# Community Participation > Mapping Challenge Archive >  March/April 2017 Lite Challenge: Finding the Fleet

## Mouse

This is the existing cover design for an ebook called Finding the Fleet (not yet published), which is the second book in a series of 5 novels I've been working on - hoping to complete all of them before I publish the first one.  (makes life a bit easier than having to write the rest of the series under pressure from any fans I might get from the first - haha  :Razz:  )

I was going to redo it anyway, so I might as well do it right now - for this challenge.

Unfortunately, I can't really say much about the story, since I haven't yet published the first in the series.  Suffice it to say that there is a fleet of interplanetary ships lost on this new world.  The main group of survivors have managed to establish a new settlement, and are now about to set out and find out what happened to the rest of the ships.

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## Mouse

Here's a start:




A fresh piece of parchment/paper I made this evening, and which is available at full size (this is only 50%) in my parchments album - if you want it  :Wink:

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## Bogie

Welcome to the challenge Mouse, I was afraid I was going to have to beg people to enter.

This original book cover is quite good, I can't wait to see the improved version.

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## Mouse

Thanks Bogie  :Smile: 

Would that be an extra 20 rep points for joining in? (only joking).  

I was going to join sooner, but I had to finish off another map before I started this one  :Wink: 

I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to stick to the original design or not.  Whatever I do I think the feather was always a bit too prominent and maybe a bit plastic - probably because its only a very simple CorelDraw vector drawing I did a very long time ago now.  The original concept I had in my mind's eye was much better than the cover I actually made - I just didn't know how to do anything the way I wanted it to look before I came here and saw other people using the techniques I needed to know in order to do it right.

I guess we'll find out now if I've learned enough just yet, or if I still have a way to go...  :Wink:

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## Mouse

Here's an update.

I seem to have done more than I thought, even though most of the day was spent in deep thought about the desired outcome.

Looks pretty unbalanced right now, but there's a lot of text to go on it yet  :Smile:

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## Diamond

I really like that parchment you came up with!  I'd like to use it sometime, if it's okay with you...

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## Bogie

Great colors

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## Mouse

> I really like that parchment you came up with!  I'd like to use it sometime, if it's okay with you...


Aw that's really flattering - coming from a parchment connoisseur like you, Diamond  :Very Happy:  

Go right ahead - no ties attached.  The full resolution one is in my parchments album (link above).  The one in this thread is only 50%.




> Great colors


Thanks Bogie  :Very Happy: 

EDIT: the main depth of colour compared to the original parchment colour is down to a radial gradient fill done in burn mode to highlight Merelan City, and darken the unknowable beyond it.

The relief was created by overlaying a height map and a light map from Wilbur, using the actual FT3 world I'm mapping as Errispa as the source, so from the story point of view the map is totally accurate.

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## Mouse

Still at the stage where the design is a bit unstable and subject to vast and sweeping changes.  (Sorry Bogie).  I may go back to the more angry colours of the last version.  Don't know yet  :Smile:

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## Tonnichiwa

Interesting. I like watching how you are developing this. It'll be great to see it when completed.

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## Mouse

Thanks Tony  :Smile: 

Like I said - its a bit unstable right at the moment.  Too many different ideas pulling in different directions.  I have to portray a sense of foreboding and mystery, but I'm not sure I need it to look demonic, which is why I toned down the red quite a bit  :Smile:

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## Mouse

I'm having a green day today... and things have got a lot darker!

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## Mouse

Ok.  I'm still having a green day, but not quite so exclusively green.

I've also thought about the fact that most ebook covers are only ever seen quite small, so I've reduced the size of my entry map to reflect that fact, because the cover has to be clear more than anything.

The feathers relate to the story, and would be understood and recognised immediately by the mad person who decides to follow the series.  I need to do a bit of redrawing on them though, so these are just placeholders for now.

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## Bogie

The darker one is very dramatic looking, but the green one is more realistic.

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## kacey

Looks good Mouse, but I have to say that I really prefer the one with the rusty coloured water, it just seems more inviting.

