Opinions On Book Covers?

[JackBinimbul]

Hey, guys!  I'm an artist as well as an author and have been working on a couple of options for book covers.  The two I have finished so far are vastly different covers and both convey very different tones of the story, so I wanted to get opinions from you guys, especially anyone who reads Painted Blue.

 

If people could let me know which they prefer, I would appreciate it! 

 

Cover #1:

Cover #2:

Edited October 12, 2015 by JackBinimbul

[Puppilull]

The cover I like best is the one with Felix, but that might be because I like cuffs...

 

Seriously though, as a cover for the book, the one with Dorian is more representative of the content. It's really his story and the BDSM part is not all the book is about. To focus so much on Felix feels like diminishing the story. Maybe Dorian could have the cuffs on his belt, as a sort of subtle reminder. Although, since he's a cop it might be too subtle...

[Cia]

A few things to remember about covers: Washed out colors make it hard to see the image when it's shrunk down (which is often the case on blog promos or sale sites). That is also an issue with your text. It's best not to place it at the very top or bottom of the image, because some thumbnails cut out some of the cover, whereas others just shrink everything down, making size of the font very important. When I design a cover, I check how the image appears and the text size/placement all works with the sizes at full, 600x900, promo 200x300 and thumbnail, 100x150. You want something that stands out at all 3.

 

For the cop character, I'd move the font down and the image up, creating more negative space at the bottom so you could use that half to overlay the title and author name. For the handcuff character, I'd change the blue background to a much darker color to create a starker contrast. I'd enlarge the font in both and keep it at least the width of a finger or two (in full size) from the edges.

[Drew Espinosa]

The cover I like best is the one with Felix, but that might be because I like cuffs...

 

Seriously though, as a cover for the book, the one with Dorian is more representative of the content. It's really his story and the BDSM part is not all the book is about. To focus so much on Felix feels like diminishing the story. Maybe Dorian could have the cuffs on his belt, as a sort of subtle reminder. Although, since he's a cop it might be too subtle...

Agreed The second one fits

 

I'm curious though, can you keep the two covers, say, for different editions?

[JackBinimbul]

Thanks for the recommendations, Cia.  I did some alterations to reflect your suggestions!

[Cia]

Good job! Those look better visually, but I can't read your author name in #1 at this size and the color you used. Don't forget, the image itself and the title is important, but when you write you're marketing everything, right? When you move into eBooks (especially when you are doing so in order to make some cash) a lot of the people who download or buy your book do so because it's written by YOU. Make your name larger and darker on #1, since you're using a white banner strip, and #2 could use a size bump too, though I can at least read it there. Don't sell yourself short.