Cover critique: fantasy romance

c.m.n.

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I am designing covers for my fantasy romance series, and although I like the basic look I'm going for, there is something I don't like. Is it the design around the edges? The name/title placement? The glow on the title?

What do you all think? Just to let you know, I'm looking for a non-traditional "romance" cover -- no people on the cover. Thanks!

 

Marissa D

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Impressions: I don't think the type face that your name is in works with the mood of the cover or with the title type (and there are too many fonts altogether on the cover--you've got one for the series name, one for the author, one for the title, and a different one for the "and" in the title.) Also not sure the blue glow for the title works--why not try the greenish color that's already there?
 

Jan74

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I like it, I would tinker with the colors maybe, the word AND sticks out funny to me, I would deepen that blue tone and don't capitalize the letters for the word AND. Also I would put author name at the bottom and the title at the top.

Tinker and post a few options for us to look.
 

Jan74

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Impressions: I don't think the type face that your name is in works with the mood of the cover or with the title type (and there are too many fonts altogether on the cover--you've got one for the series name, one for the author, one for the title, and a different one for the "and" in the title.) Also not sure the blue glow for the title works--why not try the greenish color that's already there?
Agreed...but I think green letters would look funny too...maybe bring in that deep red that is in the upper left corner then you are using a color that is already there. I agree with Marissa about the author font isn't right for the mood also.
 

FrauleinCiano

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So, you have these framing florals motifs, which sets you up to work with a very symmetric layout. But, then you have all of your text gradually shifting towards the right as you venture towards the bottom. I would center it all.

Like others have said, try to stick to two fonts, tops. And the fonts should feel cohesive. Right now you have your name in a casual sans serif and the title in a somewhat gothic font. Try choosing two fonts with that more old-fashioned feel and you should be good.

As for font treatment/colors, I'd keep a glow, but bring it more to a thickness that verges on merely an outline. The blue is quite jarring, as there isn't anything to tie it into the image. Plus, warm colors draw the eye far more than cool colors. Your border pieces are warm and the title is cool, so it competes in a very subtle way.

As I'm a visual thinker, while trying to pin down my crit I made an edit of what you have. If you'd like, I could post my rendition or send it in a PM so you can better see what I'm talking about.
 

Metruis

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The trick with fonts and stuff like that is to never have more than "two steps" difference. So, you have a white serif font, a white hand-written font that's in italics and has a shadow under it, a black font with a purple glow, and the same font in purple. This is a lot of different stuff, kind of a chaos going on.

Your background tree stuff looks nice, I like the luminescence. I'd tweak the color of the forward part of it, the foreground, to be in line with the pop color used in the text, and maintain the green eerie background. The side thingies, they look all right too, again I'd try make their color cohesive with your text pop.

I'd do something more like this, I guess. Sketchy mcquick text adjustment. Working the idea that you want some 'handwritten' text there as the capital letter instead.

http://feedthemultiverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ndcoverdraft.jpg (note that this image link goes to an image hosted on my own site and is not hotlinked.)
 
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mrsmig

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I find the blue title difficult to read, and that's in a large image. Shrink that image down to your average thumbnail on Amazon, and the title is going to fade completely into the background.
 

c.m.n.

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Hey everyone, thanks for your suggestions! I've taken most of the advice you had and now have a new mockup to show.



I changed the font for both my author name and the series name. They are both the same now and try to match the mood of the book. I also changed the color for the book name, and changed the color of the motifs a little to match the book name. I also centered the text. Unfortunately, these fonts all look capitalized whether they are or not.

Let me know what you think!

ETA: I did not see today's replies. I'll read over those. Thanks!
 
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Curlz

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I like it, except that the "and" sticks out more than it needs to. "Nightscapes AAAAAND Dreadsongs" ;)
I also preferred the luminescence effect you had with the blue lettering that's missing from the red version.
 

Jan74

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I think it looks much better, and the author font is a huge improvement. The link that Matruis posted is really good too. Your cover wouldn't have to be purple like hers you could keep the reds, but her title really pops and stands out.
 

FrauleinCiano

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Much better! Title is too hard to see now. The outline/glow needs more contrast with the background to draw the eye. That's why "and" is pulling everyone's attention, it has the most contrast with what is around it. Even the border pieces have more contrast than the title. So, just lighten that outline and dark "and" and the border pieces, and it should work much better.

This was my fiddling with it from before: https://78.media.tumblr.com/69bce8739c5fd5c194511f9123a52692/tumblr_p0vt7lAsXt1r69keno1_400.jpg
 
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Metruis

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I like the Dreadsongs and Nightscapes font you've chosen with its capital letters look, it's a nice choice. An all caps or regular caps is a choice that's up to you without a right or wrong answer. The author font is also an improvement. The title needs more contrast, it'll vanish when the cover is shown at a thumbnail size. You can keep the glow, but make it "lightsaber", or fill it in with some other high contrast color. When I do glows, I frequently do a black with a light or high contrast stroke and also a glow, with the glow set to screen or linear dodge. If you're set on black text with a glow, add a lighter color stroke than the actual glow color.

It is improved, definitely in font choice.
 

Bacchus

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I don't know whether I am a little red-shift colour blind, but unless I stare directly at it, the book now appears to be called "and"...

The fonts and central text are, as others say, much better in the second incarnation. If it were me, I would try shifting the author name up very slightly to get it completely over the darker part of the image, and change colour or emphasis for the title so that it really stands out, but keep everything else as is, it is starting to look very inviting!