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## Mouse

Thanks Bogie and Kacey  :Smile: 

I wasn't terribly keen on the blue ocean version either - not enough contrast between land and sea to catch the eye in a page full of thousands of other fantasy novel covers.  I'll take the map back in the rusty direction (the last but one version) before I start work  :Wink: 

Just so no one gets a nasty shock - I'm almost tempted to go back to the original design, but just draw it a lot better than it was done before.  I'll have to make that decision in the next couple of days.  Perhaps play with this a bit more till I know for sure which design I really like best.

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## DanielHasenbos

His is looking very fine Mouse! How did you make the terrain for this map? And I noticed that it's different from your Errispa world map. Is it just so much closer that we see details here that we don't see on your world map or did you change the coastlines?

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## Mouse

Thanks Daniel!  :Very Happy: 

This is detail that can't be seen at the global scale - even I have to keep checking back with the world map to make sure I've got it in the right place according to the main map  :Wink:  

The world map is a Fractal Terrains 3 world.  The map on the book cover started life as an extracted enlargement of the right section, and was processed in Wilbur to produce a more weathered terrain.  The reason I did this rather than simply slice a piece out of the world map is down to resolution - the original would have been badly pixelated.  I then imported the Wilbur height map (an image where the black sea grades though to white mountain tops), and the Wilbur light map (relief shading) into GIMP to produce a simple base map.

I removed the white from both height and light maps, masked out and removed the ocean, and used several layers of both exported Wilbur maps to recompose the map as you see it above.  

I used overlay or burn on most of the layers to pick up the parchment texture, turned one of the height map layers green instead of black, and set the blend mode to 'colour' rather than 'overlay' to colour the lower altitudes green.

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## Mouse

I've gone back to the previous but one version and found a better place to put the feather so the design isn't so top-heavy.

I think I've finished all but the feather, which needs a considerable amount of work to make it look real, rather than just being a grossly enlarged vector drawing  :Smile: 

This is the maximum pixel size for a cover allowed by Amazon - I checked with one of their reps.



EDIT: that size in case anyone wishes to know is: no more than 2500 pixels in height, and preferably 1563 x 2500.  The resolution is supposed to be 72 dpi.

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## Mouse

I'm calling this done, even though I'm not all that happy with it, and I might do another one after this if I figure out what's wrong with it before the end of the challenge  :Smile:

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## Straf

OK, this is just me but I thought the darker bit was the sea at first, and the lighter part the land. Personally I think the land would be better in a lighter colour and the sea with a bit of shading on it. The text isn't playing the game for me either - it doesn't sit well with the other colours, it is too white. Can you try something more 'buff' maybe like the current sea colour in the Merelan bay area? Also the feather isn't 'feathery' enough, and it, too, could be darker to fit in with the rest of the background.

Like I say this could just be me and my eyes may be a bit dodgy as I may have had a little more ţuica than I should have but the text and the feather appear to be floating above.

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## Mouse

A tonal reversal then?  Hmmmn... 

I'm actually thinking of returning to the original design, but just doing it better.  The feather logo (a logo for the series) doesn't really fit with this design I've been working on all that well - and I really did try to make it feathery!  LOL!  The text and the feather are meant to look like they are floating in space.  I'm worried about impact - whether the cover will stand out in rows and rows of fantasy novel covers on Amazon.  I know you shouldn't judge a book by the cover, but the sad facts are nowadays in the ebook market that if you aren't already a 'name', then you have to grab the attention with the cover to get people to click on it in the first place.

I'll have a nice long think about this now...

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## Straf

Grabbing the attention eh?

How about "Refugee immigrants on benefits ruin seaside town with shanty village"?  :Razz: 

Did you see some book store owner using tabloid style lines to get people to look at books? For example "British guy dies after selfie gone wrong" is his description of 'A Picture of Dorian Grey'  :Very Happy:  

Oh the other thing I forgot to mention - are your proportions in line with the normal size of books for the genre? I think it's usually somewhere around 2:3 or thereabouts for fiction, but I might be wrong there.

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## Mouse

Hmmn (again)....

