Need a quick critique on two covers...

[jdrakeh]

I'm currently working on two different projects for my group (who I'm fairly certain don't post here). The first of these projects is a rules-light version of d20 whcih is built upon a foundation of Original and Basic D&D, while the second project is a World War II occult horror setting for use with Spycraft 2. Anyhow, I've done some mock-ups and would like to get a quick bit of feedback on them...

[Pics Have Been Removed]

Any constructive feedback is welcome. Note that the lighting in my apartment is sub-optimal, so I'm a bit concerned about the brightness on the first cover - should I tone that down a bit?

[Edit: These are JPEG files, where the final versions will be TIFF files, so there is a small loss of quality in the versions presented here.]

 

[Jdvn1]

Wow, I really like both covers. If you're concerned about brightness (I like it as is, but), then either make the text stand out more or fade the rest a bit (I forget the term for it, but when you kind of wash it out, like as a background).

 

[jdrakeh]

Wow, I really like both covers.

Thanks!

If you're concerned about brightness (I like it as is, but), then either make the text stand out more or fade the rest a bit (I forget the term for it, but when you kind of wash it out, like as a background).

Well, specifically, what concerned me about brightness was how it would look on a CRT monitor - I have an LCD monitor ('cause my PC is a laptop) and am working in an environment with sub-optimal lighting, so I wanted to make sure that the image wasn't over-light or lacking good contrast (i.e., washed out looking).

 

[Herremann the Wise]

Hi jdrakeh,

Both look good.

Some alternative ideas could be:
Old School
- Centre the text rather than have it on the left (even though this screws with your overall design). Maybe just leave it as is unless you can think of a good way how to do this.
- Temper the brightness of the blue as it is background. Bring the brightness of the sword blade up to the background's original brightness level. Actually, darkening the background behind the blade itself should give you enough contrast to make it stick out.
- Dull the golden hilt just enough so it looks in better balance with the blade. The two look a little disconnected.

Spycraft 2
- This is pretty much spot on. You could possibly clean up the font of the text "Pulp Horror Behind Enemy Lines" to make it fractionally more readable. However, this is most likely unnecessary.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

PS: Best of luck with the projects - they look good.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

For the first cover:

- I agree that the hilt is a bit bright.

- I would also flip the sword and the text (if you decide to keep them side by side). The sword gives the image of solidity and support, while the words give the image of invitation. Therefore, the sword should be closer to the binding. The words would then be closer to the interior, inviting you to open the cover and look inside.

For the second cover:

- The font is a bit difficult to read, but nothing else jumps out at me.


I've never been accused of having taste, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[Yalius]

Regarding the second--

I agree with Herreman, the font used is a little bit indistinct, especially the "P" in "Pulp". At first glance, I thought it read "Gulp". Looks like you used Berliner? The capitals are a tick tough to make out. Maybe use English Towne, it's very similar (especially bolded), just a little less stylized in the caps.

 

[jdrakeh]

Looks like you used Berliner?

Luftwaffe, actually. I might blow it up and change the first word from pulp to occult (as that's the direction it seems to be taking, anyhow) in order to make it easier to read. If that doesn't help, I'll swap out the font for something more legible such as Becker or English Towne.

 

[Wild Gazebo]

Image One:

Don't treat your text like a tertiary piece of imagery. Let the text be in the foreground with dominance--overlapping any cover illustrations. Sharpen your transitional colours. The use of the atomosphereic 'blur' smacks of insecurity and glosses over the importance of your cover. I would suggest moving the sword deeper into the plane of vision (dampening its dominance) and centered a bit more--not aligned center--and possibly move it closer to the top of the background vertical plane. Then, expand the size of your text and place it prominantly infront of the sword. This may seem overly traditional...and a bit passe; but, the strength of the relative positioning is a time-tested design. I would also suggest a darker border for the text...or as others have mentioned play with the brightness, contrast, or even tonal qualities of the composition.

If the sword is the most important aspect to you: positionon it dominantly, with very sharp contrast against the background, and forego text--or use a fine filigree text along the top or bottom edge of the picture plane. This lpays to the simple elegance of a simple form...very tough to sell. It might be worth a try though.



Image Two:

Is a very sound design. I might try to make the text slightly more legible.

 

[jdrakeh]

Hmm.. I like a lot of the suggestions, but they're not feasible due to the limited capabilities of the software that I'm using. What I have done is add some darker hues behind the blade to make it stand out more, adjust the tonal quality down, and saturate the image with a bit more grey. I came up with two alternate covers (the differences are subtle):

[Pics Have Been Removed]

I'm not too worried about commercial appeal (as I noted, these are for my players), so the text will likely stay where it is on the Old School cover (I plan replacing the sub-title on the Schattenjager cover). As for the blur, that was (unfortunately) necessary due to the quality fo the images that I had to work with initially (one was a very grainy photo and the other was an already blurry painting).

Anyhow, which do you think is better... 1 (being the Old School cover in the original post), 2, or 3.

 

[wedgeski]

They both look good and everyone else has voiced the same things I would have. I also definitely like the brighter sword hilt over the reduced one. The brighter one really comes off the page!

Nice work!