I’ve been thinking a bit about the cover.
And I began to study what I liked about some of my favorites in CoG’s catalogue, and I’m now convinced that a cover doesn’t need to reflect a scene that’s present for all characters, and it can work well if the scene is striking or important (Guns of Infinity’s Forlorn Hope is a big deal inside and outside the story, and Choice of Robot’s cover reflects an optional choice that players get very early in the game, let alone the fact that it’s a well composed image).
It can be scene that exists and still leave an impresison, as we see with Petal Throne’s cover, featuring the very firsc scene in the game.
But it doesn’t need to be a scene that exists (Choice of Romance’s new cover, with the crown and the hands, is an example, and in a way, so is Midusmmer’s). There’s one thing, I’d say, that all those illustrations have in common:
They play with themes.
All the covers I mentioned, in a way or another, condense some elements of their respective stories, they reveal a few of the characters and the setting, but most of all, they’re showing a bit of what the work is about, to try to pass a feeling. Midsummer’s might not have the MC and Prenzie dancing in the woods, but it confirms the merry, light-hearted present in the work. Choice of the Pirate’s cover feels much more like an action film, with a supposed MC, a pirate and a corsair above a bustling ship, conveying an aesthetic of adventure and chance.
So I’d say that Rebel’s cover should reflect one of its themes. How do we do that is above me, since I’m no professional artist. However, I’d like to kick back the idea of having the cover be shapes making a firecamp in the Whendward Woods, that shows what the rebellion’s about, gives a glimpse into the setting, ans shows how the freedom fighters have to fend for themselves in a largely uncaring world (at first) and be comforted by the spark of change.
Or something like that. This turned out so rambly, I’m sorry, I just wanted to throw a few ideas and be helpful a bit.