I once got 16 calls and offers of rooms available in the space of 10 minutes flat when I was a student back in the 80's by advertising in the local rag for digs by saying: 'Desperately seeking accommodation - Susan'  (for those who are too young to remember, Desperately Seeking Susan was a new hit film back then, with the very young and newly made popstar Madonna in it).

I will check again, but the dimensions are what the Amazon rep told me when I questioned the sizes they gave on the information page.  They were given in mm to start with, but I got hold of someone who spoke in pixels and resolutions in the end.  Mind you - it was about a year ago now, so things might have changed in the meantime.

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## Mouse

This is what Kindle actually said to me:

Thanks for taking the time to contact Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). It is always better to clarify things before proceeding. I appreciate that you wrote to us with your doubt.

Please make sure you hold all appropriate rights to use the image, and make sure it meets the following requirements:

- TIFF (.tif/.tiff) or JPEG (.jpeg/.jpg) format
- minimum dimensions of 1000 pixels on the longest side and 625 pixels on the shortest side
- 72 dpi (dots per inch)
- RGB color profile
- For best quality, the ideal ratio of width to height is 1.6 (we suggest 2500 pixels on the longest side and 1563 pixels on the shortest side)

We cannot accept images larger than 10,000 pixels on the longest side.

After you upload your image and click “Save and Publish,” the changes will show up on the website within 72 hours.

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## Straf

OK, that relates to 5:8 which is roughly a comfortable paperback size. I think.

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## Mouse

Those are the exact dimensions I've done this cover, even though it looks too tall for my personal taste  :Wink:

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## Falconius

Some things.  Judging by modern book covers it is first of all very bizarre to see the title left justified instead of centered or graphically played about with.  The second thing is that I've noticed modern book covers are very mono-tonal (black and white, only with blue and black, or red and black etc.)  Doubtless this will change, but it kind of sounds like you are mostly ready to publish around NOW (very commendable, and actually amazing, such a task requires such discipline as to be monumental).  That said I am kind of plastered right now and some idiot (me) has allowed me access to the internet, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt.  I have to agree sir Staff until I noticed the water line rivers and streams I assumed the darker part to be the ocean.  All that idiotic rambling said, I actually like the colours you have there (apart from the forever jarring white.) I have to say with composition and colour you are well on you way, but haven't brought it quite together (please shoot me).

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## Bogie

Nice work.  I don't mind the left justified text, just maybe if it were moved slightly to the right.

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## Mouse

> Some things.  Judging by modern book covers it is first of all very bizarre to see the title left justified instead of centered or graphically played about with.  The second thing is that I've noticed modern book covers are very mono-tonal (black and white, only with blue and black, or red and black etc.)  Doubtless this will change, but it kind of sounds like you are mostly ready to publish around NOW (very commendable, and actually amazing, such a task requires such discipline as to be monumental).  That said I am kind of plastered right now and some idiot (me) has allowed me access to the internet, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt.  I have to agree sir Staff until I noticed the water line rivers and streams I assumed the darker part to be the ocean.  All that idiotic rambling said, I actually like the colours you have there (apart from the forever jarring white.) I have to say with composition and colour you are well on you way, but haven't brought it quite together (please shoot me).


LOL!  Mine's a very large glass of decent plonk, thanks  :Very Happy: 

Oddly enough, you may be right about quite a bit of that.  I was hoping to put a twist on the black and white theme by having heavy contrast between light and dark - hence one side dark and one side light (also, the land being dark at least partly disguises the way I'm not terribly good with Wilbur just yet).  

Already written? About 9/10 of the way there with book 1, but currently stalled by sleep deprivation caused by noisy neighbours (one owl, one lark).  I get 2-4 hours a night if I'm lucky between 1-3 am and 5.30 am, and frequently fall asleep during the day when I should be writing.  Doing the cover artwork and the maps to go with them is less taxing on a half dead brain than doing any actual writing, so I'm doing the artwork while I figure out how to get enough money together to be able to get out of this hell hole.  Ironically, to get that extra deposit and estate agent fee sum together I really need to be already published and making just a small amount extra to be able to save.  

Now I'm rambling, but I'm totally shattered after several months of the same - sorry.

