With fantasy being one of the top three genres among indie authors, an eye-catching cover is essential to grabbing readers’ attention. To hit the target audience, you must know the vital visual elements of the fantasy book cover design.
In this article, we’ll break down every detail, explore what matters most in different fantasy subgenres, and show stunning illustrated and custom covers to inspire your own.
Fantasy book cover design tips
Fantasy is a genre where you can implement all extraordinary ideas in book cover design. Although some features make the fantasy book cover design different from covers in other genres, it opens ample space for creativity.
What are the three pillars of fantasy book cover design?
- Typography, particularly serif fonts with elegant curls
- Color scheme, including bright hues, gradients, and various effects
- Imagery, for example, strong main characters, magic artifacts, and mythical creatures.
Let’s learn these essential elements in more detail.
Fantasy typography styles
Fonts play a crucial role in fantasy book cover design, helping to establish the subgenre and set the mood. Serif, Gothic, Baskerville, or Trajan-inspired typefaces are excellent choices for capturing the right aesthetic and appealing to your target audience.
Typography size, color, and styling also impact the overall design. You can experiment with uppercase, lowercase, or full capitalization to enhance readability and mood. The title’s color should either complement or contrast the cover’s palette for maximum visual impact.
If you want to learn more about effective fantasy book cover typography, check out our blog post Fantasy Book Cover Fonts: Professional Tips.
Color schemes in fantasy covers
Since fantasy revolves around the supernatural and unreal, designers often use bold, saturated colors to enhance the genre’s immersive feel. Combining vibrant hues or creating smooth gradients can amplify the mood and make the cover more eye-catching.
Alternatively, a monochromatic approach – experimenting with different tints and shades of a single color – can create a striking and cohesive design.
Colors also carry meaning and can subtly communicate themes to readers:
- Blue evokes consciousness, faith, and truth.
- Purple is associated with mystery and the unknown.
- Red signifies courage, passion, or danger.
- Green represents renewal, balance, and nature.
Choosing the right color palette can set the tone before a reader even opens the book. You can read more about hues and their meaning in our article How to Master Color Theory in Book Cover Design.
Imagery in fantasy book cover design
Last but not least, the imagery on a fantasy book cover plays a crucial role in setting the tone and attracting the right readers. A well-crafted cover not only hints at the story but also signals the subgenre at a glance.
Here are some key elements to consider:
- Magic and supernatural powers. A protagonist wielding fireballs, lightning, or glowing runes instantly conveys magical abilities. Floating objects, glowing eyes, or ethereal energy can reinforce mysticism.
- Mystical creatures and beings. Dragons, elves, demons, or shape-shifters hint at the type of fantasy world readers can expect. Including shadowy figures, celestial beings, or monstrous creatures adds intrigue.
- Enchanted artifacts and symbols. Ancient books, glowing crystals, magical rings, enchanted weapons, or celestial orbs can all hint at the story’s central magic system.
We want to highlight the importance of backgrounds separately. Here’s how different backgrounds define subgenres:
- Urban Fantasy – Modern cityscapes with neon lights, hidden alleyways, or mystical symbols subtly woven into the skyline.
- High Fantasy – Majestic castles, enchanted forests, ancient ruins, or sprawling mountain landscapes that transport readers to another world.
- Paranormal Fantasy – Glowing auras, magical tattoos, supernatural energy, or dark, enigmatic figures exuding power and mystery.
- Dark Fantasy – Gothic cathedrals, stormy skies, eerie graveyards, blood-red moons, or shadowy figures lurking in the mist.
- Epic Fantasy – Warriors in armor, grand battle scenes, intricate maps, or legendary artifacts like swords, crowns, and enchanted relics.
By carefully selecting imagery, you create a cover that immediately immerses potential readers in your world – before they even turn the first page.
Popular types of fantasy book covers
Fantasy book covers usually fall into two categories: how they’re made and what they focus on. Picking the right style helps your book stand out and attract the right readers.
Covers can either be hand-drawn or created using edited photos. Both styles can look amazing – it just depends on the vibe you want for your book.
Illustrated fantasy book covers
These are drawn or painted from scratch, giving them a unique and artistic feel. They’re great for high fantasy and epic fantasy, where detailed artwork helps bring the world to life.
Photo-manipulated custom fantasy book covers
These covers combine real photos with digital effects to create a polished, dramatic look. They’re popular for urban fantasy, paranormal fantasy romance, and dark fantasy because they feel more modern and cinematic.
