New comedy, and some questions about art · 3:31am Dec 17th, 2014
[There's a question at the end. Scroll down!]
Hey folks,
I just hit the submit button for What We Wanted to Do, a short Cutie Mark Crusader comedy that gets back to my roots. If it doesn't show from my other stories, those three are some of my favorite characters, and I can never resist the terror they sow in the hearts of Ponyville. This one, like All the Mortal Remains, was written for The Writeoff Association, though unlike that one it did not win. Given how silly it was, that doesn't surprise me.
Anyway, check it out!
The last time the Cutie Mark Crusaders worked on the school newspaper, they used gossip, rumors and innuendo to drive circulation through the roof. Their brief rise and rapid fall taught them a valuable lesson about truth and honesty in reporting. Apologies were made, hugs were exchanged, and everypony lived happily ever after.
For about three weeks, anyway.
A short story about the triumph of enthusiasm over ability.
Anyway, artwork! As you guys know, I sometimes dabble in digital artwork, and when I can I try to come up with original covers for my stories. If you've been around Fimfic for a while, you know that story artwork varies wildly in quality, but there seems to be two common styles:
- Artwork of any style depicting a scene or character from a story
- Artwork along the lines of a modern book cover, focused more on typography or visual elements than an identifiable scene from the story
This is a spectrum, of course, and artwork can blend both styles. Lately I've been digging the second style, and looking at lists like this . The best covers are visually arresting, just like the best titles are mentally arresting. When you combine both, you get something like this:
That gets your attention.
So, in the past few months I've tried both types. Some of you might remember this artwork:
Which I did for the cover of In the Garden of Good and Evil. It's clearly artwork in the first style, showing characters and settings inside a story.
Then we have this:
Which is clearly in the second style. There's nothing pony about it, and it only took a fraction of the time the first picture did, but I think it does as good of a job, if not better, at conveying the emotion of the story.
And since people keep bringing it up, here's one that falls in between both styles:
So, a question for readers: which style do you prefer?
My drunk answer:
The second style is postmodern bullshit. It's more trendy nowadays though. Most people will prefer it.
I appreciate the first more, but the second can be more attention grabbing. K.I.S.S. after all.
Preferably numero dos. It gives a passing onlooker just enough to become interested without leaving them hanging. Plus, the combination with the title would definitely make a reader interested in giving the story a look.
I hate to say it, but All The Mortal Remains was a more effective cover, for one main reason: you've only got 250 pixels' width to work with. You can't luxuriate in the art the same way you can with a nice double-fist-sized book cover.
Garden looks great at the size you pasted it into this post, but at the top of the story it's a smudge of black on purple.
Myself I see those two styles as completely different things. The first is artwork to be appreciated in its presentation while the second is words in visual form. If the desire is to convey pure information the second style is superior as it acts like the sign on a building or a corporate logo.
I strongly prefer #1. Your cover for Garden of Good and Evil is just amazing, makes me want to read the story. Whereas the one for Mortal Remains just makes me think 'yep, that is a book cover'. While the demonstration one you have for the flame alphabet I strongly dislike and would actually push me away from reading that book. I'm probably not a good measuring unit for a majority though.
As for covers that show a scene or character from the story, I don't insist on perfect accuracy. Some accuracy is always nice but what I want is a general feel/mood/genre from the cover art. I suppose that's one of the main reasons I keep coming back to scifi/fantasy stories. Because that's the kind of covers they normally have, whereas every time I go to look at the mainstream literature shelves it's just a bunch of abstract designs or boring color/gradient and words combination.
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This is true. I originally included the 250px one in this post, but like you said, it's just a dark smear.
I like both, because both work for their respective stories. Pony content is not a prerequisite for my enjoying a piece of artwork, even if that artwork was made to be a cover image.
I'd like to think which works better depends on the story. Some might benefit more from the "trailer" cover, whereas others are better suited to the "thematic" cover.
From an artwork standpoint, I think I'm partial to the first. That said, I think the second works better as cover images more often.
I personally enjoy a bit of fusion, having something pony, either evocative of the tone or a scene from the story, yet in the shape and look of a book cover, think the first pic, but cropped to the dimensions of a book cover, with the title likely placed in the upper left above Luna's wing.
This was the style that used to be very common in fantasy epics once upon a time.
I think 2658585 and 2658589 hit the nail on the head with this one. The one for "All the Mortal Remains" is, I think, superior in every way for Fimfiction purposes. It carries a strong suggestion of professionalism and quality because of the way it sets itself apart from the usual Fimfiction cover image. The one for "In the Garden..." is more visually interesting and I prefer it as a piece of art, but even in the size associated with full-view on Fimfiction, the typography (easily my favorite element of the image) is too small for it to get the attention it deserves. I hate to say "stick to the latter and don't use the former", but... frankly, there aren't a lot of instances (outside of deviantART) where the former feels like a better choice.
