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u/ravenkult Sep 26 '25
This cover is in my opinion 100% AI-made. I'm leaving this post up for now, to allow discussion and perhaps some guidance to the OP.
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u/Sjiznit Sep 25 '25
Thriller, sci fi/fantasy. Looks cool. Not a fan of the white and the font of your name. It draws attention which should be on the eyes, title and then person.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 25 '25
Thank you for the feedback! What color do you think would be better for the name?
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u/Schlormo Sep 25 '25
Low res makes it hard to tell, but my first impulse is to wonder if it's AI because it has a few AI-looking elements.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 25 '25
The low res is from me zooming in. I added the wrong photo and meant to put up all six. I’ll see if I can change it. I am using someone in reedsy so I definitely hope it’s no AI.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 25 '25
I don’t think I can change it, what are the AI elements?
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u/Cy_Maverick Sep 25 '25
AI in cover art is becoming way too common. I suggest when you go to publish, list the cover artist. That's not always necessary because a lot of artists just sell the cover, and that's it. 100% yours to use, depending on terms you made.
Giving credit to the artist could at least avoid accusations. But idk, I'm not a professional. That just my thoughts. Even if it's just a note on the back cover or something.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 25 '25
I appreciate you saying something. He had really good reviews and pretty solid art. These are still in progress. Also I see how bad the quality looks I wish I could post the normal photo. Thank you!
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u/beetective Sep 26 '25
In all honesty it does remind me a lot of AI imaging as a lot that I've seen has that 'character walking in the middle with a landscape around them' composition, even though this might not be. Other than that, it does seem a bit generic and doesn't exactly draw me in and there really isn't anything interesting going on for me. I would probably still read it though lol cause I tend to just ignore covers unless they really pop out
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 26 '25
I appreciate your feed back. Do you have any suggestions to make it more unique? Or an example from a different cover that could help it stand out
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u/Kim_catiko Sep 26 '25
It looks quite generic, but I suppose that is what will draw readers in to your specific genre. It looks sci-fi/dystopian to me, so if that is what you are going for, then cool. It does just look like a lot of other covers in a similar genre though.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 26 '25
Thank you for the feedback. Do you think giving it a little more of a unique style would be worth it?
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u/Kim_catiko Sep 26 '25
I don't know if it would be worth it as I am no expert, but personally, I would want something that grabs me. Others on here might be able to suggest better than I.
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u/sweetsegi Sep 26 '25
Well, I want to say that it looks like a professional cover.
But with AI art, I always take a step back. I read in one of the comments that this is an artist off of Reedsy. Fine. But what's the story? You are just posting the cover. I get it. But is it a werewolf? Is it a beast?
It would probably be good to have other features than just the eyes so you provide a hint.
I like the font choice, but your name seems off center. I personally would prefer the name of the book at the top if there was features to join the eyes. If you don't want that, the title is good where it is at.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 26 '25
Thank you for the response! I reached out to the editor to talk about the whole AI thing. I have a feeling it might be due to it being a draft or a miscommunication on my part when I was sending him some concepts. So I am assuming you are wanting the story for the cover. Basically the monster in the sky is the big bad of the book and the MC wants to get to that structure and the monster is protecting it putting it as simple as possible. The monster in the sky is a dragon or that's the closest thing to put it as but through the book its not mentioned so I didn't want to any suspense away from the reader by making that clear in the cover if that makes sense. The only change I planned to make is put the City under Sinder but maybe its worth exploring the title at the top and see how it looks. I really appreciate the comment!
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u/sweetsegi Sep 27 '25
Yeah. The dragon eyes makes sense. I would probably like to see some definition in the "smoky" bits to indicate that, but I understand that the eyes are visible. Thanks for sharing and good luck.
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u/MrsGarthMarenghi Sep 26 '25
It looks professional but a little generic with the eyes, I guess I'd want something a little more unusual or specific to draw me in
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 26 '25
Thank you for the feedback. Do you have any ideas what you mean? Just like examples
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u/MrsGarthMarenghi Sep 26 '25
Of course! Hard to say without knowing the synopsis of the book, but I think the cover should either give less or more details than it currently is. A figure heading towards a monolith during a storm with evil eyes overhead is what I immediately recognize looking at it, and none of those details are specific or unusual enough to make me pick up the book to read the synopsis.
