I paid 5 designers on Fiverr to create a cover for the same book

[@fiverr]

Love seeing how 5 designers each brought their unique vision to the same project! Incredible creativity from our freelancers! 💚

[@kenm.a.d.7196]

Oh hey, it’s them!

[@quos3683]

People will say "​ @MelTorrefranca used Chatt.GTtP to create her book ", because of this kind of videos. I didn't like the dishonesty to say a Ai detector exist (especially with Zero evidence), if you're not a pro digital artist you can't know if people used "Ai" automation or their own builded brushes. Now all your followers are going to believe what you said, I wish this manipulative behavior from "influencer" would stop but it will never, we are in a superficial world now... the time for smart investigation is over but I'm happy for you, you increased your views by 3x and we know views, is what matters ☺👍.

[@celinaastbury4619]

your designers are using ai to hallucinate colours and charging a weeks worth of food for it

[@Shadowfeather-sb4vc]

Bruh did you even watch the video? fiverr is dead.

[@tobedobechannel]

Trained designers stay miles away from endorsing fiverr 9n YT because of the damage their business model cause to the well-being and sanity of artists and freelancers. They now are paying random KZbinrs to promote their colonial platform build from the exploitation of gig workers. They should be answer for or at least have some kind of policy towards unhealthy number of works hours, no medical, no emergency leave, no maternity leave, no stocks, no equity, no insurance. On top they are promoting AI generated content without considering the implications of copyright that end user is gonna suffer from 😢

[@ivectord]

None of them gave me the feel of leaving technology behind - rather the opposite; the covers seem to show the young people emerging from the woods and heading toward technology.

[@CindersSpot]

Agreed completely!

[@justlikethis6084]

its about leaving tech behind? then it would have been perfect if they were heading towards us in D instead of towards the sci-fi thing.

[@roserain7034]

Agree but I have a feeling with a stories like this, the twist usually be about how characters may actually head towards technology rather than away from it. Of course, I could be completely wrong on that predication.

[@PaulM-d7k]

I 100% agree, they ALL look like they're "approaching" tech, not walking away, which tells me that they all used AI to generate these images.

[@HighSempre]

I mean, the premise she gave them was pretty open. I couldn't get any of that from it either, so I wonder if she properly communicated that to the designers while they talked?

[@lonniereads]

watching this as a designer was so rough but at least i got some insight into how non-artists look at and think about designs

[@reflectingPastChoices]

seeing all of them praise the D cover when it's clearly AI is making me sickly

[@mim_mimm]

yes yes exactly the one they got right was like. gorg and definitely 300 bucks worthy but D? the figures were lifeless and the style is one of the ones that ai really likes. i think the typeface was alright tho

[@felixhenson9926]

Honestly it's the comments that are rough for me as a designer.

[@aurorapas9170]

@@reflectingPastChoices I think it's because it's the most explicit one. One look and you know what the story is about. And maybe that's what it's important for them. Personally i prefered A, the colors are really pretty and the design as well. I'm not a designer so i don't understand much about it, but for me it was pretty clear that it was the best one. I would say E was the most clean one, but not really intresting

[@fuiratama]

@@reflectingPastChoices wait wasn't it D & E that doesn't use AI?

[@shay3878]

So you're telling me that people selling AI trash are making money, meanwhile real artists/ illustrators like me are struggling to find work? Wow, fantastic.

[@tartagaylicious]

it really is tragic to see but that's what this world has become unfortunately. As an artist that's trying to make it, I just gotta keep my head up and hope for the best :')

[@decodas]

Right? I looked through this ENTIRE comment section and I’m like, why the hell is no one talking about this??? 😭

[@Slysum]

Charging money for AI gotta be something you can make a lawsuit about... It's literally scamming.

[@IAteFire]

@@Slysum I agree but a disclaimer is probably enough to get around it. Not to mention lawsuits are so pricey it’s not even worth it and if you have money for a lawsuit you can afford to just pay legit vetted artists… so it’s lose-lose! Personally, I’d just do my research and save up for a good artist instead of trying to find a cheap artist or underpay!

[@beelzemobabbity]

It really pisses me off that people are being allowed to sell ai as commission work, the one merit ai has, is giving people who would otherwise be unable to pay to make something in their vision the means to do so for free. So to just use ai and a prompt then sell that is so so scummy to me.

[@NoSnosee]

300$ is simply the best one, but big props to that person who made the 10$ cover

[@pomatheoma416]

hell nah. 10$ looks way more interesting

[@evilpenguin99999]

I agree but the 10 one would grab my attention more in a store.

[@JesseHof]

the $300 one didnt even center the title correctly

[@PErpusTB]

@@JesseHof even if it wasnt centered correctly, I think it still fits quite well (hell I think I would prefer that one over a correctly centered version, feels more balanced)

[@inorial5960]

300 is legit the worst lmao

[@nasiacreates]

Their adoration for C and hate for E really has my head spinning.

[@MilA-eh3gf]

It's only because Mel said - prior to showing C - that they would like this next one without her sarcasm coming across clearly. You see the four panelists pedalling back a little when she admitted she was being sarcastic, and even more when they were guessing prices (guesses of $10 or $35 were thrown out). The idea was definitely there with the slanted horizon, but yeah why the red? Mel even wrote in her request hoping for green.

[@gaboratoria]

Imho the C one looks realy good, just for the wrong book since slant+red+bats give huge horror vibe so for this book it’s a horrendous cover, the E on the other hand has the silhouette of a house, of trees and of futuristic cityscape so it could fit the book somewhat, but the overlay of the motherboard like thing over everything looks a bit disorienting(but idk, maybe in print it’d look better) which is why I’m not super keen on it, especially at first glance

[@None38389]

@@gaboratoria C have a good idea to start with the the incoherent fonts really utterly destroyed it.

[@iemUnknown]

And their inability to detect AI in D

[@carlotta4th]

C would be fine for a horror book, it does look cool but not for the sci fi forest concept.

[@strange_t0aster777]

The ai one for 100 dollars was a goddamn robbery

[@anival9576]

I think the $200 one was worse. At least the 100 one had some interest to it... and was half the price.

[@IAteFire]

$100 for a full cover is an amazing rate, if a human actually spent their own time and skill. That’s what these things are rooted in, people trying to find cheap artists or underpay them. You get what you pay for!

[@xChikyx]

I would 100% sue them

[@vertraeumtemoewe]

@@anival9576and nothing was thought into it. Not much time, no love, no deeper thoughts, no work. Just lazy tipping sentences and choosing a picture. Don’t know.

[@roserain7034]

@@anival9576 $200 may look bad but the $100 was made in 2 seconds. It's not worth a dollar.

[@hastwper6682]

I am a designer and specifically a book cover designer and I'd say "A" is the most well-thought cover in the list and "D" might look good on the screen but trust me, those colours would not look good on the print and book are the physical products at the end so you wanna stay away from D and also that AI generated cover got 100$ is still paining me in the head lol

[@MelTorrefranca]

That's really interesting! A is definitely very unique and creative. I'm wondering if D would look better with some slight changes to the colors...

[@hastwper6682]

@@MelTorrefranca Hey, yes, it definitely would! Just some high contrasting colour that go well with the emotions you are trying to convey. and i dont wanna push things but im confident that there is a better typeface out there that will do the magic of converting that cover to a totally different and a better piece of art. I'm wondering if you are really going to use one of these covers for the book or was this just for the challenge? Knowing you, you will stun me with the cover! I really love your all of you published book's covers and your youtube thumbnails are just as good. you have a really great taste in design! btw I have been following you from a long time and I just wanna say thank you for putting these content out. for me, it has been about the inspiration that i get from watching you write and publish all of the books!

