How do I make my cover for my novel more professional?

[jmccubbins]

Alright here is the sketch of what I'm trying at using some of the software @mcarrowolga sent me! It's not done yet and I plan on adding the wings and horns in now so yeah!

[cherrystark]

Looking at your rough, it looks like the start of a strong cover.

[jmccubbins]

Alright so i got the rest of the mc's designee done. Should I include the flag? or no?

[Berserker]

I like the flag but I have a feeling it would end up in the area you'll want the title.

I don't know if it was mentioned yet, but in the original cover there was a big gap between the title and the character. A dead space is what that is usually called.

[jmccubbins]

Ah ok! Thank you glad to be doing this now before doing it while it's colored

[jmccubbins]

How's the shading and the lighting?

[mcarrowolga]

Wow! Great improvement already!

[jmccubbins]

Thanks! I added more details!

[jmccubbins]

Alright! Colored it and added text!

[darthmongoose]

This is coming along pretty well! I'd advise a few changes. It was easier to just mock it up than to describe in just words, so here's what I put together and why I made the changes I did:

• Lowered the horison line and lightened the lower sky around the character. This does two things, firstly helps with the cool perspective effect that we're looking up at the awesome drawing of the character looking badass, and secondly it makes the really nice dramatic silhouette of the character with the wings and the bow and the crosses and swords in the ground read more clearly against the sky, so it's more visually punchy at a distance.
• Darkened the grass at the front so the bright area draws your eye to the character in the middle and the red doesn't overwhelm the magenta wings.
• Added an edge highlight to the character, crosses and swords to make them pop and add contrast and drama.
• Changed up the font to something bolder and more "designery" looking. This is a mixture of Cinzel and Cinzel Decorative (both in "black", the highest boldness) They're both free and you can get them here:
  https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Cinzel?query=cinzel
  https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Cinzel+Decorative?query=cinzel

If you want to just use my text setup here and you have photoshop, I'm happy to send over the psd for it.

I hope that's helpful at least for some guidance.

[mcarrowolga]

Looks great!
Congrats!

[Kaydreamer]

Dude, that's like, a million times better already! The dynamism of the curved grass, the low camera angle, and the more anatomically correct character all make it a way stronger piece than the original.

Darth's edits are fantastic as well. It's important not to use generic looking fonts, you want something more unique and eye catching for a cover. I'd recommend looking up how the rule of thirds works as well, it's really easy to follow, and she's used that to great effect.

[jmccubbins]

So Somthing more like this? @darthmongoose

Ok then from there is added some better lighting on the mc

[darthmongoose]

Yeah, more like that, you want that figure to really pop so the image reads clearly when it's small.

[jmccubbins]

ok! Now i made it to the cover size and i added text. I couldn't use any of the imported texts tho

[darthmongoose]

Maybe make the text a little smaller so there's a bit of a larger gap between it and the sides. I'd also recommend making the word "The" smaller than the others if you're having it on a different line, and capitalising "Wars".
Odd about the imported fonts not working. What program are you using?

[jmccubbins]

Got it and for the program Im using sketchbook
(Edit) Got the text edit done

[rajillustration]

oh I like this a lot better! It's much easier to see the details of the wings and all that. I'd perhaps play with a color on the font or try out an outline to make it easier to see when it's small (like make sure to check how it looks at like 200 px, too, because that's how it'll be seen on the phone) But that's up to you.

[jmccubbins]

Thanks and yeah I down sized it a few times to check! For the wings i went as far as looking up hawk wings and using some of their markings!

[thedude3445]

Wow, this was a cool thread to follow.