Mixing a photo with a painting/drawing NEVER, EVER WORKS – but especially when the painting/drawing has a photographed hand on a pasted-in, elongated arm…
Where do you see a drawing? It’s all photos, and there is no pasted elongated arm. The guy is a model and it’s his real body, arm and hand included. The pose wasn’t altered either.
Ron Miller
10 years ago
I hate it when a cover comes so close and then takes a right-angle turn…
B. Clugston
10 years ago
At first I thought the Viking was in a wheelchair.
Did you bother checking pictures of real people wearing chainmail (you know, that thing named google images)? If the guy is built, and Vikings definitely were, you’ll see the outline of his pecs clearly defined by it, even when worn over a thick gambeson (padded tunic). My designer is a pro, so HE checked…
ZeeWulf
10 years ago
This one was soooo close to being good. They almost made it…
Jany.Vernis
10 years ago
Dear Nathan and others,
Sorry that you don’t like the cover of my book. Please let the pro designer who made it know about your opinion… Wasn’t me…
The arm of the guy is actually his real arm, I’ll tell the model that you find him ill proportioned, he’ll be flattered. Sorry that he is quite built as well. There is no painting in it, it’s only pictures. The face of the guy was overexposed purposely so that he couldn’t be recognised (it’s a stock picture), and the clothes have been changed to fit the time period. The general picture is giving a glimpse of the story, which I found more important than the fancy visual.
Glad it made your day though…
Anyway, feel free to submit your own proposal for the cover, I’d love to see what you guys come up with! 😉
I’m not one of the Snark Crowd here – in fact, I’ve been a poster child of theirs for bad covers – so I know it’s not the best feeling to have your cover eviscerated.
That said, I think this site performs an invaluable service – or potentially one, if the criticism were more constructive and the authors were somehow brought into the loop. Most writers desperately need feedback, and this site certainly qualifies. It’s incredibly hard to get input on one’s covers, particularly; I even started a Goodreads list for discussing them, but very few participate, and when they do their monosyllabic analysis isn’t helpful, imo.
Now about your cover, I think it fails, largely because the face, painted or no, does not match the rest of the imagery. It’s very difficult for me to believe that a professional graphic designer signed off on that. I strongly suspect that cover is putting off potential readers, and I hope you make the rather simple modifications that are necessary to make it be all it can be. 😉
![cover[1]](https://lousybookcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/cover143.jpg)
Mixing a photo with a painting/drawing NEVER, EVER WORKS – but especially when the painting/drawing has a photographed hand on a pasted-in, elongated arm…
#Photobomb 😉
Where do you see a drawing? It’s all photos, and there is no pasted elongated arm. The guy is a model and it’s his real body, arm and hand included. The pose wasn’t altered either.
I hate it when a cover comes so close and then takes a right-angle turn…
At first I thought the Viking was in a wheelchair.
Damn! I was going to say that!
Look at the definition in his pecs–showing contour right through that heavy chainmail. Damn. Or Damn. Depending on whether that’s a feature or flaw.
Did you bother checking pictures of real people wearing chainmail (you know, that thing named google images)? If the guy is built, and Vikings definitely were, you’ll see the outline of his pecs clearly defined by it, even when worn over a thick gambeson (padded tunic). My designer is a pro, so HE checked…
This one was soooo close to being good. They almost made it…
Dear Nathan and others,
Sorry that you don’t like the cover of my book. Please let the pro designer who made it know about your opinion… Wasn’t me…
The arm of the guy is actually his real arm, I’ll tell the model that you find him ill proportioned, he’ll be flattered. Sorry that he is quite built as well. There is no painting in it, it’s only pictures. The face of the guy was overexposed purposely so that he couldn’t be recognised (it’s a stock picture), and the clothes have been changed to fit the time period. The general picture is giving a glimpse of the story, which I found more important than the fancy visual.
Glad it made your day though…
Anyway, feel free to submit your own proposal for the cover, I’d love to see what you guys come up with! 😉
Hi, Jany –
I’m not one of the Snark Crowd here – in fact, I’ve been a poster child of theirs for bad covers – so I know it’s not the best feeling to have your cover eviscerated.
That said, I think this site performs an invaluable service – or potentially one, if the criticism were more constructive and the authors were somehow brought into the loop. Most writers desperately need feedback, and this site certainly qualifies. It’s incredibly hard to get input on one’s covers, particularly; I even started a Goodreads list for discussing them, but very few participate, and when they do their monosyllabic analysis isn’t helpful, imo.
Now about your cover, I think it fails, largely because the face, painted or no, does not match the rest of the imagery. It’s very difficult for me to believe that a professional graphic designer signed off on that. I strongly suspect that cover is putting off potential readers, and I hope you make the rather simple modifications that are necessary to make it be all it can be. 😉