Creating the Mark
Part of the background of the series is that all Changers have some kind of physical mark or modification that signifies their Changed nature. For some, this is a total transformation, as in full dragons or the true unicorns or succubi. Some are caught in between two different forms, like half-dragons or sirens. For others, it may just be physical size or skin color, as in golems or gargoyles.
For unicorns, the mark or modification is primarily the metallic-looking mark on their forehead, in addition to their vivid eye color. (Unicorns can have one of four marks: gold and silver marks are light-elemental based, standing for purity of body and of mind, respectively, whereas black and grey marks are dark-elemental based, standing for corruption of body and of mind, respectively.) All such marks are individual to a unicorn, and are usually either (and sometimes both, as in this case) horizontally or vertically symmetrical. The shape of the mark also reflect the nature of the unicorn.
To create the unicorn mark, I first started with a four-pointed star brush, then created a layer overlaying the brush, with the secondary layer smaller than the first to create the four greater and four lesser points of a compass star. The image was compressed and the overall layer was set on to the cover image, then it was distorted to make it appear to lay flat on the model’s forehead. Finally, the combination of a drop shadow, inner and outer glow and a gradient was applied to give the layer a golden metallic appearance.
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