Cover contest for a book about ancient warrior cultures & Christian spiritual warfare

The Soldier Code: Ancient Warrior Wisdom for Modern-Day Christian Soldiers

Duncan Ray Brannan

An exploration of six ancient warrior cultures (Samurai, Spartan, Viking, Knight, Gladiator, & Legionary), original biblical language, and history that brings powerful insight, wisdom, and weaponry for the Christian’s spiritual warfare.

Christians

I’d like work-ups which are uniform from cover to spine to back cover; so, we’re using the same colors across everything. I want a background incorporating earth/sepia tones that looks like an ancient codex or chronicle, something priceless, yet old, rustic, tattered….
It could look like a medieval book, or even older, but think iconic – something very “Book of the Ancients” in style and feel, an old book written by sages, masters, generals, and warriors… a book “heroes must quest for” or “a counsel of elders consult” to “unlock the great and hidden wisdom.” Think about the prop books you’ve seen in historically-based or fantasy movies or miniseries. Think about miniseries like Vikings or Game of Thrones; think about movies like Troy, 300, Braveheart, Kingdom of Heaven, The Last Samurai, Gladiator, etc.
The background could be completely leather all the way around like an old journal or have metal hinges wrapping across the spine and onto the front and back covers, with a clasp or lock on the front cover at the right, middle edge. It could have rustic metal décor or corner pieces, beveled edges, and a sunken middle area – touches which work together to give it a completely three-dimensional feel. When I look at and go to pick up this jacket, I want my mind thinking that I’m going to “feel” the age, depth, etchings, texture, and craftsmanship because it’s so vivid, so iconic.

I also want the Sentinel Ministries crest/logo (minus the “Sentinel Ministries” text, of course) on the cover. I’ve uploaded the .pngs which the artists can experiment with, swap out, etc., including reverse image and hollowed out versions.

Font-wise, surprise me! Experiment. Sarifs, calligraphy, etc., but think about something that looks etched, chiseled, or burned into the cover or drawn with a quill in order to keep the ancient feel flowing on all fronts.

ADDENDUM:

Some general design notes:

1.) TITLING. In seeing the cover in my mind's eye and knowing the book's content, theme, and style, I’m partial to ALL-CAPS MAIN TITLING, but I like to see a larger first letter in each word followed by smaller cap letters in the rest of the word. Make sense? It's just something that in this work's title, I feel, helps convey a clearer, crisper image and design that I'm looking for.

When it comes to the SUBTITLE, I'm flexible here. I don't mind the use of lower case letters in the rest of the word. The variation, in fact, makes for a nice contrasts with the main title at times, and helps balance the overall cover look, I think.

The main thing is READABILITY of all of the text. I want to be absolutely sure that, whether someone's looking at the image on their laptop, phone, or wherever, those words "POP!" There is no question what something says. So, please keep this in mind as you work, tinker, and toggle. Think about the different mediums people will use to engage this material and make sure EVERYONE can read things -- no matter what they're using.

2.) COLORING, TEXTURIZING, ETC. I love rich coloring & texture, the kind that makes a viewer feel like he/she can run fingers over the details, feel the accents, depth, beveling, etc., and even smell the leather or cloth! The style of my writing is for readers to not just receive information, but have an experience, an encounter, an adventure, a process of discovery in new things and of themselves. So, I look for designs that make the work come to life and feel very 4-D, four-dimensional -- three-dimensional in look and depth, but virtually "touchable" and "smell-able" (4-D) in the final product.

3.) WILD CARDS. I realize that we always start with a write-up or scope to give us a general direction and feel for the work. With that said, this is my first published book. It's material is also historic and martial (war-oriented) in nature, and its content is very academic -- running the gamut of ancient warrior cultures (Samurai, Spartan, Viking, Knight, Gladiator, & Legionary); original biblical language (Hebrew, Greek, & Aramaic) and history; and, finally, testimonies of how these lessons played out in my personal life over the years -- my spiritual walk, marriage, fathering, pastoring, and so on.

Though I’ve set some basic design parameters, I do not mind "wild cards." I'm an artist myself. So, I understand INSPIRATION, and that burning desire to create a picture you see in your own mind; to scratch that "itch" to try something different, venture off the beaten path; and, just take the "training wheels" off and go for it. Do NOT be afraid then to try something completely different -- please! The worst that can happen is that we don’t like it, and say, “Let’s try something else."

In addition to your submissions match the initial parameters, please toss out a design or two that allows you to run free, providing you use these three thematic elements in your pallet:

A.) Christian spiritual warfare (remember: this is the subject of the work)

B.) The six warrior cultures (find ways to work imagery which depicts these in your design, whether it comes from stock images of these ancient warriors or more iconic touches like different helmets, weaponry, or shields. These differed drastically from culture to culture at times. So, there's a lot of room to play in just this area.

C.) The concept of "unlocking ancient wisdom"

Okay? There you go, artists! Now, work your magic, and thanks for taking the time to read and chew on this. God bless you!

Additional budget for stock imagery: $29-$49