Are these thumbnails "readable"?

TessaW

Hi guys. I'm doing an art trade right now. My thought was to do a bunch of rough thumbnails for idea generation. Next, I'd have them pick one, and then I'd make more developed thumbnails and sketches based on what they choose.

I'm wondering if these thumbnails, with their descriptions to help, are readable to anyone else but me? Should I make them a little more legible at this point?

I've also heard that giving people too many options isn't necessarily a good thing, and people end up happier if they have a limited number of options to start with. Should I cut out some of these thumbnails, so there's less of a choice?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Chip Valecek

@TessaW I think for the most part they are readable. The hardest reads are the ghost and pet in the library and the spirit hanging out by the waterfall. I think the strongest or the one I am most pulled to is the spirit animal that comes out of the book.

As far as limit the number to show, I guess it depends on who you are showing. If it was me I would like to see them all. If it was someone that has no idea I would limit to drive them in the right direction.

TessaW

Thanks @Chip-Valecek for the feedback! I'll work on the legibility of those 2 thumbnails, or maybe just cut them out completely.

If found the thumbnails to be easy to read. In theory, you don't want to spend too much time on them. As far as the number to show, I tend to think less is more. 3-4 options. My humble opinion. I like the concepts.

TessaW

@Tom-Shannon Thank you! I ended up sending them all- since it's to another artist- and we hadn't established a very clear brief- but yeah I think in general sending less would be more appropriate.

I ended up clarifying the river ghost and replaced the ghost/pet in the library with a different concept all together. He seemed to be happy with them and narrowed down a couple favorites. Yay!