Need feedback on the cover for WOOL 3
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Are there any other choices that we can see?:shrug:
This one is OK if it is all that you have.
This one is OK if it is all that you have.
I think that the great thing about the original wool cover was the "less is more" approach.
But if your gonna go with a suit you need to improve it. You'll notice in video games where characters are suited that a lot of time is put into aesthetics, possibly the greatest example comes from bioshock.
The thing with suits is that they completely cover the character, you can't form attachments to their faces because the suit makes them faceless (in the picture). So people make attachments to the suit itself. Which means that you need to put in the kind of detail that you would put into a person.
Look at the bioshock suit and ask yourself what kind of emotions it invokes in you. One is definitely fear, which is appropriate considering that's how you should feel when you see one in game.
The problem with your suit is as far as emotions go it is almost completely sterile. It doesn't evoke very many emotions.
For example, since your story takes place in a post apocalyptic world then I would slap one of these somewhere on your suit.
Also you need to keep in mind the angle from which the shot of the picture is taken from. If you look at the bio shock one (a common angle in all video game pictures) it makes you feel small, heck, even smaller then the little girl. Which only further induces the feeling of dread and fear.
Here's another picture you may be able to relate the story to more easily.
In this one you do have an image of a suited character in a wasteland. This suit image was created by crytek and the pose has become widely copied, namely the main character facing into the distance with the face halfway turned towards you.
I think that having your suited character mimicking that pose would be appropriate.
It is good for the following reasons:
It introduces your character but it does not "over expose" them. Meaning that they see the character but they also see the background. It wasn't until the third time I saw your suited character that I noticed that there even was a background just because the character seemed to dominate my attention. So the trick is that by having your character face a certain direction it will force the audience to think "where is he facing?" and so they will look out to the background.
By having the face of your character turn back slightly it makes it seem as though he/she is looking at us which captures the readers attention much in the same way as the first paragraph of a good novel should capture the reader's attention.
I also have one more idea. You know how the character's illustration is framed by a hole? Replace that hole with a round window, the more rustic the better. If you combine that with the other idea I had above, along with the current color scheme of the rest of the cover it will give the impression that the reader is INSIDE the shelter looking out at the main character who is looking back to them while at the same time getting ready to leave. Perhaps invoking a feeling of a found farewell in the reader.
You see, by making an awesome illustration you can start to mold the feelings of the reader and start to tell the story before they even read the table of contents.
Think about the bioshock and the crysis 2 examples. The Bioshock cover tells you that the story is gonna take place under water, that those two on the cover will be central to the story, but the big one is probably going to be an antagonist. The leaking water and rusted over structures as well as the darkness tells you that it will probably be a sort of post apocalyptic scenario.
The crysis 2 cover tells you it will be in new York city, the brightness of the background and the non confrontational nature of the suited character tells us he is a good guy. The explosions should be pretty obvious, that the city is under attack. The rifle in the suited character's arms says he is a soldier. And since he is the only one in the image then that means chances are he is the main character. Which suggests that he will be fighting the invaders (which are cleverly absent from the image), that he will have a central part in this story, and that he will be a hero.
But if your gonna go with a suit you need to improve it. You'll notice in video games where characters are suited that a lot of time is put into aesthetics, possibly the greatest example comes from bioshock.
The thing with suits is that they completely cover the character, you can't form attachments to their faces because the suit makes them faceless (in the picture). So people make attachments to the suit itself. Which means that you need to put in the kind of detail that you would put into a person.
Look at the bioshock suit and ask yourself what kind of emotions it invokes in you. One is definitely fear, which is appropriate considering that's how you should feel when you see one in game.
The problem with your suit is as far as emotions go it is almost completely sterile. It doesn't evoke very many emotions.
For example, since your story takes place in a post apocalyptic world then I would slap one of these somewhere on your suit.
Also you need to keep in mind the angle from which the shot of the picture is taken from. If you look at the bio shock one (a common angle in all video game pictures) it makes you feel small, heck, even smaller then the little girl. Which only further induces the feeling of dread and fear.
Here's another picture you may be able to relate the story to more easily.
In this one you do have an image of a suited character in a wasteland. This suit image was created by crytek and the pose has become widely copied, namely the main character facing into the distance with the face halfway turned towards you.
I think that having your suited character mimicking that pose would be appropriate.
It is good for the following reasons:
It introduces your character but it does not "over expose" them. Meaning that they see the character but they also see the background. It wasn't until the third time I saw your suited character that I noticed that there even was a background just because the character seemed to dominate my attention. So the trick is that by having your character face a certain direction it will force the audience to think "where is he facing?" and so they will look out to the background.
By having the face of your character turn back slightly it makes it seem as though he/she is looking at us which captures the readers attention much in the same way as the first paragraph of a good novel should capture the reader's attention.
I also have one more idea. You know how the character's illustration is framed by a hole? Replace that hole with a round window, the more rustic the better. If you combine that with the other idea I had above, along with the current color scheme of the rest of the cover it will give the impression that the reader is INSIDE the shelter looking out at the main character who is looking back to them while at the same time getting ready to leave. Perhaps invoking a feeling of a found farewell in the reader.
