Green Dragoners, Lend me Your Ears...er...Eyes!

Folks,

I posted this on my website, and got some interesting responses, but I'd be very curious to do the same thing here, as this is a different group of people.

The other day, we got a concept sketch for cover art for one of my upcoming books. (Warbreaker, the free one you can read on my website.) My editor looked at the art, and weren't exactly sure what to make of it.

Now, it's actually kind of rare that either of us get any say over how the cover of a book turns out, so we were very pleased to be shown this sketch and asked our opinions. We wanted to have something valuable to contribute, but we just really didn't know what we thought. So, I posted it on my website, and got feedback.

Then, out of curiosity (and because I'm a glutton for punishment) I posted it on the George R. R. Martin Westeros forums. They had the OPPOSITE reaction of the people on my forum.

So now I'm kind of confused. I think my books are more targeted toward this crowd than the Martin crowd, from what I've seen, so I would really appreciate hearing what your impressions of the cover are. Good or bad, it will help us a lot to get a feel for if this book is being marketed correctly.

Anyway, there's my (too) lengthy introduction. If you care to say something, have a look at the link below, and let me know if you'd pick up the cover or not. Remember, though, this isn't a finished product, just a concept sketch!

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/graphics/warbreaker.jpg

Well just from a glance, I dig it. Much more tasteful than the typical American covers for fantasy, and actually original, too.

very cool, and different -- it stands out from the usual. good luck!

I like to quote an Elvish production of Julius Caesar on this matter of topic:

"Faeries, Elves, countrymen, lend me your pointed ears..."

But anyway, it's awesome that you're getting a new front cover!

Wow pretty!

not at all what I was expecting with a title like 'Warbreaker' very good

It's really quite beautiful!

I'm really enamored with the bloody sword on the dress and the title. I'm intrigued about her multi-colored breath and frosty hair. My eyes are drawn to the well endowed breasts. My husband says that's O.K. because that's what sells magazines on newsstands too, even Reader's Digest. :)

What I mean by all that is, I like it.

I wasn't sure at first, but I like it now that I've stared at it for a bit; it's definitely eye-catching, and I can see it coming across really well in its final form. I'd take a second look even if I'd never heard of you before.

My first thought was: it's beautiful
My second thought was: wow, the boobs...

but, I guess most fantasy readers are boys, so it makes sense.

I like it.

I didn't much like it. I thought the figure looked too stylized; I didn't like the font looking like old German print, reminds me of Nazi Germany. Recognizing it is a concept piece perhaps the figure will have more nuance and could very well be appealing and unique.

If the old German type print has no connection to the book-story-setting etc. get rid of it. Otherwise, if it has a connection it might work very well.

Assuming that the final cover is more photorealistic, I'd really notice it. On the other hand, I can see why the Martinites might not have liked the look of it. I think they'd like a more photorealistic design or a more stylistic abstraction.

The picture itself would not make me pick up the book. It's is pretty but does not make me want to read it.

She appears to be bewitched, and the colored breath suggests to me shes being used in some way or having something stolen from her. ( a negative she seems to have monkey long arms) . Does the rust color signify something? I only ask because her ribbon breath starts as the same color.

It does have a feel like it belongs on a Michael Moorcock book. Coupled with the title it could belong in the Elric saga, especially with the huge sword (Stormbringer/Mournblade).

The big question it leaves me with is, did she bloody the sword or did someone else lay it at her feet? If someone else, was it for a 'gift' or 'blame'? (I would expect these questions to be answered in the book and if they are not then this definitely isn't the right cover. I feel when you have a minimalist cover like this everything should have meaning from the book.

I like it. I especially like how the title is shadowed on her dress. I don't know what the rainbow ribbon thing is though. Is it coming out of her mouth?

Well, on first glance, I thought there was too much of that one color (is it amber? ochre?) but after going back and looking again, I do like the look. I especially like her hair. :o)

I wan't sure at first, but after looking at it a few more times, I like it. Though I am curious about the bloody sword and the ribbon coming out of her mouth. I like the font, and the color schemes as well.

To me, it has a strong gothic romance feel. There's only a whiff of fantasy there.

Could you post a summary of the book, say the words that go on the back, or a rough draft of them? In forming an opinion of a book, of course the cover says something first, then I check to see how the visual matches to the description on the back. If those two things match and intrigue, then I'll spend a little more time with the book. So, the "question" or "mystery" posed by the front painting should be "answered" by the material (or additional image) on the back.

I wonder about the final crop, is that the height/width of the final book format?

The title seems small, there will be your name, and an inevitable quote/endorsement as well, I'd think? Where might those go?

