'The making' of a Book Cover Design [ Edited ]

[kevinlomas]

It does look good, but I am not at all sure about the expense of, and going to all the trouble of, actually making it up as real models and then scanning them! Few can afford such methods and once in print look 'flatish' anyway. If you wish to go down this path I would have thought that 3D software would be better.

http://freeartsoftware.com/

The results can be the same, but far cheaper to create. The effect is, when all said and done, created by where the light is coming from, thusly the shadows, plus perspective.

Nevertheless, 10 out of 10 for effort! It does look good. I would aim for the film or game industry though (if there is now much difference!) 

Opps, I forgot this >>>  http://www.raph.com/3dartists/artgallery/imagePage?iid=6750

And while I am at it, one of mine (but not using any form of '3D' at all.   http://www.kevinlomas.net./SF-ART-1.html

[puppiepoppy]

It's always good to (occasionally) going back to the old school ways of doing things. Not that it will be faster but the going through the process step by step is all the joy.

The only thing digital were the photographing the elements, using a high resolution digital Hasselblad camera. The final elements were digitally composite together using Adobe Photoshop.

For a book cover, there are many ways to execute the design and still getting a very good end result. Cheaper more affordable techniques or something elaborated like mine. The result will look different aesthetically but each design technique should be consider on a case by case basis, depending on the concept.

[curmudgeon]

I have tried the cover bit myself and hit a few problems I just don't have a lot of time to deal with. A buddy suggested a friend of his, a graphics designer in India and I contacted him by email,and the guy did amazing work for me. Truthfully, paying a couple of hundred dollars for a cover (especially for my ebooks on Kindle store), have really added to the image of my books with not a lot work on my part. I even get to chose the cover details and pay only when I'm getting the cover I actually want..
One thing the guy does that I like is actually read the story, so he knows what elements fit the story. T his might not be a bad way to do things for some of us.

[kevinlomas]

'Traditional' publishers often spend £1000s on cover design, also often using some very famous artists. But they then print in thousands and at times eventually a total of millions per book, so the initial cost is peanuts per book. Not so with how we do it here using Lulu. Each book is printed to order, and some actually sell none at all! So to spend even a few £100 on a cover (and on enhanced distrubution) can take a lot of getting back so is best avoided. Unless - you are able to do a lot of marketing (and know how to, and for free if possible) so sell a lot. I am fortunate in that I can do my own by uploading my own artwork to Lulu's Cover Wizard. All it costs me is time. Having said that, what is available for free use within that Wizard to help you to create covers from scratch can produce some reasonable results. One problem I find though, is I get a bit miffed if I buy a book with a good cover and discription only to find out the story is rubbish!  Covers do sell, but bad stories do not create further sales by the same writer ...

[Alise Franklin]

hello,
I'm at a lost regarding the cover design for my childrens book entilted "I'm Sorry Mommy.. I Thought It Was A Toy". It's about my 5yr old son Keonnu Franklin that accidently shot himself in the head with a gun that he found while we were visiting a relatives home in June 07. I started a foundation.. G~MOM (Grieving Mothers On a Mission Inc.) and I go to schools mentoring to students and parents about gun violence, and this book will be a learning tool for the kids. HELP!

[kevinlomas]

Ermm, there's times one does not know what to say ... but if I was you I would recreate your posting as your own thread.

[puppiepoppy]

Alise,

Do drop me an email (available at my website) with your details and see if I'm able to chip in and help out with your book.

[Alise Franklin]

Thanks for your response.. I'm new to the book lingo. What do you mean by, posting as my own thread?

[Alise Franklin]

Thank you! Since Oct. 2010 there has been 4 deaths involving children under the age of 8 that found guns in the home and killed their sibling or was killed by a sibling. Recently.. ANTIOCH, CA.. a little boy on his 2nd birthday was shot and killed by his 4yr old brother that found his mothers gun. THIS MESSAGE MUST GET OUT! THANK YOU ALL!! G~MOM.

[kevinlomas]

Alise. What I mean is that you start this as a new subject.

BTW. I hope that your book etc contains such topics as the banning of the ownership of guns by almost anyone. To be honest I am amazed the number of children killed by them is so low.