[@Lavender9870]

​@hastwper6682 Hey, do you have any tips on how to choose colours for book covers as im hoping to be a self-publishing author and kinda understand the concept of how colours on screens can be a whole lot different and more vibrant than on paper or book covers, however would love if i could get some tips in case im wrong.

[@MelTorrefranca]

​@@hastwper6682 Thank you so much for sticking around my channel! And I'm flattered you like my design choices-I'm really picky when it comes to the books I published haha. As of right now, yes, I'm planning to use one of these covers for the official book with some slightly modifications :)) I'll reveal it in an upcoming video

[@hastwper6682]

@@Lavender9870 Hey, don't worry about the colour differences, just try to design the best digital cover you can using the best fonts, colours, and graphics/images. As for choosing the best colours, first decide what kind of emotions you want to conver based on your story. You don't have to show everything but something that would intrigue them. This one is difficult part. Second, for choosing the colours, you need to understand the psychology of colours, humans don't consciously tell that they are feeling better when they look at beautiful mountains and good sunny day at beach. They'll just feel it subconsciously. You'll have to pick colours that make them feel a certain way. In this video how that horror looking cover was the worst because they failed to choose the right colours for this perticular book. The easiest advice, chatgpt, it has read all of the worlds blogs about choosing the right colours and graphic design blogs as well. Just use the prompt, write down the blurb of your book, explain a little about what you want the cover to look like if you have any idea and ask to give a colour combinations that would be great for the book. I'm 90% sure, it'll give good suggestions. I'm suggesting to use ai because it takes years to master graphics design and if there's a shortcut out there that will save your time and give you much better results, you should use it. Hope this was helpful and very Good luck with your self-publishing journey.

[@AndSoWeLaughed]

I’m confused as to why people thought E was 10 dollars because it was “simple” and took less than 10 mins to make. E actually understood the assignment, and C didn’t. Why is it red with bats? It feels horror and not sci fi. It’s a really great cover. I really loved A. And whilst I got the love for D, the cabin looks like a UFO slash tent. Which could’ve been cool if that was in the brief but I personally don’t get it.

[@seaweed5269]

C looks like hasty photoshop and E looks actually drawn by a person with good artistic skills!

[@kriskovichvaleria9108]

E is sooo good with smart idea behind it. I don’t get how they came to these conclusions 😢

[@stateflower3213]

E was my favorite

[@reflectingPastChoices]

@@kriskovichvaleria9108 people confused "simple" with "easy and cheap". Minimalism takes SKILL.

[@kriskovichvaleria9108]

@@reflectingPastChoices but it looks hella skilled that’s why I’m confused

[@ArmadusMalaysia]

The moment I saw E, I've been disagreeing with them. I love the mysterious vibe and colour. It felt like there were hidden messages that you would only understand after reading till the end.

[@soneeralaptop8885]

Right and using the same techno vibe to be shaped into trees was such a subtle reference

[@rukaya4089]

as a designer, E definitely had the best concept, you can tell it was done with intention. i especially like the shade of green used since it’s often used to indicate futuristic elements, and also green = nature it just needed slightly better/ clearer execution

[@formalpotato5874]

Not a graphic designer here, but E was actually my least favorite. It at least doesn’t interest me and is kind of confusing (why are there woods and electrical boards over it?), and I find the overlaying circuits kind of overwhelming? I feel like 5 is the clearest. It’s mostly nature themed (the point of the book is to get people into nature and away from tech) but you can also see the silhouette of the city buildings behind it. It also is quite eerie, which pairs well with the book

[@krishnakrupaur3727]

As a non designer frequent book buyer E just does not interest me if I saw a book with that cover on a shelf i wouldn't go for it unless someone recommends it to me. We all say don't judge a book by its cover but in all honesty that's exactly what everyone does and E just doesn't speak on itself as a book cover

[@jhon3209]

when i saw E it was my favourite inmediately, te colours as you say were great and the design is clear and well done, seeing how they prefeir C blows my mind, it looks like an horror book

[@Pigeonsandoranges]

E is conceptually brilliant. The colour choice, having the cabin in front of a forest in front of a futuristic skyline all overlayed with a mother board. It instantly hit the mark of a story set in the woods with the scifi elements in the distance but still effecting the overall story. I think it just needed to push the values more so it's easier to read

[@brianserrano6825]

A is very good but, as a designer, E is the best one.

[@catherinecalaway956]

'A' is an amazing cover. Very impactful and eye catching. I will say, if I saw it on the shelf one of the first things I would be doing would be to look if books 1-4 were there, lol.

[@MelTorrefranca]

Haha you're right...I didn't realize it might come across as the 5th book in a series until you pointed this out...

[@Iroh12345]

This was my thought as well. That would be enough reason for me to go with D (and then maybe hire the creator of A when publishing a series, haha).

[@evie154]

@@Iroh12345 d is ai

[@themarquis336]

A is an amazing film poster, not a book cover…

[@registered2comment]

Exactly!

[@faeshyye6193]

i’m so sad E didn’t get its flowers!! the computer elements mixed with the trees is such a simple yet effective way to go! it wasn’t my favorite but it was definitely designed with intention, so it makes me a little sad to see everyone value it so low 😭

[@aereio9141]

agreed!! i think it balanced the way the tech was invading the natural scene so well. with the brief too, i really think the artist did a wonderful job.

[@gkdair1413]

For me personally, I think the biggest issue is that it is just too busy, and takes too long to understand what is happening in the picture. I feel like it would work better on something like a wall poster or desktop background, but not for the cover of a book.

[@aereio9141]

@@gkdair1413 that's a valid critique, but i do think some busy designs work well on books! my favourite cover for example, is Animal Money by Michael Cisco- love it so much i keep it on my coffee table!

[@violetskypilot6697]

yes!! I'm obsessed with how the further, dimmer skyscraper cutout and the bright triangle at the front seem symmetrical, but the treeline cutout creeps higher on the left in an uneasy way. Also really liked the tech overlay. I can see it being too adult/spy novel for a YA book, but as a cover it slaps

[@eryptina]

I think the concept is really cool, but for me it was hard to notice that it was trees instead of buildings

[@yukiko347]

A small issue on a.i. detectors. Is if an artist is used too feed an art a.i. generator. The a.i. detector will claim the artist used a.i..

[@MelTorrefranca]

Ah that's good to know! Hadn't considered that possibility

[@gezz555]

I remembered someone put the og Monalisa into AI Detector and the machine claimed it's AI lol. We should also be skeptical with machine judgement since it's not 100% correct

[@nowheremap]

ai detection tech is pretty useless, with plenty of false positives and false negatives!

[@QuantumGravy]

@@MelTorrefranca Yes, ai detectors are not 100%, you cannot trust them. Test it by putting certain art styles in there, you will see that it unfairly will label 'popular' art styles that people like to copy as likely to be ai generated

[@Scentillia389]

Ai truly sucks. I missed the world where I can enjoy media without thinking about it :^(

[@robertrompf]

I think the best one was E and I really disagree with what everybody said. Maybe the layman doesn’t know, but those writings and the diagrams are meant to represent a circuit board or a PCB and it perfectly encapsulates the idea of a forest underlined with the circuit board giving it sci-fi undertones

[@carlotta4th]

It's well made but as a cover it's kind of boring.