It's a lush rendering, but I'd need more info in order to be able to give my opinion as to whether it's "right" for the book.

I hope that those thoughts/questions are helpful.
Thank you for asking us to help, it's fun to be involved!

The book is available (free!) on Brandon's website.

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book.php?id=3

I like it. It steps away from the usual fantasy covers of which I'm usually not a big fan. 8)

I like it...and that was before people here pointed out her ample bosom.

Beauty and blood. You can't beat that!

I have not read the book, nor seen the website about it in more than a cursory glance, so here's the 'gut reaction' I have to the cover: I see a single person dominating it, and it appears that she is speaking magic, and that she is sacrificing herself (or has been sacrificed) for some reason in the attempt. Perhaps she survives; perhaps she doesn't.

My gut assumption is that the book is going to be a character study on this person. If I were looking for a thoughtful fantasy book, to read in the Winter months, I would pick it up and look at the back. If I were looking for a fun read while on the plane or at the beach, I would leave it on the shelf, without even looking at the back.

The analysis I give is quite a superficial one, but, then again - that's what we all do when browsing bookstore shelves.

I like the repeated Z elements.
I don't like the breath thing
I'm curious about he sword.
And as noted above the title is small and your name non-existant.

The whole breath thing si enough to put me off actually, without it I'd probably at least brouse it. With it I think urgh, and would probably move on past, only if I had ample time would I then be curious for further inspection. It would be good if most of the cover design represented something from the plot, but I've long since abandoned hope of this being the usual case.

I agree with reading_fox - the rainbow 'breath' put me off.

I really liked the sword and the dress (though I might like it better if it didn't look about to fall off! ;-D), as well as the style of the title, but the rainbow put me in mind of those visualizations you get with Windows Media Player.

The rainbow is a 'breath'? I thought it was a lizard's tongue... seriously.

The script makes me think 'gothic' (but not german, wrong script for that), or maybe an arthurian variation.
I think it's the sword that makes me think 'Arthur'.

The big-bosomed gal with arms like a gibbon makes me think 'Conan'.

The rainbow tongue makes me think 'bewitched'.

Would I buy it? Not based on the cover. But if I judged works of sf and fantasy by the covers I'd not get to read that many, eh? ;-)

The "puking a rainbow" thing is very odd. It reminded me a bit of the Kushiel series covers, which I doubt your book resembles in any way.

My first two impressions were not too positive:
1. If I didn't know by the name in the url, I'd have read the title as "Warbreather" -- because of the ribbon of breathing and the way the "k" looks more like an "h".
2. The lady looks like she's undergoing the fate of the Wicked Witch of the West.

But, in the end, the breasts won me over.

Yeah, that ribbon has to go. We've made this a large point in our revision suggestions. That, and a slight raise of the neckline to keep the cover from looking to romance-book-like.

Ah! I just realised what it makes me think of. Due to the font of the title, I think of Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself.

I do agree that the arms are too long and I like that the neckline is going to be raised. I think can see the shape of her legs under the dress (which is huge) but it's really subtle; I hope that's going to be showed a little more, to counter what 26 jb called the fate of the Wicked Witch.

But I like her face and hair (or what I imagine the hair will be, anyway), the background W and particularly the shadow of the title on her skirt are very cool, and the juxtaposition of the woman in the court dress and the bloody sword is striking.

It's also balanced well, and I like how everything runs off the sides instead of being contained.

Evidently I like it.

I like her hair the best, I think, and then the expression on her face. I also like the dress, although I think her folded legs do need to be a bit more prominent.

I've ambivalent about the bloody sword - it's not where my attention goes.

The rainbow thing is really bothering me - I can't figure out what it is, and my eyes keep going back to it.

Also, I think the title needs to be bigger, although it's cool that it's shadowed on her dress.

I also really dislike the rainbow.

You guys are awesome. Thanks for the reviews. I pointed my editor here, and he gave some feedback to the artist. Today's version can be found here. What do you think of the changes? Which colors do you like better? (And, unfortunately, he hasn't done anything about the rainbow yet--but we're working on that.)

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/graphics/warbreaker_colors.jpg

Definitely the silver (on the right). On the down side, the blade of the sword blends in a little, but on the other hand, gold and turquoise just don't go together. I miss the shadow of the title on her skirt, though - but I love the skirt itself.

Her near arm is still long, but on the other hand, she also has an elongated torso. And I'm not sure she could actually sit up that way - unless she's about to fall over in that wind. But these are all things I notice by studying it, not necessarily at a first glance. As I said before, it's a balanced well design and overall I think it's quite lovely.

