# The start of a cover



## risu (Apr 9, 2013)

I've been playing around with creating my own cover, but it seems I'm not attracted to many traditional fantasy covers and all the concepts I've come up with have been shot down by my sister-in-law as not really seeming fantasy-ish enough, or aimed toward too young of an audience. 

This is the first base image that I've gotten a response from her that says it's passable for fantasy. I'd like opinions if it does fit in with fantasy, and if not, would font face and color maybe sink it squarely in that corner? I'd also love general impressions such as tone impressions and interest.


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## ndmellen (Apr 9, 2013)

It's cool looking, i'll give you that, but it doensn't really say anything "fantasy" to me. With out the title, it could easily be a carving. While I think it's great that you are breaking away from the norm, I personally look to the cover art to give me a general idea of what the story is about before picking it up and reading the blurb on the back (assuming it's an unknown author). A mixed race trio fleeing from a dragon in the background, good. A space marine on a pile of broken cyborgs, pass. After all, love at first sight is based on _sight._


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## risu (Apr 9, 2013)

> After all, love at first sight is based on sight.



That I understand, and is also the reason why I flinch every time I look at any of the old style books that were hand drawn. I don't mind the newer styles, but unfortunately I don't have anything in my book that embodies traditional fantasy either. No dragons, no shadow-cloaked lurkers, no symbolic swords. I have elementals (such as the earth elemental who declares war and whose symbol is the tree). They appear similar to humans, but my graphic skills with people manipulation is rather lacking. And it seems any non-drawn person that isn't in a hood has been deemed YA by my sister-in-law. But if I did throw my main female character on the cover and throw a cloak and hood on her head with her elemental eyes, it might say fantasy, but then it'd also be cliche. 

I like the new Terry Brook covers, but again, he has the benefit of dragon skulls. 

Any suggestions to make this background more fantasy-ish? Think wispy strands of glowing green might help make it seem more magical?


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## ndmellen (Apr 9, 2013)

I definitely agree about the hoods being everywhere. It seems like a huge trend since Brent Weeks wrote the way of shadows (don't get me wrong, I loved that series, and thought the cover art was great.) I'm new to the novel writing circuit, and couldn't begin to tell you the proven methods for cover art. Me, personally? I went to my tattoo artist. These guys are professional artists that are accustomed to giving life to the vaguest of descriptions. Generally, they can be very affordable, too. I sat down with my guy, explained the story, gave him an idea of what I wanted, then trusted him. He produced three character draw ups that I loved, and it only cost 100 bucks.

As far as cliches, I understand the wariness. In my mind though, there are a couple of subtle differences. A cliche in a story? Boring. But art, on the other hand...things become cliche because they work. From the brief description you gave me, your story doesn't sound generic, so I personally don't see the harm in taking a cliche concept with cover art and addapting it to suit your individual story.

Take your main character, looking off into the distance. Place the tree as a crest on her chest, or a sheild. Put some sort of elemental (fire, water, etc) wreathing her hand while a mountain is actively sundered in the background. I dunno; just a thought.


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## risu (Apr 9, 2013)

Good thoughts, unfortunately the female isn't the main character. But she'd be the only one who would ever be wearing a hood. And the book starts out with her, but the hero is a modern guy from our world who winds up caught in the middle of another world's war (spawned by a decision made by the female). A modern guy isn't very symbolic of fantasy either.  

The female is a water elemental, so she has silver-blue hair and eyes, and the eyes don't have pupils, which would make her appearance more appropriate for fantasy than the hero. Her crest is overlapping waves. 

The one who is waging the war is an earth elemental and male. I had gone with the earth elemental crest and stone background because of my tagline: The earth province has declared war and a landscaper is at the dead center of it. (The landscaper is the hero.) But I can drop the tagline in favor for a better cover. I'm just not sure I can make a better cover, but I want to try and make my own before springing for a paid one. 

I hadn't thought about tattoo artists, but that's a pretty good idea. I'm still hesitant about drawn images though.