[@Pseudotriakis]

@@carlotta4th nah, it's subtle. It's intriguing. It makes me keep looking at it. That's exactly what I want for a scifi story about going to a camp in the woods to get away from technology. Something that evokes curiosity about the forest, and about how much technology may already be in the forest, etc. It's almost the kind of minimalism in cover design that I hate, but just far enough from that to be interesting instead. At least to me. Mileage clearly varies. I guess it would depend on the actual content of the actual hypothetical book though.

[@admiralkaede]

it just doesnt appeal to me

[@msammy6914]

Priced at $300, cover A was the most expensive but definitely the best. The contrasting colors were tastefully done, evocating of an ominous atmosphere. I thought using the space in the 5 was a stroke of creative genius. The subtle "futuristic" elements toward the edges allow the reader to intuit that this book is more sci-fi leaning vs horror. Importantly, the cover doesn't give everything away; it's mysterious and invites the reader to take a closer look.

[@oleksiyraiu7190]

I cant believe the Ai generated image went for $100 and it does not even look like anything that "designer" has in the portfolio, and that designer has a better fiverr score than the $300 designer whose art is amazing. $100 is just a scammer. How come they have that score?!

[@xChikyx]

yeah, a scam

[@varying-quality-creations]

Bots, maybe? Or just people who don't know better. Maybe if they did know better they would know that they too can use the same AI plagiarism software and render the need for the scammer moot...

[@bewwie9067]

I'd think it's from people who don't actually care that much about what the final product is as long as it looks surface-level presentable and kinda sorta matches the brief. Clients are overwhelmingly super oblivious and the ones who seek real quality won't go on Fiverr lol

[@meow-jk2kt]

It looks like the $100 one only had 9 reviews (which may be done by the designer) whereas all the others had at least 20, making them more accurate.

[@wolf_art4547]

Because they have only 10 reviews while the 300$ artist has over 100 reviews

[@mer9185]

Definitely A. It's clever and has a good mix of all the elements you mentioned, somehow showing the sci-fi element as a backdrop while clearly indication that the setting and mood are more about the remote area + the color use is just amazing. I'm floored and I can totally see why it was the most expensive.

[@MelTorrefranca]

A is for sure very creative! And the colors are nice as well :))

[@jasminreyes1278]

Yeah A is the only one that gave me the sense of a rustic cabin in the woods in a world where tech is surrounding it, but it is not part of the tech era. D however feels like they are heading to a camp that is both techy and woodsy. Like maybe thats what camping looks like in the future. Tents of the future still covered in tech, but it doesnt look like it seperated itself enough from the tech world like option A does. Also D feels more like its something that the kids discover in the woods, but A does not give that discovery sort of feeling or that they are going to be swallowed feeling. A feels more like its placing you in this secluded setting for the story to unfold.

[@analogueapples]

Another reason is that they just had the most time - for instance, 10 dollar one is memorable as well, but because they probably have to make 2-3 of them per hour, they would not have time to pick a better font and use whatever stock images they find the fastest (most designers use stock, at least in part). But everything was combined, the idea itself could be good, if there was more time. I do think that the most expensive author was the most talented though.

[@nb6792]

A is good, but it's more of a older characters kinds of cover. D screams YA sci-fi

[@makeeverythingeasy4324]

The Panel of judges seemed more interested in pleasing Mel then actually assessing the book covers

[@HieronymusBosch229]

When she was kidding about the red cover, but they were trying to please by liking it, man that was criinngeee😂

[@coconut2184]

Fr lmao, especially the girl and the guy with brown glasses, lowkey pissed me off

[@randomwannab118]

​@@HieronymusBosch229 "Actually, I was being sarcastic." "Yeah, it definitely looks like it was just copy pasted and generic. $10, for sure."

[@AzNightmare]

*LOL. I think maybe it's her fault for trying to influence by saying anything. I'm not sure what the relationship is between them and her. At first I thought they were her staff or something. But anyhow, sometimes it is like that when you ask for opinions. It's best to just not say anything to not influence their opinion.*

[@NabhanZaman]

The first one raised the bar so high !

[@dllngr_]

E looks fantastic. Idk what yall smoked before filming lol. Claiming it has a lack of detail compared to C is actually wild lol. Each line and number on the computer chips hand drawn. Layering and background texture. Font texture. Fantastic coloring. Actually matches the prompt and story as the lightest color is clearly the cabin (it has windows for christ sake) as the trees are very slightly darker leading to the darkest tone of the technological skyline.

[@bladechild2449]

people don't get their monocles out to look at book covers in a book store. From a distance, E is visually the least appealing by miles

[@dllngr_]

@bladechild2449 couldn't disagree more but to each their own

[@dhaloh]

@@bladechild2449 Couldn't disagree more as well. But then again am a designer. Us designers, we just know what's a good, well executed design and what's not while those who aren't designers usually miss out.

[@inactiveandgone]

@@dhaloh That's a little tone deaf don't you think? You're designing for clients - it's your job to appeal to the non-designers. It's not a good design if only designers think it's good, completely misses the point of the objective.

[@dhaloh]

@@inactiveandgone The reality is that a lot of designs, hell, most of the designs that you see in your day to day life are bad for that exact reason. I'm just appreciating good design :) Designers step back 99% of the time. 70% of a designer's job is trying to convince the client why they're right with facts, data and detailed explanations so if they can, they will shift the client towards the better design. The well-done design "E" that you see in this video, you only see because it's not approved by the client, yet is well executed. In real life, you would probably see one of the AI generated designs from other examples or option A which is good as well, just serves a different purpose. I am simply appreciating what's not appreciated by the rest of the population :) there is no reason to fret about it.

[@annabrwk2059]

E doesn’t surprise me. Im a designer too and I’d say the biggest misconception is that simple, minimalist designs look like less work, therefore are cheap, but the concept and purposefull merging of different meanings in less shapes is the highest creativity you can get. This is something AI is still lacking, or will keep being a human specialty.

[@ozeddyo]

But it looks more boring than C and A

[@lemoncakemix]

I was very sad that E got disregarded so quickly

[@ryanread8617]

Too me E looks like a quick job, I feel like that computer motherboard texture was put on everything whereas it should of been only on the buildings, to make the nature more embolden. Tbh it looks very simplistic and easy to create, just turning a background picture into a singular color.

[@rohanshrestha4391]

I liked E too.

[@Fantisma7]

even when i look at it as a minimalist design it doesnt look that great, a minimalist book cover is meant to showcase the concept with minimal visual information, and the cover is not very successful and conveying the concept. it basically just did what every other book cover did but with less work and its not as clear. all they did was create a shape of a sci fi skyline behind the shape of a forest, and then they threw in some motherboard patterns and other textures off the internet and changed the colour to match. you can tell not a lot of thought went behind it.

[@liav374]

B and D are 100% AI generated, not even parts of it and then edited together. It’s whole thing entirely. They wrote two quotes on a program and charged you a ridiculous amount of money for it. As an illustrator, I am so tired.

[@canifer5546]

That's what I was thinking too, and I was surprised no one else seemed to notice. The colors are really nice on D, but the shapes of the arms/legs and the branches/grass are odd in a way that a human artist would correct. And the tent lacks clarity in the details in a "This was not made by a person with an idea of a sci-fi tent in mind" way

[@marethyu31]

@@canifer5546 the colors are awful for print though

[@canifer5546]

@@marethyu31 Sure, but I was talking about from a standalone illustration standpoint

[@marethyu31]

@@canifer5546 Yeah, it's very easy for Ai to replicate palettes. But a professional designer designs with purpose in mind. Point is Ai still has a long way to match the human creative process results. That's because it's programmed to produce visual diarrhea. (I think we both agree)

[@beehive5370]

B was obvious, but for D it was more subtle, the main thing that had me thinking it was AI was the awkward poses of the teens.

