It’s very possible to customize stock art to create a striking book cover that reflects your book. Here’s an example from one of my clients.
Going in, I knew that this was a spy thriller, that a big part of the story involved stolen nuclear materials, that the other big part (that the title refers to) is about young women in the sex slave trade in Ukraine, and that the narrative refers to a web of criminals. The author also had a cover concept in mind that we worked with—as it turned out, she later decided against that and I was turned loose to create something that evoked a sense of danger and suspense.
Here’s the stock art for a spider web that I used.
Then came the universal symbol for radiation.
Using Photoshop, I gave the web perspective to give it a dramatic dimension. Notice that the spider is gone--I used it on the back cover. And I took out the center of the web to create space for the broken angel/radiation symbol.
Then I distorted the radiation symbol and placed it in the center of the web. Note that the radiation symbol now also resembles an angel.
This is the final cover design. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Molly is a terrific writer and it would be worth your while to check out the book here. She is also an editor and a partner in an Indie publishing company.
Here is the blurb from the back cover and a review:
Under deep cover in Ukraine, Victoria Pierce is operating without a net. Her CIA mentor, Maud Olson, lies in critical condition after an attempt on her life. Her in-country handler is a nightmare come true. Tasked with tracking the secret export of enriched uranium from Ukrainian stockpiles, she collides with a girl on the run from sex traffickers and finds herself entangled in a vicious web that stretches to perilous heights.
"Tinsley’s expert research and eye for detail weave an elaborate web that even [her protagonist] Pierce is challenged to untangle. Light one moment, dark the next, Tinsley’s writing heightens anticipation: you never know which way she’ll turn next. ...The [Ukrainian] setting is authentic and evocative background for Pierce’s dual quest to save girls from their graves and the world from its bombs."
ForeWord Reviews, Winter, 2013
Finally, here is what Molly had to say about my work on her book cover—she is, by the way, a pleasure to work with. As with all my design clients, it becomes a collaboration of artists.
“I went to Ray Rhamey with a rough idea for the cover of my spy thriller Broken Angels; he worked with it to create multiple options. We were all set to go forward with my favorite, when I got some cautionary feedback from a bookseller about my original concept. Whereupon Ray went back to the drawing board and came up with his own concept and design. I love it, and so do the bookseller and many other friends and readers. Ray Rhamey leavens his considerable design talents with patience and professionalism. He's a great collaborator and will stick with you until you have the most appropriate and appealing image for your book.” Molly Best Tinsley, Broken Angels
For what it’s worth,