The white title is to ensure it stands out.  This is aimed at the 'Young Adult' readership, and will hopefully appear on this page one day:



To me, the titles that are white stand out a lot better at the size the image is first viewed, so I'm not too keen on toning it down all that much.  Even the very pale blue title 'Fractured' fades into the background against the rest.

The other problem I haven't thought about yet is that I may be suffering from an unhealthy obsession with maps, since I haven't seen even one Fantasy novel with a map on the cover... but at the end of the day if Amazon decides to give it away free (which they can at will, regardless of my wishes) its not really going to make all that much difference to the moving house fund what the cover looks like, as from a financial angle it won't matter if anyone reads it or not - and that's before I get taxed by the US _and_ the UK - about 45% of the price in all (I think)!

Now I could really do with that glass of wine!  LOL!  :Laughing: 




> Nice work.  I don't mind the left justified text, just maybe if it were moved slightly to the right.


You're so kind to me, Bogie.  Thank you  :Smile: 

The truth is that I did have it moved a bit to the right in an earlier version, but for some reason it crept back over to the left margin when I wasn't looking (or fell asleep at the desk).  I'll try shifting it back again and see if it looks a bit better  :Wink:

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## Straf

> I once got 16 calls and offers of rooms available in the space of 10 minutes flat when I was a student back in the 80's by advertising in the local rag for digs by saying: 'Desperately seeking accommodation - Susan'  (for those who are too young to remember, Desperately Seeking Susan was a new hit film back then, with the very young and newly made popstar Madonna in it).


I think you missed an 's' from one of the words in there  :Wink:

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## Mouse

Sorry Straf - only caught an extra hour of sleep so far today.  I'm missing it entirely.  Where's that then?

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## Mouse

Ooookaaaay

We have:

- Centralised text (where the design allows it)
- Paler land (though still darker than the sea because I kind of like it that way)
- A second attempt at the feather (which will be redone a third time)

Am I getting slightly warmer, or should I get a bit more drastic?

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## ChickPea

Nice work on this so far!  :Smile:

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## Straf

> Sorry Straf - only caught an extra hour of sleep so far today.  I'm missing it entirely.  Where's that then?


"... a new hit film ..." ?  :Wink:

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## Mouse

> Nice work on this so far!


Aw thanks ChickPea  :Very Happy: 

I guess I must be getting warmer  :Wink: 




> "... a new hit film ..." ?


Aaaah.  I see it now.

I stuck the earplugs in and got some daytime sleep, so my brain is now functioning more or less normally.

And, well - People either love or hate Madonna - rarely in between  :Wink:

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## Mouse

I've come to the conclusion that this feather has actually defeated me.  This is the best I can do.  

Haven't decided whether I'm going to do another update yet, so this may be my final WIP

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## Straf

It looks good to me. The feather seems to be a bit more 'in' the picture. The text is very striking but then it catches the eye.

This looks nicely crafted now Mouse  :Smile:  The feather is a work of art on its own  :Very Happy:

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## Mouse

Aw thank you, Straf  :Very Happy: 

I'm looking forward to seeing your entry develop  :Smile:

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## Mouse

I've forgotten something!

I really ought to enter this the same size as you would see it on Amazon if you clicked the thumbnail of the cover  :Smile: 




and of course - the blurb to go with it:

In the first book of the not even ranked free series on Amazon by the totally unheard of Sue Daniel, the people of Ethran managed to cross he void between their twin worlds against all the odds.  Now that they are settled and have established their first cities and towns, a small hand picked group of their descendants are being sent into the wilderness of the unexplored hinterland to find the survivors of rest of the fleet and hopefully bring them home to New Merelan, but they soon find themselves in terrible danger with no way of calling for help.

(I probably need to work with that a bit!)

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## Tenia

> I've come to the conclusion that this feather has actually defeated me.  This is the best I can do.


I actually think that YOU defeated the feather, I love it  :Wink:

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## Mouse

Aw thank you Tenia  :Very Happy:

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## Domino44

I really like the colors on this. Nice work!