The main focus of your cover makes a big difference. Some books put characters front and center, while others highlight objects or symbols that represent the story.
Character-based covers
These feature the main character or an important figure, helping readers connect with them before they even open the book. They’re common in fantasy romance, heroic fantasy, and stories with strong character-driven plots.
Object-based covers
Instead of showing people, these covers highlight key objects like swords, crowns, magical artifacts, or old books. They work well for high fantasy, dark fantasy, and literary fantasy, giving mystery and depth.
Choosing the right mix of style and focus makes sure your cover not only looks great but also gives readers a taste of the adventure inside.
Best examples of the fantasy book cover design
Now, let’s dive into some striking examples of fantasy book cover design and explore what makes them stand out. We’ll guide you through the world of fantasy subgenres – urban, YA, paranormal, sci-fi, dark, epic, and high fantasy. While these covers share common themes, each subgenre has distinct features you’ll want to consider when designing your own.
Urban fantasy
Urban fantasy book covers strike a balance between modern cityscapes and supernatural elements, seamlessly blending the ordinary with the extraordinary. Neon lighting, glowing symbols, and mysterious figures often dominate these designs, emphasizing the genre’s fusion of contemporary settings with magical intrigue.
Book cover design by Miblart
Young adult fantasy
Young adult fantasy book covers embrace vibrant palettes and whimsical details, drawing readers into worlds filled with adventure and mystery. Whether showcasing dynamic characters, enchanted artifacts, or dramatic landscapes, these covers often feature expressive typography and atmospheric lighting to captivate a younger audience.
Book cover design by Miblart
Paranormal fantasy
Paranormal fantasy book covers capture the allure of the supernatural through dark, moody tones and ethereal highlights. Glowing eyes, spectral auras, or mystical creatures frequently appear, reinforcing themes of magic, danger, and romance that define the genre.
Book cover design by Miblart
Sci-fi fantasy
Sci-fi fantasy book covers merge futuristic aesthetics with mystical elements, crafting visuals that suggest both technology and magic. Energetic lighting effects, sleek metallic typography, and cosmic landscapes contribute to an otherworldly feel, immersing readers in a universe of adventure and high-stakes conflict.
Book cover design by Miblart
High and epic fantasy
High and epic fantasy book covers transport readers to grand, immersive worlds, often featuring towering castles, sprawling landscapes, or ancient relics. Strong typography, ornate embellishments, and symbolic imagery—such as legendary weapons or mythical creatures – help convey the story’s sense of scale and wonder.
Book cover design by Miblart
Dark fantasy
Dark fantasy book covers lean into gothic aesthetics, using deep shadows, rich crimson hues, and eerie contrasts to evoke mystery and menace. Ornate or distressed typography, paired with ominous symbols like skeletal figures, thorny crowns, or looming castles, heightens the haunting, mystical atmosphere.
Book cover design by Miblart
Conclusion
A great fantasy book cover helps your book stand out and attract readers. By using the right design elements – like bold typography, strong imagery, and magical details – you can create a cover that fits your genre and grabs attention.
The above fantasy book cover design tips for self-published authors can make a big difference in book sales. Whether you hire a designer or do it yourself, focusing on what appeals to your audience is key.
What are your favorite fantasy book cover design tips? Share your thoughts in the comments!
What makes the reader look at the book and think “That looks funny.” What color says humor? How do you say, “this is humor, action, urban, fantasy, paranormal.”
The trick is to find a good balance between the images, fonts and colors if you’d like to make a book cover funny. Most of the time, the designers concentrate on imagery and typography to hint at humor. Color palette, on the other hand, can be used to represent the sub-genre of your book (action, urban, fantasy, paranormal).
Dobre den! Thank you for your reply. I have found when you write with humor it makes everything more difficult. There are some people who never laugh. I wish you had responded sooner. I was looking at miblart to do a cover and some other services, but I stopped getting emails . I just signed the contract with someone else for the cover of my book. I hate that, because I have been doing research on Ukraine and think I have a story idea based in Kiev. Also the food looks wonderful. I have never eaten borscht.
Hope in the future we’ll get a chance to work on your book covers as well.
And you should definitely try borscht, it’s absolutely delicious 🙂
Hi there, I am wondering who wrote this article as I want to cite it properly in an essay I’m writing? Thanks!
Hello! The article was written by Volodymyr Volianiuk