The author says:

Genre: Cyberpunk, Sci-fi.

Comparable book: Series-Neuromancer,

This book-LitRPGs books Publishable, but looking for feedback on the characters. As everything is pretty much silhouettes I worry the characters blend in too much. I’ve tried a couple variations and this is the best of the lot. I’ve tried a gradient from orange to black, but it feels like they pop too much. Or, is this even the right direction with characters?

Elevator pitch: In the second novella, a night of playing a VRMMORPG turns dark when one of Ragan’s friends doesn’t wake up after being captured by a raid boss. Using her skills as computer security cracker she will have to figure out what is trapping people in the game, and for what reason before time runs out.

Nathan says:

Your intuition is right: The characters blend too much.

I think the fix on that, though, needs to go back further into the design.  You’ve got way to much unused space (which is not the same as functional empty space, i.e., a conscious decision to use a blank spot as a design element).  Look how much everything on the cover is improved by cropping:

(I know, I cropped off the byline. I’m not on my home computer right now, so I can’t modify the image beyond a few basics.)

Once you do that, EVERYTHING becomes clearer.  When you put the byline across the characters’ legs, you can then increase the intensity of the glow around the silhouettes, and it won’t look out of place.

Also: Have you considered rendering the grid on the bottom in green?

Other comments?

The publisher says:

This version has a very different photo and a vertical orientation; font is slightly darker.

[original submission and comments here]

Nathan says:

It’s not as generic a layout, but I still see two big problems:

1. The tree is hard to make out at thumbnail size — the point of having an image with a single focus is for it to be instantly recognizable for what it is at first glance.
2. The large salmon-colored area is just plain boring. Even a slight texture (maybe stronger at the edges, fading away under the print) would be an improvement.

Other comments?

The author says:

Safety and Liability Analyst Craig Shannon finds himself investigating the deaths of two people on the water-filled world called Teardrop. But the deaths were no accident, and all evidence points to a conspiracy against the peaceful alien natives known as the kell. Craig must search for the truth behind the plan to terraform Teardrop to not only save his own life, but the life of an entire planet.

This is my newest version of the cover for Terraforming Teardrop that I previously submitted here. After all the good feedback on the last, decided the best approach for me was to keep it simple, but moody.

[original submission and comments here]

Nathan says:

This is definitely orders of magnitude better than the original cover; it’s not great, but it’s something that can be improved upon rather than jettisoned.

Suggestion #1: MORE CONTRAST. Especially at thumbnail size, the whole thing becomes a muddle of mud.

Suggestion #2: A more readable font that uses the space better.

Here’s a five-minute redo:

I’m not at all in love with the color scheme, but hey, five minutes. (I moved the edge of the moon/upper planet down so it wouldn’t get lost behind the title.)

Other suggestions?

The author says:

Medieval Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery, new adult/adult novel.

“Ilas is not the gentle goddess the invaders believe her to be, you know. There will come a time when her sword is all that stands between humanity and ruin.” Kanika, the scorned Seer, must reclaim her identity from the invaders’ Crown Prince Atham. Though her people may never forgive her, she must redeem herself through fire and blood if necessary and take back the land the Seers have called home for centuries. However, Prince Atham’s position is not as secure as Kanika would like. Prince Meto and Princess Elsephere both have designs on the throne, which would spell the end of any hope of justice for the subjugated Seers of Argorien. THE TAINTED SHRINE follows the fight for control of the conquered city of Argorien, the revolution that creates more problems than it solves, and the unnatural creatures threatening to consume the Fierce Lands in chaos.

I am both the artist and the author.

Nathan says:

Nicely done artwork, although the biceps could use some refinement.

However, the whole definitely doesn’t say “Medieval Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery” to me.  The only element that even indicates at historical Europe are the girl’s blonde braids, which aren’t visible until one spends time examining the image.  My guess at first glance would have been either non-European mythology, or science fiction incorporating non-European mythology.

However, a lot of that “Medieval Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery” vibe can be added by switching out the typefaces and perhaps adding some ornamentation or scrollwork around the borders. Even just replacing the garden-variety Roman-ish font with a simple uncial would do wonders. (Our resident font expert will be along presently with suggestions, no doubt.)

Also, the glow around the white letters makes the print harder to read. I would suggest a dark glow or simple drop shadow to separate the type from the image.

And finally, the “by” in the byline is unnecessary.  When people see a title and a name on a book cover, they know that the name is that of the author. The only time you need “by” is when you need to describe the book: “A Historical Drama by,” “A New SERIES TITLE Novel by,” etc.

Other comments?

The author says:

This is the currently published cover to my dark humor/superhero novel. I want to ‘re-brand’ the cover because I feel like it missed the mark on depicting genre/tone. While it does have superheroes throughout the book, the main focus is on Adam, the guy who got stuck with the worst superpower ever-an immortal disaster magnet for superpowered events. There’s a lot of insanity (mole people and portals to twisted versions of Wonderland anyone?), and a darkness that follows a jaded and sarcastic Adam. While I initially thought the illustration definitely hit those targets, I had a few people mention they didn’t even notice the superhero in the background. But I’ll be honest, I’m at a complete loss in what direction to go with this, as there are two more books in the series I don’t want to mess up the next two covers. (Authors’ readers it would appeal to: Caimh McDonnell, David Neth, Samuel Shem) Thanks for your time!

Nathan says:

The art is well executed, but I can see the problem that others mentioned to you: the superhero in the background both blends into the general busyness of the cover and is partially covered by the title, which means that the superheroicness (I’ll let someone else figure out the appropriate noun) is lost.

I think that you could work with the same artist — I REALLY like the style for this novel — and modify some elements:

• Make the background much less busy; let the smoke isolate Adam and the girl visually.
• While you’re at it, move Adam and the girl further to the bottom.
• Place superheroes in shadow of silhouette nearer the top, letting them be both distinct from the background and separated from Adam.

Here’s my thumbnail sketch of the layout:

This both simplifies the cover, and makes a point of Adam’s visual separation from the superheroic types.  I blocked in the title in an arc because it would take up less of the real estate, allowing your artist to put in the hero silhouettes clearly while allowing space between them and Adam.

And if you still need it to me more comic-booky… the rectangle to the left of the title is where most comic companies put their indicia, as more of a visual cue to the genre.

Other comments?