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Cover Design for my Novel

Fyle

Inkling
Basically this is a first draft that gives the general idea of what I am going for...

The text is incomplete, it's pretty much just a place holder for where I will put more fully fleshed out text.

I'm not really going for any particular emotion. I just want the reader to say "hmm, this looks interesting, kinda M.C. Escher like or something."

The backdrop or "furniture" of the world is heavily ocean orientated so, I figured this cover would be fitting rather than a montage of characters (plus that would take way more effort).

Any feedback is welcome! Thanks.

YanEBIv.jpg
 

Lace

Troubadour
Well, I definitely think it looks interesting. If I were browsing though Banes and Noble, it would be a book I would pick up and flip through. This is just my personal opinion though. The whale king of through me off at first, I had to double take to figure out what it was, it almost looks like it doesn't "fit" with the rest of the page. Maybe it's the texture or something, either way, I still think it looks intersting.
 

Noma Galway

Archmage
It looks interesting, but for me it's a bit busy. And the whale definitely threw me. I do like the way the mast of the ship is the I, though you may want to make the mast thicker to emphasize that a bit more.
 

Fyle

Inkling
You're right Lace. It's the texture, it's thinner lines and dot stippling. It doesn't quite fit ... and, I don't need people to know exactly what it is, I want them to pick it up to take a closer look.

Yes, it may be a bit busy... that could be space usage
I can see that. As for the *I* being thicker, maybe ya. the text needs some work in general


Cool. Thanks for the responses. Apprieciate it.
 
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Foah

Troubadour
Could you upload an equally high res image that you use for your profile? That sort of cleanliness with space at the bottom half is what I'd go for :)
 

Fyle

Inkling
Could you upload an equally high res image that you use for your profile? That sort of cleanliness with space at the bottom half is what I'd go for :)

Ya, I suppose I can. The original had more white space on top and bottom, if that's what you mean.

I'll put up a revised design using the feed back I get here when I get a chance.

Thanks.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I don't feel that it works. I think if you're serious about wanting your work to succeed you should consider springing for something even moderately professional. With the right stock art, you can get something that looks pretty good for under $100.
 

Fyle

Inkling
I don't feel that it works. I think if you're serious about wanting your work to succeed you should consider springing for something even moderately professional. With the right stock art, you can get something that looks pretty good for under $100.

I'd much sooner just brainstorm a new design than pay for a stock photo. I have no deadline. Writing is a hobby of mine.

It's just kind of a collage I threw together in Photoshop. I mainly just liked how the mast of the ship was the "I" and worked around that. I suppose I should post pieces that are closer to a completed piece.

Thanks. Noted.
 
It's a super cool illustration. But I don't think it works as a book cover, at least not in the current market. The black and white is nice as an illustration, but it's not attention grabbing as a cover. It's going to be a black and white pen-and-ink (or is it graphite?) image surrounded by flashy colors and bold design styles. It's not horrible, but it will be lost amidst all the other images on Amazon or other websites, and amidst the other books on the shelves in a brick-and-mortal store. Either hire a designer, showing them this image and saying, "Hey, this is what I would like to see, only more suited to the current market," or add some color yourself. You said that you don't want to evoke any particular emotion, but that's the purpose of a book cover. We frequently make our buying decisions or have our interest sparked by emotion, so having an emotionless book cover will not aid you at all in selling copies of your book.

I've been studying a lot about book cover design lately, and I still think that I might end up having to hire a designer. Don't want to cough up the money, but a substandard cover is way more expensive in the long run than paying a designer.

All of that being said, the illustration is, as I said, really, really cool. I love pictures like that. But I don't think it will cut it in the current book market.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I like the cover. The style reminds me a bit of some of Tom Holt's covers (if you scroll down a bit, you'll see what I mean here: Amazon.com: Tom Holt: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle), though his are much more minimalist. Or even this Gaiman/Sarrantonio cover: Stories: All-New Tales: Neil Gaiman, Al Sarrantonio: 9780061230936: Amazon.com: Books.

If this is for an ebook, I think everything going on with the water is going to look bad in thumbnail form, though. You'll lose the detail there.
 

Fyle

Inkling
Lots of feedback. Delaitha. That was good constructive criticism. When said like that it helps and is the type of feedback that can lead to improvement.

I do have a color version. I suppose I'll post that before I go for an all new design.

Thanks all.

And, Steerpike, I checked out the Tom Holt covers, not exactly what I'm going for, but a few of his simplistic designs are interesting. The Neil Gaiman was cool too, I'll just be going for a bit more detail.
 
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Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Yeah, I don't think your design is like Holt's, or the Gaiman cover, but it reminded me of them, and they're worth noting for the proposition that you don't need a what one might consider a traditional cover for a work. There are all kinds of books with unusual covers.
 

Fyle

Inkling
Yeah, I don't think your design is like Holt's, or the Gaiman cover, but it reminded me of them, and they're worth noting for the proposition that you don't need a what one might consider a traditional cover for a work. There are all kinds of books with unusual covers.

Yes. Those were the words I was looking for, I just don't want to go with a "traditional cover."


If I can find something that works... I wanna go for some kind of simplified M.C. Escher people can stare at for more than it being a "nice cover."
 

Trick

Auror
I have a paperback translation of Beowulf and your cover is similar in style. I'll see if I can find a copy of it and make sure my memory isn't lying to me.

EDIT: Here it is. Not as similar as I was thinking but there's something about the two...

Beowulf.jpg


EDIT 2: Here is the original color scheme. I see more similarity now.

d993a64c2639de18a26a69d61d7cba89.jpg
 
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Fyle

Inkling
Very cool Trick. Thanks.

Yes. I was going for something like that as far as feel. I know mine needs work as far as white space issues and text, but, it's that illustrated feel I am striving for. I also had the idea to color "one" thing as a stand out color ( I do have a color version as well).
 
Interesting image. The font isn't complementing the picture, though. It's dominating it. Maybe use a different font at least for the subtitle, make both smaller and move them to the right so there's more connection between the top of the clouds and the whale? Also, making the subtitle the same length of the title creates a block of text with no focus. What if the subtitle were on two lines and not in all lowercase?
 
i think this is better, but now the title is competing with the ship and the whale doesn't have the impact it did. also, why make "tale" bigger? given it's placement above the whale's flukes, it's like you're making a bad joke. you can still use all that space in the middle of the image. my idea was that you don't fill it, cutting the image in two, but use the title in such a way that the eye leads through the title to the whale. also, what exactly is that in the middle: a waterfall? it's tough to tell at this size.
 
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