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## tlbodine (Apr 10, 2013)

My biggest problem with this isn't the imagery itself (I tend to prefer covers that *don't* try to illustrate the book, as they so often fail to reflect what's in my own head) but that I suspect the entire thing is going to be impossible to see at thumbnail size.  It's already kind of challenging to make out the detail of the tree against the rock since there's all the colors and cracks competing for eye attention.  I'm afraid this might look like a blue-green blob at 160 pixels.


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## risu (Apr 11, 2013)

Excellent point!

I added a green glow to maybe make it look more fantastic and differentiate the tree. Any better?







Thumbnail (160 px tall) size:


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## tlbodine (Apr 11, 2013)

Ahh!  That looks so much better.  (the title letters could use some work to help them stand out, but that's an irrelevant issue at this precise second).  I actually really like the tree design.  Here's my impression on looking at it, knowing nothing about the book: I'm imagining that this book will be more of an alternate-history type fantasy than an epic/high fantasy adventure.  I'd expect the story to be a little dark and gritty.  Basically, I'm imagining it would be in the same vein as Game of Thrones (probably because those covers get a similar-ish treatment).  

If any of that is even remotely accurate, you're probably on the right track.  If not, well....


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## Nihal (Apr 11, 2013)

Actually, I think the title not being so readable _is_ a pressing concern. Although having a pretty cover is important, it's main purpose is still to rely some information to the reader: Title and author.

Try to use a bolder font, without any effects, and preferentially a clean one (not that the one you picked is exaggerated). Your image is already full of details, textures, so you don't want to go too much over the top or it might look dated.

It also doesn't make me think of a dark and gritty story at all, I imagine elves, faeries, magic, prophecy. It's a neutral cover, so it doesn't really set the tone of the story.


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## risu (Apr 11, 2013)

I haven't been able to decide on a font, so I just went with one of my old favorites, even though I knew it wasn't bold enough to stand out on this background. I'm still searching for a good (and free for commercial use) one. I was going to throw my name across the bottom, beneath the tree in the Castellar font (the one I used for the title) and use a bolder one for the title. Just have to find one now... 

I was aiming for a darker, earthy feel. I'd be good with some taking it as dark and gritty, while others see it as neutral.  It's about a war, but it isn't all about death.

I made another version, which had the cracks glowing green, but it didn't make the tree stand out any more than the original.


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## Nihal (Apr 11, 2013)

Yeah, glowing cracks are cool, but would be too much information, distracting from the main elements.

What kind of font you want? Serif, sans-serif, classical...?
You can find some nice, professional and semi professional free (or not, you pay what you can) display fonts here: Lost Type Co-op. Those guys are really nice.


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## tlbodine (Apr 11, 2013)

Nihal said:


> Actually, I think the title not being so readable _is_ a pressing concern. Although having a pretty cover is important, it's main purpose is still to rely some information to the reader: Title and author.



Well, obviously.  I just meant: If we're trying to decide whether the image works, let's not get sidelined picking out fonts.


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## risu (Apr 12, 2013)

My sis-in-law tells me that it looks like the tree is giving off toxic fumes and my husband says the shadows beneath the tree are wrong now. *sigh* I'm not sure of a different/better way to make the tree stand out more. 

I am looking for a Serif font, bold but not wide, something that says fantasy, but isn't dramatic or busy. Heh, not picky at all.


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## risu (Apr 12, 2013)

I moved the glowing green aura down a couple of layers to show more of the stone texture and hopefully make it look more natural. Added a green glow to the text to help pronounce it more on the backdrop (still using Castellar). Also trailed the shadows the other direction as if the green glow was being cast by the tree. It helps in the thumbnail size, but not sure if it looks tacky at the larger size. My name is left without the glow for comparison.


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## Devor (Apr 12, 2013)

Sorry to just jump in here.  I think the glow and the rock looks a lot better, but now something is making the tree itself look a little off.  I think it's too dark now that the green frames it less.  And it's more distracting that the lines run straight through the tree, which is an effect that was previously muted by the glow.  Can you try brightening the tree and toning down the cracks on the tree itself, which I think were made more prominent with the second version....?

Also, as others have said, you should look at crisper fonts.  The two-tone font affect that you're using isn't working at all.


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## risu (Apr 12, 2013)

I did move the cracks up a couple layers. I can move them back down. 



