A cover design...

[sigune]

Just an idea. I like it, but I am not entirely convinced :P. The image shows an essential aspect of Gawain, but I'm worried that it might give people a wrong idea of what kind of story will follow. And I don't know about you, but personally I hate deceptive covers...

So this will need more thought.

Now that I mention it: what kind of story am I writing, exactly? It's not really Sword & Sorcery, not really a romance, not really an epic, not really a comedy and not really a drama, not really a coming-of-age story, not really a fairytale... It has elements of all of these, but what is it?

Uh-oh. No label means no selling proposition. How to position and market it? If I don't know the reply to that one, it will be difficult to determine what cover I need. *grins stupidly*






Sketch done in pencils; then Photoshopped in an incredibly simple way; lettering + design elements added in Adobe Illustrator.

The flame thingy, which I think is quite pretty, is a standard Illustrator element of which I changed the colour. I'm thinking that I should really draw my own little element if I want to use something like this...

Also, designing is clearly a job in its own right and I have amazingly little talent for it -_-.

Comments

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Historical fiction is what I'd immediately label it as, or mythological fiction? If there is such an animal.

I adore the cover except on my monitor his face seems just a bit too dark and ominous. Might be my monitor, though. I adore the layout, though! It's wonderful.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Thank you :D!

It is kind of ominous. The sun gives Gawain great destructive power. Of course he only really gets to be a hero when he manages to bend that power into something a little bit more constructive. So this is probably too much "RRAAAARRHH!!!" and to little civilisation ;-). I mean, that would be okay if it didn't seem such a misrepresentation of my story. Which is bound to get bloody soon, but will get over that. Um.

[cabepfir.livejournal.com]

It's a roman: adventures, love stories, magic, etc, in perfect XIV cent. tradition ;)

[sigune.livejournal.com]

LOL! I knew I was born in the wrong century XD...

[todayiamadaisy]

Hmmm. I like it; it's a striking image. I'm in two minds about what it says to me, though: on the one hand, the sun behind him suggests a new dawn, a positive transformation; on the other, his face in darkness would suggest to me that the character I'm reading about is ultimately bad, and that might affect how I read him.

I like the flame thingy too, but it seems a bit too clean compared to the rest of the image, if that makes sense. A hand-drawn version might look more organic.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

I hear you about the flame. Thing is, this is just a mock-up based on a pencil sketch. You know me and my obsession with clean lines - I wouldn't let it stand like this :p... I'm going to try and do this image in Illustrator, just to see how it would look. A final version could also be done with watercolours and then submitted to the same Photoshop treatment as this pencil sketch... To figure out a final version of the design, I would need the final version of the cover image first. I agree with you that as it is, the sketchiness clashes with the neat vector art of the lettering and design element.

Hm. He isn't supposed to look evil, though 'dangerous' would be okay. Actually, the 'two minds' are okay too, because this sun-related power is double-edged.

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

I LOVE it - except for the red slits of eyes Gawain has, which I have to admit I find disconcerting. But it is a strong image, and I think it would certainly attract readers.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Yes, the eyes came out like that when I painted it in Photoshop. In fact, what you see are not his eyes but his lower eyelids - the eyes themselves are just not lit when you have such a strong light from the back, so you can't distinguish them. (I used photoreference; I wouldn't have a clue otherwise... ;P) But you're right, you really can't tell what you are looking at as it is now. That would need correcting in a final version.

Thank you!

[bettyboop-comic.livejournal.com]

There's no need for it to represent the stroy inside. It needs to appeal to potential readers, it needs to say: you want this, pick this up.
And it does.

Be seeing you
--nout

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Hm. Maybe that's true. Pick-me-up is the first message. But - well, it still needs to appeal to the right people (that is, people who are likely to read it and continue reading). It's my own fault if 'the right people' are a mixed bag, though XD.

Thanks!

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

I like the cover, and partner said it would intrigue him to look inside.
But you're right, of course - what kind of story are you doing? ;o)

[sigune.livejournal.com]

I couldn't say! Argh XD.