Feedback for new book cover

[dollyt8]

I would really appreciate any feedback on this cover for the eBook release of Loyalty Fallen Book 1: The Sapphire Prince.

Loyalty Fallen The Sapphire Prince.png

drive.google.com

Basically I just want to know whether the text placement looks all right, whether it's readable, whether the colors I've chosen for the text and its border work, etc. The actual cover image was commissioned and is already done, so I'm not changing anything on that.

Thanks to any who respond!

 

[ThinkerX]

To me, it has a kind of washed-out look.

 

[Karlin]

It seems that the " washed out" look is deliberate. I'm thinking stroger colors for the lettering, to contrast

 

[Diana Silver]

I had the same thought. For one thing coloring the lettering the saphire blue seems like a no-breainer. I can't understand why that text would ever be printed black

Another one is, while I really admire your skill, the facial expression is not yet drawing me in. While I could read it as intense, if I wanted to, on a first glance his face could equally well be read as bored. So I think to really grab on first glance, it needs tweeking.

 

[CupofJoe]

There is nothing that grabs my attention. The title sort of disappears.

 

[pmmg]

I hate to comment on this, or agree with some of the others, because cover is such an exciting time. You get to see the whole thing coming together, and are ready to present to the world, and I wish that was nothing but unicorns and purple horseshoes for everyone.

And, personally, I like the cover.


But everything we do, projects something about us, our brand, and our product. And unlike a cook who can just throw things together and its all good, this is more like baking where one off thing can ruin the cake. You want it all to come together like a masterpiece, and each part to enhance the rest.

IMO, I think the cover projects young author, looking to save some bucks, and taking something suitable, but not spectacular. I fear I would find similar covers to this sort on sites like bookcovers.com, that were offering more generic type covers for $49.99 or less.

A short time back, someone was discussion what made a good book cover, and the one comment I liked was that it was Bespoke. That is one quality that I want for myself, and I want for others. I dont think this one says bespoke to me.

Other than that, it may be the right cover for you, or for the work. I am not bothered by letter placement, or any of the color pallet. I do like the font, and the blue theme.

 

[dollyt8]

I had the same thought. For one thing coloring the lettering the saphire blue seems like a no-breainer. I can't understand why that text would ever be printed black

Another one is, while I really admire your skill, the facial expression is not yet drawing me in. While I could read it as intense, if I wanted to, on a first glance his face could equally well be read as bored. So I think to really grab on first glance, it needs tweeking.

It was a commission, not my work So I probably won't change a whole lot with the facial expression. However, I am thinking of working a bit more on lighting and contrast since that's just filters. Thanks for the feedback! I will definitely change the text color.

 

[dollyt8]

To me, it has a kind of washed-out look.

There is nothing that grabs my attention. The title sort of disappears.

It seems that the " washed out" look is deliberate. I'm thinking stroger colors for the lettering, to contrast

Thank you for the feedback! I agree about it being washed out, though it is somewhat deliberate, and I think I'll work on the lighting a bit; I just took a look at it with some darkening around the edges and higher contrast and it made it a lot more interesting imo. As for the text, I originally envisioned more of a metalic silver look that was slightly 3D-ish, but I had trouble producing that in the software I was using. I might look into another software and spend more time on it.

I hate to comment on this, or agree with some of the others, because cover is such an exciting time. You get to see the whole thing coming together, and are ready to present to the world, and I wish that was nothing but unicorns and purple horseshoes for everyone.

And, personally, I like the cover.


But everything we do, projects something about us, our brand, and our product. And unlike a cook who can just throw things together and its all good, this is more like baking where one off thing can ruin the cake. You want it all to come together like a masterpiece, and each part to enhance the rest.

IMO, I think the cover projects young author, looking to save some bucks, and taking something suitable, but not spectacular. I fear I would find similar covers to this sort on sites like bookcovers.com, that were offering more generic type covers for $49.99 or less.

A short time back, someone was discussion what made a good book cover, and the one comment I liked was that it was Bespoke. That is one quality that I want for myself, and I want for others. I dont think this one says bespoke to me.

Other than that, it may be the right cover for you, or for the work. I am not bothered by letter placement, or any of the color pallet. I do like the font, and the blue theme.

Appreciate the input. I like the idea of bespoke! I'll think about it more for the next cover for sure. I've already spent a lot of time trying to figure out the cover and this was the image I had in my head pretty much all along the way. So while it's generic, it's also completely suited to what I envisioned. Should I change it for what my readers would envision instead? Probably, but since I'm self-publishing without any expectation of making money, I'll most likely stick with what I originally wanted without too many changes.

Again, thanks for taking the time to offer feedback! Much appreciated. I think when I make my next cover I'll try to get more feedback up front on at least a mockup before commissioning.

 

[LeslieRWaggonerIII]

If you are still open for ideas. I think the layout is good.
Text should be a solid single color, I think the outline on the font detracts from the overall feel. A high proportion of cover fonts will be single color unless it needs a stroke to offset a similar colored background.


I am a big fan of the classic border look.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/611k6FQ0T1L._SL1049_.jpg

a layered blue background
https://images.wallpapersden.com/image/wxl-starry-landscape-4k-cool-blue-moon_89879.jpg

the silhouette dark with little details but a subtle series of highlights from the glowing shard.
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/man-s-face-silhouette-night-2190331.jpg?ct=jpeg

 

[Prince of Spires]

I like it as a cover, though it depends on your book and its genre if it's a good one or not. It has a YA / Asian anime kind of feel to it, with a warrior mage kind of protagonist for me. If it's anything in that direction, it's a good start.

I do agree with the others that the font is not good. A good test for that sort of thing is to shrink it down to thumbnail size and see if it still makes sense. After all, that's the size most people will first see it at. And if you do that, the letters become very hard to read. Your author name is close to impossible to make out, and the title kind of blurs into the image. I think with a more readable title, this can be a good cover.

 

[dollyt8]

I like it as a cover, though it depends on your book and its genre if it's a good one or not. It has a YA / Asian anime kind of feel to it, with a warrior mage kind of protagonist for me. If it's anything in that direction, it's a good start.

I do agree with the others that the font is not good. A good test for that sort of thing is to shrink it down to thumbnail size and see if it still makes sense. After all, that's the size most people will first see it at. And if you do that, the letters become very hard to read. Your author name is close to impossible to make out, and the title kind of blurs into the image. I think with a more readable title, this can be a good cover.

It was definitely inspired by an anime, so that's on point!

Good to know, thank you!