A Possible LFA “Best-Of”?
Edit, 1 February: Since Serpentuh wants to continue posting his ideas, I’m handing this post over to his control.
A debate has arisen over posting a “Best-of” the Lizards on Sonific.com which involves which songs should be included and what the cover should look like. So I open this new post.
Here are cover ideas I, Serpentuh, created so far:
(The Nutty Idea, I call this one)
(The Shaft of God Idea)
(The Nun Gives Herself a BJ Idea, er… Well, this one IS the funniest yet, I have to admit, but is there a bit of a theme here?)
(the gross you out idea…I thought it a better idea than rail-road tracks.)
(the Lost idea…get it? Uncharted? We never made the charts? It’s clever.)
(the Geckos Bloomington Democracy idea…updated)
(Gecko’s idea with a border–posted by the Gecko)
(I tried sprucing up the band name and I “hid” 1991-1993 at the bottom)
Just as a note (& this wasn’t MY rule) there is no “THE” in Lizards from Afar. [I want to say Gila or Chopper came up with that and I followed it in all previous designs.]
(The struck out idea…)
(The keyline concept…)
(The Final one?)
Lizards From Afar 
January 31, 2008 at 10:32 am
Still working on you BD concept. Nothing good yet…
January 31, 2008 at 10:49 am
I vote for not the nun-bong one, though it is funny.
January 31, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Well, Chops…if you have any “thematic ideas” I can try to work up some kind of idea for it.
January 31, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Here are a couple more…
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=177289185&albumID=996642&imageID=15739930
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=177289185&albumID=996642&imageID=15739977
February 1, 2008 at 10:11 am
Oy! That favorite tracks one IS disturbing. Those aren’t my favorite tracks. Maybe we need a non-pun idea. “The Best Of the Lizards From Afar, 1991 – 1993,” with a nice collage of our covers?
February 1, 2008 at 10:38 am
Well, with your permission I am going to continue making stupid covers as I’m actually enjoying being silly and disturbing.
If during that exercise I compose something that you like, all the better.
PS-I still think that you should post the 2 latest for all to see…
February 1, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Okay, Serpentuh, I’ve made YOU the author of this post, so try to post your cover ideas yourself (we’ll see if it works this time). You should be able to upload the images directly to the blog.
February 1, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I tried. There is a link that says “EDIT”.
When I click it, I get a message that says:
Posts
You are not allowed to edit this post.
February 1, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Crap, you should be able to edit any post you are the author of, and I made you the author of this one. Well, this is all a learning process, right? I thought making you a contributor would allow you to make the changes, but I just read the WordPress support which defines the various “roles.” I’m administrator, since I made the blog, which means I can do anything. I’ll change your status to “author” which is above contributor and then you can try again. If that doesn’t work, I’ll just post your pictures–but you’ll have to wait until I’m back online, which may be much later tonight. I’m taking off in about 5 minutes.
February 1, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Came up with a Bloomington Democracy idea…
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=177289185&albumID=996642&imageID=15758807
February 1, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I love the Bloomington Democracy cover! Did you do this in photoshop?
Now, on to critiques: I think the “Lizards from Afar” needs to stand out more. It’s not very readable. I wonder if the circular filter could be made more fine, too.
February 1, 2008 at 10:30 pm
1) Yup. Had a 15 minute lunch today and threw it together
2) I had the name in a heavier font…I felt it stood out a little TOO much. The only thing I would consider doing would be to try a slight dropshadow behind the text…probably in gray.
3) The circular filter was an artistic choice. There’s 1 level finer…but then it just looks like a “blur” effect. I thought the vertigo leading the eye ‘towards’ Bloomington suggested lack of free will, playing a joke on the Democracy angle.
I hate to admit it but I like it.
February 2, 2008 at 10:51 am
Bloomington Democracy FTW.
February 2, 2008 at 10:52 am
I had to look up FTW as I don’t spend a lot of time texting…
FTW=For The Win=I stongly recommend using
February 2, 2008 at 11:23 am
Now that I made Serpentuh the author of this post, I don’t get e-mail updates of comments. How annoying!
