Art movements
SurrealistPerfectly real. Utterly impossible.
A single uncanny image rendered with photographic care: floating objects, wrong scales, and vast empty skies, with a quiet caption of text below.
Make it yoursA good fit for
Speculative fiction, ghost stories, and dreamlike literary novels.
A little art direction
Describe one impossible scene in the illustration notes, a city floating in fog, a lantern hanging in the sky. Keep the subtitle modest; the image should dominate.
The palette
From these words to these book covers
Now make it yours See the style in action.
Open larger viewFiction or poetryThe Cartographer of Fog
Open larger viewFiction or poetryThe Lantern Keeper
Open larger viewFiction or poetryThe Glasshouse
Open larger viewFiction or poetryFog Signals
Open larger viewNonfictionMeteor Nights
Real generated examples; your own result will vary. The exact prompt behind each one is further down the page.
Your idea, this style
Make it yours.
Your details stay in this browser tab. Switch styles without starting over.
Ready to pastePlain text · No code
Copy first, then paste into your preferred image-making chat.
Opens in a new tab. Your prompt is not sent automatically.
The prompts behind these book covers.
Each cover above was generated from the prompt below it, unedited. Copy one as-is or change the details. Your image-making app may interpret the style differently each time.
Fiction or poetry · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstThe Cartographer of FogRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a work of fiction, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: The Cartographer of Fog Author: Elias Warrender Tagline: A city that redraws itself every night Publisher: Twin Peaks Editions ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Surrealist style. Visual vocabulary: impossible juxtapositions — scale shifts, floating objects; hyper-real rendering of unreal scenes; vast empty landscapes or skies; symbolic objects — clocks, apples, birds. Lettering direction: classical serif, understated; text as quiet caption below image. Suggested colors: deep blue sky, warm sand, muted green, realistic tones. Composition: single surreal image dominating; modest text below. Atmosphere: uncanny, dreamlike, intellectually playful. Keep out of the design: cartoon simplification, busy decorative borders, craft-fair warmth. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A hillside city floating upside down above a fog sea, its streets unspooling like ribbon. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Fiction or poetry · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstThe Lantern KeeperRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a work of fiction, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: The Lantern Keeper Author: Hollis Pine Tagline: A ghost story for winter nights ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Surrealist style. Visual vocabulary: impossible juxtapositions — scale shifts, floating objects; hyper-real rendering of unreal scenes; vast empty landscapes or skies; symbolic objects — clocks, apples, birds. Lettering direction: classical serif, understated; text as quiet caption below image. Suggested colors: deep blue sky, warm sand, muted green, realistic tones. Composition: single surreal image dominating; modest text below. Atmosphere: uncanny, dreamlike, intellectually playful. Keep out of the design: cartoon simplification, busy decorative borders, craft-fair warmth. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A lit lantern hanging from nothing in a vast empty sky, its shadow on the ground far below. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Fiction or poetry · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstThe GlasshouseRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a work of fiction, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: The Glasshouse Subtitle: A novel Author: Mira Solano Publisher: Posterage Press ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Surrealist style. Visual vocabulary: impossible juxtapositions — scale shifts, floating objects; hyper-real rendering of unreal scenes; vast empty landscapes or skies; symbolic objects — clocks, apples, birds. Lettering direction: classical serif, understated; text as quiet caption below image. Suggested colors: deep blue sky, warm sand, muted green, realistic tones. Composition: single surreal image dominating; modest text below. Atmosphere: uncanny, dreamlike, intellectually playful. Keep out of the design: cartoon simplification, busy decorative borders, craft-fair warmth. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A greenhouse standing alone in a desert, tropical plants pressing out through the glass. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Fiction or poetry · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstFog SignalsRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a work of fiction, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: Fog Signals Subtitle: Stories Author: Ines Calloway Publisher: Posterage Press ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Surrealist style. Visual vocabulary: impossible juxtapositions — scale shifts, floating objects; hyper-real rendering of unreal scenes; vast empty landscapes or skies; symbolic objects — clocks, apples, birds. Lettering direction: classical serif, understated; text as quiet caption below image. Suggested colors: deep blue sky, warm sand, muted green, realistic tones. Composition: single surreal image dominating; modest text below. Atmosphere: uncanny, dreamlike, intellectually playful. Keep out of the design: cartoon simplification, busy decorative borders, craft-fair warmth. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A foghorn tower floating above a calm sea, its beam turned into a solid stone pillar. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Nonfiction · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstMeteor NightsRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a nonfiction book, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: Meteor Nights Subtitle: A year of watching the sky from Twin Peaks Author: Dr. Priya Anand Publisher: Twin Peaks Editions ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Surrealist style. Visual vocabulary: impossible juxtapositions — scale shifts, floating objects; hyper-real rendering of unreal scenes; vast empty landscapes or skies; symbolic objects — clocks, apples, birds. Lettering direction: classical serif, understated; text as quiet caption below image. Suggested colors: deep blue sky, warm sand, muted green, realistic tones. Composition: single surreal image dominating; modest text below. Atmosphere: uncanny, dreamlike, intellectually playful. Keep out of the design: cartoon simplification, busy decorative borders, craft-fair warmth. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A telescope on a hilltop pointed at a sky in which the stars fall as slow meteors of sand. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Prompt version 1 · 5 generated examples · Copy-and-paste guide →
