Cover feedback for dystopian SciFi novel

Maggie Maxwell

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I really like the individual elements and how they interact together, but I think there's too much blank space above the title. I tried covering the top with my hand so that it looked like the title was near the top instead of centered, basically cutting off most of the top, and I think it worked really well. I'm not sure how to go about fixing that and keeping the proportions needed, though.
 

indianroads

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I really like the individual elements and how they interact together, but I think there's too much blank space above the title. I tried covering the top with my hand so that it looked like the title was near the top instead of centered, basically cutting off most of the top, and I think it worked really well. I'm not sure how to go about fixing that and keeping the proportions needed, though.

Thanks! I appreciate that. My cover art guy is really good, and I'm sure he can handle it. I'm also considering moving the sky into the red spectrum a bit more.

In all honesty I get a little giddy when new artwork comes in and can't think clearly.
 

MaeZe

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I like it a lot. These are little nitpicks:

I agree, too much space at the top.

In the close up it looks like they are at the water level, in the wide shot maybe they are above it, needs a tweak.

I'm not a fan of the guy's hair color. If he's a blonde, maybe add more 'sandy' to it to make it more natural.
 

indianroads

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I like it a lot. These are little nitpicks:

I agree, too much space at the top.

In the close up it looks like they are at the water level, in the wide shot maybe they are above it, needs a tweak.

I'm not a fan of the guy's hair color. If he's a blonde, maybe add more 'sandy' to it to make it more natural.

Thanks!

The title position is a bit perplexing - for continuity's sake the artist put it at the same location has he did for the other books in this series. How important is that in your opinion?
 

BradCarsten

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Fantastic cover! I would agree that the text looks a little out of balance, but not enough to put anyone off, and when looking at the other books in the series, it's probably better to have that continuity.
 

MaeZe

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In the wide shot, the sky has a different composition.

With a minor adjustment, if you bring more of the dark clouds in, and move the bright ones down, you can correct the balance without shifting the position of the font.
 

Stytch

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Is the guy supposed to be shooting the title into disintegration, or is it doing it on its own? Because the gun is on it, it kinda looks like he's shooting it, and I suspect he's not supposed to be? I like the effect on the letters a lot, but I wonder how it would look if it was on the front half instead of the end? (she said blithely, unaware of the work involved) Or move the guy to the left? Though I like the way they are facing slightly away from each other, and flipping it would lose that. Again, without knowing what is an "easy adjustment" and what is a *&%*&$^ lot of work, I'm hesitant to make suggestions. But it's very pretty, overall. Like others mentioned, the whitespace at the top is a little much. I might add that the Extinction 3 part be moved slightly off, or that the bigger flying bit be moved away from it, as it dirties up the cleanness of the 3.
 

indianroads

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In the wide shot, the sky has a different composition.

With a minor adjustment, if you bring more of the dark clouds in, and move the bright ones down, you can correct the balance without shifting the position of the font.

I'm unsure of the layers the artist is using, but I may ask him to bring the sky element down a bit, so the bright section is closer to the 'Extinction-3' text. I'm also going to ask that he shift the color palate slightly into the red - just to see if it looks better.
 

Toothpaste

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Love them, looks fantastic!

I think you can easily solve the empty space at the top by including more of the rock formation they are standing on on the bottom (in the wide version) to balance it out. :)
 

WriteMinded

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Nice cover, but the placement of the title just seems glaringly off. I would think the overall balance would far outweigh matching the text location to previous books. Who would notice that? Who would care?
 

lizmonster

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Nice cover, but the placement of the title just seems glaringly off. I would think the overall balance would far outweigh matching the text location to previous books. Who would notice that? Who would care?

Agree with this, although I get the desire to have the placement match.

Also...this says milSF to me rather than dystopia, which may be OK depending on where you're aiming the book.
 

KBooks

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Agree with moving the title positioning. Were it me, I would get all fidgety about the series matching, too, but IMHO, making the individual cover work in has to take priority and that's a lot of empty space up at the top.
 

indianroads

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Thanks everyone for the responses and the feedback.

I elected to leave the titles where they are because I like the way it looks when the book series are lined up together. Beyond that, my input to the artist was:
1. Male in foreground – hair color less yellow (dirty blond), and slightly longer (down to collar).
2. The attacking army actually looks like a fence or a wall. Please enlarge that part of the image so it’s easier to tell that it’s people, and stagger the rear lines of the army so it looks less like a wall.
3. Please shift the color of the sky more into the red spectrum (not dark red, but less orange).
4. Back cover with product description at the top (as usual) with a larger version of the stickman (man shape inside circle) below.

Product description:

Malice, corruption, and war have pushed humanity to the edge of extinction. The last vestiges of mankind huddle within a few subterranean enclaves, hoping to survive a massive solar flare that could burn all life from the planet.

As civilization collapses, a violent religious cult is born the believes the coming inferno is sent by their God to purge the sins of mankind. Their army of the Scarred Faithful stands ready to conquer and burn those that do not adhere to their beliefs.

Liam Collins is a sentient android that appears human in every way. Only a trusted few know this fact, and in a world where technology is feared, he needs to keep it that way. Liam is both clever and resourceful, but in the face of prejudice within his shelter, can he find a way to stop the approaching army of violent zealots? In humanity’s final war, how much of himself must he sacrifice to save those he loves?

Damnation is the stand-alone third novel in the Extinction series that paints a complex picture of the future of the human species.


Again, much thanks to everyone. AW is awesome.
 
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BradCarsten

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2. The attacking army actually looks like a fence or a wall. Please enlarge that part of the image so it’s easier to tell that it’s people, and stagger the rear lines of the army so it looks less like a wall.
.

Just a quick thought- with 3d it's really difficult to render out crowds of people because it puts a lot of strain on your system. Because of that, if you look closely, you can see that the crowds are repeated objects. I just wonder if you make them bigger, if that's going to be more noticeable?
 
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indianroads

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Just a quick thought- with 3d it's really difficult to render out crowds of people because it puts a lot of strain on your system. Because of that, if you look closely, you can see that the crowds are repeated objects. I just wonder if you make them bigger, if that's going to be more noticeable?

Maybe, but I trust my artist. He always does a good job.
 

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Looks great. My only concern is that the rock looks like it's floating if you look at the bottom-right corner where the rock doesn't cover the whole page.
 

kyliesmiley16

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Honestly, I think I prefer the first cover, though I can understand the difficulties of enlarging the army. I also thought it was a wall or forest at first, but it's obvious it's an army on closer inspection. It's the kind of cover where I could find a new detail on every first couple of times I looked at it. I love the desert look, and the stickman symbols added to my intrigue, and if you have it repeated on the back cover, I would be even more curious about what that symbol meant. The guy's hair is definitely an improvement in the second, and I love the font, but also prefer the placement on the first where it looks like (as Stytch said) the gun is shooting it into disintegration, though may not be the look you're after. I particularly don't like the three leaning buildings on the second cover (left, middle, right), where the repetition of the graphic is much more obvious than the army and looks too cut-and-paste.

Hope that helps! :D I've never given advice on a cover before.