I'm being pretty Fimfiction-specific here, but in any self-publishing context I think I'd have to give preference to the second image. One place self-published works seem to fall down is on the visual design end—understandable, because most authors aren't also artists, and even fewer get the difference between good art and good advertising. Simple designs are less likely to stray into that uncanny valley where a lot of self-published cover art goes, I think.
Also, that cover for The Flame Alphabet is amazing.
ETA: Off-site, I'm primarily a consumer of genre fiction which has a long history of going for story-centered images like the first one you presented. So I do get the appeal of that. But the more books I buy, and the more art I deal with, the more I feel like one or two high-impact elements (like the typography on "In the Garden..." are much more powerful for drawing interest than a full scene.
I love both covers. I think #1 will get you more views on fimfiction, but I'd love it if more people stepped out and did stuff like #2. Experiment with the limits on image size, though. Don't pass the aspect ratio beyond which tall images get shrunk horizontally.
Also, it is existentially unjust that you can both write and art.
I think both styles merit in some way. Art can bring in a reader for sure, but it should say something about the kind of story you're in for. Let's look at some of your cover art.
Small-Town Charm: It's a story about spiders and the cover art has just that. Serves the first purpose perfectly.
For Whom We Are Hungry: Kind of vague. I guess showing the edge of the forest tells us where the changeling character lives to show his distance from others. This I guess serves the second style. Maybe.
Salvation: One of the best, somewhat serving both styles. The image of a smoldering pegasus falling is not only a terrible event that happens, but beautifully illustrates Rainbow Dash's inner conflict.
The Carnivore's Prayer: This is interesting, as it doesn't display a scene itself but the setting. It's kind of like the Lost Cities cover art, but there is more clarity to it. This bleak and snow laden mountain is where we set the stage. It's a perfect home for a hunter.
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Of those, Salvation and Lost Cities are the only artworks that I actually did myself. The others I haven't gotten around to doing, or like Carnivore's Prayer, were written before I was doing much artwork.
I usually don't revisit artwork for old stories unless something catches my mind's eye, and I feel compelled to draw it (which is how Garden got its new artwork).
I think I prefer the first one, but given that the second is still recognizable and less time consuming I wouldn't mind it.
I think both styles are good. It really depends on the story. If the story is huge and vast and is a sweeping adventure across the lands of equestria, this really calls for a more artistic cover that conveys either the characters or the setting. But if it's a smaller story, a story about simple things, like a vase, then the second typographical style works much better, because the story lends itself to a simpler cover.
I feel like, in general, stories that are more down to earth usually benefit from simplistic, typographical covers, and stories that are larger than life are best represented with more artistic, complex imagery. There are exceptions, but there is no right or wrong in art.
I was gonna mention the same thing as 2658585, but it's a double-edged sword: in spite of the fact that I'd read it during the write-off, I saw the new cover art for "All The Mortal Remains" in the featurebox and thought "what does a chess piece have to do with that story?" Call it stupid or a reason to get my vision checked, but it happened.
The thing is, in a lot of ways the majority of FiMFiction covers skew towards the latter. The standard cover image is just a vector image of the main character or characters, possibly with a background but without text, which is pretty simple and iconic. (Hey, it works for our avatars.) What sets either of these apart from most FiMFiction covers is that they're meant to stand alone.
Overall I want you to go with the first one, even though I'm sure the second is the "right" answer for your reasons behind asking. Salvation's cover art is very arresting, and not only was it a big part of what piqued my interest, it complements the story well -- in liter subject matter but also emotionally. I can't think of many covers that do that around here. Not all "lush" covers work on that level, but -- having not read read "Garden" -- they're a joy to look at on their own. I can't quite say the same about the urn, even though it suits the story well.
That said, I don't think you can go wrong here. Even your choice in screenshot-based covers is impeccable, at least from the last two stories you've posted, so I'm sure every story you release will continue to have good cover art. A lot of the motivation behind my choosing the first is because I want you to keep making beautiful standalone images; either option is going to work well enough for you that the image's worth on its own seems like a compelling tiebreaker.
I'm a little surprised to find that this is something I could go on about all day -- although my comments often seem to balloon out like this -- but I'm sure I've more than covered everything you need to know from me.
I prefer to stick with the first one and suggest that.
It gives a glimpse of the story and enhances the experience and enjoyment of the story, while type two just says nothing about the story and is just boring to look at.
I also disagree on it that the cover picture of "In the Garden of Good and Evil" is just a blur.
When I look at it, I can see Luna very well and I can read the title properly.
It's still smaller, of course, but it's enough to pique interest on the story and for that, it must not be in full-size.
Reading through the comments, the general consensus is: either or.
Personally? Well, I think it depends on the mood and themes of the story you are telling.
The cover for The Garden of Good and Evil, firmly in category #1, builds a sense of mystery and darkness and spurs on my curiosity like a hot poker. I haven't read the story, but presumably this aligns with its mood.