[@user-tq1xt2ct8s]

I'd hate to break it to everyone, but I'm 99% sure D is AI as well. There's something about how people are standing, their backs towards the camera that's very telling of AI. Also, idk who would make the conscious choice to make a "cabin" which serves the purpose of removing kids from technology look like some Star Wars tent? There's also the symmetry that makes me think it's AI. It's not fully symmetrical, but the two kids, the two trees, the hills, the patches of dark, they're all equally as far from the centre. Please don't use D.

[@jimmygreenwood1376]

They are all AI sadly, some things are off in every one of them

[@user-tq1xt2ct8s]

@@jimmygreenwood1376 Nope. it's just those 2. I've been working with AI over the last year, I've learned to spot it.

[@lous.6372]

@@jimmygreenwood1376 I don't see AI in C. I could recreate that with no AI usage or experience whatsoever.

[@alishanightshade3270]

Yes, the stairs too. It’s how ai make parallel lines

[@arijj8629]

D is definitely not AI. That's literally they're art style. Of course it wouldn't be symmetry bc it's hand draw. Yall are to uses to ai, you can't tell real art from fake. The creator has proof that it's not AI

[@biancamarcal9496]

D is so obviously AI, it's literally the same composition and concept as B, the most AI screaming one. Only difference is the person probably messed manually with the colors, and added an interesting font underneath, but the drawing is very basic.

[@eksen7221]

The D one is made a cover since 2020 with the same artstyle, stable diffusion who responsible for ai art is released on august 2022

[@dxstxyevski]

A is a the best cover, I like that it allows you to imagine the characters and the color pop looks amazing.

[@borismelchior6293]

I definitely prefer the A cover. It really speaks directly on its own. I mean, as soon as you see the cover, you immediately have a spark of an idea of what the book is all about.

[@anival9576]

I think her team had a good point, though. D might fit her tone better. I thought A had a kind of John Grisham vibe to it. Depending on the tone of her work, that might not really match.

[@Morgan-oq7uj]

@@anival9576 But, if your book is about a detox from technology and reconnecting with nature, why would the cabin itself be made out of technology they are trying to escape?

[@anival9576]

@@Morgan-oq7uj Hmm...is the cabin made of technology in D? That's the one you're referring to, right? I think this might take us down the rabbit hole of "what actually counts as technology..."? What technology are they trying to escape? etc. etc.

[@palomaroggeri8680]

@@anival9576the problem is that D is AI generated

[@anival9576]

@@palomaroggeri8680 Is it? How can you tell?

[@MyLittelProblem]

Okay, "A" looks the best imo, it's striking and dramatic, I would love to have a book with this cover and a poster. "B" gives off too much of AI vibes and also looks like some teenage dystopia novel "teens against aliens" or "Divergent in the woods". "C" is just Japanese vampires. "D" needs some color correction, but it looks interesting. "E" is actually more interesting the more you look at it. I personally would invert colors: cabin should be black, when lighter wood, then cityscape and the background as motherboard. My vote is for A Also, I don't know how did you get in my recs, but it looks fun

[@MelTorrefranca]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, and for stopping by my channel! :))

[@Neroism_]

It may be because I’m used to tech but E is certainly truly impressive too. The writings is actually thought out because it is resembling motherboards! I loved it the moment I saw it together with A, it was sad to me people thought it was the $10 one when I could tell it was one of the expensive ones because of the detail :(

[@cvbattum]

Honestly though... They just overlaid a generic photo of a circuit board on those layers and I don't think that's very creative at all.

[@arnieXD]

I felt it was also the least digital looking, besides referring to the digital aspect by the motherboard overlay. It's not hugely VISUAL, but thats what I'd be looking for according to the theme of the book

[@Skykristal]

​@@cvbattummy thoughts exactly. Honesty if that would have been executed better, the general concept itself would be cool. But the image overlay bothered me the most about it. Especially because it doesnt even align with the middle color shape thats placed at the bottom

[@laurafrakinroslin]

The composition also wasn’t great. The forest and city are recognizable, the cabin is just represented by a triangle.

[@Szan-40]

It was a very dull one in my opinion. I didn't like the motherboard overlay, it's a very cheap idea. I can just guess that the triangle is supposed to represent the cabin. The background behind the trees had weird shapes, didn't feel like a futuristic city at all. It was more like a steampunk city.

[@vonfoxula]

I think C just needs a soft blue instead of red to change it from horror to more sci-fi. And either a bird or a something tech flying instead of the bats. Edit: and a thicker, brighter font for the word “cabin”

[@dhaloh]

As a designer, A and E are best.

[@endlessly4everafter]

As an artist and designer watching all the E slander is really hard. It is definitely top 2 cover! Clearly made by an actual human, they thought about the topic and put it in interesting details (like the forest "skyline" being brought to the front), also they picked colors that clearly communicated scifi

[@Szan-40]

I liked the forest skyline and the color too, though I had no idea that that particular green is supposed to represent sci-fi.. I think you see into that piece way more because you studied it. But since designers aren't creating art for other designer but for people who aren't designers, you shouldn't rely on obsucre secondry meanings in your art pieces that you could only know about if you studied it. Also the city skyline didn't feel sci-fi t all. It had more of a steampunk wibe

[@jontycampbell5213]

@@Szan-40 the colour used was the one requested, a set of green shades

[@Equited]

I wouldn't put much stock in AI detectors. They're prone to false positives. I've seen plenty of artists have their works flagged as containing AI despite testing decade-old pieces. I've even tried running an illustration I hand-made at different parts of the process, from sketch to final. The more polish I added, the more it became 'detected' as AI. As for the covers, B is definitely AI, but I wouldn't be surprised if D is as well. It has a similar finish to other Dall-E images. Additionally, if you put the style aside, D has a very similar composition to B. They likely wrote a similar prompt based on your description.

[@leahloo8591]

This!!!

[@wtfaiwpodcast]

Yeah, those weird legs on the girl in D had me wondering if it was AI-generated. It doesn't seem like a choice a real person would have made. I'm conflicted, though, because of the very literal approach to color, using exactly one shade of each of the three colors she gave them. That definitely feels like a choice a bad artist would make.

[@BooksWithStephanie]

Idk why everyone is hating on E lol it's may favorite. I love how it incorporated the trees to show nature and the sci-fi esque structures to show it was also sci-fi and the color pallet is good for a creepier vibe. And it looks soft sci-fi to me. But A isn't that bad. It would be my second choice.

[@MelTorrefranca]

It's very artistic-I like it too! I think it just takes an extra moment to figure out what's going on, which isn't great for a book cover where you need to make a quick and strong impression. It's a nice piece of art though and the illustrator is lovely!

[@inalasahl]

It’s my favorite too and the one I’d read just from the cover.

[@namelessbrat7197]

Looking at it, I would have confused it with a non fiction book about computing. It doesn't give "story" vibes.

[@sopherls9762]

Mine too. If I were to look for a new sci fi read of high quality, I'd expect to find it within that cover, because it suggests to me, that the author has delved deeper into the subject matter of their story and it isn't purely about some adolescents running around in a futuristic setting.

[@luna010]

Also the cabin at the bottom ! it took me a sec to realize it wasn't just a triangle with rectangles for no reason.

[@RenderRides]

I think D, with a few revisions on the color and contrast, could be an amazing cover. It has an amazing composition and with the right little tweaks it could just be the perfect cover for your book. New viewer here, loved this video, and I wish you the very best. Subscribed!

[@MelTorrefranca]

Ah thank you and welcome!!

