Cover art for a book?

[Kittish]

Boyfriend is writing a book. One of several, likely. I know there are several people here who do custom artwork, and I was wondering if any of you could give me some idea of how much would be charged for creating an image to be used as the cover art.

The image he has in mind is a vertically split composite image. On the left side a techno-looking pod suitable for a person to get entirely inside situated in a typically modern home living room and on the right side the view is of a gossamer winged elf (tall, slender variety) with black hair in a forest setting.

Since this is for e-publication, the image will do better if it's in greyscale instead of color.

[Kogarashi]

Prices will vary depending on which artist you commission, and their general experience level. Be prepared to pay anywhere from a few hundred (USD) to a few thousand, based on complexity and such, and that would really just cover the first edition of the book. It's been my experience that having the illustration in greyscale isn't going to affect price much, since it still takes work to make sure the image looks good in greyscale.

I know I haven't given any hard-and-fast numbers, but it's definitely something you'll want to shop around for. Find some illustrators you like and ask their prices, and at least start saving up a chunk of cash. If you end up spending less than what you save, great.

[Kheldarson]

There's a site called Fiverr that a number of self pub authors I know use. Don't know prices there, but it's supposedly cheapish.

Thus guy I know: http://indigoforest.weebly.com/

He charges $55 for pre-made covers and up to $175 for customs. But he's good.