Cover Help-YA Romance-Kenji and Yuki: A Japanese Tale

[Hailey]

Hello everyone. I created a book cover for my debut novel (Kenji and Yuki: A Japanese Tale), which I plan on self publishing. I made it myself using Canva and some of their free media (more specifically, their elements like free shapes and whatnot, which I changed the colors of) since I don't have the funds right now to hire a professional cover designer. According to their Free Media License Agreement page, you can use their free media for commerical and non-commerical use.

Here's the cover in question:



This cover is a zoom in of a purple kimono, which is one of the major symbols in the book.

Does this cover fit the title and/or genres? Do you have any other thoughts on it? Let me know in the comments below!

[M.L.]

I like it. The heart says the genre. The title is the obi. Purple's complement is yellow and red's is green. The font is brushstroke, so calligraphy. You could try changing the blue trim, but it is still okay the way it is.

Adding - and this just personal preference - I like at least some depth. If there is a way to add it, it would enhance the image.

[Jeffrey]

I agree. Looks cool to me.

[B.A.]

I like it. AS ML said, purple's compliment is Yellow, you you might want to change the turquoise to yellow. In my opinion, the obi is a little high. Use the top portion to pull the eye down by dropping the obi down to about where the end of the turquoise is now. (The middle of the cover,) And continue the dark stripe down to the obi. That would leave room for a tag line at the the top if you wanted but would also pull the eyes down more.

As it stands, it's good but you don't drop down to see your name and you want that as much as them to see the title.

[Hailey]

Hello everyone! I really appreciate the feedback you've given me so far. Here's an updated version of the cover:



I've changed the color of the strip (or the obiage to be more precise) above the obi from turquoise to yellow, as well as made it slightly thinner. I've also adjusted the position of the obi and whatnot.

[B.A.]

Much better. It stands out and everything goes together and the eyes drop down to see your name. I would actually pick it up to see what the book was about with those colors.

[Julia]

Hello Haily, I don’t think the yellow and red stripe work well with this. The combination of yellow and red in these shades are often used for cheap supermarket sales, it’s their typical colour combination they’d use to make it stand out and scream annoyingly at you. Sorry to be so blunt but I try to be honest and help. :) These colours make the book look cheap because of the association.
I suppose it’s a romantic tale? I think softer colours would do that genre a lot better. You can try to tone down the red and yellow to more a more pastel version, that would already help a lot.
Despite that, violet and this type of red don’t go so well together, they bite each other. Consider more a pastel soft rose red maybe.

The yellow stripe and the stripe that goes through the heart could also be a lot thinner. Especially the one through the heart. Make the heart pop out more. Thinner design elements can make it look more elegant. :)

Also, try out some different font for your author name, so title and name are distinguished more easily in a visual way.

[Elroy]

I like the one with the yellow stripe. Best of luck!

[Hailey]

Hello everyone. I know it's been a little while since I've commented on this thread. I've made more modifications to the cover so that it now looks like this:



These modifications include:

- Adding text shadows to the title and my name

- Making the obiage a duller yellow

- Adding a beige colored triangle to the white triangular area at the top

- Making the line going through the heart much thinner

What are your thoughts on this version of the cover? Thank you and have a nice day!

[Phyllis]

I love the new color combination! And the font you used. Very nice!

[Phyllis]

I use Canva too. Great site!

[Hailey]

Phyllis wrote: "I use Canva too. Great site!"

Thank you for your feedback Phyllis! The font I used for all versions of my debut novel's cover is 851 Chikara Dzuyoku or 851チカラヅヨク and set the text to "Uppercase". Thank you and have a nice day!

[D.T.]

I like your latest version. The changes you have made look great. The thinner lines look more appealing, and I think the font is fitting.

The only suggestion I have is to, maybe, line up the kimono(?) opening. Right now, it's a bit off to the side and not centered with the heart and words.

[Hailey]

Destiny wrote: "I like your latest version. The changes you have made look great. The thinner lines look more appealing, and I think the font is fitting.

The only suggestion I have is to, maybe, line up the kimo..."

Thank you for your feedback Destiny! I agree. I really like how the line element came out. Thank you and have a nice day!