Do you have terrible taste in design? · 8:12pm May 10th, 2020
A horrible eye for aesthetics? No idea where to begin with finding a cover for your story? Do you have a suspicious amount of trust in Ice Star?
Well, that's a pretty bad idea. Just gonna say it. However, if you don't care about the fact that trusting Ice Star is a dubious thing to do, then feel free to read further, I guess. Your call there, man.
Some of y'all may have noticed by now that I've frequently started putting together my own cover art for stories. Worse than that, some of you even have encouraged my cover art making. Well, now you can have a visual abomination made by Ice Star too! Pretty horrifying offer, huh?
Now, what are the conditions for selling your soul to Ice Star for a bit of cover art?
- I work within the limits of the program I use. That means if your request can't be fulfilled with it and within my ability, I will have to politely decline it.
- I can turn down the request to making cover art for anything objectionable. This is a standard.
- I work using art that is listed by pony artists as free to use, not by artists who don't want their work used in any way beyond their original posts. That means that when I make your cover, I will also PM you the links of any art I used so that you credit the original artists.
- Asking me to use the art of artists who don't want their work used (because I will double-check that) will mean I will turn down your request (if you do that intentionally) or have to suggest another picture prompt, etc. if you're doing this unintentionally.
- Please credit me in the description of the story and put a link in my name. Even something as simple as 'cover art slapped together by some weirdo named Ice Star' is okay.
- Be honest about what you want and what your story is about.
- Don't be a huge dick.
- Requests taken by PM only!
- I do this in my spare time because I think making cover art is fun and helping your story get attention is nice. If I don't do something in a timely manner (like a week or something) and you decide you want to ask about the status of the cover, just PM me politely. That's all you have to do.
- If you want me to read the story too (like, when it's posted if it's new and not just in need of a cover touch up) then you can make that a separate message. Though, don't be surprised if I politely decline. Not everything is to my taste. Also, I've got my own stuff to do. But I'll probably check you your story.
- If you have a picture you would already like to use as a cover but just want something more to it, that works too. Just give me the source (or tell me if it's an unposted commission) and give me an idea of what you want. This is the best thing to do if you have art of an OC and want me to tweak it into something for you.
- In the event that I actually get multiple people requesting covers by me, I can put you in a backlog and so forth. Or decline if I have too many people requesting covers.
- If you are the kind of twatwaffle that thinks you'll try and get me to make cover art for something you know is a hard no, and end up being dishonest about the content, you bet I'll not be happy about that and will ask you to take down my name or the art itself, etc etc.
- Now, for the bullet point you've all been waiting for: they're free. Though, if you really want to tip me for some wild reason, here's my Kofi. It probably still works, I think? I'unno. ALSO, I HAVE A PAYPAL I CAN PM THAT TOO OR SOMETHING.
- If I'm closed to requests at the moment, I'm closed. You can still PM me, but I'll just have to tell you that you're gonna have to wait (or even take your request somewhere else).
- I can add more rules if needed. I'll edit this blog and include the dates the rules were updated.
Find examples of my work here.
Now, when you message me, I expect a little something like this for telling me about your story and what I can do:
Story's Final Title:
Rating:
Genres:
Setting: Ponies/Equestria Girls/Humanized/Anthro/Something Else????
Tone: (This will help me pick the mood I want for your art. I wouldn't make a light and fluffy shipfic have the same cover as I would for a longer, more serious romance story even if both stories are romances.)
Story's Full Description: (Just copy and paste it.)
Characters (note any focal characters please):
Pairings (if any):
Author Name on Cover: Y/N?
Editor Name(s) on Cover (then please list them): Y/N? (Link them too.)
A brief description of what you might want:
Example:
Story's Final Title: Wishing Werelights
Rating: Teen
Genres: Romantic Dark Comedy
Setting: Ponies
Tone: Goofy and lighthearted weirdness
Characters (note any focal characters please): Starlight Glimmer (perspective character) and Trixie
Pairings (if any): Startrix
Author Name on Cover: Yes
Editor Name(s) on Cover (then please list them): No
A brief description of what you might want: I would like something kind of cutesy, but not overboard. Please have a minimal background. I don't want the te text to intrude upon the characters. Please don't filter the image because I don't like monochrome aesthetics on my cover art. I don't want any backgrounds that are non-pony, like photos, fills, and textures. Please don't use any screencaps whatsoever.
Hey there! I’m thinking about needing some cover art for my story
.
5259862
Just PM me with your request.
Sure thing!
What sw do you use? :D
5259964
Adobe Spark Magic, of course!
5260011
so friendship can make cover arts now? cool!
5260026
Heck yeah, it can!
Do you do fonts/type placement/whatever that’s called? Basically do you put words on the picture(s) or just put the picture(s) together?
5260067
I put the words on the pictures and can make collages to some degree. You can find examples in the bookshelf I linked.
5260076
Cool. I dig it. I might occasionally ask for help with the covers of my more serious stories. Yes, I occasionally write non-complete-crap-words.
Probably pretty simple stuff, basically more polished looking versions of this sort of cover style:
- MLP: FiM
- Drama
- Slice of Life
- Tragedy
You're drenched in sweat and ennui. She's fighting the enemy, and you're fighting depression. Stuck forever in a nowhere town, you try to rise above inertia, but you only end up feeling useless. You're always feeling that way.cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/pvok-1477515546-332642-full
or
- MLP: FiM
- Slice of Life
- Tragedy
The war's over and your fiancé is back. Your once dead town is showing signs of life again. But you feel more muted than ever. Only one thing is there for you, anytime at all.cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/43rq-1485915180-362647-full
or
[Unpublished stories cannot be embedded]
cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/1aiv-1466767279-199723-full
or
[Unpublished stories cannot be embedded]
cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/dz8b-1466771460-200268-full
(If I ever finish these two stories >_>)
These are all simple collages I made using other people's pony art.
5260116
Just be sure to use the format I've provided, and include any extra notes when you get around to wanting a request. It helps me organize the information!
5260120
Cool. When I ask people to help me I'm very good at being very clear, because I hate vagueness myself.
5260124
I've already had like three people not use it/assume I'm actually drawing the cover art from the ground up in PMs. It's... a work in progress.
5260128
Here, I'll help you. You can copy paste this into the start of the blog (and if you're using Chrome at least, all the formatting should be preserved):
I might have one. And you obviously need to stop being modest about your own art. It's great, even if I never read the story it's for.
I can still like the art.
5265299
Just send me a request in PM using the little fill-out format here!
Compared to people who can make their own cover art or use more advanced graphic design skills, mine is just sorta there.