dss #21: second attempt - c&c

karlabbott

Any thoughts on either of these?

dnie

karlabbott wrote:

Any thoughts on either of these?

I LOVE the first one!!!!!
That is beautiful!
The second looks too busy for a book cover, (IMHO)

AndMan

#1

thegreenegg

I like the first one better also.
I do wonder if the second would look better with a black and white kind of
'spooky' filter instead of in color though.
Cheers,
a.

Benjer

The first is more mysterious and evocative - definitely gives an impression of a damp chill that seeps to your bones. A spooky thriller perhaps? Very nice!

The 2nd is just too "grounded" with the mundane street level activity - doesn't let the imagination fly like the first one does.

Kinkajou

i also like the first one better. would change the font to something less curvy and nice. maybe a little more thick and angular, but still very clean. that's just me.

but it is a great shot and works well for this challenge, i think!

ic4u

I like your first one best, maybe play around with the placement of the title,
there seems to be too much dead space in the upper left, IMO of course.

Drin

I agree with some of the above posts, I love the picture, but if you're going to include a title I would work on it quite a bit. Make it pop, it looks kind of sloppily thrown on there right now. I'd suggest looking at some real novel covers.

Tylwydd

#1 has a great mood indeed. The title needs a little more work to make a really good cover.

karlabbott

Tylwydd wrote:

#1 has a great mood indeed. The title needs a little more work to make a really good cover.

Thank you all for the feedback! I'll rework the title tonight and post the rework when I'm done.

Karl

karlabbott

How about this for a rework?

Drin

It just doesn't look very professional to me. It lacks oomph. I would even go with a more classic Stephen King-esque font if I couldn't figure out something that looks better.

karlabbott

Drin wrote:

It just doesn't look very professional to me. It lacks oomph. I would even go with a more classic Stephen King-esque font if I couldn't figure out something that looks better.

Ok -- got some new fonts Any new thoughts?

Seefutlung

While of the two images certainly #1 evokes more emotion ... but (the big but) as there aren't any shadows in the image it really doesn't seem to fit the title. The title font seems lights and a bit frivolious and agian does not reflect the threatening and foreboding verbage.

Gary

PS - Oops ... okay you changed the font while I was keyboarding ... better font I think the size does not balance well with the tree ...back to the tree ... if you are to use this shadowless image I suggest a slight tilt to line up the trunk plumb to the edge then a tight crop on the left to the black trunk. This would give you a bit of a frame on the left side and only showing part of the tree gets the gestalt jucise flowing visually and verbally as your title doesn't speak directly or clearly as to what is lurking in the shadows.
G

michswiss

There aren't any shadows. I thought this the first time I saw this thread. It should be "Lurking in the Mist"...

Font choices are hard and it takes a lot of effort to get the balance right.

karlabbott

michswiss wrote:

There aren't any shadows. I thought this the first time I saw this thread. It should be "Lurking in the Mist"...

Font choices are hard and it takes a lot of effort to get the balance right.

I have certainly thought of that too -- Lurking in the Mist or Lurking in the fog, though I'm not sure how much of the fog you actually get from the picture. This would have been a terrible photo without the fog because the background would have been ugly and distracting (site for a future building with little care to the existing ground), though I don't really see foggy when I see it.

I actually like this font, but am curious if it works with a different title like Lurking in the Mist. Thoughts?

Benjer

karlabbott wrote:

I have certainly thought of that too -- Lurking in the Mist or Lurking in the fog...(snip)... I actually like this font, but am curious if it works with a different title like Lurking in the Mist. Thoughts?

I definitely agree that Lurking in the Mist is much more descriptive of your photo. And I really like this shot, by the way - the fog comes across very well.

Forgive my inner grammar geek coming out here... You might consider instead of the inherently "weak" gerund form, "Lurking," picking a good strong noun, like Lurker in the Mist, or perhaps Murder in the Mist, for some rolls-off-the-tongue alliteration. Your font choice is better here than the first, but I'm still not sure this particular font design fits the feeling of the title either.

If I may make a couple suggestions: for example, "Murder in the Mist" could use a stamp-style font (like an official police report kind of thing) for "Murder," perhaps in red, on the first line, switching to a more "wispy" or at least serif style font for "in the Mist," below it in black, fading out just at the edge of "Mist." That's just an example, something I "see" when I imagine a title over your very nice image.

Keep playing with this - it's a great idea and I'm sure you'll find something that really works for you.

Drin

My only other input is that the first two fonts look small and insignificant, while the last one looks too heavy and makes the cover seem 'top heavy'. I would try to find a balance.

karlabbott

First of all, let me say thank you to all who have offered their feedback. I'm also quite thankful that I have internet at home again (It's been out since Thursday morning!)

I've taken some of everybody's feedback, given it some thought and come up with this image:

dnie

I must be the odd one... My favorite is still the very first version you had.

richtersl

I like this last one. My only suggestion would be to flip the picture horizontally so that the white space is on the right, and then place the text in there.