Before scrolling down, I thought at first the water was actually a creature. Some weird amorphous blue leech-like creature. Since I just left a web site after reading an article about brain eating amoeba, I was not encouraged to read more.
Then I saw it was a lake. A charming drawing in pretty colors. Oh, a children’s fantasy. Phew! But no, wrong again.
The problem is that they have unintentionally given the water volume. They’re attempting to show shading on both sides of the banks, but it’s having the effect of making the water look like a solid object resting on the grass rather than a fluid body sitting beneath it. There’s some definite skill here, but I think they need to look at more reference. For example, the section where the trees overhang the water actually looks pretty good. You can see the trees’ reflections in the water and it looks like they actually come out over the riverbank. But then you get to the grassy area and there’s nothing there to make the eye understand what’s happening. Also, there’s definitely some perspective issues happening. I know, because I have issues with it all the time when I’m drawing, and an almost top-down angle like this is really hard to pull off (you’d think it would be easier, but I’ve found the opposite true… You can fake perspective way easier by layering things in front of the “camera”).
Honestly, had this been me, I would have just put a bunch more trees all over. Then the perspective issues might not be all that noticeable. Or, well, I would have if I weren’t supposed to be doing a cover for a CONTEMPORARY SUSPENSE NOVEL.
James F. Brown
9 years ago
The cover looks like a drawing of a stomach with ulcers.
![cover[1]](https://lousybookcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/cover129.jpg)
I actually find the illustration interesting, in and of itself. But not all artwork makes good cover art.
It looks like a tattoo gone wrong…
And by wrong, I mean infected. Ewww
Before scrolling down, I thought at first the water was actually a creature. Some weird amorphous blue leech-like creature. Since I just left a web site after reading an article about brain eating amoeba, I was not encouraged to read more.
Then I saw it was a lake. A charming drawing in pretty colors. Oh, a children’s fantasy. Phew! But no, wrong again.
It took two people to create the cover illustration?
That’s what I was thinking!
Why does the water look 3D like a snake’s body? Something about the waves and perspective. Looks like a misshapen blue arm with warts.
The problem is that they have unintentionally given the water volume. They’re attempting to show shading on both sides of the banks, but it’s having the effect of making the water look like a solid object resting on the grass rather than a fluid body sitting beneath it. There’s some definite skill here, but I think they need to look at more reference. For example, the section where the trees overhang the water actually looks pretty good. You can see the trees’ reflections in the water and it looks like they actually come out over the riverbank. But then you get to the grassy area and there’s nothing there to make the eye understand what’s happening. Also, there’s definitely some perspective issues happening. I know, because I have issues with it all the time when I’m drawing, and an almost top-down angle like this is really hard to pull off (you’d think it would be easier, but I’ve found the opposite true… You can fake perspective way easier by layering things in front of the “camera”).
Honestly, had this been me, I would have just put a bunch more trees all over. Then the perspective issues might not be all that noticeable. Or, well, I would have if I weren’t supposed to be doing a cover for a CONTEMPORARY SUSPENSE NOVEL.
The cover looks like a drawing of a stomach with ulcers.
THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT!!!
BINGO! I knew it reminded me of something familiar.