Stop and erm...Gaze Intently?

So I haven't photoshopped in a while. Been a little bit hectic of late. However after reviewing some and seeing the various entries for Skins's contest, my mind began to tick over with ideas for a cover and then I got a little carried away...

I did a very simplistic layout for both sets of covers but I kind of like it. They didn't take that long to make really but still fun to do!

I did like two styles and here is the first set -



And this is the second set. I was kind of inspired by The Social Network posters. -



I have ideas for two more that I might do!

Let me know what you think

Spoiler

The photos in the second set of covers are done by this person here -http://www.flickr.com/photos/30880553@N03/with/3191473730/

And I get my other images from this stock site - http://www.sxc.hu/

Personally, I love the first two. The seem very simple, yet very attractive and fitting the theme of the novel. The first two covers give me the impression of a series of novels for they have the same style. That style you have picked is awesome, it is modern & would tell any viewer if he/she hadn't read the novel, that it is a teenage, mysterious novel. Well done with those!
The third and forth ones however are my least favorite. They have something in common which I don't like is that the font covers the whole novel cover. Another problem is photo choice, the third one seems unclear. The font style and color is not very suitable. In the third cover, I think you might have faced the problem which is "STOP" is written in white while the background has the same color.
As for the forth cover: If I were you, I'd fill those empty black spaces on the left and place there the novel name and the author's name. Again, the font is not suitable, the serif font, type writer style, may give an impression that it is a classic novel.

Hi Becks!

I like all of them a lot. The first one and the third one are my favourites.

With the second cover, I think the font and the drop of blood (?) should be the same colour. I'd suggest orange over red, as in the first cover, because the whole black/white/red thing is quite used, and the orange looks really good anyway. The first set is overall very cool and stylish, and they're something that I could stuck on my wall if they were posters

In the second set, I prefer the first one, as I said already. Both the picture and the font look cool, but the word "Stop" is quite hard to read -- maybe you could line the letters with black or have a black font for the word? That way it wouldn't blend in with the background. I also like how the "By Skins" is slightly a different colour.

The fourth one is the dullest one out of these all. The colours and stuff look good, but I just think the hoodie is too boring a picture to be on the cover.

Overall, my favourite is the very first one, and you're really good with this kind of stuff!


Dems x

I personally only liked the second two. The last one would have been great except for how big the font was. I think if the font covers the whole cover, it comes across as a bit immature. The third one, it was hard to figure out what was going on in it. Also the third one makes it come across as an extreme horror book, while the others seem a bit more mild. But going back to the last one, I think that the picture was awesome, but once again; it's the font that killed it. Other than that, great job!!

Hey Beck! I am here to review you. Even though I am also participating in this contest, I'd give you a review since I think more than winning submitting the best to Skins is our objective, to help her out, so we should help each other so the best comes out.

1st Set:

What I like the most about these set of covers is that they are bold, dark and very much in sync with the theme of the novel. If I were to look at them even from a distance, they'd surely captivate my attention. Right from the style to the font, everything is different and bold which is what is needed for the novel. It has an essence of vile in it so I really think these pictures are good.

But the problem for me here is that the first one looks sort of incomplete. If the story is told through the cover at the start, then I believe that the story told in this cover is sort of not finished. I am just getting a part of the theme with the smoking boy, but on the other hand the other one is quite believable and sort of completes the explanation. If there's a way you could merge the both together in a way which doesn't affect the understanding or makes it over-crowded. Also, I like the font colour red for the second better than the orange one since red is blood's colour and ehre we have a murder, so that way it would suit the cover.

2nd Set

The main problem I guess with this set would have to be that it gives the feeling of serenity. Like, when I see it, I feel totally relaxed. But the theme of the novel is not at all like this, so in that way I don't think this cover would be apt.

In the second one the picture seems totally useless since we have the person't back towards us. But in actual it's Stare so we should be having the boy's eyes and the front part facing us if we're using a human body in the cover. I hope you get what I mean.

Also, the font seems haphazard. There's no proper setting for it, and it's all just strewn here and there which is making the whole cover look kind of messed up and not neat. I think you should make the fonts smaller so that the feel of the picture is not lost. I like the style and the pictures in itself, but it's not gelling with the theme.


If I have to pick one from these, I'd go with the second one of the first set, because for me that's the nearest thing coming to the story. I hope I helped, and do lemme know if you've got any questions/queries. I'd be happy to help.


Keep Photoshopping
~Mia