Thumbnail Critique-a-thon

[punkarsenic]

However, I think the silhouettes could be improved with tweaks to their placement in the frame. Right now, there's an uncanny empty space on the left side of the thumbnail, and I feel it makes the composition look unbalanced. In a way, the focal point of the thumbnail is slightly vague--on reflex, I'm not sure whether to pay attention to the empty space, or the characters.

this is a good point, thank you!

I think it would be much clearer if they were placed in the middle--however, the thumbnail overall is pretty great and serves to reflect the comic it represents.

thank you! im glad you think so! when i update to a new thumbnail ill defo make sure to make smth more central

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i think your thumbnail is really great - it makes me really want to read your comic. the palette is great, and theres a brilliant energy to your lines that reflects the best of your style. the character has great movement and silhouette, having their character in black against beige works really well. i was gonna say i wonder if the composition is too busy for when the thumbnail is small, but the silhouette of your MC still stands out. so... no crits!

[paperwren]

@JeanGuillet I think this is conveying what you're aiming for for the most part, I agree with what others have said about drawing more attention to the glow, it doesn't read magic right away so much as stylistic effect, especially paired with the background. Really gorgeous but maybe not conveying the information you're aiming for. Maybe having him more in a grounded real space would convey its a full colour comic more directly?

Also thanks for the feedback! I might go for a gradient across the image and see what that looks like.

@punkarsenic I see your thumb all the time cause I follow you haha. I gotta admit, before I saw it big I wasn't reading it as two figures. I love the handhold, it would be cool to see emphasized more in a future version. The colour scheme feels almost like your branding for me at this point, I picture that orange when I think of your work, so you really got distinctive going for you. Also I really like the contrasting colours between your banner and thumb, just to give you conflicting opinions haha

@kainatarma alternate, definitely alternate. The minute you put a face on it I suddenly want to click. That art is goooorgeous

@Mangocado I think I'm just echoing what others are saying but you really lose the characters profile with the fade if you're viewing it small. Sharper lines, maybe a dreamy background that isn't white? I like the mood, but it doesn't tell me much about what the comic is about. It's hard to convey those subtle themes in one small image haha. Music is such a huge part of your comic, is there a way of incorporating that into the thumb?

@monotone_ink I mean some of the detail gets lost at the small scale but the composition and colour contrasts are so solid I don't think it matters. You won, you won the thumbnail contest.

[imiogri]

@monotone_ink @paperwren Thank you!! You're so right about the lost silhouette. I already knew it was a problem but just dealt with it, so now you've given me a real push to do something about it. I've had really difficult conveying what the story is about since well, it's not about a lot at the moment. Making it music related is a nice idea but I'm not sure if to use it as a selling point seeing as the majority doesn't have music.

[Yulek]

My aim:Convey that the plot revolves around angry old dude with a hint of magic. Also suits and ties. Give some kind of idea of the general complexity of the art. Here's my real question: I want people to know that the comic is in full color, does this show that? Is there any way to show that from a thumbnail?

I also think that the "magic" might get lost when it's thumb size ... so I think you can go bolger ... other than that I think I'S a very nice representation of your skills!

this is what i have currently:

I really like the colors!!

but it's hard to see much from a distance. the colors could make up for it tho bc it'S really striking

but for the figure In the schadow e.g. is reasier recognisable what it's supposed to show

I mainly was torn between this cover or changing this to an alternate? What do you think and which is better in a way more appealing? This is the alternate cover:

I am strongly for the second on e... the writing in the first one would be unreadable ... but maybe the first one witout any text might be good?

[Yulek]

omg I love you for this thread bc thumbnails are hell for me

my first:

my second:

my current one

my series is about a grumpy boy/loner that is totally fed up with people in general.
His family runs a spirit counselling bussiness which he thinks is just a scam..... he soon is about to be proven wrong :))

it's more of a slice of life/drama with one super natural element for now...
plus a pinch of romance and lgtbq+ friendly :3

I wan't the thumbnail to hint at that without spoinling too much

this is how the ghost actually looks

that's the series

Drop in the Ocean | Tapas

[paperwren]

I think the more dramatic stuff you were going for was more eye catching tbh. If you had a thumb with both the ghost in real form and the main character I don't think that's so much a spoiler as a hook, people will stick around because they want to know who the ghost is. Also if there is any romance between LGBTQ characters in this comic for the love of all that is good indicate it in your thumbnail people specifically look for that and want to know haha!! I totally get not wanting to give stuff away but I think it feels more like a give away to you because you know the characters, for the readers it just makes it a more intriguing mystery.