[@RenderRides]

@@MelTorrefranca I see that you went with it already. Looks great with the new changes :D

[@mar_dma]

I love how this video is edited, I feel like I’m watching a movie with the music choices 😂

[@ronigg13]

Yeah loved it too ❤

[@ywlumaris]

ai can’t be copyrighted and a lot of people will think the books are AI so I really don’t encourage using them for your projects. Shame on the fiver artists for scamming people.

[@ywlumaris]

I would recommend a 100% human made cover. The $35 one is very much so AI.

[@blah914]

yeah, but ai. detectors also dont work... which leaved u in a bit of a bind

[@ywlumaris]

@@blah914 they are hit or miss at times but if you're around art and can look up the artist, 9 times out of 10 you can see who used AI and who hasn't.

[@blah914]

@@ywlumaris i agree on that, but proving it legally is separate from 👀 "b* i can tell 💀"

[@ywlumaris]

@@blah914 I mean, no, not if we're talking about *legal actiong* and going after genAI companies. That can be proven. It's all in the data set. Plus Midjourney was caught with a huge list of names of Magic: The Gathering artists to fine-tune their models on. And that's the main angle when it comes to legally holding accountable; yes harder for the individual, but these scammers would be out of a business if MJ and Stability AI are held accountable. Enough people WILL be able to tell an AI cover though, and whether people like it or not, people will boycott a brand/author if they strongly suspect genAI.

[@erikjulkin]

B and D are both AI-generated, imho (I use a variety of tools, so I recognize the shading and lighting styles of AI), possibly with some post-editing and repainting. This video is a great showcase that authors are not necessarily good designers, and I don't mean that in a bad way. We are storytellers; that's our craft. It's good to hire a professional for designing covers or at least listen to some advice from someone with skill and experience. I love how E layered the cabin, woods, and the sci-fi city-maybe not the best fit for YA, but definitely a thoughtful design. A seems like a mystery or crime novel. B is just trash, in my opinion. C gives off a creepy horror vibe, D is solid (but I dont like the colors much), and E is great. However, I don't think any of them fit the theme and genre very well. Great video, very educational for everyone with a bit of self-reflection. I personally struggle with listening to advice about designs and visual art (and I am beginner visual artist myself), especially font placement, because the initial idea I, as an author, have is not always as eye-catching and appealing as a cover should be.

[@我的暱稱]

Yeah B and D are AI generated for sure !

[@xChikyx]

yeah, D looks like AI for me. AI ruins everything now.. so annoying

[@RubyDianArts]

Yeah D has a lot of similarities with AI generated covers, they should ask for progress pics or proof of layers

[@aereio9141]

this is what i thought too- telltale sign like the stairs being wonky are a big no-no and the colours are muddy. i do hope they choose a different cover, if this is used it will cause copyright issues down the line too

[@jjju3]

I clocked D as ai immediately i was so shocked no one else clocked it. I also really loved E as a proof of concept but not as a 200 dollar finished design lol.

[@meloo-melosh]

People don’t understand how complex it is to be a simple designer. Simple designs are WAY harder than complex and detailed. As you gotta communicate so many things by very little. That takes extreme talent and skill and practice. With detailed designs you can put more clues and use more stuff however with simple, you gotta communicate the atmosphere, premise, vibe, aesthetic, silhouette, shape language, style, visual hierarchy, hints to the story and so many more in just so little.

[@unlimitedvoid7897]

i totally agree with this. the best designs i always see are the simples one, it gets a lot of practice and time to get a good and clever results.

[@UrSammich]

Agreed. I learnt this quickly in university when I started going for graphic design and I wondered why certain designs or ideas popped out more than some ideas and when it boiled down it came down to simple. In my art gallery class for example we were tasked to make posters for events and such to be used on campus and we as a class would help pick certain posters and why it worked. Often times the simple designs and way things were framed often stood out over the overly detailed. I personally wish I had understood this sooner as by the time I understood it was late in my degree.

[@meloo-melosh]

@ I’m surprised you had to go to university to learn something so obvious, check your iq

[@peachblanket]

I get stressed out when the client asks to make it simple. Simple is the hardest.

[@Malinzo]

which e didnt do very well tho, its simple, but without much meaning or thought

[@ELEC7RO]

If we being real, cover C with a few adjustments is the best one. Remove the bats, make it blue/green and that's a really nice cover and fits VERY well.

[@PrMultivers]

I loved E so much, it really fit the assignment, the forest forming a wall in front of the city and the motherboard circuits everywhere! The choice of the green both for the sci-fi and return to nature aspect! Great design!

[@adityasudan2876]

E one is actually really great, i don't think you guys got what he was trying to depict. It was the electric chip components of a circuit board fused with the trees he showed with a lamp light on top of those components. That idea is actually fireeeee.......

[@wooshbait36]

They said E took the least time, but I totally disagree; it was very unique.

[@alenapavlackova222]

I actually thought E was going to be either 100 or 200 I was kind of surprised that they were putting it so low haha, it looks quiet artistic and esthetically pleasing. I'm really happy A was the most expensive one it is definitely the best one.

[@crake345]

D is definitely AI as well. Those detectors don't work at all.

[@surimpressions]

Totally agree, a quick look at the trees or the grass allows any human being to recognize AI. Maybe those detectors are AI too? (cue Twilight Zone theme)

[@arijj8629]

It's not AI. The creator proved it. Yall have gotten so used to ai you can't even tell the difference..which is sad.

[@arijj8629]

It's not AI dude. The creator already proved it. It's sad how everyone thinks everything is AI nowadays

[@sewerside01142]

@@arijj8629 Proved how?

[@ZombieChicken-X]

@@arijj8629 proved how lets see your evidence since you're crying about it all over the comments

[@thatsrouughbuddy]

Option D is my absolute favourite!! Definitely fits what you said about the vintage feel, and I personally *love* the saturation of the colours. Criminal that it was the $35 option to be honest. Also feels more YA then option A, which I think makes me lean towards it for that reason too!

[@mr.sweetness]

things like this just prove that you set your own value. no one but you, can truly determine how much what you bring to the table is worth.

[@jade_._net]

the E slander is crazy :,(

[@MelTorrefranca]

Agreed, maybe it's not the best choice for this book, but it's a nice piece! And it was fully illustrated. The artist showed me the sketches and the step-by-step process which was really cool. Would work with him again!

[@kittycatcrunchie]

