Attempting a YA Novella Cover (new version on post 15... now with cookies!)

[lastlittlebird]

This is my first attempt at a cover for my fantasy YA novella.



I'm trying for something that looks fairly professional, so I kept it pared back, but I'm also wondering if it needs more indications of what the story is about?
There is actually a fiery green portal in the story, that's not just there for pretty effect.
Rip it to shreds if you want, I'm not going to turn down honest feedback.

Thanks very much in advance

[WillSauger]

Not to say it's bad, but the title should tell the reader what the book is about.

You could put a portal behind the words, with some scenery if you wish inside, and that would give a better judge at what the book might hold.

"Heart" is kinda hard to read in that font.

Hope this helps.

[merrihiatt]

I like the font for Nimble Woods -- it looks sort of funky casual and caught my eye. The Heart font wasn't as effective. It reads more like The of Heart because of the word placement. That threw me off for a second. I like the bright green font against the black -- it gives it a nice energy. I don't have any idea what the book is about, though.

[Katallina]

A further vote that something needs to be done about 'heart'. I didn't even realize that is what it said until I read the other responses and took a second look at the cover. Also, I like the way the O in woods is lit up, but my issue with your cover is that it really doesn't evoke any real overall mood from me. I don't come away from it with any 'draw', any compelling reason to look further into the story. It does not have any major element that piques my curiosity or that tells me "this is going to be a ______ book."

On the plus side, you seem aware that your font(s) should be distinct and, as I said above, the light looks pretty neat.

Good luck!

[Gale Haut]

My biggest problem is the placement of the word "of". My eye flows "The --> of ---> Heart" instead of "The Heart of..."

I see that you did some clever lighting tricks to make your font look interesting, and the portal is placed well. The trees make an interesting dark backdrop as well. But that said, I do think the font is too much and too big.


ETA: It might be that the color contrast between the black and the red is tripping people's eyes out. That is a very hot heavy red with a lot of vivid light coming off of it against a near pitch black background. If you changed the font but left it the exact same color with no texture to tone it down, I still don't think people would like it.

[veinglory]

I think this is pretty good but would suggest some background element to give a clue of genre. It could be as simple as a texture or vague silhouette.

[CrystalCierlak]

While I can understand why you chose to use three different font faces, I wonder if you could maybe accomplish what you're looking for by using just two. The placement of the letters in "Nimble Woods" is interesting, but I feel the "Heart" font and color do it a disservice. I don't read much YA but this seems like it's a darker or "scarier" book for children than it is for teenagers.

[lastlittlebird]

Thank you so much for all your feedback... I'm going to give it another fiddle today and see what I can do to incorporate it.
You guys rock

[lastlittlebird]

OK, I've tried again, adding a character from the book (Mico, a cyborg pterosaur) and the castle in the distance in the portal.



Thoughts?

[iron9567]

Hello,
I have looked at both of your cover designs. There was a few things I liked about both designs as well as didn't like about either one. To make it easier I'll break my comments about each cover separate.
COVER #1
I liked how you are trying to go for a simplistic cover. I see you trying to play off of the woods theme due to the title. As most would say the font and color for heart throws the cover off. When ever I see a photo like this I can see why it would have people saying that they don't like the way heart is done. When you have a picture that if primarily green and a red colored word. Then the focus point is going to be the red word every time. Then if you have light coming through another spot in the picture. Then you are going to create a second focus point as well. You can do this if you choose to. Keep in mind that a lot of people will process this picture differently. While some will like it for being different. Others will also not like it because the picture will be pulling their attention in two different directions. I will go out on a limb and say that this cover does need to have something that breaks up the green. You can go with a picture that has a singular dominant picture. If you do this you'll have to create an interesting picture. I have created several pictures that fell under this category in High school. These pictures are hard to pull off sometimes. The biggest difficulty with these kind of pictures is it either works or they don't. The pictures that work have a unique feel for them while the ones that don't tend to be pretty bland. So back on topic before I get off topic rambling as usual.
You need to ask yourself what do you want to say with this cover?
What is the first thing you want people to notice about the cover.
I will say before I forget that I am aware that I never commented about the cover as the aspect of the effect it has as giving the potential buyers about what the book is about. I am only going to comment on artistic side of them. So you can take it all as you may. Hopefully you will find some kernel of information in this whole rambling that may help you.
COVER #2
I see you have dropped the red colored font and kept the style similar to the other words. From the looks of it the words look good the way you have them done.I would have to say the castle would have to go. I know it would potentially give the cover some depth putting the castle in the background. To be honest this isn't what happened when you placed the castle in the portal. It just looks like a picture of a castle that was cropped to a smaller size. You can put a castle in a portal all you want if that's a wish you may have. Keep in mind however that you will have to take into mind shading due to the light that's radiating behind the castle. If you don't it will make the picture look cheap and that the person just threw stock photos on the the original using a cheap editing program(I have no problem with these programs). The rays that are coming off of this portal will also be affected due to the castle being there. In my opinion I would say drop the castle it's more of an eye sore than anything else. The next thing I want to discuss is the creature. What is it exactly is the quest I want to ask you. I know you said it is a cyborg pterosaur. As a potential buyer I would ask myself why would I buy a book with a cover that has a creature I have no idea what it is. It just doesn't make any sense. If the cover doesn't make any sense then how much is the story going to make sense. You can have a unique creature on the cover. There isn't anything wrong with trying to be different with your cover. Keep in mind when using creatures in a cover make sure they are detailed correctly. I think the reason why I am having so much trouble with it is it isn't detailed enough. Add some more definition to it and you will be fine. another thing I noticed about the creature as well is the shading. If you are going to put it that close to the surface like this then make sure it's properly affected by the portal that radiating as it is. Other than that you should be fine. I also see that you used purple as the colored font due to the color of the creatures eyes. I have to say that this is a smart move as in breaking up the green on the cover.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope in all this deafening rambling that you can get the best possible help to create the best cover you can. I have to say that with either one of these covers you posted. they both have me pretty interested on what you have written from the first page to the last page.
thanks
the iron man

