Saturday, April 23, 2011

Day 3 - Guest post by Eleni Konstantine


The First  Cover Design

Thanks Strange Candy Reviews for having me on your blog. Congratulations on a great first year.
I love a good blogoversary.  It's a time to look back and reflect.


I’m a big fan of cover art. I love how colour, text, and images combine to entice you to open the covers  to reveal the magic of the story within.
One day, I decided to enter the 2010 Little Gems cover contest run by the Romance Writers of Australia. I had been playing around with stock images and creating banners for my website, so I had wanted to take this one step further.

I had been going through a hard time (family health issues), which left me with the inability to concentrate on the written word. But working on this cover competition was exactly what I needed. So I decided to not worry about writing and instead concentrate on designing.

It must take incredible artistic skill to do a cover, right?

Well, yes and no.

You don’t have to be an artist to do a good cover. You see, I think you need the technical ability, and an eye for design. What I see myself in regards to book covers is that I’m a designer, not an artist. Yes, there are people who create artwork from scratch, but I wasn’t one of them in this case (one day, I hope).

I had burrowed through stock image websites, looking for images for the theme ‘Topaz’. I am an omnivore when it comes to art, enjoying a different range of styles and looks. The resulting ideas that flowed reflected this. From the more classic to the more abstract. From bright colours to dark colours, and even pastels. My mind spun with ‘what about this’.

I explored Photoshop Elements, making different mock-ups with an image(s) and font size. I adjusted lighting, contrast, colouring. I added layers with different features. I chopped, changed, and combined a number of elements together. I found out a little about printing, and I finally placed in my entries.

And won.
(Well technically, my alter ego won *grin*)

I can’t tell you what a huge thrill this was for me. Even more so, that one of my favourite designs was chosen. Being the first time I had ever done this, I didn’t think I would be successful. Oh, I hoped, but I was realistic. I was not an artist. But, like I said before, I was a designer.

This was the winning entry.



It represents a more ‘classic’ look.

I continued to learn more about design as I worked with the printer to get the best possible result. What a thrill to see it in print form at the launch at the Romance Writers of Australia conference last year, and to be awarded with my certificate.
It was the boost I needed at the time, to keep going with my creative pursuits. I haven’t spent as much time doing the designs I would like to do, but I do feel it helped me with my writing. They seem to balance each other out.

So, I can now say, I’m a cover designer and writer.


You can learn more about Eleni and her works by visiting her website.


Remember to leave your a comment and your email for a chance to win a $50 giftcard from the Book Depository!

17 comments:

  1. That is truly beautiful. It is so provoking. I really find myself wanting to know what's going on around that women and most importantly what is she thinking?

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  2. I love that cover. It is so pretty. I wish I were creative enough to be able to do something like that. Alas, I am not. Can't wait to see more covers from you.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

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  3. I am in awe of you creative types. Congrats on a well-deserved honor. That cover is beautiful

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  4. Great post, Eleni - I'm so with you on the whole designing thing. And I love that cover :-)

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  5. Jennifer - Thank you. I too wondered about what she was thinking about. :)

    Thanks Danielle. I too am awe of artists who do everything from scratch. Hopefully, I will get to do some more covers in the near future.

    LSUReader - Thank you.

    Hey Paula! - I envy your wonderful web designs. You have such a great eye for detail, so it means a lot when you say you love my cover :)

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  6. That is a gorgeous cover Eleni,
    I bet that beauty flows into your words too =)

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  7. I love your work Helen. Keep going and get into the cover design for the ebook authors.
    Best
    Cathleen Ross

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  8. That's a beautiful cover. love the color and it just awesome :)

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  9. That's really beautiful... I have this thing for pretty covers, so... LOL.
    I really wish I knew how to mess with Photoshop. :(

    kah_cherub at hotmail dot com

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  10. Hi Mel, thanks. I sure hope my words flow well. :)

    Cathleen, good to see you. Thanks, and I hope the next step is designing ebook covers. I need to do some research.

    Mariska, thanks for popping in and I'm glad you like the cover.

    Thank you Karla. I too have noticed how much I love an attractive cover. I have Photoshop Elements and I love it. I'm also constantly learning new things.

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  11. You know I loved that cover! Not biased or anything since I'm inside it. Couldn't have asked for a better representation.

    I'm with Cathleen on the design side too. Great idea when your energy for writing flags. Have a great day and a great Easter!

    Bronwyn.

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  12. Eleni, I think I've told you once or twice how much I love this cover! It's so elegant. I don't have a clue when it comes to Photoshop, so I am in awe of your talent to create something so gorgeous!

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  13. Eleni, you are so multi-talented. Gorgeous cover! You could definitely make a splash in ebook covers. :)

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  14. The cover is just beautiful, I wish I was creative like that but I'm not. I've never used Photoshop or any of those gadgets and thinks it's so cool what one can make using it though.

    miztik_rose@yahoo.com

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  15. Hi there, Bronwyn. I'm glad you like the cover of the anthology your story is in. :) Hope your Easter was great.

    Christina, my DarkSider friend. Thank you. I hope to one day to do covers like your wonderful books. Captive, especially.

    Rachel, you have always been a great cheer squad, so thanks again. LOL - I got an image of dive bombing into a swimming pool with your reference to making a splash! :))

    Mary, thank you. Tools like Photoshop have really changed the face of things. It is so cool to be able to manipulate images. I use Photoshop Elements, which is the basic version, and I still learn something new every time I use it.

    Thank you to everyone for popping in.

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  16. wow that is way beautiful i wish i could be as artistic as that the best i get is stick figures. lol that was just beautiful i could keep looking at it and never get tired of it

    babydoll82959307(at)aol(dot)com

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  17. I really love the cover design! It is truly breathtaking! Thank you for sharing and for this amazing opportunity!

    moonlightgleam(at)gmail(dot)com

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