> The two-tone font affect that you're using isn't working at all.



Had wondered about that (thus the whole tacky reference). 

Opinions about this font? Elementary Gothic Bookhand Font | dafont.com


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## Devor (Apr 12, 2013)

risu said:


> Opinions about this font? Elementary Gothic Bookhand Font | dafont.com



Maybe.  Try it in all caps.


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## risu (Apr 12, 2013)

Meh? I added the drop shadow to the title to help differentiate it a little, still angled upwards.


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## Devor (Apr 12, 2013)

Yeah, too much for some letters.  And the double-R-curly drop looks awful.  Keep trying.

The picture looks good now, I think.


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## risu (Apr 12, 2013)

> The picture looks good now, I think.



Phew! I moved the cracks back down. It helped to lighten the tree. I will continue to hunt for a font.


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## Addison (Apr 12, 2013)

Might I suggest dialing down the "wow" of the color. It's great, it makes the tree pop, but it draws my eye to the color, not the tree. In the original cover it looked like the green was moss or something. Try giving the green a moss texture and a variety of bright, earthy green. Forest, emerald, and whatever green you're using now. It could hlep make it look like it's part of the tree. 

Love title, having it so deep in the rock, not so good. Maybe if you can make it look like cracks in the rock itself are writing the title. Or something that, you know, matches the art but still stands out. 

You're definitely on the right track.


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## risu (Apr 12, 2013)

Thank you. 

I haven't tried engraving the title into the stone. I'll try playing with that. I've thought about using the cracks, and also about adding vines (unfortunately, I don't know how to make vines), and playing with those for the title. But black blends in, making it difficult to see, but maybe if I engrave it with white highlights, it might work.


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## Addison (Apr 21, 2013)

I recently spotted a font that I think you might like for the title. 
Have you heard of a book series called "Farworld"? The author's website uses a great font. It's in caps, its bold (not like ctrl+b), striking and has a fantasy-kick.


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## psychotick (Apr 22, 2013)

Hi,

I like the cover but it doesn't tell me a lot about the book - ie what it's about. I'd probably guess fantasy, maybe elves etc but even that is based in part on the title. Oh and I liked the raised stone lettering better than the white version which looked out of place.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Caged Maiden (Apr 22, 2013)

What about using celtic letters?  I use them a lot when doing calligraphy and the great thing, is they're all caps.


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## risu (Apr 22, 2013)

Had a wedding to go to in a different state so I couldn't play with my cover these past few days. 

I like the FarWorld font, but it looks proprietary so likely I'll have to draw my own, similar, but not exactly the same. I've looked at some of the Celtic fonts, but most seem more than what I'm really looking for. 

I've had one friend tell me the cover looks too grungy, grunge foreground with a grunge background. That makes me wonder that if people hadn't seen the original (like her) would they get the idea that the tree was carved from the stone? Do you think the green glow is removing the tree? (I've played with colors but haven't come up with a good mossy look yet.) Can anyone think of a different way to make the tree pop?


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## Addison (Apr 23, 2013)

Your own font is a cool idea. It can help put more of your creativity on the cover.


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## risu (Apr 25, 2013)

I haven't had the opportunity for font design, but this one is Tribal Garamond, free for commercial use.

With the attempt to not disjoin the tree from the stone, I removed the green glow and instead tried manipulating the color to differentiate it. The sis-in-law says it looks more like scrubbed stone, but less like it's emanating toxic fumes now. At her suggestion, I tried doing a bit of the embossed stone look to the title as well. This version doesn't have my name on it though, since I'm not sure which font I want to use for it. Better? Worse?


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## tlbodine (Apr 26, 2013)

I really like the treatment of the tree on this.  I like the font for the name, too, and the carved stone look feels right, but the texture feels a bit busy.  How would it look with this same tree and the letters with drop shadows, but in a solid neutralish color (like the white-ish tone already in the letters now)?


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## risu (Apr 26, 2013)

The issue I'm running into with the solid background is that it either looks super plain (if I remove the cracks as well):







Or the cracks overpower the tree and lettering (if I leave them):







I could try generating a different stone texture? Something with less texture?


