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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 31, 2018 17:04:34 GMT
Anyone want to talk about cover creation? It's something you have to do for every book you publish and there are several steps involved, even if you outsource.
1. You have to choose a stock image/stock images. There are lots of sites you can get these images from, either for free or money. And if after perusing the hundreds of photo sites out there (for purchase or public domain) you still can't find one that satisfies you, either by look or because you don't feel comfortable that you really have the full rights to use it, then you can hire a model, make up your own release for them to sign, and do or hire a professional photo shoot, yourself. If there aren't going to be any people on your cover, it's a lot easier to just take your own pictures, or use ones you have already taken. I have a big folder in my published works folder called "pics I have the rights to" and most of those are images I've taken myself.
One big question I always wrestle with when choosing my stock images is do I go for accuracy, try to find a model that resembles my characters as much as possible, or do I just try and find one that looks good?
2. Once you have your stock images or have decided to use pics you have taken yourself, you can either make the cover yourself using photoshop or gimp or like me, paint, cos it's the only photo editing software I know. There are tons of video tutorials out there to help with learning these programs, especially for photoshop and gimp. I used to have a book I bought on amazon that told you how to make covers with paint.net, but I lost the book somehow.
3. If you don't want to mess with making a cover yourself, either cos you're not artistically inclined or you don't have time, then you can try going to cover artist's sites and look for pre-made templates. These are really nice covers that have already been made. You just simply purchase and then tell the artist what your title and author name will be, and they add it to the template. Sometimes your template may be used by other writers, or it may be unique to you.
I'm unsure when choosing this option if you also have your choice of fonts for the cover, or if this choice is already made when the template was made. Either way, it can be a really good deal. You can get some simple, but nice ones for as low as $40 sometimes.
4. If you don't find a template you like, you can pay a cover artist to make a fresh cover, from scratch for you. It's usually best if you provide the images since you know you have the rights to them (provided you've done the research), but if you do let the artist choose the images, make sure you ask where they got them and for a copy/link to the rights release for each one. You want to save a copy of this in case your rights are ever questioned. If a cover artist refuses or waffles on this request, use somebody else.
5. If you really like the look of illustrated covers, like the adorable cozy mystery covers that the trad publishers put out, you can either illustrate it yourself, if you know how, or have it custom illustrated by an artist. This is probably a lot more expensive than having a cover put together from stock images, but I imagine it can be worth it. Another option to custom illustration is to have one rendered with vector art like the ones you can get from Daz-3D. Those covers look really cute and even photo-realistic.
I have a friend who is a whiz with this program and I've seen some of the covers she's done. They're amazing! So if you can learn this, and have a powerful enough computer to run it, or know an artist who does, that's another terrific option. You still have to purchase the vector images, so it's not super different than stock images.
6. Another thing to consider when creating covers is the font you use. I really don't pay attention to fonts, but I know there are thousands out there, and for all I know, the font you use can make or break your cover. I have heard that different font types can signal different genres, and making sure your cover shouts, "this book is this genre" is super important. You don't want your readers having to guess what kind of story you have written. Or worse, passing it by because they assume it's something that it isn't.
Just like with stock images, there are free ones and ones you can buy. And also like stock images, fonts can be copywritten/trademarked, so you can't just use any ones you find willy-nilly.
7. You have to decide on a great title to put on your cover and decide whether you need a sub-title or series title, as well. Picking your titles first before you make the cover is good because if you have a really long title, you'll want to consider where the title is going to go when picking stock images/pre-mades. I've found that titles stand out best on a white background, so if you can get pics with white backgrounds or add one to your cover, it might look best. Really dark photo backgrounds can make the title hard to read.
After you've made the pic, make sure to squish it down to a thumbnail to make sure the title/author is still readable, and that you can still tell what the pic is supposed to be, and what genre the book is in.
What other cover creation tips can you add? Or what other questions about cover creation do you have?
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Post by corabuhlert on Sept 2, 2018 2:17:07 GMT
I design all of my own covers. Originally, I used only photos I took myself, but now I also use stock art, especially since I work in genres where illustrated covers are still the norm. Not to mention that spaceships, alien landscapes, etc... are very difficult to represent by anything you can photograph.