I am a graphic designer specialising in illustrative poster design, which utility-wise is quite similar to book covers. I'm seeing a lot of comments from people who don't really seem to have experience actually discussing graphics or judging what would make a design memorable, legible or aesthetically well thought out. The two most important things for this are 100% conveying the correct tone and setting and being memorable. Kids standing in silhouette staring at a focal point is the most generic thing you could have as a cover, if I read that book, I would never be able to find it again. And in that way, even C is better than D or B, because even though it is amateur and not well thought out, at least you can see a theme and a goal for the idea being communicated. D and B just say, "there's kids in the woods and an ominous vibe". E is good in terms of design principles - symmetry, font, spacial balance, palette and concept (really love the outline of a cabin in the bottom triangle). As the only one left, and the one I was building up to: A is objectively the best choice from a design standpoint and from a narrative one too. It clearly conveys the futuristic staging as well as the natural and mysterious setting of the woods. The layer mask used to confine the woods to the 5 is striking and memorable and all the textual elements of the cover are well spaced. There is good detail in the woods, but not too much and the yellow on teal has a great and stark impression, being 1/3 apart on the primary colour wheel, being almost complimentary colours. It genuinely has so much thought put into it compared to every other cover which is just an image with text on it (except E). Feel free to ignore the rest of this comment, I came back and wrote my thoughts more concisely above after feeling unsatisfied with how the other comments were analysing the covers. I'll leave it below though, just in case you want to read my less curated thoughts. It would genuinely be a travesty if you used anything other than A or maybe E. The panel thinking E was 10usd really made me want to cry lmao That was genuinely the second best cover. Personally, D feels *very* generic to me and also looks like AI very obviously. It also looks like the kids are exiting the woods and the cabins look pretty sci-fi-y which didn't seem like it was the vibe you wanted. It doesn't feel like it conveys any emotion at all, there's no line drawing my eyes anywhere and there's no colour choices doing that either. It's literally just a passably rendered minimalist image with text on it. The red one was quite amateur and that moon is 100% a png of the moon colour shifted towards red/overlayed with red. There is also something wrong with the space usage, the book cover looks too unbalanced... It can be tilted and ominous without being visually disparate. The obvious AI one was shameful lmao. That literally is kids coming from the woods into a city. Also it's got the icky AI line smoothening airbrush lighting vibes. E is actually very nice, the motherboard overlays are very cool and the way the bottom of them looks like the top of a bungalow is super fun! It is kind of giving more tech thriller than survival scifi mystery though. Also the use of space was nice and balanced. A, though, is genuinely perfect. If that designer used AI, then they're so good at prompt engineering that they avoided all the characteristic AI sloppiness and nonsensical design elements. Imo, it doesn't seem like AI at all. Also it's the only one that conveys the feeling of coming out of the future and into the woods. It establishes the main setting as tech with the nice green background and then narrows your focus into the foresty 5 that conveys a feeling of leaving the tech behind. Ideal. Mwah. Perfection. The colour choices, font and having the 5 as a layer mask also are brilliant and the cabin image is framed so well in there. It would be a tragedy if you didn't use it.

[@cvbattum]

On A using AI, I think the designer may have used AI to generate the graphic for the cabin and that alone. Something about the outline of the roof not really making sense. But the complete design is certainly not AI generated.

[@kittycatcrunchie]

@@cvbattum I also thought it was probably the cabin/city bkg

[@tic857]

can I just say the color contrasts an imagery in A is also brilliant in the way, that only does it is a contrast of color yellow and teal and and City to forest, but Forests are rarely depicted in Yellow, or cities in a blue or teal, its usually reverse. a city in yellow is more common to see as it brings that dystopian smog feeling, but because they used yellow with the forest, it really makes the treeline pop like sunrise or sunset, natural light against the muted cyberpunk colors. But with the city skyline in the background it simultaneously also communicates a smoggy tech driven life that has spilled over into the forest, but like a clear sunset, the side of the cabin is dark with bright windows, which you wouldn't get with sunlight that is dispersed in smog. So its doing ALOT. I think the cover would attract YA and adults. Saw it and said "Id open it" The others are very "YA generic" And they say dont judge a book by its cover, but these days I find myself skipping a lot of books because the covers are not engaging.

[@kittycatcrunchie]

@@tic857 YA generic is soo true. it's a lovely cover

[@JZStudiosonline]

@@tic857 Don't judge a book by it's cover was a lot more understandable when it wasn't color-printed paper. Now that it is, the only reason you'd have a bad cover is because you didn't care or your book isn't interesting enough. Even if you did something like pure white with only black text that's liable to get some sort of reaction and curiosity as to why it's so plain. I think about it a lot with game and movie covers too, there's a ton of them that are just awful.

[@heyderekj]

As a designer I wouldn't equate price to output complexity. For instance: I think the actual $10 one was very underpriced. A good design is to capture and deliver on the goal set. Then pure opinion comes in on whether you like it or how well it accomplishes what you feel is right as you're also going up against the designer's style too. Overall, my personal opinion is that one with the bold yellow 5 does the best job based off your design brief. To me, not having kids on the cover, while it helps narrow the intended audience, takes away from the main subject-the cabin. Hope that helps!

[@DavesGrotto]

Retro 80's one with the green and red and trees was the one I thought was the best for the story at the very beginning of the video ! I think it suites the demographic being either adult or kids

[@GuilhermeDeus]

As a Designer earing them talk about the covers designs triggered the fuck out of me

[@Lasisusi]

In C's defense, reading the whole blurb you gave the designers, it definitely read as horror to me at first glance. Primarily horror with scifi elements. Based on the rest of the video, I guess it's supposed to be more mystery than anything - but maybe C's designer also thought it was supposed to be horror

[@MelTorrefranca]

Fair point! My adjectives leaned a bit more into horror...

[@cvbattum]

Then again, C is just plain slasher halloween horror and I read pretty much no scifi in there.

[@thasthar]

I think A is really good, but for other demographic. With the same story, but for the adult target audience it would be perfect. D is already perfect for teenagers and young adults, and that's why I would choose it. But the colors would need more contrast for the printed version, and change the saturation, the digital version would not be a problem.

[@MelTorrefranca]

Agreed! A is a bit more mature and might not be the best vibe for a YA audience. I think D would attract the right people. Also thanks for the color adjustment tips!

[@victoriaibeh9740]

Honestly tho as a teen A is my favourite 😭

[@yukichan177]

well young adults are adults since YA is ages 20+ and teens are under 20s

[@victoriaibeh9740]

@yukichan177 ohh fairss we still tend to read them anyway 🫣

[@TheFandomWarriorLexy06]

@@yukichan177 YA is 12-18

[@carabascrafts]

Very interessting to see that AI is off the table from the start. Thanks, that makes me as an illustrator very happy.

[@reflectingPastChoices]

they didn't catch D as AI generated though

[@xChikyx]

B and D are AI... she basically got scammed twice

[@userzrhdjd3162]

My Rank based on book cover that I would take: D > C > A > B > E

[@melapeel]

A & E definitely the best. I loved the subtlety and layered meaning along with the mysterious colour scheme of E. A was great but the 5 doesn't quite read as part of the title - as someone else said it reads more like the 5th in a series.

[@doedside]

I'm really surprised how everyone liked C but hated on E... E is simple but in a really good way, I love how it incorporates trees and a cabin outline with the futuristic structures in the back and the design on top which reminds me of some tech parts. If I saw a book with this cover in a bookshop I'd definitely check it out (even though I'm not really a fan of sci-fi genre). C definitely looked the cheapest to me from the start. The concept is interesting but apart from the color red nothing in this is eye-catching. For me personally it looks really messy, like someone took random free grahic elements all in different styles, combine them together, slap some different textures on top and then chose a font that doesn't suit anything either... I think B and D don't look bad overall but there's a high possibility that those are made with ai so I think you should avoid them. A definitely looks the most expensive, everything looks cohesive. I think out of all options it matches the description of the book you gave the best. Overall, I think you should consider either A or E depending on what's the final book will be, if it's something more for younger audience then A, if it ends up being for more mature audience then E. If the genre turns out to be more of a thriller with sci-fi elements - A, but if it's actual sci-fi then I think E would suit better. And obviously you and the co-author should just choose whichever you both like more 😊

[@RazzleDazzle23]

E is the only one where somebody turned their brain on. I would give that person a job..

