New Cover Art for Book 1??

I like the new cover a lot more than the older one, is more concrete than the abstract one xD. But if you feel like it is troublesome to have them match on each cover iteration, how about finding your favorite armor design and asking some freelancer on fivrr or other platform to make some mockups of the Legionnaire in different settings. ( i know it costs money, and id also rather just work it out using an AI tool but if you want proper results the pros do it best, and the greater your reach the more it may be scrutinized if you do the "lazy" approach.) Just a suggestion, i like the new cover nonetheless. And for now this was among the first every novels i did rereads on, i very much enjoy reading this particular novel, thanks for every chapter.

Otto Kovar

remember, it is not metal but a lighter leather impregnated with resin. still heavy but not as much as metal. i read the Roman legionnaires didn't run a lot but marched with 90+ pounds of armor and gear

Erick Thiemke

yeah the helmet should be open face with just chin guards. of the 30 of so attempts I generated on the AI engine this was the best. I updated the kindle e-book with it and working on a print version as their is no up front cost with amazon. not sure if I should edit the text to match the picture of just leave it. maybe a removable face plate? ehh don't know

Erick Thiemke

The helmet also doesn't really match the description or the legionnaires' helmet. it looks more like a medieval knight's helmet (fully closed) and not what an infantry soldier would wear.

Lemes

Book 1 was more training to become a Legionaire than actually being one. The image is too polished; needs to be rougher imho. And he needs to be weaponized. Long sword or two.

Silver Beard

It's much better than the previous one. This cover manages to draw more attention to the content of the book. That being said, I thought the armor was more similar to the armor of a knight than that of a Roman legionnaire, too heavy for a soldier who will have to march, run and fight on foot, and with a fully closed helmet, which was not characteristic of the Roman legionnaire nor of the infantry in general. But as I know that the AI has some restrictions, I think it was suitable for what it intended, which is to draw attention to the content of the story.

Lemes

I agree. Especially now that ARAO posted the description above from an earlier chapter.

BLead

Beautiful.

Bryan Schnebly

My bad didn't reread the edit, it looks great!

Daniel kanevsky

Walking towards us definitely seems like the right choice:-)

Stephen Pearson

Fantastic. The mood is solitary which fits the MC in the first book.

Jeremiah H

I have another of the legionnaire walking away but liked this one slightly better

Erick Thiemke

It's really good. Oddly though, the vertically cropped version that patreon showed before I opened the post, which showed from neck to knees, was actually cooler. Felt like more forward motion, greater open ended potential, and both more imminent and inevitable.

Stephen Pearson

Absolutely Super Duper Cool, man! Like it man

It's AI-generated. The AI engine has trouble with swords and spears. I think I like the solitary nature depicted. By the end of book 1, he feels more part of the company, but in the whole first book, he is somewhat isolated. The armor is red, and the leaves being red is overkill but signifies blood

Erick Thiemke

Lots of red. Also really hard to tell if that's his sword at his hip. Otherwise looks awesome

PatronTurtle

You might want to consider an action scene or possible the siege since I think they will be more likely to get attention.

Shain Oleson

I like it! The primary point of the cover to is grab interest. That’s the real fight in the Kindle store - getting enough interest to have someone buy or hit “read now”. Everything else is secondary, including accuracy.

jsw

thinking future covers will be fighting monsters. the thing is with AI art it is hard to get consistency of the armor

Erick Thiemke

this is how it was described in the edit

Erick Thiemke

I think it is a good cover for A Soldier's Life.

Shain Oleson

Three days later, my armor was delivered. We had practiced in pieces of the armor before, but now I have the complete kit. It reminded me strongly of Roman legion armor. Besides the rivets, the helm was the only other metal on the armor. We learned in our training that the resin-treated hide was just as hard metal. The resin also had a red pigment in it. I guessed the red was for intimidation. I decided to try on all the regalia. Our undergarment was closer to a diaper with a drawstring, but it supported the package well. The dark red padded tunic was next, and I felt like I was in a dress and ready for a dance. Heavy woolen socks, followed by black leather boots, covered my feet. The regular army only had sandals and had no socks to boot. I had heavy linen pants that did not need to be worn if the weather was too hot. But the pants helped with the chaffing of the buckle-on knee to shin greaves. The greaves had some padding, but it needed to be replaced regularly. Around the waist was a heavy belt that held up the skirt. The skirt was composed of soft overlapping leather straps that allowed you to run easily in full kit or ride a horse as well. It also had hardened leather strips to cover the groin, which I was happy about. The buckle-on vambraces only covered the forearm and wrist. In training, our instructors had constantly stressed the vulnerability of the elbow joint and the armpit. The scale mail chest piece had overlapping pieces of the red leather resin plates. It looked extremely badass and would have been great if I did not need to rely on it to save my life. It was actually easier to get on than you would think. You put it on like a shirt and use the cinches to get it comfortably snug. The back was the only solid and inflexible piece on the chest armor. The kit came with a beeswax and mink oil mixture so it could keep its luster and shine. I wished I had a mirror now that I was fully kitted out. The other members of the barracks just looked on in jealously. I ignored them. It had the strong odor of leather and beeswax filled my nose. It was also not comfortable, and I would have to thank the armorer. I spent time adjusting the leather strips in the helmet to get a good fit. Truthfully, it felt like I was dressing for cosplay and not about to go out into a world filled with creatures of fantasy and legend.

Erick Thiemke

Looks good. I would take the armor off in the first book ( Eryk arrives to the world) Book two in armor So future book art reflects his progression

Alex

Really? I guess I confused it with another story. Good to know! Then it looks awesome!

Daniel kanevsky

the only part that does not match well from the book description is the front chest piece here is one piece

Erick Thiemke

Don't you think the armor should look closer to legioniare armor?

Daniel kanevsky

a soldier's life that is on amazon kindle already

Erick Thiemke

Book 1 of what?

Daniel kanevsky