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Proposed Cover Design for "Quest; The Road to Falsbad"

eodauthor

Dreamer
This is the third incarnation of the proposed book cover art for my next novel: Quest; The Road to Falsbad. What do you think?


Cover_Art_redux_again.jpg
 

Addison

Auror
It looks nice.

I'm not photo-digital art expert but is there a way to make a greater lighting effect? Like shadows, light glinting off the sword and around the "Quest"? That could draw the eye more toward the title and less toward the bright spot behind it.

How is what's on the cover linked to the story? Is a sword a key part? You want a cover that catches the reader's eye, that makes them want to look deeper. At the same time as showing them something that's actually in the book. I picked up a book once that had a killer dragon on the cover that was attacking a falling knight. I read it but that scene was not in it. Not a good idea.
 

eodauthor

Dreamer
Thanks for the comments. I too am no photo-digital adept, so I really do not know how to enhance the photo any more than it is. Should a publisher show interest, I am sure they have the resources. As for the part played by the sword...yes, it is in the story, though not a pivotal element. I could do away with it on the cover if necessary, but only if I must.
 

Nihal

Vala
The first thing that comes into my mind are its dimensions. Any reason to not follow the classical book's sizes? It might be an issue hard to solve later.
 

eodauthor

Dreamer
Well, as I designed the cover art in Word, it isn't in the proper format for an actual book cover. I would expect that if a publisher wanted to use it they would reformat it to the proper dimensions. My intent was to create an idea first; the rest is simple manipulation.
 

ThomasCardin

Minstrel
From what I am finding out in my research on the subject of covers-
A traditional publisher would provide your cover art, and I am sure they could take what you have as the theme -- if it is in their estimate that it would help sell your book.

If you are self publishing, or have a smaller publishing house...then you may definitely provide your own cover, in which case you will want to format the art to a standard book aspect ratio.

On the cover itself, I like it. The font is not doing it justice, but I like the glow in the woods, the effect works well. The glow does not appear to be coming from the sword to me, but from the woods in the background.
 

Nihal

Vala
From what I am finding out in my research on the subject of covers-
A traditional publisher would provide your cover art, and I am sure they could take what you have as the theme -- if it is in their estimate that it would help sell your book.

If you are self publishing, or have a smaller publishing house...then you may definitely provide your own cover, in which case you will want to format the art to a standard book aspect ratio.

On the cover itself, I like it. The font is not doing it justice, but I like the glow in the woods, the effect works well. The glow does not appear to be coming from the sword to me, but from the woods in the background.

Exactly. The publisher rarely cares about whatever cover you present to them, the default advice from publishers here is "Unless you have a truly stunning cover don't send one, we won't use it."

It's harder to "fix" the ratio later, and like ThomasCardin, you'll have to do it if you self-publish. A good cover isn't a bunch of text over a picture, it respects a composition, and the composition will change with the ratio changes so not only you must have a BG picture with the right ratio but you'll have to move everything to fit the new empty space... and it may look bad. So, if you settle with a cover design in the wrong size you'll have done yourself a disservice by giving you a double-work.
 

LadyCass

Scribe
I like the idea. I would play with the font. The leaves on the border look very photo like and the sword looks like clip art. Threw me off.
 

Evilyn

Scribe
I also see the glow as coming from the woods and not the sword, but I like that. It draws my eyes to the path ahead and gives it a feeling that the reader will be embarking on a mystical journey to the unknown.

The only thing I would suggest is maybe changing the font as it doesn't fit as well as the image does in my opinion.
 
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