I made a lazy photoshop collage for the book im making, dont worry, i wont ise it as it is, ill call in a favour from one of my artist/graphic designer friends before advancing. do you like the general idea though for a domed city with a wealthy center beneath the one skylight and deprived outer rims. what do you think?
I honestly can't even give you any feedback on this. It's not what the cover is actually going to look like, and I have no idea what your story is about.
it gives a general idea with decrepid houses lining the road to the center. its about a dystopian future society and its an image of the main city. the end result should be similar but more polished.
In all honesty, anything can be a good idea if done correctly. What I can say is that images of dystopian cities have been used before. Even in current popular novels, just look at Divergent and City of Bones. My main question is do current members of the Elite really have to look out of their homes into...the slums? I would imagine that it's out of sight, out of mind... Personally, I think the concept is a bit overused. Is there nothing else at the center of your story that you could use for your cover, or is the city the main of it?
I think it's an interesting image, the use of the Roman Pantheon with the occulus immediately over the rich part of town I find quite appealing due to our associating corruption and opulence with the Roman empire, which fits in rather nicely with the idea of the starving outer rim of plebeians.
It certainly catches the eye. There's a lot going on but that could be a good thing if that's what you are wanting.
This was my first thought, too. I'm not sure it's a good thing. I often think that simple is best, especially when you allow for what it's going to look like when the size is significantly reduced (as with Amazon photos of book-covers, etc.).
What Lex said, plus the author name has to fit in somewhere...which will probably block out some of the vehicles, which is okay.
I don't think it shrinks down to badly. You lose the rich and poor contrast, but you still have a skylighted dome over a city street. Looks pretty striking still. The worst part is the rich area which looks like a bunch of white blobs.
it's certainly striking!... i'd be forced to check the back cover blurb, thanks to the startling contrast and the questions it raises...
thanks for your feedback. i will definatley get it redone by a good artist, especially as i dont own the rights to the photos i sampled. I will definitely replace the vehicles with more appropriate cars/trams/hover craft etc. i just used that photo as it was an appropriate shaped highway. i also plan on having the outlying buildings being plain concrete blocks of flats formed with just shades of brown/black and the closer ones will be more traditional in design, skyscrapers that could realistically be built. I am also aware of how common and cliche this might look and am trying to avoid similarities with other titels within the genre but also triggering any links which would draw people in like divergent did for me after i had just finished reading the hunger games. finally do any of you know any ways to get a decent artist to produce this image, ideally without paying over the odds
You could look on Deviantart, Fiverr, or Behance. At least you'd be able to see previous work done on Deviantart and Behance, but Fiverr, well... it only costs 5 bucks!
I like it. It has weighted portraiture using the negative space for the title. That draws attention to the title. As for the old cars, I, like others, don't know that much about your story. Being new myself, I'm in that waiting period for posting work for critique. I'll be looking forward to seeing your work. Hopefully your writing matches your imagination.
I think the idea you have for the cover art certainly strikes me enough to make me pick up the book. Buuut... the story and the writing will determine if I walk out with it.
Don't you think it's more important to focus on what is between the covers first? Cover illustrations are in the publisher's domain, anyway.
true, hence why im focusing alot on that. cant help but think if you can project the image you are going for to a pulisher it'll win some points in your favour. also its a good way to get over writers block
Never send illustrations with a manuscript, At best, the publisher will ignore them; at worst, you'll be labeled an amateur, and that never improves your chances of getting accepted. As for getting over writer's block, procrastination does not help.
fair enough, could make for a good cover if i choose to publish on amazon and at worst its an incentive to keep at it.
I managed to find an artist and whilst what i have is far from complete I think it looks amazing. the skylight will be more central higher and smaller. there will be a clearer shaft of light shining on the center which will be shades of white and blue and the road will be more detailed and have tram tracks.
That's absolutely beautiful. I guess the only thing I'd question design-wise is that most of those details will be lost with a thumbnail (which matters if you're publishing online, not so much with print). I realize this isn't the completed project, but I'd also suggest having more contrast and have it overall be a bit lighter, so all that work is as visible as possible. The cars also look a bit old compared to the very pretty buildings (esp. the one in the center of the image). And don't forget to leave some room for text! Right now the image is very busy (while beautiful), so I'm not sure where you can place it easily.
yeah, its definately not done, ive informed the artist that i want it to be well, book shaped so the skylight will be higher leaving space, it will also be central. the cars will be changed and the colours adjusted. But thanks.
