[BooMSticK]

Hi all
This is a bookcover for a novel I'm doing. I won't give too much info, but would love to get abit of critism from you guys. I still need to put in a logo on that pizzabox and some text on the flying reciepts. The big blob is for the title and such. It as a fixed layout... Nothing I could do about it... eheh!
Go ahead people - gimme your best shot!
,Boom

the sketch:


the painting:

[Pat]

The flow of the image is rather cyclonic, kind of a counter-clockwise spiral. It's very effective for drawing the eye into the center of the cover, which brings me to 2 points:

1) The effect can be enhanced by bending the floating papers in line a little more with the cyclical direction. In particular, the piece right about your signature seems like it could be flopped upside down to aid in this motion.

2) Our eyes are drawn to the center of the image, much of which is occupied by a boring white box lid. I can see that the shape of the lid serves to provide contrast to the dog form, but it's also a big white shape in the middle of your image. You might want to adjust the composition or the colors a bit so the emphasis is more on the dog?

I actually like the drawing better at this point, because it's graphically stronger. The addition of shading and color has, in the painting, introduced some conflicting elements. There's a loss of some detail (like the little nails on the dog) and some visual weirdness with some forms becoming fully rendered and volumetric, where as before they were stronger as simple shapes. The dog head translates well, but the arm of the main character looks oddly too volumetric.

I guess it all depends on where you want to go with the cover, but it doens't feel fully unified in either direction. ??

-Pat

[SameOldShit]

It is looking great! Very Creepy....It looks like they have a dog in a pizza box?

The only thing that bothers me is that thing between the woman's head and the man sholder? Is it a bag of food? It is hard to tell at this point

[BooMSticK]

thx for the reply!
Well, She is supposed to be looking over her right shoulder at the boy - whom she likes very much. So the 'bag' I guess would be the hat on her jacket... I will change that abit if others have the same problem reading that from the picture...
,Boom

[BooMSticK]

Hiya Pat. Good critics - which was just what I was after...

1)good point!

2)the box lid will have a big logo on it. Hopefully that will a little more interesting than it is now.

too volumetric? Hmmm, perhaps. I Like the sketch/ink also better myself, but that not new at all. Keeping the image fresh as the sketch is sooo difficult - at least for me it is...

Thx, for you comments. Very helpful!
,Boom