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Discover How to Create the Perfect Drawing Book Cover Design Ideas for Your Book
Book covers have historically come in many styles and forms. From the simple, plain covers with the title of the book embossed on them in gold or silver letters, to the artistic masterpieces we see today, the practice has also evolved over the decades.
Today, plain book covers are something of a rarity. However, when it comes to the design of book covers, there are many different styles available today. Some opt for an intricate wordmark-style design, while others take that up a notch by using a handwritten typeface for that wordmark. Some go for simpler drawing book cover ideas that give the book a visual pop, while others go for elaborately designed cover art that brings fantasy to life.
In any case, the design of your book cover is very important, especially if you are relatively unknown in the industry. What you need is a book cover that draws the eye of a prospective reader, so that they notice it easily among a full bookshelf. The question is – how? What does a good drawing book cover look like? Let’s dive in and take a look at some great examples to see how a professional eBook design services provider approaches such a project.
The Importance of a Well-Designed Book Cover
Before the advent of printing press machines, the process of recreating a piece of design to make hundreds or thousands of copies was an entirely difficult prospect. Up until the early 18th century, books were bound in leather or vellum to keep them safe, as they were all meticulously handwritten manuscripts. In fact, most books with hard covers from that era were made at the behest of the book owner themselves, or the bookseller, as the purpose of that cover was purely protective.
It wasn’t until the early to mid-19th century that designed book covers started coming into fashion. With the advent of the steam-powered printing press, printing books and illustrations was made easier. Thus we started seeing illustrated book covers.
With mass production of properly bound and covered books becoming more common, illustrated covers served as a great way to market and promote certain books. And this trend came to be an important one when Penguin launched the concept of paperback editions of books. It made books cheaper to produce and buy, which meant that buying books was now possible for a wider range of people.
Even today, cover art of the book is an important marketing tool, as it offers a visual glimpse of the books central theme. It allows the author and the publisher to boost the book’s visibility, allowing it to draw a consumer’s eye from a shelf full of books.
Now, let’s say there is a new book from a relatively unknown author, launched at the same time as some highly awaited titles, from established authors within that same niche. Now, how is the publisher supposed to ensure that consumers would choose to pick up the unknown writer’s book when surrounded by the more popular books? The answer is a well-designed book cover.
What Separates Art and Drawing Book Cover Ideas?
Now, some people might be wondering whether art book cover ideas and drawing book cover ideas are one and same. The answer is yes, and no. There is a very fine distinction between art book covers and drawing book covers. And to the untrained eye, they both may seem similar at a glance.
What separates art book covers from drawing book covers is the uniqueness of the cover art. The latter often have cover art that is usually derivative of common art pieces, or too generic to be considered unique in anyway. Art book covers on the other hand, usually have graphics that are unique in some manner. It may be that the portrayal is unique, or that the design itself is unique. Moreover, unlike drawing book covers, they are not limited to handmade designs.
In fact, the reason people use drawing book cover designs for their books is due to its handmade style. It allows the designer to add a human element to the design, and the imperfections and limitations that come with it. Art book cover art is not limited by these constraints, and can use digital art as well. Thus, depending on what the artistic vision calls for, designers believe that both of these styles serve distinct purposes in the creation of memorable cover art.
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6 Amazing Drawing Book Cover Design Ideas to Uplift Your Book’s Visuals
Now that you know the difference between art book covers and drawing book covers, as well as the critical importance of a well-designed book cover, you are almost ready to create your own design. The last step before you decide whether drawing book cover ideas are the right style for your book, let’s take a look at six examples of drawing book cover art, and see if they resonate with you.
Tim Burton Style Basic Drawing Cover
The first example of good drawing book cover design ideas is this Tim Burton-esque design, which relies on a primitive and rough style of hand-drawn art. If you have ever seen the animated movies produced by Tim Burton like the Corpse Bride, you will see that this style is perfectly suited to his iconic stop-motion animation vibe.
