So I redid the cover I originally posted up here for review after I got feedback( I am sorry I forgot who posted and told me how I could improve it I deleted the thread and now can’t find it lol but thank you for pointing out the flaws) I finished redoing it and I would love some feedback, let me know what you all think of it please! And thanks in advance!

Hmm, I like how the woman is just a silhouette, and she along with the words are cutouts to an ocean/waves scene. Her hair is a nice point that complements the style of the font. The orange/gold colors are also nice. However, the green designs are sorta off from the almost "Celtic" flowy style as well as the waves. Perhaps if the lines were curves instead, it would better suit the other elements of the fiction. I'm not sure, but it reminds me more of something sci-fi. Also, while the waves are pretty, the density of the detail on the lower half of the cover unbalances the cover as a whole. Either waves need to look more simple, or more than just mostly "solid" colors should be at the top. For example, the green designs could focus from the top down--Although I do like the big circle around the woman. Lastly, I don't really like the green with that color border. A richer gold would be a better complement and pair with the vivid colors seen in the waves picture.

It's actually quite pretty and eye-catching, but yeah that's my two cents on how to improve it possibly.

Chryiss Wrote: Hmm, I like how the woman is just a silhouette, and she along with the words are cutouts to an ocean/waves scene. Her hair is a nice point that complements the style of the font. The orange/gold colors are also nice. However, the green designs are sorta off from the almost "Celtic" flowy style as well as the waves. Perhaps if the lines were curves instead, it would better suit the other elements of the fiction. I'm not sure, but it reminds me more of something sci-fi. Also, while the waves are pretty, the density of the detail on the lower half of the cover unbalances the cover as a whole. Either waves need to look more simple, or more than just mostly "solid" colors should be at the top. For example, the green designs could focus from the top down--Although I do like the big circle around the woman. Lastly, I don't really like the green with that color border. A richer gold would be a better complement and pair with the vivid colors seen in the waves picture.

It's actually quite pretty and eye-catching, but yeah that's my two cents on how to improve it possibly.

Thanks for the feedback!

And yes it is Sci-fi, the story essentially is that humanity left earth after using up all its resources, corporations created colony ships to ferry people to other solar systems to colonize, leaving behind those who either couldn’t afford the fee or didn’t wish to leave earth. Nearly 10,000 years after leaving earth the home world is practically a myth to the descendants of those first colonists, and the corporations are locked in a war that has lasted generations as they feud over different planet’s resources. The main character is one of those corporation’s clone soldier and second in command of a light cruiser. In order to allow his ship mates to escape after the ship is badly damaged he goes into slipspace to lead the enemy away from the life pods, but is shot down and falls out of slipspace at some unknown coordinates, and pulled into a planet’s gravity. A planet where everything is covered in water, a planet where humanity survives by living on giant floating cities made of hobbled together boats both old and new scavenged from the sea floor, a planet he thought didn’t even exist. After crashing he is rescued by the people of one of these ocean cities and not only has to learn the culture and language but how to live a completely different life as there is no way for him to return to the stars.

I’ll look at changing the colors up and stuff see if I can balance it some more, thanks again!

Ah, that makes more sense! In that case, I wonder if a more sci-fi-ish font would be better? The current font and waves are misleading; however, based on your story description, the water is indeed fitting. I just wonder if there is a better image that wouldn't make it seem like a romance novel instead (which the golden waves and woman with her hair and dress fluttering in the wind makes me think of XD). Sounds like a very interesting story too! Best of luck~

Chryiss Wrote: Ah, that makes more sense! In that case, I wonder if a more sci-fi-ish font would be better? The current font and waves are misleading; however, based on your story description, the water is indeed fitting. I just wonder if there is a better image that wouldn't make it seem like a romance novel instead (which the golden waves and woman with her hair and dress fluttering in the wind makes me think of XD). Sounds like a very interesting story too! Best of luck~

well romance is a big portion as well lol

AHA! I suspected it wouldn't come off like that for no reason. Now it all comes together~!

Chryiss Wrote: AHA! I suspected it wouldn't come off like that for no reason. Now it all comes together~!

yeah lol I had a lot of things I wanted from this cover lol sci-fi romance the environment lol lots of stuff

Yeah, I can understand you on a spiritual level about having lots of genres and themes stuffed into a story.

