The logo artist Nodsaibot is steadily working on finishing up the cover art for the first two books of Jake and the Dynamo. Unbidden, he generously produced a new version of Pretty Dynamo’s emblem, originally designed by another artist (whose name, unfortunately, I do not have with me to credit, as he was hired by the publisher).
I’ve become quite fond of this symbol, as you can probably guess. It is very different, but much more aesthetically pleasing, than what I pictured in my head when I described Pretty Dynamo’s wand as topped by a lightning bolt crossing a heart. In fact, I originally—and foolishly—pictured the heart as pink even though that does not go with Dynamo’s overall color scheme. Visual arists wiser than I quickly intuited that Dynamo’s dominant colors are blue and gold, and that her emblem should therefore be blue and gold.
I love the way it looks because it nicely captures Pretty Dynamo’s nature. She has electrical powers, of course, as indicated by the lightning bolt, and she is also a tomboy, as suggested by the angular look and color scheme. But she is still a magical girl, which is a girly sort of thing, as suggested by the heart shape at her emblem’s center.
At the top of this post are the two versions of this emblem. The left is the original and the right is the new version. As you can see, both have elements to recommend them. I admit I don’t have a preference, but the higher resolution of the new version is a plus, as that will make it easer to manipulate in various covers and in other places. It could even be translated into vector art and would then make a perfect website logo. I do, however, like the slight curve in the lightning bolt on the original version, as it gives it a sort of retro feel, perhaps reminiscent of the Art Deco that fills Urbanopolis.
