No AI - Space Crimes - Novel Cover 3D Render, Digital Artwork by slofkosky

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No AI - Space Crimes - Novel Cover

3D Render by slofkosky

Hey Folks!

For the past month, I’ve been reserving Wednesdays as dedicated writing days to chip away at Space Crimes the novel... but truthfully a story line I’ve been building for, geesh, five years. On non-Wednesdays, I’ve been channeling that same energy into dreaming up the perfect cover art, something that could sell the story at a glance.

This image is my third or fourth serious attempt at a book cover for this ghost of a novel. I say “ghostbecause while a few chapters have been written of the twenty five I'm aiming for, it's still haunting me with possibilities.

Maybe, just maybe, this one gets closer. Sank about ten hours into this one but I’d love to know what you think especially those of you who've followed my musings with this series. (Versions you may have seen before in slot #2, #3, etc. are still in play if you want to compare!)

MY HOPES FOR THIS PIECE:
-A tone that leans hard into dark, character driven sci-fi noir
-Undercurrents of romance and unease, especially between the central figures
-Warm, moody lighting that suggests something aged like an old photo or a memory
-The leather couch as a nod to noir bar scenes or detective offices of the past
-A dim, shadowy environment that whispers secrets, unsolved cases, and betrayals
-John, clean and sharp in his classic gumshoe attire; white shirt, tie, dress shoes
-The pinboard in the background packed with clues, photos, red string conspiracies
-The rogues’ gallery of “bad guyslooming behind them, hinting at a larger danger
-And most importantly, a visual link to space and the genre bending world this story inhabits

This cover isn’t just for the book it’s also for me. It’s a reminder to keep going.

Thanks for letting me share it with you all.

Can’t wait to hear what you think.

—Thomas

P.S. Most all edits done in the free Google Snapseed with some final edits done in Affinity Photo 1.0.

Daz3D Gallery Link here:
www.daz3d.com/gallery#image=1368448

NO A.I. used

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bisonraviWed, Apr 23

Karma: 23,889

A beautiful cover that perfectly sums up all your hopes. smile

One improvement could concern the hero's white shirt. It looks a bit too "Michael 4' s old clothes in low resolution" compared with all the details we can find into the other elements of the picture. Have you tried to make the shirt "dForced" to create more folds and achieve better details (I know it's a lot of work and it's easier to say than to make)?

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slofkosky

Karma: 5,934

Wed, Apr 23

Thank you so much bisonravi! I totally see what you mean by the shirt being old style looking and more wrinkles would certainly bring out details that would help the scene. The shirt is dforce compatible as it uses "dForce Mode Sauvage for Genesis 9" and dforce was used when I rendered each of their clothings. Perhaps a different shirt would be a better choice. I'll absolutely revisit that and am sincerely thankful for your advice my friend.

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maru_berlinWed, Apr 23

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Like this a lot, since it gathers all the characters in one scene. As for the cover design your intention is clear, however, in a bookstore (even more in an electronic one) people would need a larger title and a sightly more descriptive subline, to faster scan whether it is worth to take a second look. This might make it necessary to extend the top part.

Not too sure about the font, too. It leans towards a modern style, and I am not at all decided whether it should be more 50ish (font Reporter Two), or more futuristic. I somehow feel it should rather be the "older" type.

Hope this helps.

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slofkosky

Karma: 5,934

Wed, Apr 23

Maru_berlin this is exactly the musings I had at the front of my brain as I was throwing this together last minute yesterday. The font I used is one I chose many years ago and just been sticking to but in some recent tests I was trying out something many of the older retro books. Just checked out "Reporter Two" font you mentioned and it absolutely has a lot of character. That might be a good fit and we'll see where I land. Thank you so very much my friend for your feedback!

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EverwildWed, Apr 23

Karma: 7,661

Titles typically take up 1/3 to 1/2 of the front cover. You have plenty of space below the arms of the couch to enlarge your title (And I agree with Maru on the font choice; which do you want to lean into more? The noir or the space, and then choose a font that encapsulates that.) *I* would put author name at the top above the lamp and enlarge it slightly, and then make the title (and smaller subtitle) fit into the lower third with the suggested eye-catchy font.

I'm not touchin' anything about the *art* specifically because you are far, far more knowledgeable about that than me.

