Book Covers

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  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    I  really like the nostaligic feel that has philebus.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    I'm pretty sure I've asked this before but I can't find it if I did.  When you do premade book covers, do you make up a title and author name or do you put something like Your Title Hear and By Author Name?  I never know which way to go on that. 

  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    I'm pretty sure I've asked this before but I can't find it if I did.  When you do premade book covers, do you make up a title and author name or do you put something like Your Title Hear and By Author Name?  I never know which way to go on that. 

    I have seen it done as "title here" and "Author Name" where the author's name goes. I personally give it a title, usually what I have named the art piece. I put my own name where the author name goes. I look at it as product branding. :)    

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Makes sense.  I am terrible at naming things lol.  Thanks!

  • cherpenbeckcherpenbeck Posts: 1,411

    There are several websites which strictly forbid anything else besides "Author Name" od "Your Title/ Your Title Here". They say every real Title distracts the author from his own ideas.

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,757

    Sometimes giving the title actually makes the writer choose the cover,  cause it triggers an idea for them.  They buy the cover,  then write the book or adapt their book accordingly.

     

  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    There are several websites which strictly forbid anything else besides "Author Name" od "Your Title/ Your Title Here". They say every real Title distracts the author from his own ideas.

    Shows what I know. lol I only sell off the book cover designer and my facebook page. All the authors I have worked with have been done with their books & finding the cover was the last step to getting published. I personally think it looks like a more finished product and lets the author envision that finished product better to have a title and persons name. That's just my opinion though, I honestly don't think my authors care one way or the other. When I have asked my authors why they choose my covers it's always some element of the art that matches their story and has nothing at all to do with the title / text or fonts chosen. :)  

    My thought like I said is more of a branding thing. If they are scrolling through a list of covers and maybe randomly clicking on ones they might like, and say three of those random clicks had my name in place of the authors name, then they have just seen my name 3 times - it's a marketing thing - get your name seen three times - then they are more likely to actually come check  you out. So maybe they will stop scrolling though random covers and visit my page. That's my idea behind it, but like I said my authors chose me because some element of my art fit their story, so I don't know that my branding is working. lol 

     

  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    Sometimes giving the title actually makes the writer choose the cover,  cause it triggers an idea for them.  They buy the cover,  then write the book or adapt their book accordingly.

     

    I had an author once ask if he could use a title I had on a premade for the sub title of his book. (he had hired me for a custom job but he had hired me because of that premade, he liked the fire on it) I also just sold my most expensively priced premade book cover ($300) that was titled Searching for Neverland, that author kept the "Searching for" part of the title and just changed the name on the end. (It's not out yet so I can't tell anymore about it, :) )  

  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    A link some might find helpful: Free equivalents for standard proprietary fonts

  • philebusphilebus Posts: 242

    A link some might find helpful: Free equivalents for standard proprietary fonts

    Someo of these are among my favourite text fonts (EB Garamond, Crimson Text, Goudy Bookletter 1911, Lindon Hill, Sorts Mill, and Fanwood). And a number of them are from the The League of Moveable Type, where you can find a lot of other open source fonts. I particularly like Junction, League Gothic, Ostrich Sans, Blackout, and Chunk for book titles.

  • philebusphilebus Posts: 242
    edited June 2018

    I suppose this is me twiddling my thumbs before going out.

     

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  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    awesome! 

  • philebusphilebus Posts: 242
    edited June 2018

    Can't sleep.

    I did take screen shots as I went this time with a view to finally putting together a tutorial though.

     

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  • RakudaRakuda Posts: 931
    edited June 2018

    The simulated gouache paint style is really appealing. I am a sucker for painterly looking things. Great choice of fonts too. A lot of research here into that retro style!

    Post edited by Rakuda on
  • philebusphilebus Posts: 242

    For what it's worth, I've finally posted the turorial - it's a bit long winded and image heavy, so I made a new thread for it that I'll add to here and there.

  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    Awesome, thank you!

  • Worlds_EdgeWorlds_Edge Posts: 2,152

    Thank you @philebus  I'll try the tutorial out this weekend :)

  • philebusphilebus Posts: 242

    One more before the weekend is up. I've added an additional post to the tutorial thread to look at doing underwater scenes.

  • I discovered this thread over the weekend. So sorry about the OP's passing.

    There are some incredible covers here. I love the retro/pulp covers! 

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    philebus said:

    For what it's worth, I've finally posted the turorial - it's a bit long winded and image heavy, so I made a new thread for it that I'll add to here and there.

    I will definitely be checking this out thank you for sharing and the for the fonts link. 

  • philebusphilebus Posts: 242
    edited June 2018

    Just passing some time...

    There's an old trick I've been using a bit lately. After doing the painterly stuff, create a new layer and fill with either black or near black (in this case, a midnight blue), reduce the layer's opacity and then take a very soft eraser to it.

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  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    Very nice. Another similar trick you might want to try (similar as in the steps you take, it gives a completely different look)  - if I explain it well enough. :) Fill a new layer with very, very dark, near black, purple or blue then put the layer mode on exclusion. Once the layer mode is on exclusion you can play with how dark or what color to use and see what is changing, but generally I use a purple or blue very close to black. 

  • philebusphilebus Posts: 242

    Very nice. Another similar trick you might want to try (similar as in the steps you take, it gives a completely different look)  - if I explain it well enough. :) Fill a new layer with very, very dark, near black, purple or blue then put the layer mode on exclusion. Once the layer mode is on exclusion you can play with how dark or what color to use and see what is changing, but generally I use a purple or blue very close to black. 

    Now that sounds interesting - thank you! I will definately be trying that out this weekend.

  • Here's my latest cover. I was worried about using digital rendering, but the response so far has been positive. I'm glad I did it.

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  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    Very nice, I like the steampunk vibe. I have gotten really positive responses using the 3D images. I just got hired by a new author and asked to do another 9 covers. I have three other regulars also, and one of them writes a book a month. 

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,757
    edited June 2018

    It really does depend on the genre.  For fantasy or scifi  3D cover art works just fine,  but for Romance,  both authors and readers seem to accept live models and /or photographs more readily. 

     

    Post edited by FirstBastion on
  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,757
    edited June 2018

    I've also been dabbling in book cover art lately. 

     

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  • OdaaOdaa Posts: 1,548

    Here's my latest cover. I was worried about using digital rendering, but the response so far has been positive. I'm glad I did it.

    Yay, that it's been working out for you!

  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    It really does depend on the genre.  For fantasy or scifi  3D cover art works just fine,  but for Romance,  both authors and readers seem to accept live models and /or photographs more readily. 

     

    Did you see the mixed ones that, I think were poasted in this thread..... where they mixed 3D bodys with photo heads. They looked pretty real. 

  • deathbycanondeathbycanon Posts: 1,227

    I've also been dabbling in book cover art lately. 

     

    These are great! Have I seen some of these up at thebookcoverdesigner? 

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