Business Post: Cover Art
Added 2022-12-14 17:59:02 +0000 UTCWhat is required when creating cover art and how to evaluate covers
There are two main elements in a cover.
- The Art
- The Typography
Good covers are basically advertisements. Like good ads then, a cover can be art or typography dominated. And knowing which is most prominent in your cover before you provide details to your artist will save time.
When reviewing the cover it is worth knowing as well as the following elements:
- order of importance of elements
- focal point in the art
- amount of whitespace
- typographic layout for the series (title and sub-title location at top or bottom, etc.)
- level of contrast between elements.
Furthermore it is worth noting that covers can be
- illustrated
- photo bashed (stock at manipulated and combined.
Depending on genre/sub-genre, the art and art type will be one or the other.
In general, cover should follow genre or subgenre conventions. When briefing artists, the following is needed.
- Scene description
- sub-genre of work
- theme and mood to be evoked
- the positioning of title, sub-title.
- any specific colors requested.
When evaluating, watch for previously mentioned elements of importance.
In general, the eye should move in a Z pattern, leading the gaze downwards
naturally.
Order of importance for my artwork is generally:
- art focal point
- series title
- sub-title
- name at bottom
As such, size and placement of the typography should also relate to that.
In more prominent authors like Jim Butcher, James Patterson and the like, the author name might have greater importance than the ant itself.
Last Thoughts
Cover Art should capture attention. It should intrigue and excite. It should also inform viewers of genre & sub-genre and what to expect of the work.
It needs to do this not just in full size but also as a thumbnail and black and white.
Questions? Thoughts?
Comments
That’s interesting, thanks.
Mike
2022-12-19 08:31:25 +0000 UTCWell, we've changed a number of covers in our time. - the Hidden Wishes cover were a miss. They were a touch too UF/Paranormal Romance rather than pure UF. There's a post that talks about how we managed to make the change and the difference in sales. - We've also changed the Leveled Up Love cover like 3 times. I still LOVE the original cover, but it was HARD figuring out what to target. I still don't know if we did it right, though we've gone from sort of gamey romance to pure romance romcom covers since then.
Tao Wong
2022-12-19 01:12:46 +0000 UTCI love the "Life in the north" cover.
Andre A
2022-12-14 19:10:19 +0000 UTCTao you’ve been doing this a while now. If you think about the covers you’ve used, are there any you would change? And why? As examples of how what you are talking about would manifest in decisions.
Mike
2022-12-14 18:55:50 +0000 UTC
