Books & Movies

Drawing Book Covers in Different Genres

September 22, 2021

Today I’m doing something a little different! Even though I only started two days before this post was due (would not recommend) and had to rush through 😌

This post was partially inspired by that one Drawfee video where they drew movie posters in different genres!

I’ve picked out three books and tried to explore what their covers might look like if they were written in a different genre.

The original covers will be on the left, while my drawings/concept art will be shown on the right.

Ignite — Jenna Terese

Ignite is a sci-fi novel about superheroes, so I thought it might be fun to switch it up and make it fantasy/fairy tale-esque. I took inspiration from fantasy covers with girls in fancy gowns on them (I’m sure you know what I mean), but they didn’t seem right, so I tried drawing a cloak instead and ended up with this.

I used a similar color palette to the original cover and put a backlit Scarlett in front of some flames. It took a while for me to decide on an expression, but I went for concern/worry because it takes her a while to fully embrace her powers. I like the way the flame glows in her hand, the way her hair matches the shape of the flames, and I’m also quite fond of the font choice (it reminds me of fairy tale retelling covers). If I had more time, I would have loved to add more detail to Scarlett and maybe a few more sparks/embers, but I’m happy with the final result.

About IGNITE:

What if superhumans weren’t considered heroes?

When Scarlett Marley is attacked by an illegal super with fire powers, she doesn’t get burned, but now she has a fire-like glow flickering in her eyes.
With superpowers criminalized, she has no choice but to turn herself over to the Superhuman Containment Facility, or risk hurting everyone she loves.
Her normal life seems lost forever, until she is selected to be one of the first to receive the experimental cure to destroy her powers. In exchange, she must first complete one mission:
Infiltrate and capture one of the largest gangs of supers in the remains of once-great Rapid City.
With the cure and all her future at stake, Scarlett is prepared to do whatever it takes to bring these criminals to justice so she can return to her family. But this gang and their leader, Rez, aren’t what everyone says, and Scarlett begins to question everything she was ever told about the SCF and the fire flowing in her veins.

The cure is her only hope for returning her life to what it was before, but is that life worth returning to after all?

Capsule — Mel Torrefranca

Capsule is a YA sci-fi thriller by Mel Torrefranca. In this case, I only just slightly shifted the genre — putting the focus on contemporary but keeping the sci-fi elements. I wanted it to have a sort of Be More Chill vibe, and I think that comes through quite well. I’ve drawn Jackie on the cover looking mildly confused over the capsule she’s holding.

While it took me a while to figure out the typography, I’m really happy with the color palette and the way the capsules glow. In hindsight, perhaps a little more contrast might make Jackie pop more, and I’d perhaps want to try reflecting the capsule in her eyes. I did consider drawing the memories from each capsule onto the cover as well, but in the end, I decided not to. Overall, I’m quite pleased with how this turned out!

About CAPSULE:

Two students from Brookwood High School mysteriously go missing on the same night.

The first is Peter Moon, a heartless pescatarian who bashes students from Brookwood on his blog, turning everyone against him. The second is the adored Kat Pike, an audacious girl desperate to boost her adrenaline. Three days pass. No leads.

Indifferent to the disappearances, sixteen-year-old Jackie Mendoza remains immersed in her virtual world of video games and online friends.

When a menacing app by the name of Capsule downloads itself onto Jackie’s phone, she enters a game interlaced with reality. A game threatening to erase Peter and Kat forever. Only Jackie can save them now—but Capsule is the most ruthless game she’s ever played.

Mel Torrefranca delivers a heart-wrenching thriller about unlikely friendships, bittersweet memories, and a never-ending search for answers best left forgotten.

100 Days of Sunlight — Abbie Emmons

100 Days of Sunlight is a YA contemporary romance and Abbie Emmons’ debut novel. The title definitely fits the genre (as most books should), so it took a bit of brainstorming before I settled on a sci-fi/space opera vibe. Maybe Tessa and Weston are in search of a habitable planet for humanity to settle on. And maybe the twist is that the planet is only exposed to the sun for 100 days a year? So with that in mind, I created this.

I was inspired by a lot of Dune covers, as well as the UK cover for Skyward and a number of other sci-fi books. This, however, is probably my least favorite of the three covers I’ve done? While the color palette is pretty fun, I’m not 100% sold on the overall design. The font choice does remind me of some older sci-fi novels, though, so maybe that passes?

About 100 DAYS OF SUNLIGHT:

When 16-year-old poetry blogger Tessa Dickinson is involved in a car accident and loses her eyesight for 100 days, she feels like her whole world has been turned upside-down.

Terrified that her vision might never return, Tessa feels like she has nothing left to be happy about. But when her grandparents place an ad in the local newspaper looking for a typist to help Tessa continue writing and blogging, an unlikely answer knocks at their door: Weston Ludovico, a boy her age with bright eyes, an optimistic smile…and no legs.

Knowing how angry and afraid Tessa is feeling, Weston thinks he can help her. But he has one condition — no one can tell Tessa about his disability. And because she can’t see him, she treats him with contempt: screaming at him to get out of her house and never come back. But for Weston, it’s the most amazing feeling: to be treated like a normal person, not just a sob story. So he comes back. Again and again and again.

Tessa spurns Weston’s “obnoxious optimism”, convinced that he has no idea what she’s going through. But Weston knows exactly how she feels and reaches into her darkness to show her that there is more than one way to experience the world. As Tessa grows closer to Weston, she finds it harder and harder to imagine life without him — and Weston can’t imagine life without her. But he still hasn’t told her the truth, and when Tessa’s sight returns he’ll have to make the hardest decision of his life: vanish from Tessa’s world…or overcome his fear of being seen.

100 Days of Sunlight is a poignant and heartfelt novel by author Abbie Emmons. If you like sweet contemporary romance and strong family themes then you’ll love this touching story of hope, healing, and getting back up when life knocks you down.