#banner guide

[cosmic-writes-novels]

how to make a banner for your choicescript game

okay so this isn't a callout post but i do want to talk about the AI banner thing on cogdemos for a second. a lot of us in this community are artists and writers and when someone uses AI generated images, it genuinely stings a little. it's a shortcut that comes at someone else's (and the environment's) expense. and on top of that, rightly or wrongly, it creates this immediate impression that the writing itself might also be AI. first impressions are everything and your banner is the first one people get

the good news is making a real banner is actually not hard at all! here is how:

step one: canva

go to canva.com and search "youtube thumbnail" in the templates. it's already the right size for cogdemos, you don't even have to think about it

step two: finding images

these are all free and legal to use:

unsplash.com: massive library of high quality photography, no credit required

pexels.com: same deal

pixabay.com: also same deal

pinterest is great for finding a vibe but if that same banner is something you plan to use for commercial use, DON'T!

step three: making the text readable

it comes down to one thing—contrast. your title needs to fight the background... and win

dark background: white, cream, gold, pale yellow, soft lavender, and icy blue text work well. if you want something with more personality, try a warm coral or dusty rose

light background: dark navy, deep burgundy, forest green, or black. avoid grey on white, it just looks washed out

busy or mid-tone background: put a semi-transparent dark or light box behind your text, or use a thick bold font that can hold its own against texture. thin elegant fonts get eaten alive

warm image: you need cool text like blue or white that pops without clashing. a deep teal or dusty blue looks especially good. avoid red or orange text on a warm background or it disappears into it

cool image: what's best is a warm text like cream, gold, or warm white. a soft peach or muted terracotta against a cool blue image is a really nice contrast.

your game is worth five extra minutes. give it a banner that looks as good as what's inside :)

[the-voltage-diaries]

PoV Banners: What do they mean?

A mini-guide to help clear any confusion regarding the different banners you see pop-up in my fics

There’s an example attached to each category below, to help you navigate through them with ease~

1. Love Interest PoVs: When written from the point of view of the male lead, or the male love interest, the banner used will reflect the aesthetic of the male protagonist in question, and would contain a hint of the color associated to them. This will only be used when the written work is MC x Male Lead.

2. Main Character POVs: When written from the point of view of the female lead, or the female love interest, the banner will consist of an official cg with the female lead in it, along with her male counterpart, and will contain a hint of the colour associated to the male counterpart. This will only be used when the pair in question is MC x Male Lead.

3. Headcanon Banners: These banners will be used only in a headcanon written for them, and will reflect on the colours associated with that character.

4. Multi-fic Banners: The background used in the banners may vary depending on the title it’s written for. It will still reflect the character’s aesthetics, though. The banner may either signify either only the name of the character it’s written for, or refer to the said character’s point of view. This may be used in works limited to the pairings of not just MC x Male Lead, but also Male Lead x Male Lead.

5. Third-Person/Author PoVs: These banners will be used when writing non-headcanon works which are written in the author’s, or a third person’s point of view, and will contain an individual CG of the character in question.

Alternative: For the time being, you might catch banners like this instead of the one above while reading through some of the older works written in third-person. These signify the same thing - the author’s, or a third person’s point of view.

6. Review Banner: If what’s posted is a detailed review of any Love365 story, or a character, then the following banner will be used.