One of the most important marketing tools for a novel, so I’m told, is the book cover. It’s something that needs to have a great impact and draw people into the story.

This blog post was intended to document the process of creating a book cover for "June and the Star”—and why the execution didn't work out as planned.

The Plan

I wanted to create a cover that would capture readers' attention while representing the heart of the story. My vision was to show both June and the star character within a dramatic scene, drawing potential readers in and making them wonder what's happening.

Choosing the Scene

After considering various moments from the book, I decided on the scene where June and the star are escaping from a collapsing cave through an underwater tunnel, because:

It creates immediate tension (they're underwater, in danger)
It displays the connection between the main character and her magical sidekick
It has visual drama that will translate well to a cover

Developing the Visual Approach

Now that I had the scene in mind, I needed to start composing the image. As I've discussed in my previous blog post about developing my art style, I wanted to keep it simple and focused on the emotional core of the scene:

The two characters alone in peril, but helping each other
The darkness of the water contrasted with the magical light of the star
The upward movement that suggests hope and escape

Here are some early sketches exploring the body positions of the characters and some initial colouring ideas for the star glowing in the water.

Color Palette Decisions

For this illustration I intended to slightly deviate from the written description of the star in the colour palette. She is described in the text as glowing with golden light. However, I didn’t want to use a yellow to blue gradient for her glow as that would come out mostly green (as you can see in a sketch above). I didn’t want the character or the water around her coloured green, as this doesn’t convey the sense of otherworldliness that I wanted (I think it could make her look more like a sea creature than a heavenly one). Therefore, in this scenario, she is glowing a light blue.

By limiting the color palette, I intended to draw focus to what matters most. The contrast between the star's glow and the surrounding darkness will create a striking visual that immediately signals both the fantasy element and the peril of the situation.

Simplifying for Impact

I kept the actual tunnel walls and water very sparse in detail. The focus remains firmly on the two characters and their relationship. The star glows from within, lighting up the water around her as she pulls June toward safety.

The issues

The thing is, I don’t love this illustration, and I don’t think it’s impactful enough to be on the cover of the book.

I started off with a brownish orange for the rock colour, but I felt it was too vibrant and took up too much visual weight, so I attempted to tone it down by mixing it with a blue-green. The result looks muddy to me. Additionally, I think all the embellishments I added with gel pen to the star help her look magical, but obscure the detail of the figure. Additionally, I think the simplified composition looks in this instance boring instead of focused and emotionally resonant.

I started this drawing several times, which is a bit unusual for me (see different drafts below).

I think in part just knowing that this was going to be my effort for the cover of the book gave me a lot of self-doubt during the process. Usually, when I am illustrating, I will play around with things, try different techniques to see what works best. But for this illustration, I was too stiff and trying to exert too much control over the final product.

I also recently visited an Indigo bookstore to take a look at the teen/9+ book sections to take a look at the covers. I discovered some beautiful and compelling cover art (see some examples below). Looking at all those professionally designed covers made me realize that to stand out in this market, my cover has to be exceptional.

Moving Forward

For now, I'm going to continue creating illustrations of scenes from the book without the pressure of designating any single one as the cover. This should allow me to return to my natural creative process and build a collection of illustrations. Eventually, one of them may emerge as the right choice for the cover.

And I can still have fun working on the additional elements needed for a book cover! I intend on creating an entire branding or visual identity package for the book. This will include:

Chapter opener layouts with decorative elements
Custom typeface/font for chapter headings
Page break illustrations or ornamental dividers

Stay tuned for updates :)

How not to create a book cover