Another cover critique...

[Conaill]

Not caring too much for the design. The skeletal figure is a little hard to read.

One vote for too detailed and one for not detailed enough! Duly noted

Actually, I assume Dragon-Slayer meant *lack* of detail when he said "because of the level of detail" up above.

In any case I'l add my own vote - It's not so much a lack of detail, but rather the fact that it's hard to make out the shapes. The skeleton head is easy, and I *think* there may be a skeletal hand holding something, and possible some sort of armor - or is that more of the skeleton itself, or maybe some sort of clothing? But I have no clue what those big bold shapes in the background could be, and that really detracts from the rest of the image.

Is that skeletal fist holding a scroll? A fan? Or is that just a piece of the background? And what's all that... stuff... between the hand and the torso of the skeleton? Is that another skeletal forearm sticking up from the bottom middle of the picture, or is that just the edge of a cloak? All in all a very confusing image.

 

[Dragon-Slayer]

Yes, I did mean that there wasn't a lot of detail in the first cover. The cover is very minimalist, which is good for a striking approach to a product.

There are two ways to look at covers for a product: simple, which is no-nonsense and grabs your attention from afar and the complex, which makes you pick up the product and look deeper into the cover detail. Neither approach is right or wrong, the important aspects are the execution and the composition.

 

[jgbrowning]

As it stands, when looking at the ship the first impression I get is one of the space shuttle flying off carrying the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.

I thought it was carrying a bannana, but you're right: the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile it is.



joe b.

 

[jdrakeh]

I've revised the Bronze cover a bit, adding more detail to bring out the skeleton. Is that better?

 

[Conaill]

I've revised the Bronze cover a bit, adding more detail to bring out the skeleton. Is that better?

Much!

Still doesn't scream "bronze" to me though.

 

[sniffles]

Yes! The skeleton's much easier to interpret now.

I'd still sort of like to see him wearing a Bronze Age Achaean helmet, like the boar-tusk one from Mycenae, instead of the horned thingy, but that's just me.

 

[jdrakeh]

Still doesn't scream "bronze" to me though.

Well, it isn't actually set in ancient Greece, merely inpsired by it (so actual Greek imagery isn't at all appropriate). Aside from using actual Greek imagery, does anybody have some suggestions to make it a bit more 'Bronze-Agey'?

 

[Dragon-Slayer]

Very good job on the retouch. Excellent work.

 

[jdrakeh]

Very good job on the retouch. Excellent work.

Thanks. I'll try to fix the Oscar Meyer effect in the OS cover this weekend (I think that if I brush out the second fuel tank on the rocket, it'll look okay).

 

[Conaill]

Is that particular triskele important to your setting? You could always pick another one that is more recognizably bronze age, e.g one that has more of a "coiled wax" look. Here are some options:

Some of these are of celtic origins rather than greek, but fact is that these simple symbols were found all over europe at the time.

Here's a really cool site for symbols, by the way:
http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/14/index.html