11/23/2019
It's easy to get caught up in the details. How's an author supposed to condense their 👏ENTIRE👏 STORY 👏in one image?
Honestly? You probably can't. And you definitely shouldn't.
This week's is simple: Keep It Simple. 😎😎😎 What I mean is simple: Have a main focus (kind of like your main plot from 11.09.19's ). Your focus can be a character, a style, a theme, etc...
Take and the cover of her fantastic novel The Wrath and the Dawn. It has a lot of intricate details! But that detail isn't overpowered by other—EXTRA—details. You have the character peeking from behind, which connects back to the story, offers intrigue, and uses that detail in a clever, creative way. This cover rocks! You don't feel overwhelmed when looking at it. All the pieces fit together. 🧩👍
Another example is and the stunning cover of her book The Language of Thorns. Holy catz, is this cover incredible. Just 👀LOOK 👀at that DETAIL. There's plenty to go around, and plenty that relate back to her store. The four corners have different animal silhouettes, but because they're in the same color, your mind initially reads them as all the same, until you look closer 🔍The entire cover is wrapped in highly detailed foliage and thorns, an immediate callback to the book's title, but it's done so symmetrically, making it easy on the eyes and simple in executions. I absolutely love this cover. All of Leigh's covers are works of art, just like her stories 😍 /fan girl moment
Simple does not mean lazy, ineffective, [insert negative connotation here]. Simple, many times, can require more thought and effort than a design that tries to incorporate EVERY element on their story into their cover.