[@0NotPixelated0]

Frrrrr yessss

[@jhon3209]

A as well, but yes, i think E its the best one

[@Hyclyx]

i cant give someone a job but i can confidently say my eyes are not lying

[@somethingflowerylikeabutte3181]

D felt the most unique and fitting to the story

[@VanIyke]

I liked the 1st one. Had everything: Atmospherics (creepy, without giving off too much horror vibes), nice vibrant color (but not loud). Aesthetically pleasing to the eye. And there's a picture of a cabin. My last statement is a nod to the second cover not even showing a cabin, while at the same time showing kids apparently making their way out of the woods towards a big cityscape. The 3rd cover is more of a shock and awe. The blood red with silhouette night creatures flying overhead with the slant in topography of the cabin screams horror. Cover 4 is like a fusion: sci-fi/zombie/slasher vibe. Cover 5 is two paces off being called abstract in its presentation. It also looks like the most -- for want of a better term, "amateurish."

[@d.celestio1574]

E is more well thought than they think, its also actually the hardest to pull off. Its easy to put scifi elements in scifi story, considering how confidently the creator threw an abstract, he must have gone through the story andd grasped the concept.

[@aftoncrain2042]

A is the one I would be most likely to pick up if I saw it at a library or bookstore

[@MelTorrefranca]

Def eye-catching

[@meadowlarrk_]

yes for sure! I never pick up books that look like cover D bc it reminds me of books I would see in my middle school library… as a young adult i’m far more drawn to cover A

[@cliffcalhoun9718]

I think I like Cover D more because the muted colors contribute to the darker element while the red glow coming from the cabin adds that creepy and mysterious element to it.

[@MelTorrefranca]

Fs!! It took me a while to figure out what I like about the colors because I normally wouldn't be an orange-green combo kind of person. But I think it works for a creepy vibe here because the colors are almost natural, but not quite...

[@hemasundarsanapathi4421]

​@@MelTorrefranca hey give me your insta id

[@anjalijain9892]

@@MelTorrefranca if possible can you darken or saturate the colours of D to like that of the ten-dollar one because the only thing at least for me that was even making it a choice between that cover and any other was the fact that the colour was so muted

[@MelTorrefranca]

@@anjalijain9892 Thanks. Will play around with some brightness and saturation fs.

[@xChikyx]

it kinda looks AI generated as well

[@Everything_Multi-tool]

AI or not as long as it works. The beauty of freelancers is diversity. Love all the outcomes.

[@Sharp_Calidore]

Why do all of your friends seem like really nice people, I just find it rare to come across people like these! ❤

[@Elle1yt]

Cover A looks very cool but I feel it doesn't fit the target audience. Also (this is going to sound stupid but you would be surprised how often it happens), some people might actually miss the 5 and just read CABIN. As a graphic designer, I always remind myself that no amount of coolness is enough to sacrifice legibility. Cover D is almost perfect. I would only change two things. I would turn the dark grey into black, and make the city in the distance more distinct (I'm assuming those are skyscrapers...)

[@MelTorrefranca]

I'm glad you validated this as a designer because it's been a concern of mine...! Thanks for watching, and especially for the tips!

[@amiraa.8460]

that was also my first thought when I looled at A, I didn't see the 5 at first haha

[@piern1k336]

15:00 C do not have AI, it's just stock images and paint tools

[@AvoidingtheQuestion]

I just want to say, as an artist myself who struggles with valuing my own time and labor. $300 is still quite low for a full piece of original art. $10 and $35 are like joke prices. $35 is like an hour of work for a very cheap rate. You're not gonna get much from that.

[@MelTorrefranca]

👆🏽 True, we usually pay $400 upward

[@rina7633]

im late to this but you need to consider the location of where these designers live. in bangladesh, indonesia and even my country 10usd and 35 usd is a lot in our respective currencies

[@sgtcheetos3628]

D is hands down the better option, if the colors are too dull ask for a revision to make the colors a little brighter.

[@morielroge]

"E" is such a loss. Literally the coolest cover with a great concept

[@Its.Chenzilla]

A is personally my favourite but it gives more adult thriller book vibes. D is also great, however as an artist myself I’m suspicious on whether they used AI or not. I think when it comes to cases like this, it’s best to message the designer and ask to be shown their development process and layers.

[@serafima2]

100% sure its AI. They have a pattern and it easily noticible

[@fil5864]

E is really well made. It just needs some colour correcting to make some elements stand out more..

[@AdamSmeowsher]

Those ai detection things are rly innacurate, I can tell you for a fact D is ai. Look at the branches of the trees especially

[@Mr.LeoNov]

And the staircase, the top of the cabin door It all looks kinda sus, honestly Though it's probably been modified/vectorized to look not as obvious

[@xChikyx]

100% AI, yes

[@cooltalktalks4944]

Mel, I just discovered your channel today and am very proud of you. I’m an old boomer with little time who has never published but plan to polish up my work and get started. I started late in life and am very busy. I also have a KZbin channel: Cool Talk Talks that I want to get back into. My point is I have old goals I’ve neglected but seeing your determination and resourcefulness has inspired this old procrastinator into action. I’m getting back into it! Thank you. I wish you all the best.

[@MelTorrefranca]

Aw that's so sweet. Thank you and I wish you the best with your projects!! :))

[@harijariwala7472]

the red one was def the best one. from a consumer perspective that would be the most interesting to me.

[@fleur1e]

as a young adult myself that’s really into sci-fi and did graphic design in college, i LOVE cover A, it looks like you’re taking a peak into a world without technology, which suits the tech detox camp that you were talking about, and just playing with the 5 is really creative!! it would definitely catch my eye in a library

[@alr3764]

peek or peak? or did it pique your interest?

[@ciaolife]

I think E is more sophisticated the longer I look at it, but I'd never get a poster of it for my wall. The motherboard elements are very distracting. Love the three layers of the cabin, forest and city though

[@MelTorrefranca]

Agreed!! Definitely not the best choice for a book cover, but I love the art! And I think the illustrator is very talented

[@tis_i_krithi]

Mel, honestly I agree with you. Cover D, I'd absolutely pick up, no hesitation. A looks interesting, too, but D is just gorgeous.

[@MelTorrefranca]

I guess I'm not the odd one out after all!

[@RayneArt]

Fun fact: D is also AI but no one seems to have noticed that

[@arijj8629]

​@@RayneArtit's not

[@arijj8629]

​@neolordie no it's not, it's already been proven it's not, yall are to quick to spread misinfo

[@RayneArt]

@@neolordie are you the fiver designer of D?

[@HAYDS510]

It's interesting what people think would be harder to do or use more creativity. The red one for example would take about 10 minutes. it's just filling in woodlands / city skylines with solid colour, some fairly hap-hazard matching of assets (google moon, cope paste - lower opacity - PNG of some bats. Underlay of a paper texture across the whole page to tie it in and doneski.

[@Cheiriko]

I really love D, there's just something about the symmetry, font , colours, and that tent design that I love. I know the judges were talking about how the colours are dull but I feel like they represent how a forest can feel quite well. However, as much as I love how the tent looks, since the idea of the camp is to get the kids away from technology I don't know if a techy tent interferes with how you wanted to write the book. It's the perfect hint of scifi in the cover though. Insane that it was 35 dollars because it's bomb.

[@sakataofnoway]

Its AI.. It's crazy it even has a price in the first place.

[@graysontaylornyc]

Can't believe we got only one right 🤦‍♂ Looking forward to the book!

[@MelTorrefranca]

Thanks! Looking forward to yours too!

[@sarahstangledtales]

I think for a soft sci-fi D would work best BUT I personally like A more so I’m going to vote for A, though D would work too but only if you could get the colors darker. And those prices and results were crazy, wow!

[@MelTorrefranca]

Darkening the colors could be cool!

[@anival9576]

I like you making the point about D working best for sci-fi. I do think A is a more mainstream design (I'm thinking thriller genre). It depends on how hard one is pushing into the sci-fi genre. I really liked A, but when I realized it was $300 set against $35, I really warmed up to D. 😁It's a pretty cool cover--and a lot for the money. The color issues can be fixed.

