Custom Cover Art Thread

[Trean]

I applaud you for going after the social network cover dv8. After reading about the bonus points I had the fear that the contest designers were subtly pushing everyone to do a "Three Kings" cover if the person really wanted to win. I was unsure how affecting 10 extra points would be, it entirely depends on a total that I did not know at the time. But handing out free points for doing one cover versus another already tilts the competition.

I don't look at other sites and thought your back design was a novel idea that was well constructed. I just wish it meshed better with the colors of the front.

[nichart]

Might be a few small changes to be made, but I think this is almost done. Thoughts?

[madridista8700]

Originally Posted by aggienader08

"Now this is where thinking outside the box gets you nowhere..."

That had to be the Simon Cowell of the custom cover world

[Mobjack]

Originally Posted by madridista8700

That had to be the Simon Cowell of the custom cover world

That was my exact first thought too after I read Aggie's post.

[frightism]

Hey all, this is a cover that I have been working on for a while now and I am just about done with it...let me know what you think.

[biglou114]

Here's a WIP for my very first custom cover:



As you can see this is for all the cuts of Watchmen based on the cover of the paperback version of the book.

Any advice/criticisms welcome.

[nichart]

Originally Posted by biglou114

Here's a WIP for my very first custom cover:



As you can see this is for all the cuts of Watchmen based on the cover of the paperback version of the book.

Any advice/criticisms welcome.

Looking good so far. A few things that I notice...
1) I would put a little more space on the left of the back before the text begins. This is a personal preference thing I think though.

2) I think your spine might need to be a little bit wider. I could be wrong about this.

[dv8pdx]

Ok, while some of the contest judges were harsh on many of the designers, one key factor in my loss was the front didn't flow with the back! And I 100% agree. A cool concept in my head that just didn't work that way in design. So I went back to the drawing board and revised the front to better suit the back design, and I must say I like it SO much better myself. Murphy's Law, if you only had judges comments before the compitetions! lol

The Redesign...

[Trean]

Wow that is an AWESOME revision dv8!

And just an FYI... since I came up with the same font-to-back flow commentary you can hit me up for comments on it before you submit

[dv8pdx]

Originally Posted by Trean

Wow that is an AWESOME revision dv8!

And just an FYI... since I came up with the same font-to-back flow commentary you can hit me up for comments on it before you submit

Deal!

[aggienader08]

The King's Speech WIP:

[aggienader08]

Originally Posted by frightism

Hey all, this is a cover that I have been working on for a while now and I am just about done with it...let me know what you think.

Frightism,

I really like this cover, a lot. It's very creative and original. There's only a couple of things I've noticed:

1. You have Kubrick's name on the front twice. Once above the title and again in the tagline. McDowell's name is also in the tagline. I see where you're going with that, but don't think it really works combining cast names with a tagline. Maybe it could say something like:

"Milk.
Beethoven.
Ultraviolence."

2. I do this all the time, so I understand how difficult it can be sometimes, but the image of Beethoven on the front seem to have a little glow of the previous image's background color, esp. around his hair. Do this:

right click on your layer mask > Refine Mask > desaturate colors >adjust percentage. That should reduce the glow, and you can touch up the layer mask.

If it's not a layer mask, or you don't have CS5, you can use a large brush at 80-90% strength to clean up the edges. Hope this helps.

[frightism]

Originally Posted by aggienader08

Frightism,

I really like this cover, a lot. It's very creative and original. There's only a couple of things I've noticed:

1. You have Kubrick's name on the front twice. Once above the title and again in the tagline. McDowell's name is also in the tagline. I see where you're going with that, but don't think it really works combining cast names with a tagline. Maybe it could say something like:

"Milk.
Beethoven.
Ultraviolence."

2. I do this all the time, so I understand how difficult it can be sometimes, but the image of Beethoven on the front seem to have a little glow of the previous image's background color, esp. around his hair. Do this:

right click on your layer mask > Refine Mask > desaturate colors >adjust percentage. That should reduce the glow, and you can touch up the layer mask.

If it's not a layer mask, or you don't have CS5, you can use a large brush at 80-90% strength to clean up the edges. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the feedback! I see what you mean with the tagline and it is fixed. Yet, there is still a problem. I am using Adobe Fireworks CS5 for this project and not Adobe Photoshop CS5. I have had some "feathering edges" problems in the past while making the cover and I am still not to sure how to do it. Do you have any instructions on how to do it on Fireworks? Thanks!

[frightism]

Originally Posted by dv8pdx

Ok, while some of the contest judges were harsh on many of the designers, one key factor in my loss was the front didn't flow with the back! And I 100% agree. A cool concept in my head that just didn't work that way in design. So I went back to the drawing board and revised the front to better suit the back design, and I must say I like it SO much better myself. Murphy's Law, if you only had judges comments before the compitetions! lol

The Redesign...

Extremely nice redesign!
I like it a lot better than the previous one, the front flows better into the back.

[aggienader08]

Originally Posted by frightism

Thanks for the feedback! I see what you mean with the tagline and it is fixed. Yet, there is still a problem. I am using Adobe Fireworks CS5 for this project and not Adobe Photoshop CS5. I have had some "feathering edges" problems in the past while making the cover and I am still not to sure how to do it. Do you have any instructions on how to do it on Fireworks? Thanks!

Unfortunately I have no suggestions for Fireworks. I've only every used it once or twice and don't have it. Sorry.

There has to be an option to use a sizable eraser at a certain strength, no? If so, set to to the size desirable and set strength to 80-90% and go around the edges where you see the glow and just dab at it to go away.

[aggienader08]

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

My Day the Earth Stood Still cover, 99% finished:


The compression artifacts on the back are due to the 3D presentation; they're not in the original.

Looks fantastic sir! I posted a brief tidbit in your thread on efx.

[frightism]

Alright, I have changed the tagline and have added a sort of glowing effect on Beethoven to try to hide the edges of orange...does this look any better?

[aggienader08]

Originally Posted by frightism

Alright, I have changed the tagline and have added a sort of glowing effect on Beethoven to try to hide the edges of orange...does this look any better?

You did a great job getting rid of that glow. How did you end up doing it?

Cover looks great!

[FlankerB]

Is anyone making (or has already made) a cover for Restrepo?

[HanaBi]

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

My Day the Earth Stood Still cover, 99% finished:

[Show spoiler]

The compression artifacts on the back are due to the 3D presentation; they're not in the original.

Nice design, and I like the red!