For a while now, I’ve wanted to redo the covers for my novel series, consisting of First Year After, Second Year After, Third Year After, Fourth Year After, as they were rather simplistic (see above). When I originally created them, they were what I was capable of in GIMP2. After further study of the various options in GIMP2, I’ve managed the following redesign of the First Year After cover to add a background photo behind the three hearts image that I’ve always liked for the series. Making the background of the original hearts image to be mostly transparent without losing the shadows that surround them was the hardest part. But, I finally learned how.
It’s my intent to vary the background photos for each book. The series starts with the death of the narrative character’s father, so I thought I would start with a funeral theme, with Second Year After having a wedding theme, Third having a baby theme and Fourth maybe more of a party theme.
What I’d like to know is which of these three variants you like the best, based on changing the color of a semi-transparent layer in between the hearts and the photo. Do you like the light, the dark or the in-between grey shading?
Any other feedback you might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance…
