I'm self-publishing a book through Amazon, and I keep vacillating about what I want my cover image to look like. At the moment, it's live with this cover:

But now I think I like this one better:

Is it worth changing the cover to the new version, or should I leave the old, colored version?

To inspire more help with this decision, I'm giving a prize- one person who responds will get a random wishlist item, above 5 million in value. Give me your opinions!

I think the one you're currently using works a lot better compared to the black and white one. The black and white one would look better if the image did not have the negatives reversed from each other (if that makes sense). It's just really distracting and the image doesn't flow as well with it split like that. Your eye just kind of sits stuck on that center divide.

I think the composition would look interesting if you were able to have the skeleton shapes be white/light while the rest of the image leans towards the darker greys and blacks.

I think the top one would also look better if it didn't have the black and white striped spaces!

Are this,

this,

or this

more to your liking?

On the second set of images, I think the second is the most eye-catching and visually interesting (while also maintaining a clear initial read).

I think the second one looks better out of the three black and white options! (and thank you for the gift! <3)

I also like the second one in the second set of images. It reads the best, but I think it would work slightly better if the frame was shifted to the left in order to remove the diagonal shape in the lower right. This way the eye can travel from the top and down the curve of the skeleton and the curve of the moon into the author's name. By doing this, you are creating a pathway that leads the eye to the most important information on the cover: the title, author's name, and imagery representing the book's theme.

OK, so my biggest issue was that I didn't think I could get rid of the diagonal bit (I didn't want to crop out the top sea lion skull), but I figured it out. Does the Dunkleosteus skull I replaced it with draw the eye too much, or does it work?

Thank you for feedback; it's been very helpful.

At first I was gonna say I liked the colorized version, but your latest version looks amazing! It's very aesthetically pleasing. And congrats on self publishing, that's awesome!

Thanks! Yeah, I was fond of the color version at first, but I feel like the direction I took fits the text better.

you are so welcome! happy to help! <3 I think your latest version you posted looks really good! And I agree - def like that one more than the color one now. : )

Your welcome! I'm glad that I was able to help. The cover looks really good! There is a mystery to it that really pulls me in.

The black and white one stands out to me the most! I like them all actually. So hard to choose and everyone is going to be different including you. Art is meant to be YOUR interpretation and if you don't like it, then it's not going to work. :)