Help! I can't decide on this dang cover.

Posted by amberargyle at 1:33 PM Wednesday, May 15, 2013
For all my covers, I've pretty much known what I've wanted from the beginning. Witch Fall not so much. 

Laura and I have brainstormed about 3 options. *Keep in mind that your voting on the CONCEPT, not the actual pieces before you. You have to think ahead to what it will look like finished, not what it is NOW. Make sense? 

Option 1: *These two are very rough sketches. They'll be all prettied up for the final.* I love the colors and the sky. It matches the first books pretty well. Not quite sure what do do about the pendant (The title is Fall, so I wanted the pendant to fall from her hands). 



Option 2: This one will have some tweaking, so keep that in mind. I don't really like her pose, but Laura thinks we need to keep it more portrait like to match the first two covers. I'd kind of like a full body shot of her in the water, but the pendant would be tiny. Something like this. We'll make the water turquoise, with sunken buildings around her (she's on a sinking island), the necklace pulling her up. 



Option 3: Something more like this, with Lilette facing the audience, the pendant floating free in front of her and her hair floating around her (Love the Forbidden Sea, BTW. Great book).

Forbidden Sea
I'll probably take the sketches down tomorrow so the unfinished image isn't floating around in cyperspace. 

22 comments:

  1. Katy S said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 2:07 PM

    Would love to help, Amber, but the first two aren't showing up for me. If you have my e-mail address still, why don't you try e-mailing them to me and I'll take a look?

  1. amberargyle said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 2:36 PM

    I reposted. Let me know if it works or not.

  1. aLilLacey said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 3:39 PM

    i like number 1 best. Number 3 reminds me too much of Medusa. Maybe on one her left arm can be down so it does look more like the pendant is falling.

  1. Jennie's Travels said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 3:49 PM

    I would say that #3 is more visually appealing to me. I am not a fan of #1 but I could see #2 as an alternate to #3.

  1. Christy said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 3:55 PM

    I like number one because of the adventure, and number three because of the simplicity which is great for selling ebooks, and also matches your first two.

  1. Pili said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 4:06 PM

    I think I like the idea of #2 the most, #3 seems too different from the others, not as matching.

  1. Kathryn Purdie said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 4:08 PM

    I vote for one more in the style/positioning of #3.

  1. David P. King said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 4:18 PM

    I like the concept of #2, in that her hair looks like it's flying up (I know she's in water, but if it's "Witch Fall" and her hair is "up" because it looks like she's falling, that's pretty cool imagery to me ... but what do I know?). :)

  1. Lucas Darr said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 4:21 PM

    Ooooo I have to think about this one!

  1. mistybown said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 4:49 PM

    So i like the idea of number 3 but put the sunken bldgs etc from 2 behind her. Make sense? I wonder abt putting the pendant on her hand like the other cover u have done rather than have it free floating.

  1. mistybown said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 4:50 PM

    So i like the idea of number 3 but put the sunken bldgs etc from 2 behind her. Make sense? I wonder abt putting the pendant on her hand like the other cover u have done rather than have it free floating.

  1. Howard Tayler said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 4:59 PM

    The first one works well. The second is clearly a draft, but the pose doesn't feel natural to me. Kind of tortured.

    If you want full-body with a visible pendant, you can use foreshortening. The camera is looking straight down into the water and the pendant is pulling the figure up toward us.

    It will be much less portrait-like than the other covers, though.

    Marketing question: what's more important: a cover that says "part of this series" or a cover that dynamically illustrates a moment from, or a theme from the book?

  1. Lucas Darr said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 6:02 PM

    Option 2.

    It has series continuity with the added benefit of telling a story in unto itself. The added action of being underwater doesn't depart from the other two covers much while still giving the cover an enticing appeal all on its own.

    The first is artistically expressive but not action forward (as in "here's some action, open the book to find out what it is), while the third option is done all the time. As a top-shelf indie (yes, I call you that) you have the latitude to jazz it up.

    I find covers like #3 a bit sexless and something designed in committee.

  1. Aldrea Alien said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 9:16 PM

    I lean towards #2, but maybe with her a little more facing us, just not quite as much as in #3.

  1. Unknown said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 10:37 PM

    I'm leaning towards #2 myself. But with the full body like you linked to on pinterest and the necklace pulling her up. I really like that idea! :) Good luck!

  1. Kaniesha said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 10:48 PM

    The first sounds like the book will be relatively calm, the second sounds like the book will be chaotic but there's still hope and the third makes it seem really straight forward and not like there'd be a lot of mystery. The second sounds the best! I'd really just go for whatever matches the vibe of the book best.

  1. Michelle D. Argyle said...:
    May 15, 2013 at 11:13 PM

    I like the first one best. :)

  1. Sheena-kay Graham said...:
    May 16, 2013 at 3:34 AM

    I really like #2 but #3 is also a good alternative. #1 is way too passive.

  1. Sallie Mazzur said...:
    May 16, 2013 at 6:12 AM

    I like option 2 because it plays with the idea of the title, Fall, with a lot of different ways to think about it.

  1. Unknown said...:
    May 16, 2013 at 7:03 AM

    I like the idea of option 2 but not the pose. I like number 1 but Number 3 is a little simpler like the first two books.

  1. amberargyle said...:
    May 16, 2013 at 1:32 PM

    Thanks for your input everyone! I've made my decision, and I feel great about it--instead of the panic I felt earlier.

    Now you just have to wait and see if you agree with me. :)

  1. TheAMWriter said...:
    May 17, 2013 at 6:05 AM

    I like number 3, but I would like to see the pendent more so that we can see that it is falling a little bit. Her hair looks like it is up not around her in water...so maybe have her hair all around her not just up and away from her (does that make sense?) I'm excited to see the final cover.

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