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## TWErvin2 (Apr 27, 2013)

How will this look as a thumbnail? Many folks browsing will see it only as that untill they explore further, if they do.
Also there isn't an author's name on the cover. Is there room for it? Finally, if you ever want to have it in print, you'll want some extra space along the edges, more than there is now for the cover, especially if it's POD.


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## tlbodine (Apr 27, 2013)

Oh no, no, sorry.  I meant making the letters solid-colored with dropshadow, and leaving the background as-is.


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## risu (Apr 27, 2013)

Ah, I'll redo that for a solid font and return the background. A friend says that despite what I've found on fontspace, Tribal Garamond is apparently only for personal use, so I need to go font hunting again. 

@TWErvin2 - I haven't shrank the latter ones to thumbnail size for forum view since I'm still figuring out something that works, but I do check it on my computer. The scrubbed tree on the dark background does allow it to still be visible and stand out.


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## risu (Apr 27, 2013)

Okay, I got a "I like it" from my sis-in-law on this one.







The thumb:


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## Trebor (May 5, 2013)

font and graphic look great. Not a fan of the green though


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## risu (May 6, 2013)

> Not a fan of the green though



The green stone, the green cracks, or the green text?


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## druidofwinter (May 6, 2013)

Personally, i like the green.


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## Addison (May 13, 2013)

I Love it! You got it!


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## risu (May 13, 2013)

*cheer*


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## Devor (May 13, 2013)

risu said:


> The thumb:



I might be in the minority, but I don't really like it myself.  I think the green cracks pull way too much attention into the background and makes the whole thing look very busy.  I also feel the white tree and white font blend and are kind of everywhere so my eyes don't know what to do.  I think you should go back to the image in post 18, radically rework the font, and then tone down the colors as appropriate from there.


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## rhd (May 28, 2013)

I'm quite impressed you did this all on your own. I'd agree with green being a tad saturated, you can't tell perfectly how it looks to everyone else unless your screen is calibrated, you can always reduce the saturation a little, and take a couple of separate hard prints with variations to check, and I highly recommend that before you go for a final print. My colours don't always come out perfect so I always do that.
Are the sides of the tree deliberately cut off?


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## risu (May 29, 2013)

Thank you!

The sides are cut off, mostly because I thought it looked better with the greater tree height. If I shrank it down to show the entire tree, I thought it might leave too much open space.

Are the glowing cracks the green you and others are talking about? I'm still not sure.


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## rhd (May 29, 2013)

risu said:


> Are the glowing cracks the green you and others are talking about? I'm still not sure.



If your book is for a hard copy publication, you can take a trial print to see if the green is too saturated, on screen it certainly looks saturated.
I hope you don't mind, I reduced the saturation and made the green a little mossier to explain. The complimentary red in the background is enough to make the green stand out. Unless you're deliberately going for a paranormal green, then it's fine the way it is


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## risu (May 31, 2013)

I'll play with the shade of green. My sister-in-law thought it lent toward the fantasy feel where the tree and stone on its own weren't doing the job. (I'm thinking the paranormal green is what influenced her opinion) 

I'm not a big fan of the washed out stone and the shade of green. It makes it look more like there's mold growing in the cracks rather than the cracks glowing. More feedback from a different friend said that the cracks around the title are pretty heavy, so I've been playing with removing some of them and cleaning up some of the more blurry sections of the cracks. I haven't adjusted the green saturation. 

I'm still not certain if the "green" comments refer to just the cracks, or if they refer to the shade of stone itself too.


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## rhd (Jun 1, 2013)

Yes, the paranormal green definitely gives an emerging magic feel, and the mossy green looks like mould.


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## Evilyn (Jun 8, 2013)

I like it, has a very druidic feel, I prefer it now since you removed the strong green background as it initially reminded me of magic the gathering.


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## tlbodine (Jun 9, 2013)

I love this newest iteration.  The cracks are just small enough to really "sell" the "magic breaking through stone" effect to me, I think.


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## risu (Jun 22, 2013)

This is what I finally settled on. I had to remake it from scratch to increase the dpi from 96 to a printable 300, but I'm pleased with the outcome. This is the full cover, including back flap, so if you don't like to read book blurbs (I recall reading that some people don't), then please don't look at the left side.






