Doing book artwork

Sometimes I wonder about my book artwork. Who should do it? A book needs good cover art, even if it’s an eBook. Can I do it?

I don’t trust myself to do the cover art. I can draw pretty well, but I can’t do art in colour. I’m good with a pencil or pen, but not with paint or colouring with a computer. It would look awful. That’s not my strong suit. I can do line drawings for the inside of the book, though. I can draw maps, buildings, animals, and scenery. But when adding colour, I can’t do it.

So, what do I do? I may have to hire an artist to do the cover art for me. Or if it’s a book like the Japan book I’m writing, I could use a photograph I’ve taken and some simple graphic art program, but I’m not sure how it’ll look. I’ll have to see.

If you’ve self-published, how did you get the cover art done?

(On a side note, this is the 50th post on this blog.)