Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Hello, Everyone

I want to start creating my own E-covers. So, for those of you who design and create your own, what do you use?

Thank-you!

There are two aspects one must consider: the book cover concept and the tools to render it.

Designing a covers begins by giving it a theme inspired by the main content of your book. Use the five first words related to it that come to your mind to help you with the visual content and the main colors. Then consider organizing the background with the visuals you either create or find on the internet free of rights, keeping some for the foreground. Harmonize the title and author name with these visual elements and place them on the foreground.

As for the tools, Kindle offers some help (https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A...). I used Photoshop and InDesign. Always keep in mind that the cover should at least have a 300 DPI.

Hope this gives you a first idea.

THis is the cover I created for the e-book version of my novel:

I use GIMP, a free photoshopping tool. It's a bit difficult to navigate, but it does the job quite well, and once you figure it out it's not so bad. There are lots of online tutorials that will tell you just about everything you need to know.

after that, pick up a few good quality stock photos from places like dreamstime or unsplash. Look at other covers in the same genre you are writing in to see what's most popular. After that, just fiddle around until you manage to create something you like. The cover of my story, Shadowsong, is actually the very first bit of photoshopping I ever did. You can check it out here:

I use Coreldraw

Hi Steven,

I use Sketchbook pro and CANVA to both draw and create my covers attached are two from my latest novels.
Jamie Pond has already been released and Tina will follow shortly.
Amazon link for Jamie Pond - https://goo.gl/aAiGtG
Jamie Pond front cover link - https://goo.gl/VRzbnu
Tina front cover link - https://goo.gl/hVYZk6
I'm available to illustrate covers, and inside content.
Jamie Pond in Rise of the Heron

David

Amazon's cover creator

Jane Jago wrote: "Amazon's cover creator"

Thanks for the reminder; they have royalty-free images and fonts, IIRC, so it doesn't matter if someone else uses the same image, but at least you won't worry about intellectual property.

I've been postponing putting up a short story because I don't like the cover image someone used for me - and it takes a lot of work to find new ones. I'll just wander through theirs to see if there's something on Amazon I can use.

Thank-you, everyone. I looked at all of your covers, and they are quite impressive. I just hope I can do the same. I'll research them and see which I can work with.

Again, thank-you!

I used Canva and it was super easy. they have free stock photos too!

I just watched the tutorial on youtube. It looks very easy. Also, GIMP looks fun. It's just like my website design software, Sitespinner. I design my own website and can publish it online without having to pay a designer, especially when you have to make changes. And these programs work in very much the same way.

So, I was overwhelmed at first. But I can do this. Stay tuned...

It was mentioned here that this process takes a lot of time. Boy were you right! Trying to find the perfect pictures and colors and fonts--no wonder professional designers charge a lot!

Use free clip art sites.

Goto my blog -- click either the EXTERNAL LINKS article or the CONTRIBUTORS LINK. Or goto Google, type in their search box the words FREE CLIP ART.

NAMASTE

C. E. Gee AKA Chuck

http://www.kinzuakid.blogspot.com

Groovy wrote: "It was mentioned here that this process takes a lot of time. Boy were you right! Trying to find the perfect pictures and colors and fonts--no wonder professional designers charge a lot!"

I gave up a long time ago. It's not only the artwork (even if you go with clip art), it's composition, color matching, lighting, and a host of other things. The most important thing is what a friend of mine calls, "the eye"; a "feeling" for what "works". A good artist has all of these things. I don't.

I've described what I want to my cover artist (Duncan Long for my last one and my current work in progress), only to have him come back with something entirely different -- and a hell of a lot better.

For instance, I wanted a heroic image of my main character, Eric Stewart, reaching for the stars on Last Train from Earth. Perhaps with his blonde bombshell wife at his side. Instead, he sent this for my consideration. WOW!

Making your own covers can be time consuming and frustrating. I've been a designer and book cover designer for years, and can help advise or even produce covers for you. I've got a few book covers up here:
http://andrewgraphics.deviantart.com/...
And more design examples on my site:
Http://www.andrewgraphics.com

Even Closer Than the Sea and Other Stories: Strange Tales of Mystery, Horror and Science Fiction

I did my own cover on Photoshop (which you can see in the link above). I'm sure it's not the most commercially viable cover, but it captured the artistic vibe that I wanted for my collection of stories. I'm not a Photoshop expert, but when you want to do something with it, you can just google the specific steps. Also, there are a number of sites for public domain photos that you can freely use without copyright violation, such as NASA or many of the Library of Congress photos.

I have an old version of Paint Shop Pro. I use the airbrush tool to draw scenery. And I found a free to use font on a site called 1001 fonts. They have a lot of royalty free ones there

You all are so helpful. I'm learning more than I ever thought I would. Really, all of your covers are very good. And that inspires me to hang in there. I know I can do this:)

Not ready to throw in the towel yet, Andrew. But I'll keep you in mind:)