$160 cover - NO AI, NO EXCEPTIONS

DismaiNaim

Well-known member
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Jan 11, 2024
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Author Name: Dismai Naim
Profession Unpaid Hobby: Author
Preferred Art Style: something eye-catching. No sculptures; can't upload sculptures.
Story: A Place to Bloom
Taco: steak & cheese with guacamole and pico de gallo
Laundry: already done & folded


THE RULES

Post a low-res image of your cover here [put your watermark on it so no one steals it], vote & comment on others. You don’t need to post to vote & comment.

I will pay $10 to each of the top 4, win or lose.

Winner will receive your choice of $160 OR $100 + 10% of profits from sales.

Use of generative tools will result in DQ.


Background:

I’m not linking the current image I’m using for a cover because it’s AI generated, and I’m done with AI [insert two-hour political rant]. You’ll probably see it if you go to my profile page, though. But this is the scene I’m looking for in my mind: https://www.scribblehub.com/read/967246-a-place-to-bloom/chapter/1056446/

Genre is epic character-driven low fantasy with elements of steampunk [edit: also uncensored romance]. Starts off cozy and nice but later chapters turn toward grimdark - it’s not there yet, but in the coming chapters, it’ll get DARK. The scene for this volume is five men heading down from the mountain to face the unknown world. In the previous chapter, they arrive at the pass after having been told that the war they’re headed into is a death trap, and when they look out to see the place, it’s buried beneath the clouds [they’re standing at 18000 ft / 6000 m].


What I need from you:

  1. A high-res cover image for online use (epub & web-series sites)
  2. A full-size front & back for print publication (or at least help me design one)
  3. As needed [Tapas] proof of human generation.
  4. Cross promotion (I link to your portfolio, you link to my story)

* Proof of human generation in their words, not mine, "Proof can be anything from progress sketches, timelapse videos, screenshots of project files, or links to the image sources. We're looking for any information that can help us verify that no AI generation tools were used in the final images."

* I reserve the right to back out of this if I get nothing but chaff.
 
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Kurayami

Pink Witchpire
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Nov 10, 2025
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* I reserve the right to back out of this if I get nothing but chaff.
Bro trying to get free art with no guarantee of anything. This is a bold strategy. If your profession is unpaid author, how are you going to pay a winner? Why not just commission an artist on Vgen? You could get a cover for less than 160$ without having to pay 4 other people.
 

Corty

Ra’Coon
Joined
Oct 7, 2022
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Not to be rude, but you are asking artists to draw for you for free, and only pay them if you choose their work.

You are masking your desire for free art in the name of competition, not to mention having the luxury of even choosing between covers. Do you realize how much that you want costs, actually? Print covers for the back and front start way higher than $160 lol. Your prize money is 1/3 at the cheapest and 1/8 at the medium.

No artist will take this on.
 

Kurayami

Pink Witchpire
Joined
Nov 10, 2025
Messages
123
Points
93
Not to be rude, but you are asking artists to draw for you for free, and only pay them if you choose their work.

You are masking your desire for free art in the name of competition, not to mention having the luxury of even choosing between covers. Do you realize how much that you want costs, actually? Print covers for the back and front start way higher than $160 lol. Your prize money is 1/3 at the cheapest and 1/8 at the medium.

No artist will take this on.
I completely disregarded the print cover thing because my brain must have tuned it out. Thought it was just a regular ass cover for SH.
 

Corty

Ra’Coon
Joined
Oct 7, 2022
Messages
4,768
Points
183
I completely disregarded the print cover thing because my brain must have tuned it out. Thought it was just a regular ass cover for SH.
As a devil’s advocate, I have learned to read the fine print :blob_uwu:
 
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