Another book cover - second in series

[lilmisslondon]

You may have seen my first book cover, but here is the second in the series. It's my personal favorite. Hope you like it! 

[GarryP]

Nice. Looks very much like the sort of thing I can see on the shelves in book stores.

I have a couple of very minor comments, if I may:
1. I'm not sure if there is a need for the full stop after OPPOSITION. It's purely a personal preference but I think it's far enough away from the rest of the text not to need one. Not a massive issue (or really an "issue" at all), but just thought I'd point it out. Also, I'm not sure that text should be over to the side but that's not my call and it might not look nice centred.
2. The thick lines on the left and right sides of the cover don't seem to line up with the scroll-work. The one on the right seems to be more to the right than the one on the left is to the left (if you know what I mean). Again, not a major problem but something that an on-the-ball art editor will notice.

I'm interested in book cover design so I mention these things not to be awkward but only because they're the sort of things I'm learning to spot in my own work. Little details like these can make something seem less good than it is.

I'm looking forward to seeing more in this series.

[lilmisslondon]

Thanks Gary! The scroll work (including side borders) was all just one image. haha So I can't really change how they look. It's all just one image. And did you mean the (.) after Opposition? I wasn't quite understanding what you meant with it being far enough from the other words. I'm hoping to learn more for next time. This was the simple route - no people or layored pics or anything complex. It's a complex series (fantasy) so those would have been so hard to compete with the fantasy books on the shelves today which are beyond gorgeous. But seriously - Affinity is awesome for the poor author. Now...I just need macros (or the affinity version) to really make it newb friendly! :) 

[GarryP]

Ah, if the scroll work is all one image then it would be tricky to change it. Not impossible, just awkward and probably not worth doing unless it was really necessary. Most people won't have noticed.

As for the text, I'll try and explain myself a little better.

Yes, I meant the (.)/full stop/period after the word "opposition". What I should have said is that I wasn't sure if the text needed a full stop as that text - which includes the full stop - was far enough away from the other text on the design that the full stop wasn't necessary, see below.

Normally a full stop is used to show the end of a sentence - to make the text easier to read - but it's not always necessary. For instance, newspaper headlines usually don't need one because the text is visibly different to that of the rest of the text. You can tell where the end of the sentence is because the text is very different, e.g. different size/font/etc. The same reasoning can be used for text that is a good distance from all the other text. If some text - in this case "LIFE ATTRACTS OPPOSITION" - is far enough away from the other text then it doesn't really need a full stop because it's obvious that it's a sentence on its own. (The same way you haven't used a full stop after the book's title or author's name.)

However, having said that, there is sometimes a good reason to use a full stop. Sometimes a full stop can be used for emphasis. A full stop on a "lone" sentence can be used as a kind of visual "boot stomp" or "fist on the table". It says things like "This is final!" or "I mean this!", without the need for an over-dramatic exclamation mark (!) which can look "tacky" on a book cover. You can think of it as similar to the loud chord at the end of a song that tells you the song is finished (I don't know what the proper term is for this). This short video has a good example: https://youtu.be/VQfgtUw4Vtc?list=PLWVWEaIMW0jN5_p5IrcbR2oRavvDm7r_Ewhere it's obvious when the music is finished (it's also a particularly impressive bit of video too).

In this case, I'm not sure if "Life attracts opposition" needs a full stop. For me, the sentence doesn't seem "final" enough to need one. That's just my opinion though. Ignore me if you want to.

There's also an issue with the use of a full stop in a "lone" sentence that is centred. Since the full stop takes up space but doesn't really add to the text itself it can mean that the text on the last line can look a little bit off-centre to the left. It's not a big problem here but it's something that's worth keeping in mind.

The other thing I could mention is that the "LIFE ATTRACTS OPPOSITION" text looks to be a bit of an afterthought stuck over to the right. It seems to be poking its little head from around the smoke in a "please don't forget about me" type of gesture. It might be better if it is centred on the page - perhaps with a small black glow around it for readability - or you could balance the page by adding some text to the left-hand side of the cover. I just don't feel that it looks as good where it is as it could otherwise. I have seen plenty of examples where the text looks better off to the side but I just think that, in this case, it will look better centred (or balanced with some other text).

I realise that what I've said above is probably over-analysing things way too far but it is sometimes good to think about the little stuff like this. Drilling down to this level can give you a fresh look at a design and can often give you insights into what might need to change to make the overall effect more powerful. On the other hand, you might not want to waste time on these sort of silly little details. If the illustration looks how you want it then that's fine and dandy.

I hope bits of this have been interesting and/or useful but, basically, feel free to totally ignore everything I've just said. I often ignore - or forget - my own advice and there are no rules with this sort of thing. It's your cover and you should do it your way.

[Alfred]

I completely agree with Garry about the full stop (period). It isn't needed here, and it looks out of place.

 

I think the words "Legend of the Liberator" at the top and the author's name at the bottom are both too close to the scroll work; I seem to remember that this was mentioned by someone else in relation to the first book cover. The flames are very pixellated, which kind of spoils the smooth, polished look of the rest of the work.

 

The above minor niggles aside, it's (another) very good effort.

[Mithferion]

I'm no expert con book covers, and I like this one, but I'm just wondering, what about using another font. Maybe for the "Life attracts opposition" part, and somehow I get the feeling that there is a better place for that sentence.

 

Anyway, a good one.

 

Best regards!

[jer]

Great concept with the texture behind the bowl and the filigree in the corners. It all works together causing the viewer's eyes to circle around to the bowl. Color scheme works too. Good job.