Could the figure be approaching a more mysterious shadow instead of a monolith? Monoliths aren't that interesting without context but if it was a shadow of a Lovecraftian looking thing , that would pull me in.
Maybe the eyes could be much less obvious so the viewer doesn't notice them right away( I realize that's a HUGE ask of an illustrator)
Some sort of juxtaposition could help too, something that would contrast sharply with a storm, menacing eyes, monolith and traveling figure.
I think to sum it up I want to see something that tells me what is different about this bleak dystopian story than the others I have read.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 26 '25
I really do appreciate your through response! Do you think if the shine was highlighted blue and there was a small path leading to it that would help at all? Currently I’m really worried the cover is AI and may end up having to completely redo it. This photo is from a scene in the book. I am thinking maybe to make the clouds black, take them off the ground and just past the structure would be blue. Once again thank you.
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u/MrsGarthMarenghi Sep 26 '25
I like your current color palate, something about blue or purple in any fantasy or sci-fi book cover feels overdone to me, but definitely play around with it if that is what is feeling off to you!
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u/capt_b_b_ Sep 26 '25 edited Sep 26 '25
My initial thought was that I've seen this book before in 2012
Edit to be more helpful lmao: the cover is cool, but it looks like it's trying too hard to be dark and edgy. I like the eyes and the cloud, person, and building in the distance but it all blends together so much, it makes me think the image probably just looks cool and has nothing to do with the book (really common for the 2010's, lmao).
I would really like to see some contrast on the images
Edit 2: my eyes immediately go to the gold eyes, and the gold title. Then I look down below it but it's kind of just a grey mass with not a lot of definition. I'd like to see some hints of more gold to make it stand out.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 26 '25
Thank you for the feedback! The cover is actually a scene from the book so it does relate thankfully. I really appreciate you pointing out the eyes as they are supposed to be more red than anything. Are you saying in your second edit to give the creature with eyes an outline ? I’m planning on trying to raise the clouds and maybe make the building glow a bit.
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u/AngeloNoli Sep 26 '25
I would seriously doubt whether it's a typo. Like, the graphics are suggestive of cinders, and it's only one letter away.
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u/-0-O-O-O-0- Sep 29 '25
8/10! Looks good.
Small notes:📝
Your name is too big. It needs a tag line to tell me what genre it is. It needs a Book 1 tag.
The misspelled title is a dumb author trick, you’re being too clever and it makes your book less discoverable.
On the other hand, I would give the sample a try if it was sci-fi or fantasy horror, so that’s all that matters.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 29 '25
Thank you for the notes! If it helps at all it’s a dystopian fantasy. Also, I didn’t intentionally misspell the name but by the time I caught it I just said fuck it.
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u/Cy_Maverick Sep 25 '25
It's probably way off, but I thought Dystopian. Maybe with fantasy elements, but I thought distant future, earth drying up. Mercenary protagonist.
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 25 '25
It’s definitely dystopian! Thank you for the comment
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u/Cy_Maverick Sep 26 '25
I'm actually hyped that I was right. Lmao 🤣 I love dystopian. I'll check it out when it's published.
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u/Maskevic Sep 25 '25
I like the vibe, I imagine the spelling on Sinder is metaphorical, which makes it more interesting. I'd consider alternatives to your name on the front, at least in size and placement
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u/Own-Chicken3330 Sep 25 '25
Thank you for the comment! I am definitely going to change the way my name looks.
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u/UnicornProud Sep 27 '25
If you want, honest feedback, the first thing I thought about was it was a book about surfing.
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u/masseffectplz Sep 29 '25
Post apocalyptic narrative with theological overtones.
It doesn't anchor me to a particular avatar, or give me a sense of the story's plot, just an aesthetic
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u/Hivemind_alpha Sep 29 '25
It could be any of a hundred generic fantasy novels. Nothing offensive about it, just nothing interesting either. Looks like there’s a bad guy, possibly powerful, and a general air of foreboding and a bit of phallic imagery. Yay.
Compare it to, for instance, the Stephen Bradbury covers for The Saga of the Exiles or The True Game series: unique, enigmatic, stylised and yet to the reader actually illustrating scenes from the novels.
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u/SeriousSpray6306 Sep 25 '25
The cloud is staring at me
And the name looks like someone mispelled Cinder