Quote:
Originally Posted by Quoth
 You certainly might need thick skin!
Is it a cup or magnifying glass?
I put this into search
PD image crayons in a cup
Honestly the paid stock images aren't worth it. Even a old camera phone, some crayons and cup / glass jam jar is better. (my emphasis) Though green screen background is traditional some black matt garment or throw and desk lamp angled can work better for a layer. I'd use multiple layers, vector text, background, logo, multiple foreground layers and work at x2 to x4 the highest resolution needed. Export the merged image. I used to use Aldus Photostyler, then Adobe, Paint Shop Pro, Designworks etc but now on Windows or Linux I'd use Inkscape and The GIMP. |
Not a graphic designer (so no criticism from me!) but if you want to try taking your own photos & using them, then Pixelmator (nearly as good as my beloved Fireworks IMO) will remove any background using the "Quick Selection" tool (in my ver, it's a purple highlighter icon) and make the image a transparent PNG to be overlaid on whatever you desire.
Putting my web dev hat on, I think the previous commenters are on the money re the red text on the green background - don't ever forget that a large bunch of people are colorblind! Also, you need to consider how the cover image will appear reduced (even to the size of an icon) AND in greyscale (also as per previous comments).
Design isn't for the feint of heart. I'm okay putting someone's design into action but rubbish at designing my own (I'm getting stressed just thinking about it).