Let me introduce you to the lovely Lisa Bonar :
Hi, Lisa, it's so great to have you on here
First of all, thanks so much for having me on your blog,
Karen! This is quite the honor!
So let me ask you, do you read much or is
it the artwork on a book that you love?
Well, I do love the artwork, but yeah, I’m a reader. I read
on my computer, my Kindle, my phone, and heck…I have even been known to read
actual hard copies of books, ya know, like old school?
A girl after my own heart! What
type of books/genre do you like?
Here’s where I suffer from a bit of schizophrenia. I like a
bunch of different genres. My favorite books are Jane Eyre, Sense and
Sensibility, The Prisoner of Azkaban,
Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy Maud
Montgomery, and Midnight by Dean
Koontz. (See? Schizophrenia!)
I’ve also read and enjoyed several books by indie authors. A
couple of standouts are 2012: The Final
Revelation by Lisa Flaus,, and The
Only, by…oh wait…you know who. Seriously, I really liked your book, Karen!
I'm very happy that you liked it! :) How did you get into
designing book covers?
Well, funny story. I have, myself, authored two books, and
had such a great experience (this is sarcasm here, folks) getting the first
cover done that I was inspired. Actually, I used a designer who was
recommended to me by my publisher, and she just wasn’t getting what I wanted. I
had to all but get into a cyber-brawl with her, (she was in Germany, I was in
the States, so it wasn’t practical for me to punch her in person), in order to
get the cover I was looking for. I had some experience with Photoshop from
doing ads and graphics for past business ventures, so when it was time for book
#2, I opted to do my own cover, which turned out to be a far less painful
experience.
That’s when I realized that it might be helpful for me to
offer my services to other independent authors, who may not have a graphic
design background, or a budget of hundreds of publishing house dollars to sink
into cover art. I offer most front cover designs for $35 USD and full-cover
(front, spine, and back) designs for $60.
And amazing designs you do, too. And I have to say that working with you has been brilliant, totally pain-free and the cover has turned out so well, I'm as proud of it as if I'd designed it! So tell me what elements make for a
great cover?
I think the elements that make a great cover are the same
elements that make a great advertisement. After all, your cover is the glowing
neon billboard for your book; it’s what makes people want to check it out in
the first place, so it has to command attention. Whether it’s an “in your face”
color scheme, a vivid and bold image, or a line of text that inspires
curiosity, something has got to make readers pick the darned thing up, already.
You also may have noticed that I like to use eyes a lot.
Eyes are great attention grabbers. Also, contrasting colors and shades tend to
make things pop as well.
How do you decide on
what to put in and, perhaps more importantly, what to leave out?
Most of all, I want to make sure I am creating designs that
are what the author wants. Most writers have at least a basic idea of what they
want on their cover. They just need someone with the technical or artistic
experience to put their vision together.
That said, even though design is technically an “art”, there
are some hard, fast rules. One of which is simplicity. Once I’ve finished a
design, I go back and turn each element off, one at a time. This shows me
whether I have something that just isn’t needed. It’s like editing a book. If a word or phrase
isn’t necessary, no matter how in love with it we may be, it has to go.
That's really interesting - I never thought about it like that before. Can you talk a little
about the process of designing?
It’s funny, but the process of designing parallels the
process of writing in a lot of ways. It starts with an idea that gets developed
and expounded upon. You try a bunch of different ways to put things together;
some stick, some don’t. In the end, you edit, and tweak, and fine-tune your
little heart out, and hopefully you end up with something you love.
What do you think about
the saying 'never judge a book by its cover'?
Hehehe, is that a fair question for a cover designer to
answer? ;) I think you CAN judge a book by its cover—or at least a little. The
mood of the book is often reflected in the cover, or it should be. If an author
(or publisher) is creative with their cover, I’ve found that the book is likely
to be creative as well. Does a boring cover equal a boring book? Not always,
but unfortunately I may never know. I rarely even pick up the books with boring
covers. Even when I’m shopping for a classic on Amazon, if one copy has cover
art and another (of the EXACT same book, mind you) has a “text only” cover, I’m
more inclined to buy the copy with the cover art. Maybe it’s just me, but I
kinda doubt it. Covers are important!!!!! End
rant.
When you choose a book
to read, as an artist, is it the cover that you go by, at least initially
rather than say the title?
Well, after reading the above you’d certainly think so.
However, a title can be a powerful “design” all by itself. For example, say
that two book covers have nothing on them but the title in red on a black
background. One is called, “Understanding Mathematical Equations, by Prof.
Charles Schwarz” and the other is called “The Black Fallen”. Which would more
likely capture your curiosity? Sometimes the title is the design.
And here's one for fun -
if you were a super hero what would be your special power?
Hmmm, I’d want it to be something totally random, like the
ability to turn ordinary objects into chocolate, or the gift of always knowing
the color of my enemy’s underwear. Gotta keep those super villains on their
toes!
