Forum: Author Hangout

I'm currently putting off writing the last few scenes of the 4th Paul Roberston book. I will get to them (hopefully I'll have a completed first draft by Sunday Evening), but I'm not ready to let go of these characters (well, one of them) yet.

So... I've been designing album covers. (Bear with...) One of the new characters in this book is a singer. And she's recording an album. And I've designed covers for the album (and written songs for it, but that's a different issue).

I'd like your opinion on them. There are five, and you can see them in this GDrive folder. Let me know what you think, and which is your favourite.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uGst4P03aGs4CZIJARC25m-d9gseuPQg?usp=drive_link

I like them all but for an actual album cover I'd go with 2 or 5.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Fascinating how opinions differ, as always.
Just a little context (and my opinion) on each of these covers:

1: This was an early AI-generated image from a few months ago – not even sure which AI generated this one, it's so long ago. I had it lying around and just needed something to use so I could lay out the Text. I think Kayla has the "County Girl" vibe in this, but I'll be honest, it's my least favourite of the five.

2: I like the intensity of this, with Kayla staring straight at the camera. But think it lacks the "Vulnerability" of the character in the book (which carries through to her album). I also think it doesn't have that "Alabama" vibe to tie in with the album title. I'd probably put this at no. 3. Might work as the cover of a "special edition" six months after the initial release.

3: An early version of what I was trying to achieve with 5 – the focus on the heart pendant that Kayla is wearing. It's significant in the plot of the novel. I like where the pendant is placed in this, just to the "L" in Kayla, and I like the plaid shirt, which hints at "Country", but I don't think it is as good as 5.

4: Probably my second favourite. There's a really "vulnerable" look to Kayla in this, which fits with the tone of the album she's written and recorded in the novel.

5: My favourite. The focus here is on the pendant. Love the hint of a smile on her lips. Strikes me as quite "arty".