I got to do my second set of cover commission just recently. I don't think they are up yet, as she is I think going to release rapidly. She was very pleased, and I even did a couple of "fan art" pieces for her, that she purchased, too. (Since all the covers were basically chest shots).
I also, have redone one of my book covers. The book came out in 2015, and while I did good for the time and knowldege that I had, the new cover is much better! I'm very happy with it.
I stumbled on this thread recently. I'm not sure if my post is appropriate, but I'm looking for feedback on a cover I'm working on for a role playing game adventure. The genre is fantasy andn it involves an ensemble of characters (or avatars if you will) going up against an ancient evil and it's minions. Yes, straightforward Tolkien stuff. The goal of the image is to communicate action and excitement. The product will be PDF and the cover image may be used as a desktop wallpaper. The game is still in early stage of conceptualization, so that's very much the brief I received.
Here's my first pass.
My workflow involves Daz together with Photoshop actions and brushes. Running out of memory during rendering is one big obstacle, particularly when the scene involves a cast of characters. For Genesis 8, I've found the MMX Resource Saver Shaders Collection 2 for IRay very helpful. Essentially the add-on allows for reskining figures with lower resolution textures. I've used Daz-Octane in the past, and I find Octane has better tolerance for heftier memory demands. During the conceptualization stage, however, I find working with Daz a lot easier.
@csaa That looks very cool. The only thing that might be improved is it is difficult to make out the shape of the back of the first character's (the leftmost one w/ his back to us) head.
For the memory issues - you can try rendering large/heavy scenes using your spot render tool and rendering to a separate window. You can render half your scene, then render the other half. Then sew it back together in photoshop or another program.
I stumbled on this thread recently. I'm not sure if my post is appropriate, but I'm looking for feedback on a cover I'm working on for a role playing game adventure. The genre is fantasy and...
[snip]
Cheers!
I would suggest using all CAPS for the title. Perhaps a different color for the tunic on the foreground character that is having his head crushed could separate his from the background, rusted chainmail maybe.
I stumbled on this thread recently. I'm not sure if my post is appropriate, but I'm looking for feedback on a cover I'm working on for a role playing game adventure. The genre is fantasy andn it involves an ensemble of characters (or avatars if you will) going up against an ancient evil and it's minions. Yes, straightforward Tolkien stuff. The goal of the image is to communicate action and excitement. The product will be PDF and the cover image may be used as a desktop wallpaper. The game is still in early stage of conceptualization, so that's very much the brief I received.
Here's my first pass.
Hmmm...
Maybe it's the starry sky look of the background, maybe its the lighting, maybe it's the font choice, but at first glance it looks more Sci-Fi than fantasy, or possibly a story set in a 70's disco.
I think you could really do with more contrast between the characters and the background. It took me quite a long look at the white line on the RHS of the picture to realise it's the piping around a tunic, and that there's a character standing there. Similarly the woman in green gets lost against the bad guy's arm.
I'm working on another commission for a B&W illustration and wanted to ask for your feedback. The brief describes the high point in a sword and sorcery adventure when the protagonists enter the subterranean lair of a saurian king. The hulking beast rises from his throne, surrounded by treasure and symbols of power. None to happy at the intrusion, he makes his displeasure known. It's not clear to me if the illustration is for the book cover, or an inner page.
Below is my first stab at the project. Here are some creative notes:
- The lair is a focal point of uncanny power. The arcane symbols on the vault overhead and the noirish light on the archway underscore this fact.
- While I chose a simple throne, the scene is littered with signs of mastery (crown and hour glass) and wealth (treasure chest and fine vases).
- If the menacing stance of the saurian king isn't enough, the air of danger and wrongness is driven home by the tipped chalice and the Dutch angle of the camera.
- To add pathos, I included the statue of an angel. (It's a small homage to Mike Mignola, my favorite comic author, who uses elements like this!) Her supplicant bearing is something the viewer can connect with emotionally -- "heaven deliver us from this evil" and so on.
