Opinions wanted on new book cover

chrisanthropic · 05-23-2011, 01:58 AM

I've been working a redesign of the cover for my wife's first book as we get ready to unleash a print version and I'd like some opinions, especially after reading the recent thread on the importance of book covers. I love these forums for the mixture of "professional" authors , "indie" authors, and readers and I'd love to hear what you guys think.

Thanks!

*A quick note about what we're going for - the image is a quick sketch from our artist. We like the rough look to it since the story is a sort of gritty fantasy adventure.

Larger Image here.

Anke Wehner · 05-23-2011, 03:57 AM

Is this a wraparound cover for print? Because it looks a bit odd to me that she's looking at something outside the picture. And what is that thing she's holding?

Personally, I'd consider an illustration that sketchy maybe - and only maybe - OK for a short story, but not for a novel... And this is a novella. Huh. I don't know, at least a bit of shading rather than just outlines would be nice. Or at least a neck, and a bit more definition on the hand, and whatever it is she's holding.

The cartoony style makes me think it's aimed at younger teens, if not children (says the comic and manga reader, oddly enough)... "gritty" isn't exactly my first association, more "cutesy".

A detail problem I see is the place where the outline of the hair crosses the title - it makes the "Thieves" unreadable in the thumbnail to me. If I'd use that illustration, and there is enough to the sketch, I'd probably try to "zoom out" a bit, so the "Thieves" is placed on the hair. This might also get the elf ear uncovered, which I'd only noticed in full view.

The line at the very bottom is not very well readable even at full size.

V.W. Singer · 05-23-2011, 05:05 AM

Line sketches are all right, but I think the facial expression is too ambiguous, and the thing in the hand is impossible to identify, which robs the image of the appropriate impact - a weapon, a railing, a candlestick etc. would each lend a different emotional shade to the cover.

As the previous poster said, the text is not sufficiently distinguishable from the drawing and looks a bit cluttered and confusing.

crich70 · 05-23-2011, 09:14 AM

You also need a bit more color in the image. Where does the picture of the woman begin and the background end? Having everything in just salmon and black doesn't allow things to pop out at you. While you don't want to clutter the background with a lot of different colors the image should stand out from the background.

bhartman36 · 05-23-2011, 09:22 AM

I'm a bit concerned about the text, as well. I think that the hair needs to be a little less dense around the "hi" in "Thieves". Other than that, I think it's fine.

Algiedi · 05-23-2011, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anke Wehner

The cartoony style makes me think it's aimed at younger teens, if not children (says the comic and manga reader, oddly enough)... "gritty" isn't exactly my first association, more "cutesy".

^ This

Also,
* The title font is too flowery, and its position is unbalanced, that all makes for hard deciphering.
* The layout in general feels a bit claustrophobic.
* The drawing is weird: the face is kinda creepy, the hand is badly drawn and in a weird position.

Now for the good things: sketch + parchment is a good idea.
Since a cover would need to stand out, and fantasy titles usually have very detail-heavy, painterly covers, maybe you could catch people's eyes by going minimalistic.

mr ploppy · 05-23-2011, 11:38 AM

Image is ok, assuming it's a story about pixies, but I would have it looking at the reader rather than a competitor's book next to it. Don't like the text, and don't like the darker background at the bottom. Maybe you could turn it into a scroll or something and have your text on the rolled up bits at the top and bottom.

Mel Comley · 05-23-2011, 12:24 PM

OK, it's not grabbing me. I'm having trouble reading the author's name and the title.

I have no idea what genre the book is either from the picture.;-)

crich70 · 05-23-2011, 12:40 PM

You may find the following article of use as well. jrlewis wrote it I believe.
http://josephrobertlewis.wordpress.c...t-ebook-cover/

chrisanthropic · 05-23-2011, 12:47 PM

@Anke - this is a cropped image but won't be used as a wraparound cover. The item in her hand is a sword that she's unsheathing. It makes more sense when you view the uncropped image so I'll play with it some more. Also, the book is suitable for teens but I hope such a "cartoony" cover wouldn't turn away too many adult fans of fantasy...of course I'm also a fan of comics and anime as well so I'm biased.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Algiedi

fantasy titles usually have very detail-heavy, painterly covers, maybe you could catch people's eyes by going minimalistic.

Exactly what we're going for.

@Mr Ploppy - it's about a half-elf (not pixie, but close) so I'm glad you caught that.

The consensus seems to be that the font used for the title is too hard to read - is that due to it's placement over the image or the font itself?

Also, it is a fantasy story, but I'm going for a bit more subtlety that a giant Boris Vallejo looking cover. I hope that the parchment background, the pointed ear and the sword make that apparent. I guess I need to work on it a bit more.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback, I appreciate it!

chrisanthropic · 05-23-2011, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

You may find the following article of use as well. jrlewis wrote it I believe.
http://josephrobertlewis.wordpress.c...t-ebook-cover/

Thanks for the link - very helpful.

mr ploppy · 05-23-2011, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisanthropic

The consensus seems to be that the font used for the title is too hard to read - is that due to it's placement over the image or the font itself?