Edit: Not a big fan of the turquoise eyeshadow, though. I preferred no eyeshadow. On the other hand, my sister likes the eyeshadow, so...who knows :)

Just some thoughts that came to me:

There was something about the original that made me think 'gothic novel', and that if I hadn't already heard of the author I probably wouldn't have picked up the book to check it out.

I like the new versions better than the original, especially the one with the orange dress. More eyecatching. The sword and title seem lost in other one.

But the position of the woman seems awkward to me. At first it looks like she's lying down, but as I look lower it seems like she's kneeling and my mind can't decide which it should be.

I don't mind the rainbow so much. It makes me more curious about the story.

I particularly like the orange new version. I really like the color, I feel it's unusual on a fantasy novel and it makes the sword and text stand out. In the silver one, it all blends in with the dress and her hair, so it's far better to have a contrast.

I don't think her position is too unlikely. It looks to me like she's kneeling, sort of reminding me of a yoga pose.

I like the cover, anyway. The rainbow is the most questionable part, but even that I don't mind so much.

At a glance, I prefer the one in the white dress, unless the story is about Southwest Native Americans.

I definitely like the silver or white dress better. I think it might work. I am not sure I would ever pick it up in a bookstore except when I recognized the author's name.

Come to think of it, the blue in the new versions made me think of Native Americans as well.

OK, I'm no art critic, but for what they're worth, here are my thoughts:

I like the new versions better & the more silver one the best. I think the shadow of the writing on her dress in the original should have been kept though.

I love her hair & I love the dress, especially the top part of the newer ones.

Not sure of her position either, is she sitting on her feet? Either way I'd probably try & get that made a lil clearer...

Was the sword being so bloody part of the story? The bloodier sword in the forst pic seems to be more of a powerful image than the not so bloody sword, but if her sitting/lying there with a very bloody sword isnt a "scene" from the story then I'd say the less bloody one is appropriate...

I'm with sandragon on the "ribbon" thing, it intrigues me, makes me wanna know what it is so it would encourage me to pick up the book. However it does look kinda weird the way its coming out of her mouth, so i think it needs to be tweaked...

All that being said, I think this cover would make me wana look at the blurb & then I'd decide whether to get the book, but after reading all this discussion & looking at the pictures for so long, I'm intrigued enough to wana get it anyway :)

The lizard's rainbow tongue still irks me.
The covered-up neckline does very much feel like an add-on - the rest of the dress is not changed to reflect the switch in styles.
The gibbonesque arms still seems ridiculous but this time I noticed she must have GIGANTIC knees.
The way she sits hunched, resting her palms on knees... they must be either padded or a case of elephantiasis!

And I finally decided I liked the lily white one best. It hints at the chaste, and maidens are legio in works of fantasy, aren't they? ;-)

Anyway, the only thing I ask away is the tongue... The rest is a matter of different taste. And in this I'm with Maggie (#37) - I'd pick this one up based on author, not cover.

And Brandon - thanks for letting us in on this one!

I'm torn. I really liked the silver on first glance because of the way it complements the turquoise, but the sword does get lost. The title also stands out more in the orange/gold.

I think the different colors change the character of the woman. To me, in the silver dress she seems more distant/untouchable, more of a sorceress or authority, whereas in the orange she seems slightly more human, possibly even tragic-heroine.

Ditto most others.
I like the silver, should have the bloodied sword if its relevant, definetly miss the shadows.
I don't have an issue with the posture seems a fairly natural kneeling pose to me.

I probably would brouse the silver version - especially without the "breath".

The breath/lizard tongue has to go. I prefer the orange. I miss the shadow of the title.

I like the orange better - definitely more eye-catching. The turquoise eyeshadow, on the other hand, has got to go.

Still don't like the rainbow thing, although I think I'd be more okay with it if it were tweaked so that it was near her mouth, but not necessarily drooling *out* of her mouth. Does that make sense?

I might be in a minority here, but I think the big turquoise neck cover-up thing is actually more distracting than the version with the cleavage. And maybe because I can't see it very well, but I don't like the belt-thing either - the one bright turquoise line really stands out incongruously.

Finally, if the bloody sword is a plot point, I think either version would look cool with the tip of the sword being bloody, and then running down in a stream through the black space at the bottom.

Well for a start I definitely like these better. I did like the shadow of the title on the dress before and hopefully it comes back. I did notice that the blood on the sword/dress was mostly removed.

I didn't really notice the ribbon on the handle on the first one, it sticks out much more here. The color matching her bodice and trim, suggests the sword belongs to her 'champion', and since it's at her feet he is either missing or dead.

her right arm is still really long, and she has hands bigger than Michael Jordan.

