Let's give each other fancy tips about our covers!

[Katzalcoatl]

Can't really say much for the first cover. I don't know the meaning behind the colors and what each thing represents lol. It looks like a comedy show wall plus the colors remind me of the police near 2 criminals about to egg someone. So it can be either that or a comedy show. But it does portray comedy.

As for the second cover.
Uff no idea where to start. It is missing so much stuff it looks more like a screenshot of the comic and not the cover. I would suggest using my list to remake it.
Choose a background that makes her look more superheroish. Maybe add a bad guy looking at Elsie who is about to fight.
You don't have to make the cover like a typical superhero cover but you do have to help your reader see it is about a superhero.

You might want to add her over a steampunk flying ship. Make your reader know it is steampunk. I would also make her clothes more steampunkish.

The tittle needs to be another color. You need to be able to distinguish it from the background. I would also add gear clogs to the tittle.

If I may use some examples for the fonts I would suggest to use the following for inspiration:

[abigaillmartin]

Thank you so much for the feedback. I’ll look into these fonts they look really cool! Where did you find these?

[Katzalcoatl]

I just googled Victorian fonts and steampunk fonts.

The best way to find fonts you like is by googling them and using them for inspiration or downloading them if you want.
I usually look for fonts that fit what I want to represent with my cover in your case steampunk fits really well with victorian fonts but steampunk fonts do exist didn't think I would find any lol.

[abigaillmartin]

What are your thoughts on the Elsie cover @darthmongoose ?

[abigaillmartin]

I found this neat one

[doomed4art]

Thank you! This might help others but I was asking more so about how people decide the purpose-or message-of covers. How they decide what to make it appealing.
I'm trying to decide between a more neutral but inviting cover for my first volume/book compiled or something more thrilling and high action or something mysterious with a lot of negative space. And I wanted to know how others decide

[darthmongoose]

Ah, I've been summoned!

I think @Katzalcoatl makes a very good point about the font. Something more Pulp comics or Victorian might well help sell the concept.

For a Pulpy "Rocketeer!" type vibe, this free Blambot font could work:

Detectives Inc

Or for a Vintage look that's still bold and readable, maybe try one of...

Vantonir - Free - Arterfak Project

Longdon Decorative Font | Roger White | FontSpace

Google Fonts: Sancreek

To speak about the cover more generally, feel like maybe this looks more like a panel from a comic than a cover. It's weird having something in the foreground like that, and it draws attention from the figure. I like the overall rusty brown with blue colour scheme, I think that works well, but I'd maybe make the gold/brass on the text a bit brighter so it pops more. I'd maybe consider starting to experiment with using thinner lines on background stuff compared to characters so that the characters stand out more strongly against the backgrounds.
Finally... why not try putting an airship or something in the sky behind the character to really sell the "steampunk!" theme to a potential reader? I think that'd add a lot here.

[Katzalcoatl]

What is your first volume about?
What do you want to tell your reader?

If the first volume is mainly action then do something thrilling.

Is the mystery slow pace? Then add an inviting neutral cover.

Is your volume a mystery right from the start? Then do something mysterious.

For a mystery comic I would go with either neutral or mysterious. Since it is volume 1 neutral works pretty well the other volumes can become mysterious.

Going high action, on the other hand, just attracts the wrong target audience which will probably not read your comic since they are looking for.... action.
Think of it like having a romance comic but the cover is horror. Your cover will only attract horror readers but they will not read the romance meanwhile all romance readers will avoid the horror cover.

[abigaillmartin]

I need to see what you mean like you did last time with the last comic art. I just know better when I see it. I love all the fonts by the way! Thank you for sharing them with me. I don’t know it was just really helpful last time when I saw what you meant.

[VersusVII]

I will try to give my thoughts on all the cover posted.

@kristynamaximova as others suggested, I would move the title in front of the characters (I didn't even noticed). I like the cover, I get the characters have a bit of rivalry between them.

@Flios mmm, I would put what I think is the main character (the one with the title) in the center and the others around him, like this cover for example

@faisalhussein394 I like the title style and the cover idea. I would scale down the font for the "drawn by" part, it doesn't give enough space to the title.

@Animefanka the first two Covers seems ok to me, in the third one I didn't notice the pink haired character, I thought it was background at first sight.

[VersusVII]

So, this is my cover. I'm not satisfied at all, I still need to learn better at drawing trees and composition. Any suggestion to give it mystery vibes are accepted.

[darthmongoose]

I need to see what you mean like you did last time with the last comic art. I just know better when I see it. I love all the fonts by the way! Thank you for sharing them with me. I don’t know it was just really helpful last time when I saw what you meant.

Er... okay... I've whipped something up:

So, nothing blocking our view in the foreground, just Elsie looking cool on the deck of an airship with her hair blowing in the wind, because ADVENTURE! And she's the titular protagonist, so the star of the show here, not someone's elbow.
Use a thinner line and softer colours on the background so she really pops and to just generally create a pleasing sense of depth to the scene.
Throw some cool airships in the sky behind her because that shouts to the audience: STEAMPUNK ADVENTURE! Roll up! Get yer steampunk here!
Bold title font with a brass effect (literally just use the bevel and emboss layer mode on some light browny-yellow text and then add a brown gradient overlay and a pattern overlay of some sort of basic noise pattern for this) and then add some steampunky gears and wings and stuff around it (draw one and copy-paste then "flip horizontal" You can also download stuff like this as shapes or brushes by searching things like "steampunk decals") also threw an "outer glow" on the text but set the colour to a dark brown and the mode to "normal" so instead of a "glow" it becomes more like a shadow (this is used so much on fancy title fonts, often with black or dark coloured glows in "multiply" mode too. Now you know this secret, have a look for it on Tapas premium covers! ).

I hope that's more helpful?

[abigaillmartin]

Awwww yes! This is perfect! Thank you now I can see it! I’ll get working on it soon as I get home.

[doomed4art]

I actually think the trees being hazy adds a lot, I like it! Though it's a little too peaceful at the moment to be super mysterious unless that's your intention?

• the biggest thing is just making the shadows for the character stronger so they have a good contrast with the hazy trees.
• Raised the ground a bit because that cast shadow is visually interesting
• increased the fogginess and soft lights outside

I also tried out night time lighting but I don't know if that fits your goal.

[VersusVII]

When I created the cover I wanted to imitate Shuzo Oshimi: he does soft watercolor covers but the stories are insane, characters are all crazy. So I thought to give a peaceful cover for the beginning of the story and then get more mysterious.

I will raise the ground and make the light softer

[Hipiticus]

Here's mine

[cherrystark]

I am trying out a new cover option for my novel. What do you think? It has more of a mystery flair to it.

[bulgariansumo]

Ooooh, this is neat. I'd definitely make the bottom text brighter, probably around the same color as the sky or even the ground.

[cherrystark]

You were right! The lighter color does make it blend a lot better than white did.

[abigaillmartin]

@darthmongoose thank you for the great tips! She looks amazing!

Alright here is my new and improved cover I even made a logo! Haha!

Tell me what you guys think.