This cover started with a simple idea: a staircase and a destination you can’t quite understand until you reach it.
I was interested in perspective first. The steps pull your eye upward, almost automatically. It’s a familiar feeling, climbing toward something without fully knowing what’s waiting at the top. That movement became the foundation of the whole piece.
The figure at the top is small on purpose. I didn’t want her to dominate the composition. Instead, she acts more like a point of arrival. The space between the viewer and that doorway is where most of the story lives.
I thought a lot about contrast while working on this. The warmth of the browns in the steps against the softer, open background. The red of her dress to anchor your eye. Even the bowl at the bottom introduces something grounded and familiar, something that feels close compared to the distance of the doorway.
There’s also a sense of quiet tension in the image. The stairs feel long, maybe longer than they should. The railing fades away. The top feels near, but not immediate. I wanted it to sit in that space between curiosity and hesitation.
The title plays into that feeling. “Magic Steps” suggests something light or whimsical, but the composition keeps it a little more grounded. It’s not about spectacle. It’s about the act of going upward, step by step.
Most of my process here was slow and deliberate. I spent time adjusting spacing, color balance, and how the eye travels through the piece. It’s simple at first glance, but it relies on small decisions to hold everything together.
To me, this cover is about movement, patience, and the quiet pull of something just out of reach.
Brantley Jack 