My story is literally Fantasy-Adventure-Action-Romance-Mystery-Drama-Science Fiction-Crime-School Life-Psychological-Philosophical-Supernatural-Kingdom-Video Game(ish)-Tournament-Mythical-Idol/Entertainment-Business-Environmental(?) ---- okay you get the point; I won't continue lol.

And yet only four of those elements have come up so far~ Aye yikes this mishmash

RR gives covers borders so i'd remove that. I'd make the title larger and I'd make all of the writing flat white instead of cutting through.

ExplosiveVent Wrote: RR gives covers borders so i'd remove that. I'd make the title larger and I'd make all of the writing flat white instead of cutting through.

I tried that and honestly it doesn’t look as good imo, thank you for the feedback however!

@Rai

I liked what you did with the waves; it looks way more balanced than before. However, I'm not too crazy about the background which seriously blends in with the waves pictures. Perhaps a better contrast can be made. I'm also not feeling the dark red title and black author name. It just....doesn't do anything which makes them dynamic or pop. Even though the original had its problems, this one is a bit too dull/desaturated, color-wise I mean, in comparison. Seeing this book cover as a thumbnail while searching for books really doesn't make it stand out/the woman very visible.

Still, I can feel that this composition is getting somewhere! Kudos to you for actually rendering an example of what you described!

[Deleted]

I tried something quick to flatten out the overly high contrast of the waves. (2 layers of the yellow border colour, one set to 70 opacity, hard light, then the next set to 60 screen)
I'd say keep the teal background, it helps it feel fresher than going monotone. 

Also I'd suggest just making the text a flat colour, while the 'cut out' effect is neat it makes it harder to read. Don't forget to zoom out and check how readable the cover is when it's a thumbnail!

thatCalamity Wrote: I tried something quick to flatten out the overly high contrast of the waves. (2 layers of the yellow border colour, one set to 70 opacity, hard light, then the next set to 60 screen)
I'd say keep the teal background, it helps it feel fresher than going monotone. 

Also I'd suggest just making the text a flat colour, while the 'cut out' effect is neat it makes it harder to read. Don't forget to zoom out and check how readable the cover is when it's a thumbnail!

this one looks good, I suggest the author use it, though perhaps not quite so flat, it definitely needs to be flatter but I think it should have some black to it, just not the crazy contrast the original had.

And yes make the name smaller.

@Rai

All good points raised. I like the cut-out of the woman, but it indeed does make it tough to coordinate with colors and pictures. The author's name being smaller or not wasn't an issue for me. It was just the black color, but I did like where it was placed since the original placement felt kinda awkward to me. The only reason why I felt the desaturation wasn't suitable was because it was a sci-fi story about the environment, and while it's possible that the story is bleak, the old papery texture gave more of a "fable" kind of story. But in the end, it's up to the Author what image/tone they're hoping to convey in the cover based on their story.
Still, the mix of ideas in this discussion is great~ 👍

LOL concrete! It reminded me of tea stained paper, or like grainy homemade paper from an old grimoire. Just concrete haha, that's the funny thing about textures, multi-purpose~ Going with your cover, I think the liveliness could be created if the background contrasted more with the cutout. Or actually, I wonder how it would be with the dark gradient flipped to the top to create a counter balance to the darker waves? But yup, since the author has a lot of themes and genres in this story, balancing the elements in the cover makes it more difficult for sure.

Yes, the darkness at the top would have to taken up more/lightened with the title and woman moved down lower to even make it work/not look horror-ish (it also looks like the woman is storming away with that black cloud haha). However, with the outlining of the title, that and the woman stands out more. The waves are indeed a challenge. That photographer! Jk

Thank you everyone for the feedback, I cannot currently edit the picture due to the fact that my comp is broken(Thank goodness I stockpiled chaps on gdocs and can post via a phone lol)

I think I want to keep the background and title the same way, and the cutout, I just really like those, but I love what Rai did with the waves, so when I buy a new comp I will work on desaturating them, as it stands since i have no way of editing the image I am just going to have to stick with the original for now until I can edit it :(

Thanks again everyone, I love all the ideas you are giving me!

Making the woman a silhouette is clever, because it means this could be any woman. It's important to get reader sympathy for a character right off the bat. At first, I thought the circles in the gray space were a detriment because I thought they were bubbles, but then i saw the other lines and realized that they were meant to have a sort of "navigation" vibe to them, which is quite clever. However, I'm not sure about using gray for that background. Would you consider either blue (a color often associated with water) or red (a color associated with danger)?

Feels beautiful man. Keep up the good work!