Jeremy C Kester

With the release of my latest book (yes, I plan on milking that until the next one), I came to a new understanding: simple does not mean easy.

Well — I actually knew that. The only difference here is in the cover for the book. I thought that by choosing to make the book cover a simple design, it would be quick and easy to make. It turned out to be neither. And yet if you look at it, you might come to wonder how on this damn planet was it not the case?

I have a new appreciation for graphic designers. To make something simple and yet eye-catching, a level of skill is required. An understanding of balance, of color, of a whole lot more than I considered when starting to try and make this. Though I can’t say I did a bad job, it isn’t what I imagined. Still, it will suffice.

What my idea is that given the limited resources to purchase a talented graphic artist and book cover designer, I would instead do the work myself with my limited knowledge of photoshop. Given that though I am somewhat artistically talented it doesn’t translate to digital art. Therefore, it needs to be kept as simple as possible.

But damn it hasn’t been easy.

Or rather, the one cover so far wasn’t easy. All in all, it has given me a greater appreciation for the efforts that are needed, regardless of the complexity of a cover — of art in general.

As I continue this journey, the plan will be to stick with simple. Now I know not to expect it to be easy, only that I will not be going after these overly ornate covers that almost seem typical, particularly for the science fiction and fantasy genres. Either way, I’ll learn as I go, and maybe one day I’ll be able to move towards paying the professionals to do the job correctly.