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## Mouse

Thanks very much Domino  :Very Happy:

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## Bogie

Yeah, that feather is so much better now!!!

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## Mouse

Aw thanks Bogie  :Smile: 

I think this is well and truly finished now - which is a surprise for me, since I'm usually one of the end runners.

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## Mouse

I was messing around a bit with details...

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## Bogie

I finally figured it out.  There has been something that bothered me from the beginning.  The map, especially the harbor looks a lot like the profile of a monster with it's mouth open.  There is nothing wrong with how it looks, but at first I found it distracting, I see monster mouth, not map.  BUT then I looked at it from the point of view of "This is a real book and it has to stand out on a page of similar books",  Now, I think this cover art does it perfectly, especially for the YA audience.  The colors are eye catching, the juxtaposition of the bright feather in front of the dark map and that "mouth" with a fiery glow coming out of it will really make your book grab their attention.  And then, when they look closer and realize, "Oh, that's not a monster, it's a map,,,cool!", your cover has captured their interest.  Job #1 done!!!  I hope that makes sense.

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## Mouse

This is like the time I drew that goofy dragon on thomrey's treasure map!  LOL!

I saw it about 3 stages into this map, but I couldn't do anything about it because its the correct position on the world map.  I've been trying to un-see it ever since, but now you've put a more positive spin on it, Bogie, at least I don't hate it any more!  LOL!  Thank you - much appreciated!  :Very Happy:

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## Chashio

> This is like the time I drew that goofy dragon on thomrey's treasure map!  LOL!


Hey now!  :Razz:  There is a fine tradition of drawing goofy dragons and other beasties on maps.  :Wink: 

I can't even count the number of times I have done something like that. It just seems to happen. One time I accidentally formed one side of a continent into a rhinoceros.  :Confused:  Haha. 
I agree with Bogie that it works for you in this case. 

Nice looking book cover!

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## Falconius

I think this looks really fantastic.  It is an interesting cover.

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## Mouse

> Hey now!  There is a fine tradition of drawing goofy dragons and other beasties on maps. 
> 
> I can't even count the number of times I have done something like that. It just seems to happen. One time I accidentally formed one side of a continent into a rhinoceros.  Haha. 
> I agree with Bogie that it works for you in this case. 
> 
> Nice looking book cover!


I love your dragons!  Never stop drawing them  :Very Happy: 

And what rhinoceros?  No!  Don't point me in the right direction for the map (if you left it as it was) - I always have the devil of a job un-seeing things like that!  LOL!

Thanks, Chashio  :Very Happy: 




> I think this looks really fantastic.  It is an interesting cover.


Thank you so much Falconius  :Very Happy:

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## tilt

Looking really great - love the coloring, very vibrant and exciting  :Smile:

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## Straf

I knew you shouldn't have given up on this Mouse, oh yee of little faith in yourself  :Razz:  This is absolutely fantastic now, totally eye catching and very well presented.

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## Mouse

> Looking really great - love the coloring, very vibrant and exciting


Thank you Tilt - you're too kind  :Very Happy: 




> I knew you shouldn't have given up on this Mouse, oh yee of little faith in yourself  This is absolutely fantastic now, totally eye catching and very well presented.


Thanks Straf - greatly appreciate the encouragement  :Very Happy:

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## Chashio

> I love your dragons!  Never stop drawing them 
> 
> And what rhinoceros?  No!  Don't point me in the right direction for the map (if you left it as it was) - I always have the devil of a job un-seeing things like that!  LOL!
> 
> Thanks, Chashio


No worries.  :Very Happy:  I love drawing the dragons... and other creatures.

Hehe, um, well... the rhino was in a world concept sketch for a client. Thankfully [because he wouldn't let me change it] not the same region as the finished map.  :Wink:

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## Mouse

I've heard about the rat as well - the one you spotted in another challenge map  :Wink:

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## Chashio

> I've heard about the rat as well - the one you spotted in another challenge map


Haha  :Very Happy:  Oh yes, Blobby. He showed up again recently - as a constellation, if I remember correctly, in another challenge map. Good times. Honestly, that kinda thing is how 60% of my imagined/fantastic stuff begins... just seeing a bit of something random that looks like something else.

