Cover for 'Elemental Magic Volume II'

Here a a few possible designs I've come up with for my next book, Elemental Magic Volume II 'The Technique of Special Effects Animation'

I'd like to get as much feedback as possible, so please, tell me your favourite picks, tell me which ones you hate, or fresh ideas!
You can leave a note here, or email me at joegilland@shaw.ca with your 'vote'.

I have no problem filling the inside of the book with animation goodies, but designing a cover is really hard. It's what everybody sees, and it should make an impression. I got very mixed reviews on the cover of the first 'Elemental Magic' book, some love it, some hate it. Of course I'll never make everyone happy, but you all matter to me, and I'd love to hear what you think of these. They are just preliminary designs, and I might end up going in a completely different direction, but the size and title and the font is pretty much the way it will look....So, send your thoughts, OK? Thanks!

Click on an image to see a full-sized version

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I've been fishing.....

Lately, I've been fishing a lot. What does this have to do with Elemental Magic? Everything, I think. I am drawn to the water like a moth to the flame, I am drawn to rivers, lakes and streams, the ocean. Early morning at the lake, two loons cry out to each other, and then meet in the middle of the lake. They dance together and celebrate the morning. Another day, another lake, a hail storm blows through, and afterwards, when the sun hits the side of the mountain, incredible tendrils of steam clouds rise up from the dense forest on the steep cliffs. Eagles glide over, looking. A huge bald eagle circles and lands on a floating log on the lake. A kingfisher darts down from a tree and strikes the water, making off with a tiny, wriggling fish.

Comox Lake
I bring a small trout to the shore, and gently remove the hook. He is too small to eat, and so I am extra careful, and I let him go in the shallow water, watching as he regains his composure, and then heads back to deeper water. Fish, so beautiful and sleek, each a perfect hydrodynamic miracle, flashing every colour of the rainbow. I make a small fire, and watch as the smoke from the damp wood rises and gets caught up in the convections of the lake's temperature. The smell of damp forest and wood smoke, the sound of wind coming across the mountains, through the trees, and then spraying sweeping patterns of ripples across the lake's mirror like surface.

Comox Lake
I meditate by the water, in the forest. Each moment is that perfect moment, when I allow it to be. Whether or not I actually catch a fish is secondary, although it's always nice to eat fresh trout for dinner or breakfast. But the essence of the experience is absorbing the divine perfection of nature into myself, allowing myself to be one with it and thus perfect, for once. The internal dialogue, the self-effacing chatter of un-consciousness, is quelled and quieted. Feeling and knowing that I am actually one and the same with this natural beauty.....

Maple Lake
It is Living Elemental Magic. It is all there, in every moment, when I am fishing....

Wolf Lake

Beautiful Cutthroat Trout, Wolf Lake, April 9th, 2010

All photos were taken near my home in the Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island. (believe it or not, all these photos were taken with my crappy cell phone!)

Steelhead Trout, Puntledge River, October 2010