Comments
I got to do my second set of cover commission just recently. I don't think they are up yet, as she is I think going to release rapidly. She was very pleased, and I even did a couple of "fan art" pieces for her, that she purchased, too. (Since all the covers were basically chest shots).
I also, have redone one of my book covers. The book came out in 2015, and while I did good for the time and knowldege that I had, the new cover is much better! I'm very happy with it.
so, here is my cover, Old, and then the New:
This is a cover of one of my stories. It's not a serious job but something I did just for fun.
nvm
Has anybody tried creating old-fashioned cloth or leatherbound book covers ? I've just had a first stab at it...
The title is one from my old list.
The layout is based on this old book I found on the internet.
The green cloth book cover is made using capt-toenail's old book cover texture resource from DeviantArt.
The cover picture is made with this public domain picture from Wikipedia's Adobe page.
I found this Cloth, gold, ink, and style | National Library of New Zealand (natlib.govt.nz) article quite fascinating and inspirational
interesting idea and well made 3dcheapskate!
I stumbled on this thread recently. I'm not sure if my post is appropriate, but I'm looking for feedback on a cover I'm working on for a role playing game adventure. The genre is fantasy andn it involves an ensemble of characters (or avatars if you will) going up against an ancient evil and it's minions. Yes, straightforward Tolkien stuff. The goal of the image is to communicate action and excitement. The product will be PDF and the cover image may be used as a desktop wallpaper. The game is still in early stage of conceptualization, so that's very much the brief I received.
Here's my first pass.
My workflow involves Daz together with Photoshop actions and brushes. Running out of memory during rendering is one big obstacle, particularly when the scene involves a cast of characters. For Genesis 8, I've found the MMX Resource Saver Shaders Collection 2 for IRay very helpful. Essentially the add-on allows for reskining figures with lower resolution textures. I've used Daz-Octane in the past, and I find Octane has better tolerance for heftier memory demands. During the conceptualization stage, however, I find working with Daz a lot easier.
Cheers!
@csaa That looks very cool. The only thing that might be improved is it is difficult to make out the shape of the back of the first character's (the leftmost one w/ his back to us) head.
For the memory issues - you can try rendering large/heavy scenes using your spot render tool and rendering to a separate window. You can render half your scene, then render the other half. Then sew it back together in photoshop or another program.
I would suggest using all CAPS for the title. Perhaps a different color for the tunic on the foreground character that is having his head crushed could separate his from the background, rusted chainmail maybe.
Hmmm...
Maybe it's the starry sky look of the background, maybe its the lighting, maybe it's the font choice, but at first glance it looks more Sci-Fi than fantasy, or possibly a story set in a 70's disco.
I think you could really do with more contrast between the characters and the background. It took me quite a long look at the white line on the RHS of the picture to realise it's the piping around a tunic, and that there's a character standing there. Similarly the woman in green gets lost against the bad guy's arm.
@Worlds_Edge, @FirstBastion, @chris-2599934,
Thanks for the feedback! I really appreate it.
Cheers!
Hello to All.
I'm working on another commission for a B&W illustration and wanted to ask for your feedback. The brief describes the high point in a sword and sorcery adventure when the protagonists enter the subterranean lair of a saurian king. The hulking beast rises from his throne, surrounded by treasure and symbols of power. None to happy at the intrusion, he makes his displeasure known. It's not clear to me if the illustration is for the book cover, or an inner page.
Below is my first stab at the project. Here are some creative notes:
- The lair is a focal point of uncanny power. The arcane symbols on the vault overhead and the noirish light on the archway underscore this fact.
- While I chose a simple throne, the scene is littered with signs of mastery (crown and hour glass) and wealth (treasure chest and fine vases).
- If the menacing stance of the saurian king isn't enough, the air of danger and wrongness is driven home by the tipped chalice and the Dutch angle of the camera.
- To add pathos, I included the statue of an angel. (It's a small homage to Mike Mignola, my favorite comic author, who uses elements like this!) Her supplicant bearing is something the viewer can connect with emotionally -- "heaven deliver us from this evil" and so on.
Thanks for your interest.
Cheers!