# New New Cover Art for Illustrated Version of Erich's Plea - opinions?



## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

Hi all,
With a little help from a friend .... thanks David 
I now have two versions of cover art and invite your opinions as to which one you think looks better. I know which one I like but I'm not saying a word  
I'd like to hear what the KB jury has to say 

Fire away......















Cheers all,
Trace


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

Just a small P.S. it doesn't look anything like the covers I've used for the short stories - I wanted to differentiate between the two 
Trace


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

The art is... interesting. Not my cup of tea, so maybe it will appeal more to your target audience. As for the font used, it's very generic. Would you like some help enhancing the text aspects of the cover?


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

Not my particular taste. I think it needs a little color, and a better font. 

I liked the other cover better, actually.

What program are you useing to make the covers?


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

David McAfee said:


> Not my particular taste. I think it needs a little color, and a better font.
> 
> I liked the other cover better, actually.
> 
> What program are you useing to make the covers?


This cover was actually given to me 'as is' so I don't know the program the artist used. I do have another, full colour cover by the same artist who did the short stories for me that I'm pretty much decided on for the print versions but, like the other cover of Erich's Plea, it doesn't seem to translate well in thumbnails, tends to look too dark. It's a bit of a conundrum actually. I like the stark, simplicity of this cover & the portrait of Trunk is nearly perfect but, of course, new readers have no idea who Trunk is, what he looks like or why he's so pivotal to the storyline... makes it tough.

Appreciate the comments though so keep them coming... This is a little experiment on my part anyway.

Cheers,
Trace


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

traceya said:


> This cover was actually given to me 'as is' so I don't know the program the artist used. I do have another, full colour cover by the same artist who did the short stories for me that I'm pretty much decided on for the print versions but, like the other cover of Erich's Plea, it doesn't seem to translate well in thumbnails, tends to look too dark. It's a bit of a conundrum actually. I like the stark, simplicity of this cover & the portrait of Trunk is nearly perfect but, of course, new readers have no idea who Trunk is, what he looks like or why he's so pivotal to the storyline... makes it tough.
> 
> Appreciate the comments though so keep them coming... This is a little experiment on my part anyway.
> 
> ...


can we see the other cover?


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

I don't like it.  At all.  The best I can say is "easy to read the name and the author."


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## D. Nathan Hilliard (Jun 5, 2010)

I think it has a certain spare strength, but I think color would improve it immensely.


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

This is the colour version, I added the fonts through ArtWeaver to try and make it look as close to the short stories as possible. This one is meant to be the witch's hand....










I'm really lost - I like them both but trying to work out which image fits which forum best.... I'm tearing my hair out 

If only, only I had settled on this _*before*_ I published **** bangs head repeatedly against wall *****

We live and learn. 
Trace


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

I've gotta say from the response so far it's not looking good for my monochrome cover... and I have a lot to learn about fonts as well apparently 

I'm just so appreciative of everyone's opinions & advice. I don't know any writers personally or anyone involved in publishing either so to get some feedback from pros is making a real difference. Keep 'em coming, I'm absolutely not offended [especially since I didn't design either of them he he]

Cheers,
Trace


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## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

Trace:

You've got another wee readability issue with the color choice for title font. Pick up the pale blue or lavender instead?
Bright, intense dark colors vibrate on black and are hard to read. As you know, the blue in 'Hairy' is a perfect example.  

Here is a teensy suggestion: DON'T use the same font for the novel Use something similar, but more elegant and less plain. That way you can distinguish between them while keeping the same 'brand'. This novel is in a different sub-set from the shorts. It's okay to make it different.


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

archer said:


> Trace:
> 
> You've got another wee readability issue with the color choice for title font. Pick up the pale blue or lavender instead?
> Bright, intense dark colors vibrate on black and are hard to read. As you know, the blue in 'Hairy' is a perfect example.
> ...


Thanks Archer - I wondered about the readability issue myself which is why I first went with the monochrome but as Maria said while you can read the title and my name it hasn't got much to offer.
Back to the drawing board I think 
Cheers,
Trace


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## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

I DO like that image! (The magical, sinister hand)
I'd say a bit 'o tinkering with the color and font and you've got a winner!


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

The color one is much better--but Archer has a point:

Quote: Bright, intense dark colors vibrate on black and are hard to read. As you know, the blue in 'Hairy' is a perfect example.  

