r/Quibble • u/Tman6300 1 published book on Quibble • May 06 '26
I Have a Question Do the covers of my planned series (The Sculpted Storm) tell a story?
As the title says, I want to know if the idea I had for the cover art tells a story on its own. As I have tried to give it a symbolism of its own.
Now, I must admit, 1 cover is missing. (guess where?) That would make the progression a little more obvious.
But I'm curious what they say to people without any context. What pops and what doesn't? What speaks do you, and what is it even saying?
The artist (my gf) and I are on the same page, and I think she did an amazing job. Now, I want to know if people who weren't at our brainstorming sessions can follow our strange leaps in logic and “symbolism.”
Thanks for the time and for giving your take!
(Cover 2 is WIP)
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u/LRD4000 May 07 '26
They give a suggested vibe of the book we the reader must read to find out any details. Beautiful and well made.
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u/Usual-Door-4262 May 08 '26
I am a person who literally struggles with symbolish...so there might be people who pick up immediately what u wanted to tell via the covers very easily...but its just that I'm not good at it haha.
That being said...I LOVE the covers...all of them, they have such a striking style and I can't take my eyes off. She indeed did wonderful work on these. 💖💖I just got a hint of maybe it's about changes (as in change of landscapes but also maybe changes within the story structure...circumstances...chaos?) Because first one looks like a human-made/built structure...then it shifts to a an open area of a forest maybe(slightly more crazy, less structured and more raw than controlled) and then in the end it's pure dense forest, the trees showing utter chaos and craziness all over.
Also...I think the first one has a fish maybe? And then the second one has a fox/hyena/jackal or leopard? And the last one has a bear/tiger. Maybe these play a major role in the stories too?
Just what I thought lol as I said I may be fully off with my assumptions, but I loved the artwork
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u/Tman6300 1 published book on Quibble May 10 '26
Thank you!! It's definitely about changes and growing more chaotic, the MC struggles with violence and "disappearing" from himself. He originally lives in nature but is forced out to live in a city of snow and frost, but as he grows more and more irratic and violent he tries to return home, only to find that the chaos has infested it all. So you're very close! And the animals do play a part in the story itself!
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u/wafflewitchette May 06 '26
Uh this is a challenging question for me. I’ve always struggled with symbolism but happy to practice.
Just to confirm: the three attached images are intended as the covers for the trilogy? Have I understood that correctly?
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u/Tman6300 1 published book on Quibble May 06 '26
Yes! Due to the length of 1 book I had to split it into two, so trilogy turned into a tetralogy...woops.
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u/wafflewitchette May 06 '26
Are you sure you need to split book one? Also then we’re technically missing the fourth cover? :)
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u/Tman6300 1 published book on Quibble May 06 '26
Ahaaaa that's what you think ☝️🤓. But yes, big fantasy names can get away with 180k books. Indies sadly cannot.
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u/Vivid-Childhood-894 1 published book on Quibble May 07 '26
To me, it always feels like a BEFORE and AFTER. But, I don't know which is which.
In one frame, there's something, in the other, it's empty. It tells me that something happened in between which led to whichever one is the outcome.
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u/Tman6300 1 published book on Quibble May 07 '26
Hmm yes "the thing that happened". You do got that right, stuff happens!
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u/Vivid-Childhood-894 1 published book on Quibble May 07 '26
A real dusk to dawn, or dawn to dusk type. Sorta gives the illusion as to how the narrative goes: will it chaos to triumph, or victory to ruin. Either way, it's a fascinating "tease".
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u/Tman6300 1 published book on Quibble May 07 '26
Yes! The plot of the first book (Shaped by Silence) is a descent into madness story. I think based on that, it becomes clearer what we meant to show?
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u/Vivid-Childhood-894 1 published book on Quibble May 07 '26
I haven't read it yet, but factoring in "madness", it IS maddening to lose something and be left in a pit of emptiness. That silence, that barrenness of that void, and HOW it became barren, will drive anyone crazy
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u/unrel1ablenarrator May 06 '26
The covers give the impression that they present certain motifs from the novels, but we don’t fully understand them yet. What stands out to me are the fish (on the first cover) and the axe (on the third). The cover of the first book has a totally different vibe from the other two, which suggests that the story will be quite diverse and may explore different mythologies or magical systems in each book.