In fact, if you look at this specific cover design, you will see that it is a reimagined design of the poster from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Yet despite the reimagined background and art style, you can still see that it has the same funny yet macabre style that Burton is known for. That makes this style perfect for those who are looking for different and eye-catching book cover ideas.
Eerie Pencil and Paintwork Drawing Cover
Next up, we have something with an ominous vibe to it. The perfect overlaying of the dark design elements over the deep, strikingly red moon, and the entire image over a fluid gray background makes for a striking first impression.
This is perfect for drawing book cover ideas that need a supernatural vibe, with the deep red providing the interesting contrast, and adding an element of adrenaline and fear to the design. Interestingly, the concept of the “blood moon” itself has a rich significance in the occult and supernatural society, which makes it perfect for novels and comic book cover ideas aimed towards young adults and adults.
Oil & Watercolor Style Scenic Drawing Book Cover
The next style of drawing book cover design ideas is that which is similar in style to this painting called “Ballerina in the Night” by George Khayat. This type of book covers rely on the inherent mesmerizing quality of an expertly painted canvas, offering a beautiful backdrop to your book that entices the reader into diving deep within your story.
This type of book cover lends a dreamy quality to your book, which is perfect if your story deals with conflicting qualities that meld together into a story that evokes raw emotions and responses. Incidentally, this type is also where many of the people claiming that drawing and art book cover ideas are the same emerge victorious.
Evocative Text-Based Drawing Book Cover Design
Picturesque drawing book cover ideas are good and all, but there’s something about designs that focus on stylized typography, to convey the book’s message, that cannot be beat. It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes, a picture without words accompanying it feels as if it lacks something.
Take a look at this book cover. Without the accompanying typography for the title and accompanying text, the imagery would be considered ambiguous. However, when we add the spooky typography, the result is that the imagery is able to build upon its meaning, enhancing the book cover’s overall spookiness. This style of stylized typography can often be seen in children book cover ideas for the spooky or Halloween genre, such as R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series.
Unconventional Acrylic Paint Drawing Cover
Just like the soft pencil and paint drawing book covers give off an ethereal quality, the heavier tones and depth of designs meant to mimic the style of acrylic painted canvas are perfect for a more vivid style. Acrylics are darker, with rougher, more natural edges, which adds to the charm of the drawing book cover design ideas, and the often sharply distinctive edges of the shades are perfect to guide the gaze.
Take a look at the book cover above. The sharply detailed eye has each detail finely visible, and overall provides an interesting contrast to the rough and spontaneous outline done in strokes of shades of blue. This quality is exactly why many typography book cover ideas use this style for an effective backdrop to their typography.
Gothic Pencil Art Drawing Book Cover
Finally, we get to the last style of drawing book cover ideas we will be discussing here. Gothic style of art has been quite popular when it comes to book covers. Among the fantasy, mystery, and detective genre, this type of cover art is perfect to set the mood for the story.
Take, for example, the book cover above. The mottled gray backdrop, with variegated lines of darkness going through it, on which is overlaid an ornate wall lamp with a crow over it. The distinctly eerie vibe of the imagery is something you might find perfect for books in the horror or supernatural genre, such as the Legend of Spooky Hollow or the Constantine series from Hellblazer Comics.
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Conclusion
To conclude, it’s possible that you will find a number of drawing book cover ideas that might seem right for your book. However, there is only going to be one perfect style that suits the aesthetic and the theme of your book. Therefore, while you may hire an external illustrator to create the cover art for your book, you should have a clear idea of what you desire from that cover design.
In the end, you need to remember that no matter how good a book may be, it will fail to attract readers unless the cover is enticing enough to be picked up. And that is especially true for eBooks. Unlike traditional stores where books are laid out and people are able to browse, eBooks require that your book has a memorable and attractive cover art that draws the reader into trying it out or buying it.
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