Out of curiosity, is that a stock image? did you add the scroll-work in the corners?
 

Southpaw

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I love the imagery. It is romance and fantasy! However, the title is lost. I can barely see it (well-light space)--though I can see the "and". That red needs to be pulled way up in the title and the "and" need to be toned down. I'm not sure you need to have the "and" solid. It's jumps out at me.

Nitpicks: The authors name hangs there. It should move up or down, under the title. I like the corner scrollwork but the color is off. Try matching it to the author name color or the yellow-gold that is in the image.

Personally, for me, the red looks too sinister. I preferred the blue in the original or maybe a teal to bring in the greens from the image. :Shrug:

Hey everyone, thanks for your suggestions! I've taken most of the advice you had and now have a new mockup to show.



I changed the font for both my author name and the series name. They are both the same now and try to match the mood of the book. I also changed the color for the book name, and changed the color of the motifs a little to match the book name. I also centered the text. Unfortunately, these fonts all look capitalized whether they are or not.

Let me know what you think!

ETA: I did not see today's replies. I'll read over those. Thanks!
 

Southpaw

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FWIW: Is this ebook only? If it is the title will definelty be lost. The Dreamtide Book Four will be too. If it is for print, that and the scrollwork is too close to the edge.
 

c.m.n.

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I have a couple more mock-up's for you based on everyone's latest suggestions. Let me know which one looks best. I changed the font color back to blue, as this is my mage's magic color. Each cover text will be in the color of the "magic" used throughout the book (as a branding technique).

The glow isn't so bright on my Photoshop. It's just the way I accidently forget to merge everything down before saving it at a smaller size.

I actually really like this one. Does the motifs still match?



And here is the other one:

 
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Metruis

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I like the text for Nightscapes and Dreadsongs best on the second one (with the slightly smaller and and offset capitals; I'm a big fan of slight amounts of asymmetry), and I think you've got that bit of typography nailed down. You can add a glow to it if you want, the bright blue is nice and high contrast. I like the author/series positioning best on the first one. I don't think the red motifs match the mysterious green backdrop and blue text, but otherwise, this is pretty close, it looks a lot better now!

Regarding the color choice:
You seem to be set on the green background, which I like. The reason when I did my mockup I used purple is because it's the complementary color. If the main color were that blue in the letters, if you were to do a direct complementary color, you'd pick red, and that would look all right. But, because you're going with blue letters, if you want to pick a triangulated color scheme you'd want to pick a more royal blue. Now we're getting right into color theory, and that might be complex to understand without visuals, so let me just show you...

Triad colors with green, blue, and an orangy-red.

So if you were going to stick to wanting green, blue, and red on your cover this is kind of how I would go about it.

Now, some people are going to say you can't do blue and green together. I disagree. But if I did, I would probably stick with this kind of range.

Moacolor.

And the reason I went with the initial color was of course, this split complementary. So classic. So of course if you go split complementary, that blue and red is fine, but then you want to ease up on the green.

I think you're 95% there on the type, you can totally do that blue and green. Maybe fiddle with the color scheme for the corner buttons. Good work though!
 

Jan74

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I came across this cover and though of you. It's obviously very different from your cover but I'm not very good at explaining things so I hope you check out the link. What I like about the cover and made me think of you were the glowing letters she has 3 different fonts but they all blend beautifully and her title really pops. Could you center your title more and enlarge it, make it really stand out and maybe try to make all your lettering in the blue you like? Anyways....I just wanted to share it with you. :)
https://www.amazon.com/Fugitive-Magic-Dragons-Gift-Protector-ebook/dp/B072KNK3H7/ref=pd_sim_351_13?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ATDKP5NJEQBW89SXZEXB
 

Jan74

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Oh and just to add...when you look at her books in thumbnail size you can read every title clearly in the series, they all pop and stand out.
 

Metruis

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3 different fonts but they all blend beautifully and her title really pops.
I agree the cover looks great, but I think it's only two different fonts, I believe the font at the bottom is just a tiny version of the one used for the author font. I would personally go with no more than two fonts on a cover, and favor using bold/italics/caps letters/different colors for impact instead.
 

Bacchus

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I have a couple more mock-up's for you based on everyone's latest suggestions. Let me know which one looks best. I changed the font color back to blue, as this is my mage's magic color. Each cover text will be in the color of the "magic" used throughout the book (as a branding technique).

The glow isn't so bright on my Photoshop. It's just the way I accidently forget to merge everything down before saving it at a smaller size.

I actually really like this one. Does the motifs still match?



And here is the other one:


I think I would go for the second one, it looks great. I might consider reducing the font sizes very slightly so that the picture can clearly be seen - it is very evocative and draws the reader in!
 

FrauleinCiano

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With the blue title text and green imagery, it seems you're going for a mostly analogous color scheme. So, for the corner motifs maybe try something close to the yellow-green (in hue, not brightness) you see glowing in the trees or perhaps a blue-green? Like so:

tumblr_p10gb4AeHA1r69keno1_r1_1280.jpg


Then to balance the red, I suggest just a few specks of that red glow on the other side.
 

veinglory

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I think that this design is harmonious. But without a foreground visual element it lacks "pop". A lot of books have a misty tree cover even when very well done they are not attention grabbing as thumbnails.