reflect this in the image. 

Thank you so much for taking time if you would like to see more of my work please follow my Instagram @worksofhill .