If you're interested in how I made it, I wrote a blog post about it: The Cover.

Thank you all for your feedback, and I'm willing to accept more if you have some. These are just my five free copies from NaNoWriMo. I don't plan to self-publish until the fall.


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## Weaver (Jun 22, 2013)

As a background, this works well.  Title, with appropriate font, is needed to see if the cover works as a whole.  Given how many covers for fantasy fiction these says are done like the paranormal romance kind even if for traditional epic sword-and-sorcery, I'd say that, in a bookstore, THIS cover would get my attention as a book at least worth taking a look at, because it DOESN'T scream 'I disrespect your genre and all that it stands for because all readers _really_ want in a story is lots of smooching and they don't care if it's mundane or vampire-werewolf-rutabaga love triangle -- so there!!!'

Besides, I like the bas-relief carved stone effect.


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## Weaver (Jun 22, 2013)

Should have read all the posts before replying...

Yes, with the title and such added, this definitely works as a cover.  Looks professional, even.  Good work.


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## risu (Jun 23, 2013)

Thank you!


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## rhd (Jun 24, 2013)

Good job Risu, overall, very fantasy.


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## Asterisk (Aug 1, 2013)

I love it! The green light gives it an eerie pop (if that makes any sense). I would definitely pick this book if I saw it on a shelf!


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## xcodeex (Aug 13, 2013)

Good job! Looks professional!


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## Scales (Aug 15, 2013)

Your cover looks perfect.


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## shwabadi (Aug 16, 2013)

Looks pretty outstanding! 
I wasn't sure if it would work from some of the early images but you've definitely made it very fantasy, not to mention professional.


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## startist1 (Jun 9, 2014)

Hey there! Let me preface this by saying I am a professional illustrator and graphic designer with over 12 years of experience. My fiance' writes Fantasy fiction so I am getting to know the genre a bit and seeing what others are doing for cover art, before I delve into concepts for him. I love that you are steering away from 'traditional' fantasy covers. Although I read those religiously growing up, the hand drawn characters- elves, magi, knights etc. on the covers will forever make me thing of young adult fiction. You approach is much more sophisticated. My first impression of the top image was that it is very dark and a bit overly textured- the image is not discernable and lends itself to confusion. Once the Green glow is added the tree is instantly recognizable! I think with some tweaking it could be a viable and intriguing option. My first thought is the tree shape is a bit stiff, and ends abruptly at the bottom of the trunk. some tweaking of the tree shape to be a bit less stock may help. The texture is still very distracting, the color could be smoothed a bit and less mottled, the cracks are great but hard to see with all that color texture overwhelming it. You can find nice free grunge textures on line, some fading and manipulation can add interest without overwhelming your overall imagery. The green is very mystical, but perhaps sone gradation in the glow color could add some depth and realism. I think the idea with the cracks below the tree glowing is great, maybe try it again? If you lessen the spread of the green glow a bit, and add some glow inside the cracks immediately surrounding your tree shape it will appear to be exploding from or affecting the earth below it- very powerful imagery! It will add mysticism and intrigue. Font choice is SO so important, you are on the right path... simple, clean no more than 2 fonts and no more than two sizes. The smaller the font (author name) the SIMPLER the font should be. Strokes, serifs, drop shadows, glows - all will detract, look amateurish, and be less legible the smaller a font size is. Well that's my pro opinion- Good luck and great job!


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## Fyle (Jun 26, 2014)

I like the revised one... before I saw it I was gonna suggest putting the text right where you did.

My personal opinion is the font is not quite working and I would see if a yellow tone worked instead of the white, or perhaps intensify the white to push up the text. 

But, I like it, I mean there are so many fonts to choose from... it's hard to settle on one that hits the mark exactly.


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## risu (Jul 21, 2014)

Startist1, would you be referring to the first image or the final product?

Fyle, thank you! After pointing it out, I do notice the title is lacking. There is supposed to be a slight green tint to the font, but it's barely discernible at the smaller size. Fonts and I aren't good friends. There _are_ so many to choose from.


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