rlg Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I know it lacks sparkle and pizzazz. But I did play around with the shadow by holding a book to the wall. Discovered that the light source made the difference and one of them did look like this. But I have repeatedly stressed I'm not an artist. I can do colors in decorating a room pretty well, but a cover for me is a whole nother ballgame! So please, please jump in with suggestions. I followed Fuzzy's directions and liked that I could get it to work--just not to stand out! The manuscript page has to stay as is as far as font color--well, maybe not. It would have been probably a pen and ink sketch. But the rest of the cover is open for improvements! I'll be grateful--for whatever that's worth. As they say, that and $4 will get you a latte. (or will it?) Renee Well, shoot! It wouldn't allow me to upload: "You aren't permitted to upload this kind of file." Why not? The little naked ladies from a six hundred year old mss?? That's in Yale U. library and in public domain?? Or because it's PDN? What a disappointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydareelin Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I was extremely confused for a bit. Are you trying to upload a PDN file? Quote Gallery DeviantArt Planet Tutorial | Sun Tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlg Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Yes, Daniel, I am--or was. But as I posted, the upload--that's well within the length guidelines, and is pdn.-- was "not permitted." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydareelin Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 If you want to just show the image, save it as a seperate .jpg or .png file and upload that. If you need help with the PDN file, I'd guess you'd have to upload it to an external filehosting site and give us the link. Quote Gallery DeviantArt Planet Tutorial | Sun Tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlg Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Here's what I'm trying to jazz up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydareelin Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 My suggestions; A slight contrast increase on the book. Blur the shadow a bit. Remove the black outline to the right of the book. I'd also make the background slightly bluer. Don't forget these are just my opinions Quote Gallery DeviantArt Planet Tutorial | Sun Tutorial Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlg Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Thank you, Daniel. I did blur the shadow but not enough I guess. The "outline" on the right is part of the cover of the codex and I tried to crop it out, but it was stubborn. As to increasing the blue, sure I'll do that. But I'm not sure what book you mean to increase the contrast on/in? The mss. page is the original and I didn't touch it, so how would I increase the contrast on it? I truly don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentGoodspeed Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Was that the concept you were going for? Is it supposed to be retro or something for kids?If it is, fine. Otherwise, if it's supposed to be a serious book (we talked about Dan Brown in another thread), well the amateurism shows. I was a new author at one point and my early covers were really terrible. But I want to stress that the importance of the cover cannot be understated. People do judge your book by its cover.There are many designers available and some have premade covers available for as low as $25.I don't want to be brutal or impolite but this is something I wished someone had told me when I started publishing.Here are two great links, great primers for designing book covers:http://www.creativindie.com/8-cover-design-secrets-publishers-use-to-manipulate-readers-into-buying-books/http://www.jasongurley.com/blog/?category=DIY+book+cover+designIn the meantime, I've whipped up a little something in under 30 minutes just to give you an idea of how you can turn your concept into something more dramatic and striking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlg Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Dear Agent GS--you didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. That's why I came on here for suggestions. But as I said before the V. mss. can't be covered up or it loses its point. And also, it's a series so there are certain things that have to match the other covers. But most importantly--You think Dan Brown is a *serious* writer?? Ai-yie- yie!! Despite all that, I do appreciate your 30 minutes--seriously. Also I'll close this down because a friend of mine wanted to fool around with a new program she got and she came up with something I like and can work with. Her program is called Youzine and from what I understand from its website, it works from basic templates, but uses layers and png. So I can import what I like about what she's done into pdn and go from there. I hope. PS. It's not the money for a pro artist, I just never could seem to get them on the same page with me. Also since this is a parody, I don't really care how professional it looks. I'm having fun. If no one else likes it--tant pis! Renee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlg Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 PS. I have **never** claimed to be an artist. I accept the word amateur--but I am not a beginning writer and I'll put my writing up against almost anyone. As example, I challenge you to read my short read on Amazon: End of Eden. That too may look like a bad cover to you, but it's what I wanted. http://www.amazon.com/End-Of-Eden-Renee-Goudeau-ebook/dp/B00PCWC2AC You hurt my French/southern pride! Shame. Renee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentGoodspeed Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Désolé Sorry if I offended you, definitely wasn't my intention. The important thing is that you are happy with the cover you end up going with. Good luck with your project. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlg Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Don't sweat it. I've gone through worse--a whole lot worse! And thanks for the good wishes. I have to try using things I haven't before like curves. Should be interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlg Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 Agent Goodspeed, Here we are almost exactly a month later! Happy Easter! May I have your permission to use the "sample" you made for my cover of one of the episodes of my book? I'll be very glad to give you credit--only I'll need your real name to use for the copyright. You can send me a private message if you'd like instead of publicly replying on here. Thanks, Renee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentGoodspeed Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Sure thing, Renee. PM me your email address and I'll send you the PDN file so you can add your name to the document, or whatever else you want to add. Agent Goodspeed, Here we are almost exactly a month later! Happy Easter! May I have your permission to use the "sample" you made for my cover of one of the episodes of my book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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