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Post by ronmiller on Jul 2, 2020 19:50:33 GMT
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Post by BlueAndGold on Jul 2, 2020 23:33:55 GMT
Oh, my! those ARE some stinkers, aren't they? I don't feel so bad about mine now.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2020 1:05:24 GMT
I looked at all of them and even went to page 2 and 3. Perfect lesson on what not to do. The drop shadows and outlines are whst struck me, and bothered me, the most. I did like the children's book cover, except that the text and image were too close to the edge. Makes me afraid to design a cover after that. Wouldn't want to be on that site.
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Post by ronmiller on Jul 3, 2020 11:57:50 GMT
On the up side, the administrator of LousyBookCovers.com also operates a site called Cover Critics, which offers helpful advice for DIY cover creators.
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Post by ronmiller on Jul 3, 2020 12:00:21 GMT
I looked at all of them and even went to page 2 and 3. Perfect lesson on what not to do. The drop shadows and outlines are whst struck me, and bothered me, the most. I did like the children's book cover, except that the text and image were too close to the edge. Makes me afraid to design a cover after that. Wouldn't want to be on that site. There has been more than once where I've seen a cover on the site that I don't think was nearly bad enough to deserve being there. Sadly, those are pretty rare. What probably raises my hackles more often than anything else is seeing a cover that come this close to being good and at the last moment is ruined---usually by ham-handed typography.
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Post by ronmiller on Jul 3, 2020 12:04:21 GMT
I looked at all of them and even went to page 2 and 3. Perfect lesson on what not to do. The drop shadows and outlines are whst struck me, and bothered me, the most. Yup. One of the biggest problems a lot of people have is the urge to use every single effect available just because they are there.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2020 14:40:41 GMT
I looked at all of them and even went to page 2 and 3. Perfect lesson on what not to do. The drop shadows and outlines are whst struck me, and bothered me, the most. Yup. One of the biggest problems a lot of people have is the urge to use every single effect available just because they are there. It's like yelling for attention, but believe me sometimes I want to yell, look at me, buy my book!! Hard to resist. Like imagine making a rainbow bible or one with a huge sunflower on it; ultimately you have to hold it together and just not do it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2020 14:42:01 GMT
On the up side, the administrator of LousyBookCovers.com also operates a site called Cover Critics, which offers helpful advice for DIY cover creators. Oh, that's amazing. I'm going to have a look. I'm cover stunted this week, keep redoing the same cover over and over. Thank you.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2020 15:06:04 GMT
I looked at all of them and even went to page 2 and 3. Perfect lesson on what not to do. The drop shadows and outlines are whst struck me, and bothered me, the most. I did like the children's book cover, except that the text and image were too close to the edge. Makes me afraid to design a cover after that. Wouldn't want to be on that site. There has been more than once where I've seen a cover on the site that I don't think was nearly bad enough to deserve being there. Sadly, those are pretty rare. What probably raises my hackles more often than anything else is seeing a cover that come this close to being good and at the last moment is ruined---usually by ham-handed typography. Yes, the typography appears to be the worst part of the covers, and sometimes the background too, like the lined busy one. But, I must admit, I struggle with typography myself. It is a challenge.
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Post by ronmiller on Jul 3, 2020 16:26:33 GMT
The best advice in the world about book coversd wasn't originally meant for book cover designers. It's when architect Mies van der Rohe said "Less is More."
Keep covers simple and keep them on point. They have only two jobs to do: attract the eye of a potential reader and convey some sense about the nature or theme of the book. If a cover has done that, it's succeeded. I have often compared book covers to packaging...which is all they really are...just like the label on a can peas at the grocery store. The can has to catch your eye from among all the other cans of peas and it has to tell you in a glance what's in the can.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2020 19:11:09 GMT
The best advice in the world about book coversd wasn't originally meant for book cover designers. It's when architect Mies van der Rohe said "Less is More." Keep covers simple and keep them on point. They have only two jobs to do: attract the eye of a potential reader and convey some sense about the nature or theme of the book. If a cover has done that, it's succeeded. I have often compared book covers to packaging...which is all they really are...just like the label on a can peas at the grocery store. The can has to catch your eye from among all the other cans of peas and it has to tell you in a glance what's in the can. That is very good advice. I will dive into version five of my current cover project tomorrow keeping this in mind. Old information but so easy to forget the basics.
"Attract the eye of a potential reader and convey some sense about the nature or theme of the book."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2020 12:35:28 GMT
The best advice in the world about book coversd wasn't originally meant for book cover designers. It's when architect Mies van der Rohe said "Less is More." Keep covers simple and keep them on point. They have only two jobs to do: attract the eye of a potential reader and convey some sense about the nature or theme of the book. If a cover has done that, it's succeeded. I have often compared book covers to packaging...which is all they really are...just like the label on a can peas at the grocery store. The can has to catch your eye from among all the other cans of peas and it has to tell you in a glance what's in the can. That is excellent advice Ron. I love making covers (It's the only art I do these days) and I always try and bear that in mind.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2020 14:44:43 GMT
I was looking at the Covercritics link you provdide, which for some reason I cannot locate now. Anyway, they are all attractive, but the most so for me is the attached. Though I do not understand why the gradient in the cover font. It seems, to me, overkill. Why now just dark blood red?
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Post by ronmiller on Jul 4, 2020 16:02:25 GMT
Here is the link again. covercritics.com/The cover you liked wasn't one of those submitted for critique. It's one of the covers for a series of books the author compared theirs to. The admin included them so that a comparison could be made between those and the author's submission. That being said, I might add that I would have liked to have seen the title a little larger, too.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2020 16:04:11 GMT
Here is the link again. covercritics.com/The cover you liked wasn't one of those submitted for critique. It's one of the covers for a series of books the author compared theirs to. The admin included them so that a comparison could be made between those and the author's submission. That being said, I might add that I would have liked to have seen the title a little larger, too. Thank you, Ron, for the link. Based on Girl at Sea, a gradient can work. But what do you think of the outline of the author. Do you not think it is too much, perhaps a different approach to that would be better? Too many effects though it is effective.
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