Writing as? Who the f*ck does that? You either use a pen name or you use your real name. WTF?
The couple kissing, inside the building…whaaaa? He’s got no top to his head. He’s bricked in!
The quality of this art is pretty good. I don’t even mind how the people are drawn but the composition…can’t make a bit of sense from it. There’s no reason or continuity. It’s just junk shoved together.
Talk about epic fail.
Catie
10 years ago
The cover is so messy that I didn’t even notice at first that the book is about craving the letter U.
There’s no way anyone who’s a good enough artist to draw those two characters could also have such a bad design sense as the overall cover shows, so I reckon the drawing was stolen from somewhere.
Although, to be honest, the art is not cover-worthy. Maybe in a different media it would have been. If you’re already stealing a drawing, couldn’t you steal an awesome one?
Yeah, that artwork would be good if it was on a teenager’s DeviantArt account, but not here. It turns out there’s quite a large gap between really good amateur art and adequate professional art.
I went to Craving U. The dorms weren’t quite this ugly – but the food in the dining hall was AWEsome. Mushrooms were their specialty.
Rob
10 years ago
Because apparently anime art makes everything better. Not.
Llà rjme
10 years ago
Hi there!
I’m Llà rjme (aka Mirella Muffarotto), the Author of this book and its cover. I’m an indie Author and I had neither enough money to buy a professional cover nor a professional artist as friend, so I did it by myself… You’d say: “precisely!” I did my best. I decided to pay for a professional translation (an ALTA Member is my translator and he’s really good) because I couldn’t do it by myself.
About this book cover: I drew the couple freehand and all the images are photos of mine (The Castles of Romeo & Juliette in Montecchio Maggiore, Vicenza, the balcony) and I composed the picture with MS Word (I had no image editing software… and I wouldn’t have known how to use it!)
Thank you for your advice about the art (I’ll take your advice for the sequel… of course, assuming that there will be a sequel), and if you’d like to be my professional cover artist, please let me know!
Anyway, I really hope you enjoy the story.
TY
Llà rjme
10 years ago
At first I was hurt by your critics about my cover, but I can’t confute them and they’re helpful advices.. sorry about my poor art! Unfortunately I was faced with a difficult choice and I decided to pay for a professional translation (I applied for a loan, that I’ve not yet repayed) because I couldn’t do it by myself. For the sequel I’d really like to have a professional cover artist by my side (writing a sequel depends on the sales of this first book… let’s hope for the best!).
Thanks for your interest in my work.
Thanks a lot, DED, for the link:D
Writing is my work, my beloved work, but creating my book cover has been the hardest part of this work…
Finding people like you (editor, I guess), book bloggers, and cover designers is essential to book publishing, especially for an indie author.
I welcome your help and advice:)
All the best!
Catie
10 years ago
Why wait for the second book? The beauty of digital self-publishing is that you can change the cover any time, as often as you want. You can find some cheep designers on this site: http://www.fiverr.com
Thanks Catie for the link:) but it’s not that easy for me. As I self-published my book in trade paperback (and my book’s ISBN information has been registered), I can’t make any alterations in the interior or in the cover of it.
I welcome your help and advice for the sequel.
Thanks for your interest in my work:D
Writing as? Who the f*ck does that? You either use a pen name or you use your real name. WTF?
The couple kissing, inside the building…whaaaa? He’s got no top to his head. He’s bricked in!
The quality of this art is pretty good. I don’t even mind how the people are drawn but the composition…can’t make a bit of sense from it. There’s no reason or continuity. It’s just junk shoved together.
Talk about epic fail.
The cover is so messy that I didn’t even notice at first that the book is about craving the letter U.
Brought to you by the number 2. 😉
It’s a spelling text for people in other countries who come to the USA and can no longer savour the local flavour.
There’s no way anyone who’s a good enough artist to draw those two characters could also have such a bad design sense as the overall cover shows, so I reckon the drawing was stolen from somewhere.
That’s exactly what I thought.
Although, to be honest, the art is not cover-worthy. Maybe in a different media it would have been. If you’re already stealing a drawing, couldn’t you steal an awesome one?
Yeah, that artwork would be good if it was on a teenager’s DeviantArt account, but not here. It turns out there’s quite a large gap between really good amateur art and adequate professional art.
And a gap between good art, and good cover art.
The characters look analog. Maybe the artist is great with pencils but normally reserves computer use for spreadsheets and Minesweeper.
The main art isn’t really that awful. If it was coloured properly this might be actually nice, passable at least.
Someone that can colour properly with pencil crayons can do some amazing things. Unfortunately, hardly anyone does and it cheapens the entire medium.
Seriously people! The box comes with a white pencil crayon for a reason! Learn to blend!
Wearing a balcony as a hat?
I went to Craving U. The dorms weren’t quite this ugly – but the food in the dining hall was AWEsome. Mushrooms were their specialty.
Because apparently anime art makes everything better. Not.
Hi there!
I’m Llà rjme (aka Mirella Muffarotto), the Author of this book and its cover. I’m an indie Author and I had neither enough money to buy a professional cover nor a professional artist as friend, so I did it by myself… You’d say: “precisely!” I did my best. I decided to pay for a professional translation (an ALTA Member is my translator and he’s really good) because I couldn’t do it by myself.
About this book cover: I drew the couple freehand and all the images are photos of mine (The Castles of Romeo & Juliette in Montecchio Maggiore, Vicenza, the balcony) and I composed the picture with MS Word (I had no image editing software… and I wouldn’t have known how to use it!)
Thank you for your advice about the art (I’ll take your advice for the sequel… of course, assuming that there will be a sequel), and if you’d like to be my professional cover artist, please let me know!
Anyway, I really hope you enjoy the story.
TY
At first I was hurt by your critics about my cover, but I can’t confute them and they’re helpful advices.. sorry about my poor art! Unfortunately I was faced with a difficult choice and I decided to pay for a professional translation (I applied for a loan, that I’ve not yet repayed) because I couldn’t do it by myself. For the sequel I’d really like to have a professional cover artist by my side (writing a sequel depends on the sales of this first book… let’s hope for the best!).
Thanks for your interest in my work.
If money is an issue, consider a pre-made cover. Maybe you’ll find one that’s a fit for your book. Here’s a list of affordable designers and pre-made covers.
Thanks a lot, DED, for the link:D
Writing is my work, my beloved work, but creating my book cover has been the hardest part of this work…
Finding people like you (editor, I guess), book bloggers, and cover designers is essential to book publishing, especially for an indie author.
I welcome your help and advice:)
All the best!
Why wait for the second book? The beauty of digital self-publishing is that you can change the cover any time, as often as you want. You can find some cheep designers on this site: http://www.fiverr.com
Thanks Catie for the link:) but it’s not that easy for me. As I self-published my book in trade paperback (and my book’s ISBN information has been registered), I can’t make any alterations in the interior or in the cover of it.
I welcome your help and advice for the sequel.
Thanks for your interest in my work:D