I also didn’t know the FTW abbreviation. It was years before I understood ones like AFAIK.
I’m not quite sure I like the font on the updated BM cover. The original was better, but just didn’t stand out enough. I’m also interested in seeing alternatives to the “vertigo filter,” or at least something else on the cover that makes that filter less dominant. Maybe a border? (My idea posted above)
February 2, 2008 at 11:50 am
Yeah, considering it’s free there is a LOT of cool stuff…but the admin is kinda clunky…
At this point, I’ll say two things:
1) Let’s wait a few days and see if the others review and respond
2) If they don’t and you want to run with the version that you put together, feel free. I consider this YOUR project and will let you run with it however you see fit. (…noting only semi-sarcastically that I WAS an art major and work in the design industry…)
NOTE: Can’t easily undo the vertigo effect without going back to the original artwork…but if you feel that strongly, I can and will…
February 2, 2008 at 12:58 pm
My version is just an idea–I’d want you to do a “final version.”
And not to insult your design skills… I think the Bloomington Democracy picture is brilliant. I just thought a border of some sort would both make the picture and the text stand out better. Perhaps that’s overly traditional thinking.
February 3, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I think (if we ever hear any feedback from any of the others and they like the BD concept) that there might be a compromise. The more I look at it, I can agree that the LIZARDS FROM AFAR wouldn’t hurt from being a little more dominant. I also agree that the words “Best of” need to appear.
If this is the design they want, I can ‘rework’ the text easily enough to make it more dominant.
February 5, 2008 at 8:16 pm
The new version looks good, although I’m not sure of the purpose of the “hidden” 1991-1993.
As for what “they” want, even Chopper has disappeared recently. Gator is on his own blog, but rarer than a wild condor here. And Gila is, apparently, a mythical creature.
February 5, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I didn’t know that about the “the.” Somebody should tell me what the rules are. I mean earlier than 15 years after the event.
February 10, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Struck Out idea is funny, but my vote is still for BD.
February 10, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I didn’t mean it as a real contender…just thought it was funny.
We had NO hits.
We made LOTS of errors.
February 12, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Hi guys,
I like the basic concept behind Bloomington Democracy.
The third version’s my favorite. I don’t see the dates as being “hidden” in a bad sense, and I prefer having them separate from the masthead. The font choice is solid though I agree that it could be made to stand out a bit more. Stroking the text in black would give it some solidity while not detracting from the essentially duotone illustration.
With that said, it needs to be noted that I’m ten days late to this party and wouldn’t dream of taking it out of your hands. I’m fine with the end product you guys come up with, as long as it doesn’t involve needle marks or girls being frightened by a banana.
February 12, 2008 at 2:02 pm
HE’S BACK!!
I will do a version with an keyline around the text, although as a preofesional I’m ‘agin it’. (One of the many critiques I received during my glorious days at IWU was my dependance on the black keyline.)
…and I’m sorely disappointed that nobody LOVES the Favorite Tracks concept…
With all the resurgnece going on…perhaps I should contact DeBooboo and see if wants to do a 1-Off Banana Radio reunion?
February 12, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Welcome back to the Gator!
Having seen the black keylined version, I can say I’m “agin it” now, too. I like the previous version, but would it be possible to make the 1991-1993 a little more prominent without making it white like the masthead? As in, keep it as it is but at the same time make it stand out a LEETLE bit more?
February 12, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I will do that tomorrow on my lunch break.
February 12, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Also, maybe it’s a little hard to notice on a monitor, but there is a dropshow behind the name, intended to help it stick out from the pattern. I will increase the opacity on it and that will make the name stick out a little bit more.
Overall, I do have to say that I was against the whole idea of BLOOMINGTON DEMOCRACY at first, but now I’m feeling it fits…and I think the design works on a lot of levels. (Something my design rarely does.)
February 13, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I dig the final one. Excellent. Now, for a final song list! I’ll make a new post.