Hey guys, sorry about being so quiet :) Just have so many projects going on!
I've decided to release my old short story from 2004, after I picked it up last month and did some rewriting to it.
But now I'm going to publish it as an e-book, so I had to make a cover for it.
The short story is in Norwegian only, but I might translate it one day soon to English.
Anyway, any feedback on the cover would be most helpful!
Thanks.
(https://www.dropbox.com/meta_dl/eyJzdWJfcGF0aCI6ICIiLCAidGVzdF9saW5rIjogZmFsc2UsICJzZXJ2ZXIiOiAiZGwuZHJvcGJveHVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsICJpdGVtX2lkIjogbnVsbCwgImlzX2RpciI6IGZhbHNlLCAidGtleSI6ICJjdGM0N2RjZWRncHBscjQifQ/AANRdkBG3Vnj5LHlErFcLAy7G_cdPT8-wz3guy1YfugSdg?dl=1)
I'd probably make it slightly less minimalistic (gradient and not
just a blue circle) and smooth the fonts up.
Spoiler
(http://www.bwdhosting.com/ags/dumbodumbo.jpg)
Thanks! I did some new suggestions regarding the feedback you gave, but I decided the blue circle wasn't much needed so I ended up with a new suggestion :)
Bigger title, blue faded circle, and a different font for me.
(https://www.dropbox.com/meta_dl/eyJzdWJfcGF0aCI6ICIiLCAidGVzdF9saW5rIjogZmFsc2UsICJzZXJ2ZXIiOiAiZGwuZHJvcGJveHVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsICJpdGVtX2lkIjogbnVsbCwgImlzX2RpciI6IGZhbHNlLCAidGtleSI6ICJqOXJpNjA1N3NsZWpmY3YifQ/AAO_gF77ViNolaCHYAm6VBB53-s7X61kiCMxoIzSxkPleg?dl=1)
Maybe move the logo/cicle up a bit as there seems more space at the top than the bottom.
Also you need to anti-alias those fonts in my opinion.
Looks good though!
I agree with xil, the margin for each elements need to be balanced. In xil's example, each element is 'boxed' which gives the whole composition a good feel and easy on the eye.
Spoiler
(http://s30.postimg.org/rrlbpvj1d/bookthing.png)
Thanks. Is this better?
(https://www.dropbox.com/meta_dl/eyJzdWJfcGF0aCI6ICIiLCAidGVzdF9saW5rIjogZmFsc2UsICJzZXJ2ZXIiOiAiZGwuZHJvcGJveHVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsICJpdGVtX2lkIjogbnVsbCwgImlzX2RpciI6IGZhbHNlLCAidGtleSI6ICJ1Zmkza211MDdtY3BxajMifQ/AAO4JKeiC61sLYyWjsYi3cKT9UWsgmlj-xdCilCqGXs8Rw?dl=1)
I aligned it better, still no antialiasing though :)
xil, what kind of font did you use at the bottom in your example?
The font I used at the bottom is Open Sans - Condensed Light http://www.1001freefonts.com/open_sans_condensed.font (http://www.1001freefonts.com/open_sans_condensed.font)
The alignment is much better in my opinion - you don't have to anti-alias the fonts if you are going for a particular look, it was only a suggestion :)
It would be interesting to know what the story's about- right now a look at the cover creates (for me) a dark mood, with an ominous and slightly agressive "Dumbo! Dumbo!" shouted into my face... and the only Dumbo I know is that cute little elephant from the Disney movie, so there's a bit of a conflict.
I know you should never judge a book by its cover but the first thing I thought was "Now this is going to be a dark story, maybe about some kids teasing and antagonizing another kid (probably because of his big ears)." It was the first thing that popped into my mind.
__
edit: My ears are normal-sized, and I was never teased for them.
Ghost, that's what I was going for and you are absolutely right.
It's about a man thinking back as we was getting teased of his big ears - the bullies named him "Dumbo."
But as the story progresses in the present time, the reader learns that he's finally meeting some girl that's been writing to him for a period. But the girl never shows up.
It's a story about loneliness, death, revenge, fear, hope and choice... and regrets.
Thanks again for all help!
Quote from: jannar85 on Fri 06/06/2014 02:06:28
It's about a man thinking back as we was getting teased of his big ears - the bullies named him "Dumbo."
So... ONE COVER teleported the gist of the story into my brains? I'd call that a very powerful image, then- well done (nod)
Personally I prefer your first cover. Sure, it's minimalistic. But it's also clean and feels right. I fear each iteration feels less professional and actually looses character.
I made a few variations loosely based on the original cover as well as your description to Ghost.
top-left: Simple cover with the title. I added an exclamation mark both as a playfull backdrop and to to accentuate them in the title
top-right: I playfully added two ears to the exclamation mark since the ears play an important role in the story (I didn't want to make it a full smiley-face because I think you want to walk a fine line between playful and serious for this story..and a smiley-face could easily become amateurish and out of place).
bottom-left: same cover but with a slight gradient on the background.
bottom-right: made the title upper-case to accentuate the shouting. Also made the contrast a bit bigger to make the text a bit more angry.
(http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa412/misj1270/DumboDumboCover_zps664e78c1.png)