[robertbevan]

i like the cover. i'd pick it up off a shelf for a closer look. i actually did run my mouse over it to see if it linked anywhere.


one little thing though... your castle looks kind of like an old floppy disk.

[lastlittlebird]

You're right it totally does look like a floppy disk!
I think I overreached myself on landscape and character creation. Thanks for the feedback guys, especially for your detailed reply, iron9567. I'll give another shot at it when I've got a few spare moments.

[ohthatmomagain]

Personally... I liked the first one better.

[iron9567]

Originally Posted by lastlittlebird

You're right it totally does look like a floppy disk!
I think I overreached myself on landscape and character creation. Thanks for the feedback guys, especially for your detailed reply, iron9567. I'll give another shot at it when I've got a few spare moments.

No problem just trying to help where ever I can on this site.

[lastlittlebird]

Hey lovely people, I've been fiddling again...



Is this just too weird now?
I like weird and the novella is kind of weird, so that's cool, but I'm hoping it's fun weird, rather than back away slowly weird.
Again, any comments are much appreciated

[merrihiatt]

Now I'm confused and want a chocolate chip cookie. I assume the bird is relevant. I like funky/weird, but this is more confusing than funky. I have no idea what the book is about. That's really the biggest drawback I see.

Is it possible to ditch the cookies and the bird and make the portal in the O bigger and put trees inside it somehow? As if we were looking into the woods through the portal. Just an idea. I really love that green font against the black background.

The woods in the background are barely visible on my screen. I only know they are there because someone else mentioned them earlier in the thread.

Dang it! I still want a cookie and I've been off sugar for over a month and a half!!!

[lastlittlebird]

Aw, I'm sorry! I was craving cookies while I was drawing them too. And while I was writing about them.

I'm not very good at drawing trees, which is why I've been avoiding it... the trees in the story are covered in fur and have black leaves, so I wasn't sure if that wouldn't be more confusing.
But I guess I could give it a shot. I suppose the fur wouldn't be that obvious if they were silhouetted in the portal. Although so far I've been pretty terrible at drawing a pterodactyl type critter, so I guess maybe I should be looking for public domain trees.

Thanks for your feedback It's really difficult to get something that isn't generic, actually has stuff that's in the book and isn't confusing. Hopefully I'll get it right eventually.

[merrihiatt]

See what a few other people have to say. I'm only one opinion and opinions vary widely.

[Gale Haut]

For both of the newer covers, the added graphics look like they've been put in because you felt like you had to put them in. There's no intention or purpose behind them... at least not visually. Is there a way that you can add any of these ideas to your image in an organic way?

Don't be afraid to change what you already have. Play around and have fun with it.

[lastlittlebird]

Hey guys,

I've been having trouble sleeping over this cover. I forgot how much I hate doing design work and I feel like I'm just throwing good money after bad at this point.
I'm going to strip out the cookies and Mico and maybe the portal and just leave it with the font and the tree background before I embarrass myself any further. It'll be bland, but hopefully better than a $10 prefab cover which is my only other option really.
Thank you all so much for your help. It's really kind to take time out of your day to help a fellow writer.
I don't have any kind of eye for my own "art" so I needed all the help I could get. I always feel like I'm just wandering around in the dark bumping into sharp things. Better to just stand still, I think.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

[Gale Haut]

I sent you a message.

I think that you should keep working on it. The first image shows lots of potential, and that you have a good eye for this. My advice is that you need to take a bigger and scarier jump into editing the picture and changing things around. Don't just add pictures, add to the picture. Change the picture. You know?

[merrihiatt]

Gale's advice is good. Don't give up! There is definitely potential there for a great cover. Sometimes we sell ourselves short because of frustration. Silence those negative voices in your head, relax a bit and play around a bit. Also, remember that you can have a temporary cover while you keep tweaking your design. Keep working on it. You'll get there.

[lastlittlebird]

Thank you guys for being so encouraging, it really helps. I will let it sit for a few days and come back to it later.