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## Mouse

I have days when I see patterns and shapes in things worse than ever, and have even been to an interview that I failed because I couldn't stop looking at a rather lewd shape formed by the supposedly random polka dots on the interviewer's tie!   :Laughing: 

EDIT:  Apparently people who see faces in random arrangements of rocks and stuff like that suffer from something called 'Pareidolia', and its reckoned to be an evolutionary advantage of some kind that some of us still retain.  I don't think that's what's going on with me, though, because I can see practically anything - not just faces. It depends what the pattern looks like.

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## Greg

I really love the colour combos you've got in this Mouse! You've got the balance of making the map not distract, but equally it being the main attraction...if that's somehow not an oxymoron...  :Wink:

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## Mouse

An oxy-whaty?

Only kidding (I know what you mean), and no I don't think so, even though I hold that belief simply because what you say makes me feel even better about the design.

Thanks GLS  :Very Happy:

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## Straf

An oxomoron - it's someone too stupid to be able to use stock cubes.

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## Mouse

Precisely.  Everyone knows that don't they?  :Smile:

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## waldronate

> An oxomoron - it's someone too stupid to be able to use stock cubes.


What you're saying is that they need to get custom cubes made?

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## Straf

> What you're saying is that they need to get custom cubes made?


Haha! Very good  :Smile:

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## kacey

The map looks good, I love the warm colours, but I'm not entirely convinced by the feather, I know you struggled with it so I feel bad saying this, but to me it looks very cut and paste. Did you use some type of stock image for the feather?

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## Mouse

OMG I laughed so loud when I read that!  LOL!

I dreweded it all by myself - I really did!  LOL!  :Very Happy:  (and now you see that its genuinely true that I really am quite crap at drawing stuff unless its in oil paint and on a genuine physical canvas  :Wink:  )

Here is the original I did as a vector drawing in Corel Draw, oh, lets see now... about 5 years ago now, when I first decided to plan and produce this series  :Wink: 



I like to think that I have at least improved it just a tiny bit?



All drawn by hand and mouse in GIMP... apart from the bits of the original that still show through the new layers, like the bottom of the feather shaft  :Smile:

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## kacey

Well I guess you did a good job then because I thought it was a cut out photo with some smudge tool applied  :Wink:

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## Mouse

The smudgy bits are where I couldn't work out what to do with the detail  :Laughing: 

Thanks for the indirect compliment  :Very Happy: 

I _might_ have another swipe at it.  We'll see  :Wink:

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## tilt

Its a very well drawn feather I think  definitely better at drawing than me - then again, most in here are.. damn good illustrators around here  :Wink:   Tried my hand at it in a challenge a lot of months ago, drawing a dragon skeleton across a chasm, thought it came out pretty good, but took me forever where an illustrator would just do that in minutes lol. So kudos for your feather  :Smile:

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## Mouse

Aw thank you again, Tilt.  Though it did take me 3 days and 3 attempts - so I have the same problem as you.  Some have it in the hand and eye and it just comes out right first time (J.Edward, Sapiento and Ilanthar come immediately to mind, along with a whole string of others), and some, like you and me, have to work really hard for it  :Wink: 

It also depends on the medium.  I'm far better at oils on canvas, or pencil on paper.  Its just getting the same thing going on a screen that's the problem for me.

Now I've uploaded the original scale, though, I can see all kinds of blemishes and flaws - untidy bits around the edge and so on, so I probably will do another tidy up job before the end  :Wink:

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## Mouse

Ok.  This really has to be the final WIP, since I'm starting to overwork the details and make a mess.

This one is more saturated and has greater contrast.  I've cleaned up the edge of the feather (which may or may not be an improvement).  Some would doubtless say that I've gone too bright with the whole thing now, but I'm going for as big an eye-catching impact as I can muster on a page full of thousands of other fantasy novels by similarly unheard of authors...

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## ThomasR

This is really gorgeous, Sue !

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## Mouse

Thanks Thomrey  :Very Happy: 

Now I just have to do the other 4 covers all over again to bring them back in line with this one!  LOL!