You see, by making an awesome illustration you can start to mold the feelings of the reader and start to tell the story before they even read the table of contents.
Think about the bioshock and the crysis 2 examples. The Bioshock cover tells you that the story is gonna take place under water, that those two on the cover will be central to the story, but the big one is probably going to be an antagonist. The leaking water and rusted over structures as well as the darkness tells you that it will probably be a sort of post apocalyptic scenario.
The crysis 2 cover tells you it will be in new York city, the brightness of the background and the non confrontational nature of the suited character tells us he is a good guy. The explosions should be pretty obvious, that the city is under attack. The rifle in the suited character's arms says he is a soldier. And since he is the only one in the image then that means chances are he is the main character. Which suggests that he will be fighting the invaders (which are cleverly absent from the image), that he will have a central part in this story, and that he will be a hero.
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Not a very resounding endorsement!
Anything in particular you like or don't like about it?
It's not that there's anything wrong with it, I was just trying to find out if you might have designed other covers that you might be interested with besides this one.
Thanks, fedr! I agree with the examples. Some of those are iconic!
I'm not much of an artist, so I have to work with photographs and labor in Photoshop for hours and hours. I'll play around and see what I can come up with. It'll probably be more "tweaks," though, as I feel this is already better than most self-published stuff out there (have you seen most self-pubbed book covers?! Yikes.)
The inclusion of the silo's symbol might work. One thing, though: These suits are made to last about thirty minutes or less. I don't know what extra work they would put into them when they are meant to keep someone alive just long enough to clean camera lenses before they perish and rot away! :-0
I'm not much of an artist, so I have to work with photographs and labor in Photoshop for hours and hours. I'll play around and see what I can come up with. It'll probably be more "tweaks," though, as I feel this is already better than most self-published stuff out there (have you seen most self-pubbed book covers?! Yikes.)
The inclusion of the silo's symbol might work. One thing, though: These suits are made to last about thirty minutes or less. I don't know what extra work they would put into them when they are meant to keep someone alive just long enough to clean camera lenses before they perish and rot away! :-0
hmm, from the sound of your story it sounds a whole lot like Plato's cave.
The symbolism is up to you. But one other thing, there is a whole lot of grey in the picture and the cover, maybe throw in some rust patches on the cover.
The best way in my opinion to come up with a symbolic picture, whether it be a logo or a cover is to ask yourself what some of the key points in your story are and try to symbolize them.
They must go through a lot of suits which probably means they must make a lot. So throw in some poorly sewn up holes or patch work to show poor craftsmanship which can be associated with a lack of materials.
Is there a religion or theism attached to the society? If say they are Christian maybe they are attached to their religion enough that they put a religious symbol, sort of like a blessing for a martyr since these people are about to die.
Maybe the family of this character have some sort of crest or something that signifies them. Lets say this guy is some sort of sheriff or policemen. So maybe when he goes out his family or friends want him to have a token of good luck so they pin his badge onto the front, or paint the symbol of the force on the suit.
Can you send me a pdf of Wool 1 per chance so I might be able to think up a few ideas?
See, I rather like what you have.
I like Fedr's idea about adding a whole lot of corrosion and pitting though...
Too, check out this page, maybe the whole site: http://americanurbex.com/wordpress/?p=1160
Shows an old parts-making plant, long dead.
Although...what you have does not entirely go with the story. EDIT: Show him from behind, looking out into the devastated landscape, the metal entryway all pitted and corroded around him in strange colors, the bleak gray light shining onto the similarly corroded stairway he's just climbed up that leads down into darkness.
I like Fedr's idea about adding a whole lot of corrosion and pitting though...
Too, check out this page, maybe the whole site: http://americanurbex.com/wordpress/?p=1160
Shows an old parts-making plant, long dead.
Although...what you have does not entirely go with the story. EDIT: Show him from behind, looking out into the devastated landscape, the metal entryway all pitted and corroded around him in strange colors, the bleak gray light shining onto the similarly corroded stairway he's just climbed up that leads down into darkness.
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spidergoat
Valued Senior Member
I think the picture is perfect. Maybe the text could use some variation or texture. Like the title is old and the paint is fading.
That's an awesome compliment. It's what I was going for: That old-school science fiction look of the age of pulps and fanzines.
I've never been big on old school to be quite honest. I am only 18 so arguably it is because I am a younger and newer generation.
My preferences are towards sleek lines, sharp and lethal. Barring that I like color, not a psychedelic explosion, but things along the lines of Bioshock or Crysis 2, different shades of similar colors.
Although I just had another good idea. You said that they go through a lot of these suits right? Why not have a few of them lying around dead in the landscape?
It would provide an excellent bit of graphic-storytelling.
My preferences are towards sleek lines, sharp and lethal. Barring that I like color, not a psychedelic explosion, but things along the lines of Bioshock or Crysis 2, different shades of similar colors.
Although I just had another good idea. You said that they go through a lot of these suits right? Why not have a few of them lying around dead in the landscape?
It would provide an excellent bit of graphic-storytelling.