[@Majoofi]

I'm astonished that you would commit to a cover before the book is written.

[@mim_mimm]

yes. as a design student i would not commit until i spoke w the author and corrections were given, and after a LOT of the details were covered. i know fiverr is convenient for a lot of freelancers but if you want an thought out project the designer should 1. request a complete brief, and 2. be in contact with the user in the process

[@nerdchick853]

Just to add a voice to the void, A and D were absolutely my favorites as well, with a bit of preference to D. While D would be more annoying to print it just feels so much more cozy and with a bit of color balancing it would look lovely. A is much more "vavavoum" and impactful. TLDR: it depends on the vibe you want.

[@MrFox-xr9cc]

A: I like this the most. It fits the briefing the best, because the actual scenery is the cabin in a forest. It also has the small Sci-Fi elements popping out at the sides and the skyline in the background, hinting at something futuristic going on too. The "5" really pops out thanks to the colour and the darker tone of the blue/green would also seperate it well from other books close to it in a shelf or on a webshop (you can't forget marketing with designs) The price might be on the more expensive side, but the result is worth it I think. B: It is called Cabin 5, because that is the number of the cabin in the camp. Not necessarily because there are 5 people. Which could get you accused of misleading the audience if it shows 5 people on the cover. Also: There is a huge focus on the Sci-Fi city in the center. Depending on the story that might be a place the characters mention or we'd get glimpses of, but with the title being "Cabin 5" it shouldn't be in the focus C: This could be the poster of an 80's trash horror movie about vampires. You have no Sci-Fi, no lush forests, no teenagers,... It just took "Dark, Sinister, Cabin, Red" and ran it through AI, maybe made slight adjustments to texture in photoshop. D: I think this is also not a good choice. The Briefing didn't say much about the teenagers who are actually in the camp, yet here we are again with the number 3 or 2 + 1 suggesting some importance. I like the general Idea of the backdrop being in greens, the light from the cabin and the area hit by it being in orange and the forest and characters in dark grey, but why does the cabin look like a space-ship? I mean yeah, the genre is sci-fi, but isn't this supposed to be away from technology? Even in a Sci-Fi world I'd imagine this to be a wooden cabin, maybe even with tents and a campfire around. E: Considering how hard the others missed the briefing for me, I actually like this the second most. It DOES look a little bit like a Tech-Book at first sight, but depending on the story and the dark mysteries being uncovered, it could fit very well, that the texture for the forest silhouette is a computer chip and the silhoutte of the city behind it, with an arrow of light at the bottom implying a progress of things being brought to light. It is a LOT more abstract, but depending on whats actually going on in the story could be the best fit. However for marketing purposes and general appeal, especially considering the target audience being teenagers, I would definetely stick to A, since E also looks a bit more gloomy, but in a dull way.

[@Shiv_cc]

how is cover e $10. that shit looked fire af. a lot more mysterious than some of the others for sure. I feel like these people are too deep into the mind of a designer that they're out of touch from the mind of a consumer.

[@Rathdrgnknight]

The $35 was my favorite and that artist is definitely underselling themselves. I hope they start charging more because that is my favorite cover of the bunch.

[@sandysoup8143]

PRINCESS TUTU PFP

[@sandysoup8143]

and i agree!

[@kombuchas4684]

I am fairly certain it is AI tho. Looks like midjourney. Maybe I am wrong but I have seen many art that looks exactly like it that was done in AI

[@DayDreamling]

The 35$ is probably AI

[@RayneArt]

It's AI

[@elina3734]

cover d also looks Ai generated to me, just made with vector ai, maybe partially. also wether you like it or not i feel like B cover would get the most attention in a bookstore

[@meadowlarrk_]

yeah I thought cover D looked very ai generated as well… plus $35 seems too cheap for an artist illustrating that level of detail from scratch

[@parrotsticks]

E would be my choice regardless what everything costed. It gets the themes across most cleanly, and doesn't make the mistake of putting emphasis on the number 5. The fact the cabin is identified by its number and not by a nice naming scheme seems to be the important point made by the title, and putting huge emphasis on the number can only take away from that coldness. At worst, it might even look like the 5th in a series of books all called 'Cabin'

[@AustinJF]

Cover A and Cover D made me curious about the book and would 100% pull me towards the book if I saw it in a store! Cover A is definitely my favourite, though

[@casualplayer8464]

Agreed 👍

[@o.h.8337]

Love A way better than D tbh! Would definitely pull A off a shelf rather than D. D is extremely dull, it would not be on my radar at all, and also there's no aspect of the cabin there either which i really like on A. The cabin on A is subtle and evokes the right amount of curiosity.

[@Mr.LeoNov]

Yeah and also the color combination is kinda mid

[@linkow]

If I saw A in the wild, I would think it's the fifth installment of a series because of how much the 5 is prominent. D was my favourite, although I have to agree it's a bit dull and doesn't stand out at a glance.

[@xChikyx]

and it's AI

[@coelipedro]

Am I the only one who thinks D is totally AI generated? Look at the lines on the stairs and on the hut, some of them feel so random, I couldn't see someone deliberately choosing to draw it like that I could be wrong tho

[@coverthestone]

A is 100% the best one here -- fully worth the $300

[@neflive3477]

you are one of those youtuber whom i liked the moment I got to see. good luck for you future video. Hope and i believe you will become bigg youtuber soon enough. your videos have the quality to do so. also you are beautiful, and your voice amazed me a lot. my crash list got updated today. :)

[@eridofthegalaxies]

i absolutely loved e (and at a first glance was sure it would be either the 200 or the 300 one) i got so confused by y'alls reactions about that one😭😭😭😭😭😭 personally my fav was e and then d and a

[@rockyac.7479]

Same, especially while they praised C so much?? (which no offense but looks very dated and like someone made it at home in powerpoint...) E was much more striking and polished to me 😭

[@ymmetrypng5191]

I think that cover A is stunning but i dont feel like it fits the demographic very well. To me it looks like a thriller i would see my mother read, not a soft scifi for teens. and on the other hand cover d does that perfectly and introduces the themes of scifi and nature in a very clear and inviting way

[@MelTorrefranca]

"thriller i would see my mother read"-you took the words right out of my mouth...I think that's exactly why I wasn't leaning toward it. Kind of has more of a generic thriller feel in my opinion, while D looks a bit more unique

[@notjamin]

Charging any money at all for AI generated garbage is a scam but 100 bucks is a fucking robbery

[@mugenmasters8564]

But, it was a great work

[@notjamin]

@@mugenmasters8564 it wasn't a work at all

[@danebirbhaha7520]

Why are we lying now?​@@mugenmasters8564

[@brkli1485]

@@mugenmasters8564 no it wasnt. it looks cheap. why should i care about a book that no one cared enough to make a proper cover for?

[@mugenmasters8564]

@@brkli1485 Hmm....The 500$ one was the best

[@CosmicDeath]

Seeing this 2 months after the video released, all I can say is the critical feedback for D, your preferred cover, was mostly related to the tone/saturation of the colours. If you have the colours updated (especially as the cost for editing may be very reasonable from the illustrator, given their reasonable price for creation), or use of image editing programs to edit the colours.. D could overcome the critical feedback to be more visually attractive/attention grabbing, while maintaining the illustrative style elements that may align better with conveying the nature of the story. Fun video - thanks for sharing!

[@go.siah90]

As a graphic designer for over 15 years, D is hands down the best option (with some minor tweaks)