I usually start by brainstorming what I want the cover to look like. Sometimes, I browse for other works for inspiration. This can be other book covers, both indie and trad pub, but also magazine covers. movie posters, advertising, etc... I have a couple of retro series, so I try to create covers appropriate for the period. And so the covers for my Silencer series are inspired by 1930s pulp magazine covers, the covers for the The Day the Saucers Came series are inspired by 1950s B-Movie posters and the covers for the Two-Fisted Todd Adventures are inspired by 1970s men's adventure paperbacks.
Once I have a rough concept, I start looking for images and fonts. I usually make a mock-up with a watermarked test image first before I shell out for a stock image I might not be able to use after all. Once everything looks good to me, I create the final version.
When I find a stock artist whose work I like, I bookmark them, so I can easily find them again.
Another tip I have is to always write down the names of the fonts you use for series as well as for standalones which might become series, so you can always quickly look up which fonts goes with which series.
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DD
Full Member
Posts: 180
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Post by DD on Sept 2, 2018 16:00:21 GMT
Another tip I have is to always write down the names of the fonts you use for series as well as for standalones which might become series, so you can always quickly look up which fonts goes with which series.
Great tip; I'm hopeless when it comes to recognizing fonts, but somehow, it never occurred to me to keep a list of covers and write down all the fonts and what I used them for. Doh! |
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qirky
New Member
Posts: 32 
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Post by qirky on Sept 2, 2018 20:38:12 GMT
I hire for novels. I make my own for short stories. Canva is currently the easiest tool. It's entirely free if you don't use any of the paid options. But of course, one still needs to license a stock photo from somewhere legitimate. (I haven't even tried the paid options on Canva because I find the free ones work quite well, but it might vary for others.) In the past I've played around with other free programs, but this is the one I like best.
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downtown
Smut Slingers
Smutslinger
The less better half of a two person publishing team
Posts: 57
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Post by downtown on Sept 5, 2018 22:19:57 GMT
I hire for novels. I make my own for short stories. Canva is currently the easiest tool. It's entirely free if you don't use any of the paid options. But of course, one still needs to license a stock photo from somewhere legitimate. (I haven't even tried the paid options on Canva because I find the free ones work quite well, but it might vary for others.) In the past I've played around with other free programs, but this is the one I like best. Totally agree. Canva is the bomb. With very little skill you can make some really decent covers, and with a little extra skill (like basic Gimp or PS knowledge) you can create very professional covers in a lot of genres. re: paid Canva. I used the paid options for a while to get access to custom fonts and image sizes and transparent images. If you use it a lot I would suggest getting the trial and seeing if the convenience is worth it. |
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Post by dormouse on Sept 6, 2018 14:34:28 GMT
Another option to custom illustration is to have one rendered with vector art like the ones you can get from Daz-3D. Those covers look really cute and even photo-realistic. I have a friend who is a whiz with this program and I've seen some of the covers she's done. They're amazing! So if you can learn this, and have a powerful enough computer to run it, or know an artist who does, that's another terrific option. You still have to purchase the vector images, so it's not super different than stock images. Really good option. But the models, and the time taken to learn to use it properly, mean that it won't be a cheap option if you only use it for one cover. Some options are free, but your time shouldn't be - though it can be a fun thing to do for those so inclined. |
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Post by possiblyderanged on Sept 13, 2018 17:12:23 GMT
I do my own covers, first in GIMP and now in Photoshop. I try to find stock art that's indicative of the story, but it's hard to match exactly to a character or scene. You just do the best you can to convey genre and something of the story (don't have pretty roses for a zombie novel, for example).
It's hard to find good stuff that's free, so usually there's going to be a need for some sort of stock credits. Look around to find deals and which site might have the most of what you want. I've used Can Stock before, a 19 credit purchase for 9.99. Depending on what size image you need, you can get quite a few pictures from that.
The main thing to remember is to know your genre and what sorts of covers others are making. You want to do something similar, though not exact. Covers are to give readers a shorthand idea about the book. This is not the time to be "artistic", but rather to focus on the sales aspect of covers.