The cover for Salvation, which bridges both #1 and #2, is brilliant because it captures the feelings of damage and despair which haunt the story. Being eye-catching helps, too.
A strong category #2, the cover for All Mortal Remains is simple and bleak. The white space draws focus to the urn and makes you wonder why it is important. Perfect for the mood and core question of the story.
I think you just have to trust your gut on which one is right.
(In writing this, I realised that the title also plays a massive part in how you interpret the cover. Salvation, In The Garden Of Good And Evil, All Mortal Remains -- try focus on what feelings you associate each of these with, and, in this case, the titles give those feelings form. Same goes for The Flame Alphabet.)
(So . . . Story ---> Title ---> Cover, perhaps? Maybe each informs the next, and you just have to go with what suits the previous element?)
2658998 One thing I forgot to mention that might be worth thinking about: I use the "cards" view everywhere it's available. The coverart there is so small that even the most recognizable icons will require you to squint and lean in to make them out; all that really comes through is color. So it's a bit of a wash between the two approaches, but still a dimension worth considering.
Simplistic cover art is fine if you don't plan to offer an enlarged version. That is, if the cover you upload is 250x250 then go with Mortal Remains-style minimalism. The starkness and negative space catch the reader's eye effectively. But for full-size cover art consisting of more than show screencaps or Pony Maker poses, I prefer more detailed, scene- or theme-illustrating artwork in the In the Garden style.
Seriously, folks - if you think the cover thumbnails are too small to show fine details, it's because they're thumbnails - haven't you ever clicked on one?
I prefer the first. The second doesn't really tell me anything about the story other than the mood, and the message can still be unclear sometimes. Character art clearly shows what the character(s) feel(s) at a key moment, and is fan art of the show's characters.
TL;DR Cover art is an important portent for the story. If it can do that and be pony art, that's 2 for 1.
I think both are good and each has a place, depending on how the author is trying to motivate the reader. True that both are trying to gain the readers attention however, I personally like the cover that shows something of the story inside. I guess that could go with either style but I look at books and writing as art, so a cover that directly depicts a part of the book seems more like the pictures I form in my mind as I read the words.
Not sure id that helps any at all, but that's what my thoughts are.
Going to have to parrot what many have already said in that the story should inform what type of style to use for a cover. That being said if I was absolutely forced to choose I'd have to go with the merger of the two a la Salvation's cover. If they're was ever a perfect cover for a story the cover for Salvation would be it. Absolutely wonderful work.
Have you ever considered going beyond cover work and also illustrating key scenes within your stories, especially your longer ones? Something like the funeral from Salvation as an example?
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I have, but the reality is that a single picture like Salvation or Garden takes many hours for me -- I'm not good enough to be quick. In that time I could write a complete short story, or another chapter of a longer work.
Obviously, I get a lot more return on a new short story or a new chapter than a single piece of art. So, for now at least, artwork remains the lesser sibling.
I don't think story art has inherent value (or even value relative to a summary of it story / story themes). In the end, what you want is for all the right people to read and understand your story, and story art is the first thing people see before reading your title, description and tags, hook, and rest. The story art's part in this should be to get people to read your title, and if you title isn't enough to get the readers you want or to give them the context you want, then story art should be enough to get people to read/understand your description and tags, if that's not enough then the hook, and so on.
In other words, your story art should first attract the readers you want, then cover up for things you don't think you've done well enough.
In your cases, story art doubles as the title. I don't think that's necessary (see “Area X — The Southern Reach Trilogy — Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance” by Jeff Vandermeer, from your link), but it gives you more to work with (1) if you think readers wouldn't otherwise read the title or (2) if you can convey useful things (eg. mood) with the way your text is stylized.
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"Never Love a Gambler" has some clear symbolic messages that don't get across in the title. "Gamblers only care about the numbers", "gamblers are empty inside".
"Silence Once Begun" has a clear symbollic message about what kind of "silence" is meant in the title. "The kind where you're sure you'll regret whatever you say."
Et cetera.
Although I prefer the first, I've gotta admit that Typography has this quality to it that makes you feel like it's written by someone who really knows their stuff.
I like cover art that's symbolic. Which is not as helpful of an answer as it sounds; one may easily embed symbolism into an illustration of some fragment of the story, arguably just as easily as one may put it into a cover featuring nothing but the symbolism. One may even put in symbolism accidentally (as I remember, you've all but outright said that you don't see as much in the old art for "The Glassblower" as I do, for example), or attempt to fill a picture with symbolism and then discover that nobody but you can see it.
Or perhaps I'm lying to myself, and I just like cover art that looks nice. Maybe I'm confusing the set of covers I remember with the set of covers I like. But possibly if it could only be one of the two, it would be better for cover art to be memorable than to be pleasing, anyway.