Premium Book Cover Design Case Study for Do Not Disturb 3

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We remind you that this service provides many advantages for authors: a consultation with our creative director, two book cover design concepts to choose from, free book promo images, and discounts from our partners. 

Moreover, the package includes heavy photo manipulation, 3D modeling, and digitally painted elements that will bring your book’s fictional world to life.

Now we want to present a frighteningly fantastic book cover for the horror Do Not Disturb 3 by Jon Athan.

The story of the book

  • Title: Do Not Disturb 3
  • Author: Jon Athan
  • Genre: Horror, splatterpunk, extreme horror
  • Plot: After spending years away at boarding school, 20-year-old Angelina ‘Angie’ Navarro returns to her hometown of Goldbrush—a secluded village in Middle-of-Nowhere, Nevada. It’s a town with less than twenty permanent residents and a few workers coming and going to work at the local school and hotel. Angie hopes to reconnect with her family and help her thirteen-year-old brother choose the right path out of Goldbrush. However, family drama forces her to stay at the only small, dingy hotel in the village. Worst of all, three killer clowns have arrived at Goldbrush—and they plan on killing EVERYONE in town for the Night of the Killer Clowns.
  • Settings: Although the book is set in Nevada, the fictional village is inspired by Supai, Arizona. It’s a very similar desert setting.

How did we see this book cover?

Jon Athan shared detailed descriptions of the main characters. He also provided several references and book covers for the previous horrors. By the way, MiblArt designed the cover for the second book.

Book by Jon Athan Book by Jon Athan

Book covers for the previous parts provided by Jon Athan

While working on the design, we created two character-based versions for the book cover, as the killers in clown costumes are impressive and eye-catching. Let’s see these options in more detail.  

Book cover concept #1

Example of book cover design

General idea

We showed only the images of the main clowns in the first version. It creates a frightening effect.

Characters

We put Marshall in the foreground as he is the group’s leader. The designer preserved his image as much as possible because he was charismatic. We also included Casey and Lloyd in the background as if they were framing Marshall.

Background

We chose images of nature for the background, so it’s pretty neutral and moody. At the same time, it doesn’t distract attention from the character but creates a horror mood.

Typography

We used the same fonts and color scheme to match the previous book and keep the series recognizable.  

Book cover concept #2

Example of book cover design 

General idea

We added Angie, a main survivor character, in the center to create a different composition. This version is more poster-like and similar to the author’s references.

Characters

All the clowns form a frame around Angie creating a creepy atmosphere. Marshall has visible emotions and seems to hand over the characters. Angie’s pose shows her readiness to fight off the misfits.

Background 

Our designer used elements of the mountains characteristic of Nevada and created a red color scheme to convey the horror genre.

Typography

We also used the same typography for this version. Fonts suit the color scheme perfectly.

What concept did the author choose?

Jon Athan enjoyed both concepts but decided to proceed with the first one. He loved the dark, ominous atmosphere and the intense focus on the clowns. This version gives a very eerie, hopeless vibe, which is what the author was aiming for.

What about the final result?

The first version was excellent, but Jon Athan wanted more noticeable settings as they play an essential role in each book. So our designer highlighted the background on the book cover, making it brighter and contrasting.

Book cover design before and after

Now we can enjoy this scary but stunning book cover that fits the genre and mood perfectly. 

Summing up

We got an ideal book cover for the horror story. The clown killers seem to look right at readers and make them uncomfortable and scared. Jon Athan chose a concept with only clowns that fully suits his purpose. 

Which version of the book cover did you like better? How does the final result make you feel? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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