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## Straf

> All drawn by hand and mouse in GIMP... apart from the bits of the original that still show through the new layers, like the bottom of the feather shaft


The shaft is called the rachis  :Wink:

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## Mouse

Oh indeed it is, Straf.  Though it seems the terminology for the different parts of a feather varies for some reason, so I've stuck to names that are more obvious to me in my writing  :Wink: 

Some of my characters are werehawks, so the terminology really matters.  Here's one of the reference images I have collected, taken from my writing folder  :Smile:

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## Ilanthar

Gorgeous feathers! And the rest of the cover is also well done. Good play with colors on this one (again).

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## Mouse

Aw thank you Ilanthar!  :Very Happy:

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## Bogie

Yeah, this is great,  you should bring the other books up to this one.

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## Mouse

Thanks Bogie, and OMGoodness!  That's a lot of work.  

Just for a bit of interest, here is a line up of the others as they currently stand (book 2 is a variation of the one I showed at the start of this thread):



EDIT: that's actually a bit misleading, since the timeline is circular.  Time travel is involved, so the last book, Lana, is actually the prequel to the whole series.  It just works better at the other end, since its more sci-fi than fantasy, and would give far too much of everything away if it was published first.

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## Falconius

I think I prefer the one right before the last, but it's still a fantastic cover.  Unfortunately I think you've given yourself a ton of work to get all the others up to snuff now  :Smile:

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## Mouse

LOL!  Thanks Falconius.  You've given me quite a dilemma.

Now which to choose?

Hmmmn.

There may yet be another final version, if I blend the difference between the two latest versions and like what I get.

And just thinking of getting the others to match is giving me a headache.  It seems I work better when I'm given a deadline to work to, so all I can hope for is that Bogie will run this challenge another 4 times!  LOL!

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## Mouse

Very slight adjustment to the brilliance of the green to bring it down from full saturation, and a small amount of touching up on the feather, where the increased contrast was making it look a bit too scrappy

### Latest WIP ###


Hopefully, this really is the final WIP this time  :Wink:

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## kacey

It's neat to see all the covers like that, you must have put allot of time into this project. I really like the second cover in the line up with the map fading into the mountains, that one is genius in my opinion, and my favorite one, but the big question is when do we get to read them? Are you still working on the first one? It would be interesting to see what there all about after seeing you work through so many maps for the setting.

Edit... I was just thinking about it, and it would be really cool if each book of the series was like that second one, like if one book takes place in a city then have a hand drawn city map fading into a real city like you did with the mountains...I just think thats such a great idea you came up with.

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## Mouse

The second one?  LOL - that's the one that this cover is intended to replace.  The background to the one in the cover strip is a scene rendered from Vue Pioneer, which is the free version of the 3D landscaping software.  I can't use the rendered scene from the free version for commercial purposes, so it has to go, unfortunately.  I could have drawn a 3D landscape by hand, but I think I prefer the version I've done for this challenge better, since the feather touching the map is giving the wrong message as far as the story goes.

I have the same 'Vue problem' with covers 1, 3, and 5, though all of them need to be greatly improved in any case, as you can see.

As for the writing?  I only have as much time to write as life and luck have allowed me (which isn't that much as it's turned out), so I continue when I can.  The plan for all of this is about 10,000 words long in its own right - so its all there in case I don't manage to get to the end before the end gets to me, if you see what I mean  :Wink: 

EDIT: I should hurriedly add that I am _not_ dying, by the way.  I'm just a lot older than all you young things  :Wink:

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## tilt

Well, as long as you write as often as you can I'm sure you'll get ready to publish at some point. I have a book lying that I've written with a friend myself, stills needs editing and that's where we've been for some time now. And then I have a few stories of my own waiting to be written, including perhaps the one I just made a cover for - procrastination takes up a lot of time  :Wink:  
And we're not all young in here - I think many people are older than you think - I'm nearing 50 now *shudder*  :Wink:

