My cover and artwork designer Danielle Fine is always trying to come up with something new. I've seen posts on adding music to ebooks, and a device to be worn that would let readers feel things from the book - I guess a rumble or shake for earthquakes or something.
Gifs aren't a new thing. But I've seen plenty of complaints about them and/or their overuse. They can be very distracting, or in some cases almost blinding!
But Dani had a go at animating one of my book covers as an experiment. I really like it. The effect is subtle and plays on the elements of the cover, and even the story itself, unlike the flashy/full on gifs I'm more familiar with on Tumblr and often used in Goodreads reviews. As yet, I don't think ereaders can deal with animated covers, but it wouldn't surprise me if this becomes a thing.
So what do you think? Do you like the animation in my cover? If you're an author, would you consider having one done, whether as the actual cover to use, or as part of your marketing? And as a reader, would you like to see this or is it just another thing to distract you from reading?
Personally I plan to use this wonderfully subtle gif version of my cover in my side bar and on my website - I think there's just enough animation to catch the eye without being annoying. And I do like shiny things. ^_^
I like it. Subtle and intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Atthys! Yeah, I love the subtlety of it. :)
DeleteIt's totally cool! I LOVE the idea :-)
ReplyDeleteYay!
DeletePersonally, I don't put a lot of stock in covers unless they're in print and then it's only so that if it's a series, they match.
ReplyDeleteBut I think that what I'm seeing here is subtle and it works. I don't know at what point it becomes gimmicky for other people, but I do remember the early day of websites and annoying music following me and I didn't care much for it. I say so long as it's done to enhance, and not done because hey, that's cool and we want to be trendy, I say give it a shot. :
Thanks! Yeah, I imagine if it becomes a thing there might be some really tacky, OTT attempts at it. And I'm sure once one person does it, the majority may feel they *have* to do it.
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