A Coal to His Lips

[valiha]

My first flocked entry is a cover I made for Anthony Starke's book, "A Coal to His Lips".  I'd like to see what my flist thinks about it before I post it on the comms. 

I made two covers, actually, front and back.  pezgirl7 found a description of the book on the old 1stbooks.com site via Wayback,  and I included it on the back cover.  I hope you'll like it!



ETA that I will most likely remove the photo of the man.   We felt it would be better if the readers were left to imagine what the character of Henry looked like on their own, instead of me suggesting it with an image.  So, please remember that this is a preliminary version, and that it will be changed.

Another edit: Here's the final version of the cover.  The pictures are very large, so have that in mind.  I will leave this entry unlocked for all to view. 

Comments

[conjured-1.livejournal.com]

WOW! That is just - wow! What a wonderful cover. I think he'll like it.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

:beams: Thank you very munch! I'm happy you like it! :)

[quietcontrary.livejournal.com]

It's a gorgeous cover! I especially like the simplicity of the colours and layout - it's very evocative.

However, as this is going beyond something merely fandom orientated (i.e. Anthony Starke is personally involved and profit is being made), we should be careful about using any images unless we've got copyright permission (usually a license) to use them.

Copyright for photos belongs to either the photographer or a company/publishing house/etc that's bought the rights to the photo from the photographer. (It doesn't belong to the subject of the photo, despite common belief.)

I'm not sure where you found the images for the cover:

If they were part of the original artwork for the book, Anthony may have a license to use them. However, it would still be a good idea to check out the terms of the license in that case.

If you've found them online, we would need to find out who the photographer or copyright holder is. This is simpler if you've taken it from a site like fotosearch.com, because they give you the option of buying a license for their images. In that case, we'd need to check that the license permits commercial usage and is royalty free, etc. A very quick check on fotosearch shows that it can cost between $50 for a web-resolution picture to nearly $1000 for a very high resolution picture. It'd be something you'd have to discuss with Anthony, and given that his profits on the book right now are dependent on the honour system, and that it's probably going to be a relatively low-key thing at this stage, it may not be worth it to pay out so much for the artwork alone.

Alternatives would be to find copyright free images, but that may be hard to do. Any photographer automatically has copyright unless they waive it. Alternative methods of IP ownership such as creative commons usually have terms in their licenses about commercial usage, etc.

I'm not saying it's not possible, just that there are legal implications that need some thought.

(Sorry to have to be the person raining on the parade!)

[quietcontrary.livejournal.com]

Other possibilities would be to take your own photo (so you own copyright, raises the issue about model indemnity forms though) or do a imageless cover.

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

Re: model releases, Stock Xchange has some on their site; they can be found at their Legal Information section. Direct links are:

» Model release for adults (9 Kbytes, PDF)
» Model release for minors (8 Kbytes, PDF)
» Property release (8 Kbytes, PDF)

[dj-aida.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't sleep again, so I'm still around (even though it's 2:15 over here), so to answer some of these points:

- I am well aware of copyright issues when it comes to photographs, and I use photos that can be found on the Stock Xchange website. Their Usage option for the photos are the following:

"You may use the Image

* In digital format on websites, multimedia presentations, broadcast film and video, cell phones.
* In printed promotional materials, magazines, newspapers, books, brochures, flyers, CD/DVD covers, etc.
* Along with your corporate identity on business cards, letterhead, etc.
* To decorate your home, your office or any public place.

You may not use the Image

* For pornographic, unlawful or other immoral purposes, for spreading hate or discrimination, or to defame or victimise other people, sociteties, cultures.
* To endorse products and services if it depicts a person.
* In a way that can give a bad name to SXC or the person(s) depicted on the Image.
* As part of a trademark, service mark or logo.
* SELLING AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THE IMAGE (INDIVIDUALLY OR ALONG WITH OTHER IMAGES) IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN! DO NOT SHARE THE IMAGE WITH OTHERS!

Always ask permission from the photographer if you want to use the Image

* In website templates that You intend to sell or distribute.
* For creating printed reproductions that You intend to sell.
* On "print on demand" items such as t-shirts, postcards, mouse pads, mugs (e.g. on sites like Cafepress), or on any similar mass produced item that would contain the Image in a dominant way."

In addition to that, photographers need to be informed about what their photos are used for. (This is not that different from DeviantArt, where I leave comments thanking people for textures/brushes/actions I use in my fanart, and which they make available for free). Since there's an identifiable person on this photo, it's an additional reason to contact the photographer. If he says I can't use the photo, then that's it - and I will honor his desire. In that case, I can redo the cover using a similar drawing (though my drawing skills are rusty), or make something without using photos of a person.

In addition, Anthony is making profit off his book, and I would be offering this as a gift, so that takes away the profit issue. He's not offering the cover, and had nothing to do with making it (yes, I made it myself; I have never seen the original cover nor do I know if it ever had one).

Does that answer your questions? (And don't worry, I'm not upset - I'd like to have everything cleared up before unlocking this post.)

[quietcontrary.livejournal.com]

Looks like you have all the vases covered! :)

[quietcontrary.livejournal.com]

I totally meant "bases"...!

[ex-egorstan.livejournal.com]

love the covers - front and back. Gorgeous!

[sfulton229.livejournal.com]

Great selection of images and nice arrangement. I love the red for Coal and you picked a great font for the letters. I think it's terrific! It's really nice that you did this; I hope Anthony likes it.

[pezgirl7.livejournal.com]

Looks great! I haven't actually read the book, so I can't comment on whether it matches the subject matter. heh