Alexander1968 wrote:http://www.flickr.com/photos/28697569@N ... 953758726/

I like it very much  

Eh, like the left side more then the right of that image.  She seems different, as in from another source pasted onto that background instead of all one painting/picture.

ShaneG.

Drow cleavage seems added for the male effect. It detracts.

The Drow looks extracted from World of Warcraft, not Old School at all. Looks like a character from video games...

dbartman wrote:Both look decent.  I like the cleavage

If the Drow comes to the surface, parts of her will decompress and explode.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28697569@N ... 953758726/

Definitive version of the cover, I love it      

I prefer the first cover.    

That said, the whole idea of ripping off the classic red box looks a bit cheap and cheesy.
On the back of WoTC re-releasing it's own red box witth pro art, the idea of copying it and adding amateur artwork in place of the professional stuff looks really tacky.

Have you thought about offering two covers. Maybe a copy with a plain jet black cover or whatever? Sell the product on the basis of quality of research and writing.

A bad cover, particularly one that is ripped off of someone elses design, detracts from the perception of a serious product and lowers expectations. The 'whole package' and how it is polished is what defines the difference between success and failure. This is something I explained at length in Raggi's thread on his boxed set release, and ihaving seen and held that product, it is one of the best presented products I've seen in a while.

I just think a homebrew red bex ripoff will be a bad mistake. It might be a contentious opinion, but I buy items in 5's and 10's and I need to feel I can sell them on to people who don't browse Acaeum and Dragonsfoot. For me a product needs to feel like I'd stick it on a stall at a Con. The red covers don't do it for me, sorry.

mbassoc2003 wrote:adding amateur artwork

Amateur? Danilo Moretti is not an amateur, he is a pro both in illustration, in graphic and book design. This is his job. He has worked for a long time for Mongoose Publishing, for example, before moving to better paid gigs, and he is the soul behind Inspired Device and the new and gigantically improved edition of the BASH RPG. More, he is not a pro in the gaming field, he is a pro in the real world where he has a lot of customers (including the Turin City Hall, a city with one million of inhabitants and a lot of competition) I can't really share your opnion about 'amateur' effort. This cover is a professional effort, not an amateur one, and choosing to imitate the historical red box is a marketing choice: all the people seeing it have immediately undestood the book's subject.  

Amateur...   Do you think that such books would be produced by an amateur?

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php ... ers_id=679

MetamorphosisSigma wrote:Amateur or professional, I have to agree with mbassoc that the art lacks. I still hate the title . I get the "Hunters" part, but "Dragons"?  

Let me get this clear: everybody has his tastes, everybody has likes and dislikes and I don't discuss that. I simply consider any comments about amateur artwork, amateur graphics and so on without any merit at all because the book was designed by a pro in the publishing field.

PS: by the way, before reading any more smart ass comments about 'amateurs', let me tell that Wild Boar - the book publisher - is a professional publisher in the gaming field and beyond. They do the Italian editions of Traveller, Exalted and much more.

I prefer the first cover to the one with the drow.

The art doesnt look amateurish, just not particularly polished.  Just the opinion of someone who appreciates art but doesnt know a damn thing about it professionally.  Most of us have been spoiled on Parkinson, Elmore, and Frazetta most of our lives so anything not of that caliber seems to get nitpicked more than it probably should.

I dont think "ripping off" the red box is cheesy nor cheap.  It's an homage to the past and the design is simple and would be eye-catching sitting on a book shelf.  Although I do agree that a black cover, perhaps with bright red lettering, would be even more visually striking.

Hunters of Dragons just doesnt roll off the tongue well (at least not in English anyway) IMO.  Have you considered Hunting Dragons?  Or perhaps The Hunt For Dragons?  The title is really not all that big of a deal though.  You could call it Tunnels, Tokers, and Tarrasques and I would still likely buy it.  It really all depends on where and who you plan to market it to.  If your goal is to get it into bookstores, the latter probably wouldnt sell very well.