You already know how to do this. You did similar here and here - the latter of which is pretty spot on in an attention-grabbing, "oooh, what's this about?" sort of way. (I'm not pointing to them as better choices, but as examples as to why you shouldn't agonize too much over your decisions. You got this.) If you intend to offer any printed options (I assume you're going to self-publish, likely through Amazon KDP or something similar?) then you need to imagine/design the entire cover, not just the front. Include spine with title / author information, and the back of the cover which should at least include a blurb/short description and maybe a tiny bio blurb about the author. smile

Everything else I offer will be subjective and suited to taste/personal experiences so falls under the caveat: "Take it all with a grain of salt."

There are a few sneaky design things publishers do. For example, a lot of times, you might notice that Stephen King's name is much bigger than the title on the covers of his books. This is because he's well known and has a following who will pick up the book (and likely buy it) based on his name and rep alone. Further food for thought: a title like "Space Crimes" screams "serialized fiction" and might be something to consider. NOT that I'm trying to drum up more work for you. Writing one novel for publication is hard enough, let alone a whole franchise. smile

But, lil' 50K-ish word novels, each one a new episode/case are much easier to *finish* and polish (pleasepleasePLEASE for the love of language gods everywhere, DON'T publish first drafts...) and could produce passive income for you for years to come.

Meanwhile, I'll still be waiting for my big-format, coffee table version. emote

With gobs of hugs,

Eve <3

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slofkosky

Karma: 5,934

Wed, Apr 23

Eve!!! You were the author I was hoping to catch the ear of and boy I'm so glad that you chimed in.

In no particular order:
On the topic of not publishing first draft material... I plan to bore my friends and maybe some unknowns with reading it, possibly paying them or a service for their opinions and error catching. But at this point haven't looked into that as I'm drowning in the monumental size of trying to do something I've never done. I can only imagine how you felt/feel when tackling your large projects as every author most likely felt.

For the titles/author names/teaser sentence font size and spacing I appreciate that information. I look here, I look there, I see for myself with fiction novel covers, so it's all non-calculated right now and more of a filler to see how it lays out. I'll put more time into it and thank you big time for your information!

For the "art" of the set-up I feel you could absolutely have feedback here. One person in the Daz gallery said that "looks like a disturbing ensemble curtain call" and they're not wrong! I tried a few scenes to put multiple influencers of the story into one scene and this was my favorite. It just doesn't mean it's still the best place to end up for a cover. I wanted the reader to understand that while it has a detective noire feel (which I honestly didn't capture very well) there will be technology like cyborgs and aliens along with human baddies.

And with all of the headaches, the story needs to be good, the characters need to be believable and relatable, cohesion must be present and the reader needs to feel engaged enough to finish reading the entire thing. frown

Eve... THANK YOU!

Gobs of hugs received and gobs of hugs returned.

Tom

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Everwild

Karma: 7,661

Wed, Apr 23

*Offers a hand out.* No drowning. Monumental task? Yes. Insurmountable? No. Never. Baby steps; write it one scene at a time and for an audience of one. The editing process is for figuring out how to please and captivate the rest of your audience. Also, you are ALWAYS welcomed to message me directly. Renderhub has graciously given us the ability to converse one-on-one with amazing ease.

"Disturbing ensemble curtain call" -- yes. I can see that! They all look confused and disconnected. Like maybe they're all waiting for the reading of a will, otherwise they'd never be caught dead that close together (Except John and Madeline who've had their own issues!). Unlike hardboiled, which leans towards broodier and grittier, Noir tends to have a solitary connotation to it. That makes this image feel crowded. Separate from its purpose, I think that works for it, especially getting to know John and Madeline over the last few years. As a book cover, though, I'm not sure you want a subliminal message that screams "Finale!" or "Why the heck are we here again?"

Not gonna lie, I know exactly the sorta cover art I'd use on your debut novel.

As for this being the impetus that keeps you moving forward? Well, then it's perfect and (I hope) doing its job.

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slofkosky

Karma: 5,934

Wed, Apr 23

So much gold in your outlook and thoughts, I'm still unpacking everything. Totally agree about noire and the isolation and the feel of the proposed book cover here. I need to stew on it for a bit. Often "sleep on it" really works for me so that's the plan for tonight. Thanks you for everything my friend!