Both.

DrDln · 05-23-2011, 04:32 PM

You may consider redoing the fonts and using colored fonts. If you like the color of the book cover, it is OK. All the best.

Latinandgreek · 05-23-2011, 04:37 PM

I like the line drawing, but I would like to see a bit of colour on the cover, not just beige. But then again, I'm also a fan of comics and anime, so I am probably a bit biased here, too.

chrisanthropic · 05-23-2011, 04:38 PM

Thanks everyone - I'm currently reworking the fonts and have spoken with the artist about getting a high quality line drawing of the picture to use (uncropped). I'll post the updated one once I've made some progress.

Thanks again for the input.

05-23-2011, 01:58 AM	#1
chrisanthropic Fiend Posts: 148 Karma: 559930 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: none	Opinions wanted on new book cover I've been working a redesign of the cover for my wife's first book as we get ready to unleash a print version and I'd like some opinions, especially after reading the recent thread on the importance of book covers. I love these forums for the mixture of "professional" authors , "indie" authors, and readers and I'd love to hear what you guys think. Thanks! *A quick note about what we're going for - the image is a quick sketch from our artist. We like the rough look to it since the story is a sort of gritty fantasy adventure. Larger Image here. Attached Thumbnails

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05-23-2011, 03:57 AM	#2
Anke Wehner Addict Posts: 249 Karma: 177956 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Germany Device: PRS-650	Is this a wraparound cover for print? Because it looks a bit odd to me that she's looking at something outside the picture. And what is that thing she's holding? Personally, I'd consider an illustration that sketchy maybe - and only maybe - OK for a short story, but not for a novel... And this is a novella. Huh. I don't know, at least a bit of shading rather than just outlines would be nice. Or at least a neck, and a bit more definition on the hand, and whatever it is she's holding. The cartoony style makes me think it's aimed at younger teens, if not children (says the comic and manga reader, oddly enough)... "gritty" isn't exactly my first association, more "cutesy". A detail problem I see is the place where the outline of the hair crosses the title - it makes the "Thieves" unreadable in the thumbnail to me. If I'd use that illustration, and there is enough to the sketch, I'd probably try to "zoom out" a bit, so the "Thieves" is placed on the hair. This might also get the elf ear uncovered, which I'd only noticed in full view. The line at the very bottom is not very well readable even at full size.

05-23-2011, 05:05 AM	#3
V.W. Singer Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 186576 Join Date: May 2011 Device: ppc	Line sketches are all right, but I think the facial expression is too ambiguous, and the thing in the hand is impossible to identify, which robs the image of the appropriate impact - a weapon, a railing, a candlestick etc. would each lend a different emotional shade to the cover. As the previous poster said, the text is not sufficiently distinguishable from the drawing and looks a bit cluttered and confusing.

05-23-2011, 09:14 AM	#4
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	You also need a bit more color in the image. Where does the picture of the woman begin and the background end? Having everything in just salmon and black doesn't allow things to pop out at you. While you don't want to clutter the background with a lot of different colors the image should stand out from the background.

05-23-2011, 09:22 AM	#5
bhartman36 Wizard Posts: 1,323 Karma: 1515835 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Jersey, USA Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2021)	I'm a bit concerned about the text, as well. I think that the hair needs to be a little less dense around the "hi" in "Thieves". Other than that, I think it's fine.

05-23-2011, 11:38 AM	#7
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	Image is ok, assuming it's a story about pixies, but I would have it looking at the reader rather than a competitor's book next to it. Don't like the text, and don't like the darker background at the bottom. Maybe you could turn it into a scroll or something and have your text on the rolled up bits at the top and bottom.

05-23-2011, 12:24 PM	#8
Mel Comley Addict Posts: 318 Karma: 602031 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: France Device: none	OK, it's not grabbing me. I'm having trouble reading the author's name and the title. I have no idea what genre the book is either from the picture.;-)

05-23-2011, 12:40 PM	#9
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	You may find the following article of use as well. jrlewis wrote it I believe. http://josephrobertlewis.wordpress.c...t-ebook-cover/

05-23-2011, 04:32 PM	#13
DrDln Banned Posts: 1,527 Karma: 2349214 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Mountain House, CA Device: kindle	You may consider redoing the fonts and using colored fonts. If you like the color of the book cover, it is OK. All the best.

05-23-2011, 04:37 PM	#14
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 5,038 Karma: 9724231 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD	I like the line drawing, but I would like to see a bit of colour on the cover, not just beige. But then again, I'm also a fan of comics and anime, so I am probably a bit biased here, too.

05-23-2011, 04:38 PM	#15
chrisanthropic Fiend Posts: 148 Karma: 559930 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: none	Thanks everyone - I'm currently reworking the fonts and have spoken with the artist about getting a high quality line drawing of the picture to use (uncropped). I'll post the updated one once I've made some progress. Thanks again for the input.

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