Author Topic: Only Three  (Read 239 times)

Offline JR

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Only Three
« on: Wednesday 03, 2018, 01: am »
When I created my first cover, it was a very busy design. But I was proud of it, and the concept I had that related the front and back covers. Then I read a blog about what makes a cover good. Mine broke all the rules. Crushed, I decided to ignore the blog advice.

But it just kept nagging at me. Challenging me. Don't you hate it when that happens? So I decided to try to make a cover that fit the rules. And I liked it better than the original!!

One of the rules, the one I remember best, is the rule of three. Use only three colors, or color families, in the cover. So red, blue and yellow, for for example, can be used, in varying shades. But then there's no purple, green, brown, black, white, teal or orange. Just pick three colors. You can use lighter or darker shades of those three, but no others. It makes an appealing design.
But don't take my word for it. Try it!
« Last Edit: Wednesday 03, 2018, 01: am by JR »

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Offline The Fantastical

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Re: Only Three
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 03, 2018, 09: am »
Ah! Good advice! Simple and clean colours are also good on covers - I would add to the rule of three the rule of two!

Use only two fonts max! One for the title and another for the sub-title and author name if you use too many fonts it can create a very unappealing cover.

Thank you for posting this!
“Commander, I always used to consider that you had a definite anti-authoritarian streak in you.”
“Sir?”

“It seems that you have managed to retain this even though you are authority.”

“Sir?”

“That’s practically zen.” ― Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay

Offline JR

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Re: Only Three
« Reply #2 on: Saturday 06, 2018, 08: am »
I recall the blog I read did set a limit for the number of fonts. It might have been two. I hadn't broken that rule, so I didn't commit it to memory. If I find it again, should I post a link to it? I found it helpful, so others might as well.

Offline The Fantastical

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Re: Only Three
« Reply #3 on: Sunday 07, 2018, 03: pm »
I recall the blog I read did set a limit for the number of fonts. It might have been two. I hadn't broken that rule, so I didn't commit it to memory. If I find it again, should I post a link to it? I found it helpful, so others might as well.

That would be lovely if you have the time and the will to hunt down the old post :)
“Commander, I always used to consider that you had a definite anti-authoritarian streak in you.”
“Sir?”

“It seems that you have managed to retain this even though you are authority.”

“Sir?”

“That’s practically zen.” ― Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay