|
Post by BlueAndGold on Jan 29, 2021 1:06:09 GMT
There are no splashes of cool for this collection of Hellish tales, Maggie. Nary a drop of water to moisten the parched tongue in the midst of the eternal flames. Only fire and darkness and gnashing of teeth.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2021 6:28:28 GMT
There are no splashes of cool for this collection of Hellish tales, Maggie. Nary a drop of water to moisten the parched tongue in the midst of the eternal flames. Only fire and darkness and gnashing of teeth. Gnashing teeth?🤪 Sounds like Revelations. Just in terms of attraction and aesthetic reasons, I think it might be useful. It will engage and maintain interest and inspire probing. But, of course, I understand that the theme must match the colouring. Might you provide a teaser? Or is it too soon?
|
|
|
Post by Deadshot on Jan 29, 2021 6:43:25 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2021 7:51:31 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Deadshot on Jan 29, 2021 7:59:30 GMT
Thinking about it now, I could have added some musical notes with the bats..
|
|
|
Post by BlueAndGold on Jan 29, 2021 13:19:03 GMT
Those are great, Deadshot! Both are beautiful!
The second one is my favorite. The bats and the big moon and the stark trees make it happen.
A fun subject, I've always loved Halloween.
Maybe someday I'll have the time to learn to use these wonderful graphic tools.
|
|
|
Post by ronmiller on Jan 29, 2021 13:23:13 GMT
The first one is very nice. I would definitely make all of the text---title and author name---much larger, though. The title, especially, is one of the most important things on a cover. The second one is nice, too. Again, I would make all of the text much larger. And beware of putting reds against black: there is usually not enough value contrast. As you can see in the thumbnail, the title almost disappears.
|
|
|
Post by Deadshot on Jan 29, 2021 21:16:35 GMT
The first one is very nice. I would definitely make all of the text---title and author name---much larger, though. The title, especially, is one of the most important things on a cover. The second one is nice, too. Again, I would make all of the text much larger. And beware of putting reds against black: there is usually not enough value contrast. As you can see in the thumbnail, the title almost disappears. I agree with you on both covers. I did this in about 3 minutes with Indesign. I did think the white font would be most suitable reflecting the moon's colour (like the author's name) but wanted to keep the colours to a minimum. Just made some additions hoping to appease your critical eye.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2021 4:08:01 GMT
Now I like the second one.
|
|
|
Post by Ken on Jan 30, 2021 14:03:33 GMT
“ A suggestion- rather than using ALL black as a background use a very dark image (much darker and blacker than my sample here though). I know that you have used solid black before but it is sometimes a quality issue in POD reproduction. Also I think that 13 could be seen as a Volume number and not part of the title. Personally I don't use more than a couple of fonts. Just my thoughts.
Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by ronmiller on Jan 30, 2021 14:08:37 GMT
The first one is nice, but suffers a little from there being just a little too much. There is no need for the shadow under "13", for instance, and I am not sure why there is music. The spacing between "13", "Crazy" and "Rhymes" does not work very well, either. They read as three separate units rather than a continuous title. The second cover is much more successful on all counts...though the addition of music still eludes me (are these rhymes or songs?). But the notes are so extremely subtle that they disappear at thumbnail size in any case so the issue really is kind of moot. The only thing that really bothers me is that the eye goes directly to that big bright moon...which is largely a blank circle. What, I wondered, would happen if we were to use that attention-getting quality? This also might enable the rest of the title to be made much larger. One thing that helped do this was to not let the shape of the type dictate how it was used. For instance, the long swashes on the lower-case p and y were forcing you to place Creepy and Rhymes much too far apart. By simply editing the swash on the y, the words fit together very nicely. I also enlarged the initial C and R. And while I was at it, I also enlarged the tagline.
|
|
|
Post by Deadshot on Jan 30, 2021 16:31:16 GMT
The first one is nice, but suffers a little from there being just a little too much. There is no need for the shadow under "13", for instance, and I am not sure why there is music. The spacing between "13", "Crazy" and "Rhymes" does not work very well, either. They read as three separate units rather than a continuous title. The second cover is much more successful on all counts...though the addition of music still eludes me (are these rhymes or songs?). But the notes are so extremely subtle that they disappear at thumbnail size in any case so the issue really is kind of moot. The only thing that really bothers me is that the eye goes directly to that big bright moon...which is largely a blank circle. What, I wondered, would happen if we were to use that attention-getting quality? View AttachmentThis also might enable the rest of the title to be made much larger. One thing that helped do this was to not let the shape of the type dictate how it was used. For instance, the long swashes on the lower-case p and y were forcing you to place Creepy and Rhymes much too far apart. By simply editing the swash on the y, the words fit together very nicely. I also enlarged the initial C and R. And while I was at it, I also enlarged the tagline. ronmiller All good points. I like what you have done. The musical notes are redundant - you are right.
|
|
|
Post by BlueAndGold on Jan 30, 2021 19:49:35 GMT
Good thought about the non-black background, Ken, but the moon does not hover in the forest. Also, the black covers with a central image is a sort of Blue&Gold theme at the moment. This has been a really interesting and educational discussion! And it has shown what true artists can do with their keyboards and mice. It has also shown how different people have different tastes in what grabs them. Deadshot: Your art is amazing! The creepy Halloween feeling is spot on! But it is not my art. I will use the brighter gradient 13 of my 2nd design. It got the most votes of the two in an off-list query.
|
|
|
Post by Ken on Jan 31, 2021 11:47:46 GMT
Yes, I did mention I knew of your theme for black. My sample was something I just knocked up in a couple of minutes. If I was to develop it then it would blacker and darker with the trees fading above the top of the moon to a perhaps starlit sky. However it gave a bit of fun to play with. I’ll be pleased to see what you finally come up.
|
|
|
Post by BlueAndGold on Jan 31, 2021 13:09:41 GMT
It's already been posted above.
|
|