This cover absolutely rocks! Shiny doesn't even begin to describe it. I think I might really replace the "official" inlay with this one.

Amazing!! This is awesome! ..though what's River pointing at, I'd almost rather a gun in her hand...

I LVOE IT! love. yes love that's the word.

Shiny! I rather like the River pointing... to be honest. To me, it fits her sort of 'out there' mood and persona.

You just never know what she's thinking, getting in tune with or doing. I like the mystery of it (her).

Sorry to repost, but I was wondering if you had a link to a high res version?

Hey everybody,

Thanks for postin', and sayin' such purdy things!

As to what our enigmatic River is up to... well, she's pointing at Miranda, the blue earth like planet on the floaty view screen.

The design expresses the larger elements of the story. River is in her own world, but she's aware of something about that planet. Mal is understandably tense because look what the gorram heck they gotta go through to get there! The Operative is calm, but look closely at his expression... the raised eyebrow, the contained concentration... he's looking too, but with his own agenda.

Oh, and the satellite dishes at the base, because you know what you can't stop...

Btw, if River still had that gun in her hand...she'd be shooting at Joss's name!

11th

Wow....! Niiiccceee!

That's gorram cunning, it surely is.

And about a thousand times better than anything Universal has or will come up with. Have you proposed your designs to them yet?

Much better, a 10!!

This just makes me hate the actual cover even more... like why'd they hafta use those "dolled-up" pictures of River... that's not her.

You've certainly captured the film here man, and I like the tag at the top. Open space is still bugging me, but who cares, it's awesome!!!

I think maybe the back could use some work, but the front is very shiny, indeed. I've been working on my own custom cover, but if it doesn't pan out I'd have no shame in using yours.

When I first saw it, I was surprised by the quality of the design, but then I saw that it was 11thHour and realized I shouldn't have been. . .:)

Hmmm, I'm not too sure about this.

I'm not sure if it's fantastic or brilliant! Let's just say both. :-)

I vote for a high-res version, please!

ah, I think the front is perfect now. even witht he reviews it would still look great. the back cover is much better than the previous version, but still not perfect. although that's no fault of your own, back covers are a pain in the ass ;)

and yes, I'm a graphic designer myself. I admire your work a lot, as I'm usually not great at photo montages. I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say that'd we'd love to see more of the creations you have lying around on your hard drive, finished or not :)

you should really start an art portfolio website (if you haven't already).

That's it! That is the cover i imagined they'd release. How do you know what we're all thinking? Just wow. Thank you for sharing your talent with us.

That's the BEST cover suggestion I've seen. And here I used to like the official one, this one's AMAZING! How about mailing it to Universal, they haven't released the cover physicly yet, so should still be a shot ;)

Drat looks like i posted my comments and suggestions to the old image too late. Nice work though and it does look fine without reviews on the front not that i see it this way. The text at the top is all it needed to balance it out. Please see my other comments about the finger/basketball thing and the operatives pupils under the other posting of this image for some additional tweaking suggestions. :)
Christopher Robin

eidt: "NOW" that i see it this way.
ok off to bed now.

Copied old post over to here...
Wow very nice work. Great choices for the imagery you obviously spent quite a bit of time on this and the end result is fantastic. I especially liked the "River pointing at Miranda" the way you modified it looks very natural and yet dramatic at the same time. I am an artist as well (more of the pencil or pen than digital)and have always been a fan of your work the attention to detail in your peices is wonderful.
There are a few things i would note with River's finger i would make it so it is juxtaposed further over the planet or make a definite gap between planet surface and finger because as it is now she appears to be doing the spin the basketball on one finger thing with the plantet. Also concur that the top of the front cover looks a bit empty but i think moving the reviews up a bit would fix that. I know some think they detract from the image and i see that side of it however they do make it look more "official" so i would keep them in. Another thing unless it is meant as a form of foreshadowing i would reverse Serenity (the ship not text) so it is pointing up not down. goes more with the "we'll rise again" and "still flying" themes to my mind rather than the way it is now... looks like it's about to crash... into Mal's head no less (his brains are in terrible danger!) so unless you specifically were trying for that "hint of a crash to come" i would suggest turning it around. The way the orange/yellow flash behind the text of Serenity looks is fine when it is spread open but i think when it is closed and you are looking at the spine it would look somewhat disembodied and out of place. If you picture it wrapped around a DVD you'll see what i mean. I also notice the Operatives right pupil is smaller than his left one and especialy compared to how large Mal's and River's are. It is almost as if he is somewhere else with a bright light shining in his eyes and they are in a darker lit room or looking at the night sky... it makes him look out of sync with the rest of the image. Mal being "lit" and river lit from above works really well i feel for the mood of the cover the operative just seems to not fit. Perhaps that is the effect you wanted not sure but thought i'd mention the eye thing incase it had gone unnoticed.
One final bit, and this is really only a preference thing, but if i were choosing a dramatic face for River i think i'd have gone with one of the scenes where she is frozen in the hologram... where the operative looks at her and says "where are you hiding little girl" i'd keep this same pose and finger pointing but just that look on her face with the stray wisps of hair across her face had more punch to me.
These of course are merely suggestions and not meant to be critcism of your shiny work. I fourth the motion for a higher rez image as i'd gladly swap this with the default image for my DVD jacket in a heartbeat. :)
You are awesome, Keep flying (and creating)
Fellow Artist(but not a Companion:)Christopher Robin

This is why I fangirl over 11th Hour each time I see her! Pure gold! :D This is going to replace the official insert on my copy. And maybe even get blown up poster size. Georgous.

I think, no, I am certain this will be the cover for my DVD when I have it in my trembling hands!

How awesome is this? 11th, you've truly outdone yourself this time. I absolutely love it!

LOVE IT LOVE IT.

LOL is River having an ET moment?

I love it <3

The colors, the adventure feel, the characters! Love the pointing finger and Miranda, too.

(some of this posted at the official forum, too)

I still have a little longing for this one with Simon in on the Operative's spot:
[img] [/img]
The three close characters in the bottom seems to be one family united by the glow from Serenity - Serenity's name and logo is a beacon or explosion of warmth that unites the three protagonists, warily watching something threatening from the above blue/cold place (except Simon who very approprately glances towards River)! The sense of extended family is a big theme, and this cover really manages to get that across better than any other I've seen. That's what made us love Star Wars back in the days, and it's what hooked us on Firefly.

Another idea to get the Operative on the cover could be to have his face in blue ghost mode looking down upon them from a top corner? That would create some tension and place the Operative where he belongs: outside the circle of light exuding from Serenity's name.

Maybe it'd get too crowded (in my sky) - though ChristopherRobin points out that the top seems a little empty Anyway you're the designer! I love it, and I can't wait to plaster Copenhagen with this :)

NO!!! don't you shoot joss's name lil' missy...however crazy you are

now quit tweaking or you'll spoil all your brilliant-ness!!!

b

p.s. hee. mal. *drool*

You do know that I have anger towards you, just kidding.

Now the official cover will be lacking and all thanks to this one. Beautiful