Dragon's Trail Cover

[Malik]

My one nagging thought is that the tagline text on the top is too small, or needs a different color. In a thumbnail that top line starts to look like the bottom line of an eye chart.

On the other hand, I don't know if punching up the tagline is really necessary; I mean, it will show up on a Kindle or hardcopy cover just fine, and allit says that this is the first book of a series -- a series that isn't even written, yet. It's not like it's critical information at this point.

Also, increasing the tagline font would require moving the sword down, and that would mean moving the titles, as the sword's crossbar is spaced the same as the titles (subliminally making the sword the first word of the title. See what we did there?) Moving the sword means moving the light behind the crossbar, and the shadows on the text, and so forth. It's actually a fairly major edit.

As it is, the title and author text show up pretty well as a thumbnail, and I guess that's the biggest thing.

Thoughts?

 

[Chessie]

I like it but here are a few suggestions:

-a bit more glow around the sword
-larger author name with more space in between the letters; also a less blocky font
-same advice as the author line goes for the subtitle, except not AS big as the author name

The cover just needs a bit more oomph.

 

[Laurence]

Looks great, Malik!

Here's a couple of points I would try myself:
1. Brightening the main title text a touch. This should help it pop at a smaller scale.
2. Moving the sword up a touch and the series title to the bottom with your name. People's eyes naturally begin at the top left of any page so the best move is probably to force them to hit your book title first rather than begin by squinting to see the series title.
3. I would remove inner shadows on smaller text as they muddy it a little.

May I ask where you got the sword image?

 

[skip.knox]

I have to ask: why no dragon, and why no trail? I see farmland and a sword.

 

[Malik]

I have to ask: why no dragon, and why no trail? I see farmland and a sword.

That is actually an outstanding question.

The Dragon's Trail is a path through the mountains, as seen in the map, below, which is on Page 2 of the book, so I hope people pay attention. In the book, we learn that the Dragon's Trail leads up into unmapped wildlands where it's rumored that the last dragons live.

Edit: The Spoiler function isn't working. So, highlight the space for a spoiler.

When the MC receives his commission and knighthood, he leads his troops up the Dragon's Trail on a mission to stop the brewing war. There are actually no dragons in the first book.

Based on how many dragons other people are writing into their books these days (thank you, Danerys), I may not put any dragons at all in my series other than occasional mentions. I firmly believe that dragons will be the new sparkly vampires.

 

[Malik]

May I ask where you got the sword image?

It's a stock image. I'm not sure where it came from.

I love your idea for moving the subtext down. That's exactly what it needs. Thanks.

 

[Malik]

So. Much. Better. I just did this really quick in PS but I'll have my graphics person work it over and get it exactly right.

Thanks, again.

 

[Laurence]

That is looking better! A few things come to mind on the series title.

I would avoid the italics as it's pretty tricky to read at a glance.

It feels like the series title should be less wide. Rather than reducing the font size would you consider making it say "The Outerworlders I" or "Outerworlders Book I"? This might stop the design looking so bottom heavy, too. I would also consider adding something to the background above the handle for this reason.

 

[skip.knox]

I'm probably too literal-minded about this. I'm still looking for either a dragon or a trail, and I'm still trying to figure out why there's a sword in the foreground. Maybe if the sword had dragon imagery on it, the title and the image would tie together. Or if the background image had something that looked like a road or trail, that would help literal-minded-me. Also, and this again is probably just me, it was very easy for me to read the title as "Dragon's Tail" which only made me want to see a dragon all the more.

I do like the storm clouds; they suggest an oncoming ... er ... storm. The descender on the R does help my eye see Trail rather than Tail.

FWIW, the italics did not bother me; it identifies the series title in an expected style. Also, the image should do quite well at smaller sizes; always a good thing.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

For me the font for the title is messy - not clean and sharp. It looks like something that's been over magnified. Also I would favour the font for all of the book one line being the same, not some in italics some not. And like Skip, I'd also like to see something that says either a dragon or a trail as a cover picture element.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[K.S. Crooks]

Options that came to mind: If you do wish to incorporate something dragon related on the cover, perhaps have a bit of the farmland shown be scorched. This would show a "trail" or wreckage left by the dragon. You could also have a dragon o the hilt or crossbar of the sword, or show the silhouette of a dragon in the clouds. The title font could be coloured like fire to represent a dragon and would also serve to add something bright and eye catching to the cover. I would also consider making the words "Dragon's" and "Trail" the same size, unless the trail is more important than the dragon. Best luck!

 

[AndrewLowe]

Congrats on getting the first book out! I'll pick up a copy.

 

[Phantasy]

I might get a copy aswell

 

[Malik]

I might get a copy aswell

It's free right now; you can reserve a copy at SW for free and then download it on 30 September when it comes out. The link's in my sig.

 

[Addison]

I don't know if it's too late, but I'll post just for future reference for others.

The background, instead of farm land, you could have shown the Dragon Trail from your book in a way that it looks like a dragon trail, or a dragon's tail. The clouds in the back could have an ominous shape or shadow. Just my opinion. Congratulations and good luck.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Was shopping around for cover ideas for one of my books and found this ornate dragon sword. Obviously it's for show, but it might look more suited to your book.

Ornate Dragon Sword - MC-HK-26178 by Medieval Collectibles

Cheers, Greg.