Finally! The Contest of Covers has begun! And we have quite a pairing for a very first matchup. The runaway train that is Children of Blood and Bone vs a lesser known, but absolutely fantastic rendering with Ink.
Let’s talk Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone first. This might get me killed to say, but I do not like this cover. At all. To be fair, I’ve seen a lot of people rant and rave about how much they love this cover. But since the first day I saw it, my reaction was: eeeeewww…
Credit where credit is due, cover artist on this one is Rich Deas. Among his accomplishments, he did covers for the Six of Crows duology and a series called The Demonata, which are really great, especially when looking at them all together. Children of Blood and Bone is another story. It just didn’t land the way many of his other covers have. Originally, I thought the figure at the bottom of the cover was sloppy and odd-looking. But now that I’m taking the time to really look and study, the detail on that element is quite good.
The smoke, or whatever it’s supposed to be, rising from that figure’s head is a whole other thing. There are a few parts of that seems to be doing something interesting, but the majority of it looks juvenile. And don’t get me started on the font. I’m a big believer in the font having a purpose. This just seems like it’s trying to be weird for the sake of weird.
Illustrated by Jamie Gregory and designed by Andrew Biscomb, Ink by Alice Broadway is a book (and cover) that I was completely unaware of when planning this contest. But it’s wonderful. Look at all the flowing art, each piece running into the next. The imagery, both hidden and plain, give they eye lots and lots to do. It has me wondering if we’re looking at pieces of the story found inside the cover.
My only criticism would be the title. It’s pretty small. However, sitting inside the only portion with striking white lines, it really draws the eye, so maybe the size of the title isn’t a huge concern.
I do wonder what this cover would look like with a series of coloured illustrations. The duo-tone definitely works, but a full colour might look amazing. At the same time, it might ruin everything. You’d have to see it to know for sure.
Those are my opinions, but you have to make up your own mind. What cover do you like better? Children of Blood and Bone or Ink? Vote in the comments below.
Note: Between school and work, I have over 15 years of experience in graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it without sounding completely clueless.
I’m choosing Ink, I’ve never seen it before and its blowing me away! (Although I’ve always loved Children of Blood and Bone too)
I thought the white stuff rising from the figure’s head was supposed to be her hair? I did think it was smoke too tbh and while it’s not a bad cover, it’s not my favorite. Definitely agree with you that Ink’s cover is a lot nicer. I hadn’t heard of this book before but the cover alone is enough to get me to pick it up! Did you enjoy it?
I haven’t read either of these books. All the covers in this contest were nominated by others. It’s truly a contest of the people!
And I never considered it being hair. That might make more sense than smoke…
Oh, oops, I didn’t realize! If/when you read the book you’ll recognize it’s hair from the character description. This is a cool contest 🙂
I vote for Ink! Not really a fan of the other one either.
This is so hard!!! On the one hand, Ink is a way prettier design, but I hate orange. On the other hand, I like the colours and overall aesthetic of Blood and Bone better.
I think I’d have to go with Children of Blood and Bone, though.
It is supposed to be her hair, and it is a big part of the plot of the book :] Also I think the font and the general look of the book lends itself to the story within it, and that might be why I loved the cover so much. As for Ink, I have seen it on my favorite booktuber’s channel and it is absolutely stunning “in person.” More so than the flat image on a computer screen can lend it!
Even though I nominated and loved Children of Blood and Bone, I think I would have to pick Ink for this one. That cover is near perfection.
I think the COBAB cover is far more striking ‘in person’ but the image, while really relevant to the story doesn’t have the wow factor it could have.
Ink, however, seems to be pretty intricate and I like the simple title popped in at the bottom.
Ink gets my vote.
Ink!!
I am voting for Ink. Here’s my fun fact for you: the cover of Ink isn’t actually orange, it’s a metallic copper/bronze and super shiny, but obviously hard to translate into a digital image.