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## Mouse

> Well, as long as you write as often as you can I'm sure you'll get ready to publish at some point. I have a book lying that I've written with a friend myself, stills needs editing and that's where we've been for some time now. And then I have a few stories of my own waiting to be written, including perhaps the one I just made a cover for - procrastination takes up a lot of time  
> And we're not all young in here - I think many people are older than you think - I'm nearing 50 now *shudder*


Hehe - I'm over 50 now.  Had that birthday last year and the next is only a couple of months away.  I started writing when I was 13, but every imaginable situation has arisen over the last 37 years to prevent progress that I'm close to giving up now.  Among other things I raised someone else's disabled child for 17 of those years, and I've never had 100% energy since that time.  I feel... worn out, or worn down, somehow.

And then on top of that there's the procrastination, of course  :Wink: 

looking on the bright side - I have an English teacher friend who's offered to read through and check the grammar and punctuation of the first book, then there's a volunteer who I've never met, but who is interested in fantasy fiction and won't be biased in my favour because he doesn't know me, and who I hope will still be interested in reading it by the time I get as far as sending it to him.  After that, and unless there are any huge problems picked out by either of these two people, I guess I publish.

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## Greg

> looking on the bright side - I have an English teacher friend who's offered to read through and check the grammar and punctuation of the first book, then there's a volunteer who I've never met, but who is interested in fantasy fiction and won't be biased in my favour because he doesn't know me, and who I hope will still be interested in reading it by the time I get as far as sending it to him.  After that, and unless there are any huge problems picked out by either of these two people, I guess I publish.


Always best to look at the bright side!  :Very Happy:  It will be great to get some non-biased feedback on them, and some day, perhaps sooner than you might think, it would be wonderful to finally see them get published especially with all the lovely maps you've conjured up for your world and shared with us!  :Smile: 

Talking of which, your threads always move so far and I've missed a couple of updates, but I love the progress you've made. Particularly with the feather since that's such a prominent element. The new orange is a lovely colour and works more softly with the rest.  :Smile:

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## Mouse

Thanks GLS  :Smile: 

Have to dash - take someone to eye hospital this morning, so this is a bit hurried!

You're very kind - thanks for the encouragement  :Very Happy:

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## Bogie

> Hehe - I'm over 50 now.  Had that birthday last year and the next is only a couple of months away.





> And we're not all young in here - I think many people are older than you think - I'm nearing 50 now *shudder*


Isn't it cute listening to the young-uns talk about gittin' older,  :Wink:   I'd love to be only turning 50.

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## Mark Oliva

> Isn't it cute listening to the young-uns talk about gittin' older,   I'd love to be only turning 50.


I'd love to be turning only 70!  (Yeah, a few of us first generation original D&D gamers still are around ... for awhile).

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## Bogie

> I'd love to be turning only 70!  (Yeah, a few of us first generation original D&D gamers still are around ... for awhile).


You've got me there Mark.  2 weeks ago I was gaming with Tim Kask, Frank Mentzer, Harold Johnson, and James Ward, also got to talk to Jeff Easley and Larry Elmore.  Great group of people, but we are getting older.

(Apologies for the thread hijack)

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## Mouse

No worries Bogie  :Smile: 

I finished the piece already  :Wink:

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## tilt

And its so nice to be considered "young" Bogie  :Wink:

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## Straf

Soon they'll start rambling about how much things used to cost and how you could leave your doors open, then a nurse will come with their medication and a tartan blanket for their laps  :Razz:

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## Mouse

If part of getting old is about all the bad bits of the past bleaching slowly away and leaving only a more rosy picture to behold, then I'm happy to go that way  :Smile:

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## Mark Oliva

> You've got me there Mark.  2 weeks ago I was gaming with Tim Kask, Frank Mentzer, Harold Johnson, and James Ward, also got to talk to Jeff Easley and Larry Elmore.


The last time I had any contact with Jim he was in pretty bad shape.  Hope things have turned upward with him.  A gaming table without Drawmij on board would be a bit empty!

That's a good group to be gaming with, but if Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson join you at the table, I'm going to worry for you. 




> Great group of people, but we are getting older.


All too true.  But let's face it.  We're still the best!

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