The tongue/breath thing, seems to be better here though it certainly needs some tweaking, starting by not attaching it directly to the lips. (unless this is something being stolen from her??)

I really like the turquoise, and as far as which dress color I like is dependent on what is to be conveyed. The gold one is definitely a warmer feel, like she is dealing with the reason for the lone sword, the white is colder, she's this way BECAUSE of the lone sword.

Oh and it still looks like "Warbrea(t)her"

Hopefully my rambling makes some sense.

The orange is more eye-catching from a distance, but I prefer the silver. It goes well with her hair, and it gives her a really ethereal look.

Like sandragon, I found that the edging on the dress had a rather Aboriginal feel to it. I think it's partially the turquoise, (something I strongly associate with the South West and the pueblo culture), and partially the decorations on the turquoise bits.

I miss the shadow on the dress. It was a nice way of tying the title in with the illustration. I don't really care one way or the other when it comes to the multi-coloured breath.

i'd be happy with a little more coverage on top.

I must respectfully disagree with #48. I would return to the very first version, for two reasons -- both of which are now covered up by the medalion on her necklace.

Of the two options on the new version(s), I prefer the silver one. Because of the effect the sword's gleam has against the skirt -- more diffuse and more of an illusion of depth.

I'd like to start by saying that I really do think it's different than most fantasy covers, which is a big plus. It certainly got me interested in the book, and if I see the cover in the bookstore I'll certainly pick it up to browse.

Of the two latest versions, I definitely like the white one best, but it's a shame that makes the title fade into the dress. The orange version does remind me of indians somehow, probably the colour combination.
I think it would be better if you indeed pick the white one as the final version to change the colour of the title, iceblue or something would be nice.
Especially since most people seem to appreciate the colour of the hair.
Either that or add the shadow on the dress again, so that the title itself stands out more than it does now.

The rainbow ribbon is a bit unclear but if that goes it should at least be replaced by something else or the pose seems very odd.
I don't have any problems with the pose as it is now, though her arm does seem a bit long.

If the bloody sword is indeed part of the story it might be nice to add some blood to it again, it certainly would bring out the contrast with the white dress. Though on the other hand the blood could make it seem a bit cliché, which is something you no doubt want to avoid.

And like someone else has mentioned earlier I preferred her without eyeshadow.

Last but certainly not least I wonder where your name goes and what font is used for that, because that should certainly stand out ;)

Anyway, I think it's awesome that you asked for feedback and it's great to see what everyone else thinks.

I like the concept, and the colour scheme, the only thing that sticks out as a little strange to me is the placement of the title - aside from that I really quite like it.

I like the Silver dress (woohoo, less boobage). Lose the rainbow ribbon and add back the shadow to the title and the blood on the sword (which will help it stand out from the dress). I would pick this up because it looks different from the average fantasy novel cover.

For me, the silver dress caught my attention immediately.

The comments about the arm length...I think part of the problem is the extra long sleeves coming to her fingers create a false distortion. The proportions are probably correct, but it just looks like they're not.

I liked the idea of the Title being shadowed onto her dress, but certainly understand why it was removed. It made the image a little more cluttered and busy looking. Removal of the (really cool) shadow effect makes the total image clean and more elegant to me. Plus, there is the debate about whether or not the title should be "interactive" with the figure, which can lend an air of the woman being more of a spokeswoman or "car girl" (you know, those women that you see gesturing at cars in shows all the time) feel, like she's trying to sell the title. The title shouldn't be a physical object.

I too prefer the silver version to the original. It's poweful and dynamic, and YES very different, which is what we should strive for, right?

There's adefinite MOOD and personality to this, seems to me like the artist is on the right track here.

While the orange one attracts ones attention, the silver one meshes with the entire picture. That, and the highlights and shadows are caught much better on the white fabric (the dress is really my favorite part. Not only is it well-designed, it has actual shading). And I, for one, actually like the rainbow tounge-breath-thing. However, it would work a little better if it was less colorful. Maybe just a few colors, or varying shades of one.

And the only thing that bothers me is the expression. In the first link posted, she looked peaceful, as if this was expected, and she wanted to be there. In the newer versions, her face seems much more sorrowful, but if this was the intention, then I say run with it.

#55 Good comments and great to see you here, Sekhmet!

#56 - Yup!
:o)

bit late for comments but the orange is needed to balance out the color in the rainbow ribbon-tounge thing and it grabs the attention. Or you could just nix the rainbow thing and go with the silver.. Also it may just be me but the hair looks a bit chunky in spots like it was made with a fat brush in photoshop.
I really like the dress add on.