Speaking of fonts, it's a good idea to write down the one used for the author name, too. I've had to open files and check what I used so I can have it right on other covers. My one pen name especially I want to use a brand, so same font, and similar fonts across all titles. But, that's me, I'm a bit crazy.
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EllieL
Junior Member
Posts: 55
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Post by EllieL on Sept 13, 2018 18:52:56 GMT
I am completely illiterate with art programs. I can NOT wrap my head around the whole 'using layers' thing, so I found a program that works for me. It's old--Microsoft Digital Image Pro 9, but it is SO easy to create those layers without even realizing you're doing it. If I use the program to create my text, then finding those fonts again is easy, but if I use a different program for fonts then as my learned colleague possiblyderanged says, it's important to remember what font you've got. I've learned to save my images with the font name as part of the image. There are times though, that no matter what I try, I can't get the cover I want to look the way I want it. That's when I turn to a real artsy fartsy professional. |
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Post by possiblyderanged on Sept 14, 2018 13:00:12 GMT
That's a cool idea. That way you can pull it up and see what the font is. I've made cheat sheets of a sort, but they get cumbersome and I end up ignoring them.
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Nov 8, 2018 7:09:39 GMT
So there is paint
paint 3D
Gimp
Canva
Pic Monkey
Photoshop
Chaseys Draw
Microsoft Digital Image Pro 9
Are there any other good photo editors out there that you have used?
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cate
New Member
Posts: 20
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Post by cate on Nov 8, 2018 14:50:56 GMT
I use Photoshop Elements, have for years. I had one of the first versions for photo correction, so I already knew the basics. I got an amazing deal on the software when I upgraded my desktop, so I own it. There are loads of tutorials for everything you might want to do. It's not as robust as Photoshop, but I've found workarounds for the few things I can't do. I do my own covers for my cozy mystery series, and will be taking time in December to hone my skills so I can do the covers for my upcoming fairy tale series.
The biggest game changer on this software is learning about layers. They look sooooo confusing, but a good, step by step tutorial will really make it click. The best part about working with layers is that you are only working on a small portion at a time, so if you make a mistake, you can delete that layer and start over without scrapping the entire cover.
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Post by polydactylcat on Nov 8, 2018 21:42:44 GMT
Are there any other good photo editors out there that you have used? Affinity Photo and Affinty Designer are both excellent and cheap. Under $50 each, and you only really need one or the other. I use Designer since it handles vector images like Adobe Illustrator does. |
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Post by writeway on Nov 9, 2018 5:06:47 GMT
I do my own covers. I love it because I can design covers to fit the story without someone's input I don't agree with. Also, many times I do a cover before writing the book and it really helps me dive into the project. I don't know. Something about seeing a cover inspires me to jump into the story.
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Post by possiblyderanged on Nov 10, 2018 22:42:42 GMT
Paint.net is free and a lot like Photoshop. I'm not sure how much use there is in just Paint, in the Microsoft package?
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Nov 11, 2018 5:52:08 GMT
Paint.net is free and a lot like Photoshop. I'm not sure how much use there is in just Paint, in the Microsoft package? I don't think paint.net exists anymore, sadly. Whenever I search for it I get taken to Gimp. I've heard you can do pretty much everything you can do in photoshop with Gimp it just takes longer. Paint has very few features, but that's what I like about it.  I know how to open my pic, resize the pixels, paint the pic a color, and write words on it. Ideally I'd like to be able to do things like remove text and rewrite it, change people's clothing, etc. And I'd like to be able to change the ppi to make it paperback quality. Even though I've given up on paperbacks.  But all those things require a much more complicated program and whenever I try using one of those I only last a couple of minutes before I'm scurrying back to old Faithful. |
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cate
New Member
Posts: 20
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Post by cate on Nov 11, 2018 17:49:10 GMT
Google easy tutorial on layers in Photoshop. Everything you want to do is done with layers - and it is easier than you think, once you get the concept down. I was terrified of layers, but now that I know how they work, they have opened up a world of cover fun.  Be warned - it will also open up a world of highly addicting tutorials. |
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I know how to open my pic, resize the pixels, paint the pic a color, and write words on it. 
But all those things require a much more complicated program and whenever I try using one of those I only last a couple of minutes before I'm scurrying back to old Faithful. 