Some of this isn't your fault.  JPG has a compression clarity issue that causes some blurring when colors are used on black (red is another color that is a problem).

But at any rate, the color one is better!  Listen to her.  She's really *quite* good.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

The new white, handrawn looking cover comes across as very amateurish. When it comes to sales, your cover can be odd, irrelevant to the story, cluttered, etc, and still have sales. Coming across as completely amateurish is pretty much a kiss of death. I mean no offense here, but I think people seeing the white cover will automatically move on, without giving you a chance.

I do, on the other hand, like that nifty hand.

David Dalglish


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

traceya said:


> This is the colour version, I added the fonts through ArtWeaver to try and make it look as close to the short stories as possible. This one is meant to be the witch's hand....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If you want, email it to me and I'll see what I can come up with for a better font. [email protected]


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## Kristen Painter (Apr 21, 2010)

I like the hand better. It scares me less.


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## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

Tracey,

I quite honestly do not like the cover at all. There is too much white space on the cover, making it look bland and empty. The fact that it is monochrome isn't so bad, I think, but the fact that it is a really crude peice of line art is. Unfortunately the line art is not very accomplished. If you look at scribbles and line art that professional illustrators create you will quickly notice that even the most basic of their works has flowing lines that are pleasing to the eye. In addition the face looks somewhat disproportioned.

I know this may sound very harsh, but the cover looks... amateurish.

Now you take the other covers you have where you licensed second rights to some D&D covers and the difference is brutally striking. However ,even with those covers I have to tell you that you are losing so much of the potential impact, simply by using bad fonts, poor color selection, and really boring layouts. Creating covers is about a lot more than throwing together a few pieces of imagery and putting some font on top of it. It is an art that needs to be properly learned and practiced. I know the temptation is huge to give it a try yourself and save some money, but here you already spent around $500 for a licensed artwork and then you go and destroy its potential. I would recommend hiring an artist to do the proper cover layout for you.

I know someone who could help you with that for a nominal fee, so let me know if you'd like to give it a try with one of your covers.

Please don't get me wrong. I am not trying to diss you or your efforts, but if you want to truly succeed in the marketplace you need to have a professional presentation and oftentimes that requires the perusal of specialists in a particular field.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

The hand and the other pictures in the other two covers are great.  Lose the black borders and pick the right color font to pop out and you'll have amazing covers.  The black frame is causing you most of the problems.  Then you can use what you already have and (paid for?).  There's nothing wrong with the art inside of the black borders.  



Really, you're almost there, I think.


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks all for the input/advice - Colour it is but I'm going to rework all the covers.  As someone? mentioned the art itself is ok but the way it's been put together is pretty boring.  

My beloved husband bought me some nifty graphics software that will, hopefully, get me to where I'm trying to go with the covers, better fonts, more professional looking.  I may as well use the art that I've paid for so I just need to brush up the rest.

Wish me luck all, I'm going into uncharted territory here and to all those lovely people who offered assistance be very, very careful as I might just take you up on that  

Again, thank you all so much - it's wonderful that you're even prepared to help out an indie with absolutely no clue what she's doing, appreciated.  

Cheers all - I'll keep you posted.
Trace


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## P.A. Woodburn (May 22, 2010)

I'm late with my opinion, but I like the coloured hand. I do not like the white at all.

Ann


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Good luck on making the new covers. You make sure you swing 'em by here so we can devour/assault/critique them and maybe be useful. That, and I love fantasy stuff. I wanna see new covers!

David Dalglish


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Good luck on making the new covers. You make sure you swing 'em by here so we can devour/assault/critique them and maybe be useful. That, and I love fantasy stuff. I wanna see new covers!
> 
> David Dalglish


Hi David,
I've actually taken up your namesake's [McAfee] very generous offer and admitted I'm in way over my head.
I've got, at least I think, pretty good artwork - even the line drawing of Trunk works well as an inside illustration to show the reader what he looks like - but I'm absolutely hopeless at fonts & colours 

Be assured that as soon as I have something new to offer all you lovely people here at KB will be the first to see it, critique it etc etc - I'm extremely thick skinned so criticism is no problem 

Cheers,
Trace


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## bluefrog (Apr 6, 2010)

To me, the black and white cover looks more like a title page illustration. It makes me think the actual cover is missing. Although how that's possible on an ebook I don't know...