[Yulek]

more like

ohhh that makes sense! mext chap yurei will make his appearance, so I might as well use that as an opportunity to try my hand at a new thumbnail owo

and I wasn't sure about marking it as boys love bc that's not the point of the story but maybe you're right ^^

[imiogri]

Hey friends, you made me test out making a new thumbnail, just thought I should show haha

[paperwren]

FLIPPIN LOVE IT. You nailed it.

[Yulek]

so you could say they .... thumb-nailed it?

[JeanGuillet]

@paperwren and @Lia and @punkarsenic thanks for the advice! when three people say the same thing, can't argue with that! I think you're right, maybe if I want to show more magic I'll emphasize it more. ...I've been considering trying that site banner as a thumbnail, maybe I should!

[Buurd]

@Lia
Personally I like the colors of the first two thumbnails you shared more. I think there's just a bit too much/many baby blues in the current one. Between the ghost, the area of glow around the ghost, Collin's hair, and the general background - it's a lot of different shades at once in a small area.
Your first thumbnail uses a lot of blues as well, but I think it works well since they're less saturated and more uniform/monochromatic?
The different variations of blue might not be as noticeable on the site/app on smaller display though But blown up like this, that's just my 2 cents on what I noticed.
Overall though I like the thumbnail, I'm just being nit picky on colors haha ^^; I like the cute ghost, but as Paperwren mentioned, having the ghosts real design might help draw more readers in out of their curiosity. I like the lil' ghosty in the current thumbnail though, its cute and provides contrast for Collin being grumpy. So either work well.

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Aim: Be obvious this is a red string of fate/soulmate based comic. Show that the MC's are close, but somethings holding the girl back.

Ketchup | Tapas

[paperwren]

@buurd Honestly pretty strong, in concept and execution and compostion. Triple whammy! My only critique would be that anatomy-wise the guy characters forehead looks kind of big and his earlobe meets his face at an odd spot; just feeling on my own face right now I think it should meet at the jawline. Maybe take this same concept and find a reference photo to nail the anatomy stuff? I have a terrible time with profile views and make the forehead/head to big mistake a lot haha

[DasIstWunderblyat]

@paperwren @Lia @punkarsenic

Thank you very much! I think I'll be using the second cover from now on

[Buurd]

Thank you for the feedback, I see what you mean
I've done a reboot of the comic with slightly different art, so if I end up taking time to redo this cover, I'll be taking your advice and working on that ear and head of his ^^

I struggle with profiles a lot too lmao, when I came up with the idea for the cover i was like ;o; why do i hate myself ??? (But hey, better to tackle things than avoid them, so i kept with it haha)

[JeanGuillet]

I really like your icon, it's spectacular, it does the job... but here's the thing....the art in your comic is even BETTER! I think the main thing that gave the wow factor for the comic was your great sense of atmospheric lighting. so maybe, including something like your backgrounds in the thumbnail might improve it? aside from that the previous anatomy critiques are correct and go for the comic as well, aren't people hard to draw? It's great though, subbed and look forward to what you do next!

[Yulek]

madea new one going by the feedback .. better or worse?

shoulo dI try to do something different? maybe pick up the water theme after all?

[Yulek]

second version idkkkkkk .... I need help

[paperwren]

Second version is better, I like the contrast! This is great actually, much more dynamic and interesting

If you want the lgbtq+ in there you could do it in white, I might make the font a little cleaner so it's easier to read scaled down though

[gh0stcr33p]

here's my thumbnail. it's supposed to showcase the two main characters, but with more emphasis on the protagonist. (the hand belonging to the antagonist) and the main object, the mirror.

I feel like this picture is outdated and I was thinking of replacing it with my new cover, but I don't know if I should do that or just make a new picture. (the image below if what I mean)

@monotone_ink I get that you want it to be known that your comic is done in a sketchy style, but when looking at it from far away (which is usually the only way someone will see it) it's kind of hard to tell what's in the picture. I think you should maybe cut down on the details such as the black sketchy lines (but not all of them) and maybe make the canvas smaller..

EDIT: since nobody responded to this I'll just use the new cover. I was really waiting just to see if it would be a good idea or not to use that but I haven't gotten any answers.