Friday, October 24, 2014

Maggie's Hopechest (cover design)

It was Maggie's teenage dream to acquire her very own hopechest. Surely now that the Lord provided one for her, He wouldn't ask her to give up the collection she's worked on for years - or would He?

"Maggie's Hopechest" is a short story that the Lord allowed me to write recently. It's an old idea that I've had for several years, but never made the time to sit down and write it. Short stories are an excellent way to express story ideas when you don't have time to sit down and write a full-length novel. I'm not a short-story writer by any means (aka: I'm very wordy) but this was a great challenge for me to stay concise and keep the plot flowing.

But! I haven't edited the short story yet, so for now, here's the cover I was playing with:

Original

After looking at it, I realized that it looks very vintage and masculine. Neither are a good portrayal of the short story (it is a modern story about a girl), so I played with some color, trying to "soften" the tones.

Purple

Pink

As I looked at it, I began to wonder if the chest was what gave it that look, so I tried to lower the opacity on the chest:

Pink 02

And, as I always like "behind-the-scenes" stuff, here is the base image that I used. I actually created this image as a background for my sister's blog, using a picture of burlap (with writing) and a few Photoshop Elements features.


And then, since I didn't have any picture of a hopechest or trunk on hand, I searched for a royalty free image and found one:

Via freerangestock.com (use caution when looking!)

If you would be so kind as to give your opinion and/or advice concerning my "cover play," here are some questions I'm wondering:

- Does the cover look too masculine?
- Which cover gives the thought of a girl with her treasured possessions?
- Any overall suggestions?

And a random question on the topic:
- Do you have a hopechest? (no, I do not :))

~*~*~
"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:6 

3 comments:

Salinn said...

I love the way it looks! I really like the Pink 02 one. I'll look forward to reading it sometime.:)
No I do not have a hope chest.

Amanda Tero said...

Hey Salinn!

Thanks for your comment and encouragement! I'm glad you like Pink 02. It definitely has the softer tone that I was aiming for. :)

Perhaps I'll post the short on here one day . . . :)

By God's grace,
Amanda

"And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee neither forsake thee." Deuteronomy 31:8

Salinn said...

I hope you do post it.:)

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