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

traceya said:


> Hi all,
> After much angst I've re-released Erich's Plea with illustrations and a new cover. This was more what I had in mind originally but I went with some advice and published with the old cover and without illustrations. Now I'm going more with my gut feelings [excuse the crude language] and I've settled on this version.
> 
> 
> ...


Trace, I am not loving it. I like the older one better.


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

traceya said:


> Hi all,
> With a little help from a friend .... thanks David
> I now have two versions of cover art and invite your opinions as to which one you think looks better. I know which one I like but I'm not saying a word
> I'd like to hear what the KB jury has to say
> ...


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

Hi I think I confused things a little by modifying the first post - but hopefully you can all get the idea  
I'm really not very good at techno stuff  

Anyway hit me with your opinions.....
Trace


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

I -really- like the second one. The only thing I can see is that the subtitle, being white on a soft blue, makes it difficult to read. I think you should axe it completely. There are other ways to let people know it is a book in a series.

David Dalglish


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## D. Nathan Hilliard (Jun 5, 2010)

I gotta go with the second one too. It's just a bolder, more eye catching cover.


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> I -really- like the second one. The only thing I can see is that the subtitle, being white on a soft blue, makes it difficult to read. I think you should axe it completely. There are other ways to let people know it is a book in a series.


What he said. I love the 2nd one. If it was a pbook, you'd need that subtitle - an ebook cover doesn't need it.


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## J.M Pierce (May 13, 2010)

The second one for sure.


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## Sam Landstrom (May 29, 2009)

*plugging my ears* nah, nah, nah, I didn't look at anyone's responses to this to ensure I gave you my first impresson...

I like the black border. It makes the text pop, while I think it frames the art nicely.

Sam


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

All I know is that whenever I stare at both of them side by side, my eyes are constantly shifting over to the right. I just like the feel of it for whatever reason.

David Dalglish


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## RonnellDPorter (Apr 20, 2010)

You've heard enough about the cover in the thread, so I'll keep it short and say I'm with everyone else on this one. But, as much as I don't like it, I LOVE it in comparison to the current one you have. I saw it on Amazon earlier and laughed, until I saw the name and title... at which point I simply closed the browser and left it alone.

Please, for oyur own sake, change it asap!


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## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

The second one rocks!


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

The second one!


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

Thanks for all the input guys... I'm now prepared to let you all in on my opinion....... Drum roll please 

I rather like the second one myself. While the black border ties it in with the short stories and looks wow I think the second one is a double wow. It just seems to leap right out at you. I truly can't thank David McAfee enough for giving me a helping hand [pardon the pun] - I initially promised to name my first born after him but now I may have to give him my first born 

Keep the opinions coming though..... but I think I'm 99.9% decided.

Cheers & again much thanks for all your help and input
Trace


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## RonnellDPorter (Apr 20, 2010)

Concerning the new font, it just doesn't match. David definitely improved it, but it's still not a fit. I know that's the font I'm going to see from here on so commenting is pointless, but as great as it looks, that's just not the one.

But great new cover all the same, I wish you luck with it!


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

RonnellDPorter said:


> Concerning the new font, it just doesn't match. David definitely improved it, but it's still not a fit. I know that's the font I'm going to see from here on so commenting is pointless, but as great as it looks, that's just not the one.
> 
> But great new cover all the same, I wish you luck with it!


Thanks Ronnell I appreciate your input but I think it's a vastly improved cover, even the font 
Cheers,
Trace


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

Actually, I kind of agree with Ronnell.

I chose the font (which is called Birth of a Hero) because the image says sci-fi to me. I didn't realize it was a fantasy novel. I think I can put a better font on there that will better match the story.

The subtible: That can be moved anywhere, the font redone, made smaller so it can't really be seen on the thumbnail, etc. Really it's not a big deal to adjust at all.

My concern with Cover #2 (which everyone likes) is that when reduced to a thumbnail I'm not sure the title and author stand out enough to be noticed. I could be wrong, though. The coloring of the image limits the font colors for the title a bit; a bright, garish red, for example, would be easier to see but wouldn't match. That's why I made one with the black borders. Also, the image is pretty pixelated on my screen and I'm afraid it might have that "blocky" look on a print cover. I think there is a way to refine the image in PhotoShop, but I haven't learned it yet.

Anyway, it's definitely better that the B&W line drawing.  Glad you like them, Tracey.


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