Avoiding createspace book cover size issues blue paper. You can adjust your color palette to reflect the genre or create an emotional impact, and you can even put a filter on your background image if you need a unique effect. You will need a template for the inside pages of the book, and a template for the outside cover of your book. For hardbound books, printable book covers are removable. Set up and design book covers in gimp using layer masks and blend modes to create interesting effects. How to make a book cover with gimp, i rushed through the process skipping over two very. Gimp is the open source program from sourceforge team that can be used to create stunning ebook covers. Please refer to the spine chart at the top of this page to correctly design your book.
Createspace provided a template based on the size of my book. This writeup explains the steps to be followed to create covers for your ebooks. How to create a free print book cover for kdp freedom to. This will resize your pages and change your page count. Book covers may sometimes contain textures either debossed or embossed for added effect. You can use this overlay to develop a cover that will fulfill the guidelines for amazons kdp print books and as. Then, im going to show you how to use the createspace cover template with gimp. Save your 3d image as a jpg, or transparent png if you want to change the background. If thats not enough, you can take a break and travel to somewhere peaceful.
Well start with the process of downloading gimp and finish. See, as soon as bob hammond heard about it, he immediately demanded that i make him one. Once youve located the xcf file, open it up and you should see the front cover. Download this free psd file about book cover template, and discover more than 7 million professional graphic resources on freepik. This is perfect for selfpublishing authors including business owners creating ebooks or for publishers. In this tutorial we walk you through how to design a book cover in gimp, using one our diy templates. Youll learn how to edit your photo, create a shape with a picture overlay, add a line nova using a filter, add a flare, and use the new live edit gradient.
Tutorials cover the gamut of design topics, from web design and photographic techniques to advertising and interface design. My novels, shaper of stone and shaper of air, both used this template for the cover design. An eyecatching design can make the difference between a book that sells and one that stalls, so dont let your future bestseller get passed over due to a soso cover design. Check out the video above for a demo and download your template instantly at the following link. How to use your template open the pdf or png file for the paperback book cover template in your image editing software. Well click on through and well show you how to do it its so easy youll facepalm. Once you find the correct folder, the file is going to be something that says at the very end of it, front. Drag the corners of the book cover image to match the four corners of the 3d book template. Createspace also has a cover template file generator, that produces. Free book cover templates for indie publishers, selfpublish authors who are just starting out or on a limited budget or dont have the skills or time to design their book covers. However, if you didnt create a solid book cover, youll go to gimp and use the color picker tool to obtain the background color for your spine by clicking on the back cover background. This is a great tutorial for selfpublishers and authors. Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, gimp provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done.
I have seen many online ebook sellers who market their ebooks without a cover image, but most professionals these days use 3d image even if its a free ebook. For your convenience, ive put the comics templates up in two formats. Click the image or headline for each mockup to be taken to the tutorial and download page. Note that this is a fairly advanced class so you should be familiar with the gimp. Free psd book cover design templates book cover mall. Excellent course with detailed explanations on how to use gimp to create fabulous book covers. It requires an isbn because it generates a bar code for you. Using a size template in gimp for paperback cover creation. Before sending your book to print, you will need to layout the book. In the page setup section of the layout tab, click size.
Weve spent years charging hundreds of dollars for book covers but we have decided to take all our teams talent and give it to you for free. Make a book cover spine with gimp selfpublishing with dale. Do you want to know how to make a book cover with gimp in less than 5 minutes. This pack contains 500 book cover templates in psd format to work with in adobe photoshop, fully editable, fully scalable, fully customizable templates you can tailor to your specific needs. Are you looking to create an attention grabbing book cover without breaking. Here are some that you can follow along with and use as templates for your own designs. Create a travel itinerary to visit an area that will spark something in you.
If you instead use adobe photoshop, you will find the operations similar, but the details will be different from what i describe here. Download the specific cover template needed, as seen below. At diggypod, we offer free book templates for the author wanting to publish a book. This page is designed to make the process easier for you, by providing some free online tools for comic creators.
The image doesnt darken as much in print and i dont get an extra layer warning from createspace. The artists guide to gimp effects is the followup text to the first book ever published on gimp, the artists guide to the gimp. Browse through hundreds of layouts and pick from the most popular book genres such as romance, thrillers, biography, travel and nonfiction. Yes, the cover is the first thing that people notice about your book and you have to paint a really intriguing picture with it captivating enough to pull the passers by to its synopsis. The video is a little poor in quality because this is not my usual video production. I know its been a while since i promised to show yall how to use gimp to make a cover for a box set, but i have an excuse.
One of the first things that struck me, while browsing book covers online, was. Contrary to the popular saying, a book is actually judged by its cover. Top 5 free book cover makersdont break the bank, create your. Well minimize the back cover here in gimp, and select the front cover design. Make sure it sells out by creating an awesome cover design. Weve received so many template requests, it seems our gimpers are dying to get the skinny on how to use em. How to make a book cover spine with gimp createspace posted on august 10, 2017 august 10, 2017 by dale in my video createspace cover template. To see the hex color code, youll need to go to windows at the top, click on dockable dialogs, and select colors. With this template youll be able to superimpose your designs onto a t shirt, and in any color youd like. All paper print items require a bleed of 18 approx 3mm unless noted. Although the name itself is selfexplanatory, a book cover is the first covering of a book.
Free book template microsoft word book templates diggypod. Even though weve all been told since childhood to never judge a book by its cover, the fact is that book cover design does attract readers. Y our cover is the window to the soul of your book. Hand written literary work on pages of open book with feather and inkwell realistic. Cover templates are basically the same size as your book with. In this gimp for beginners class, youll learn how to use the gnu image manipulation program gimp to create a 3d book cover. Creating your createspace paperback cover using gimp this page describes how to create the cover for a book you will distribute through createspace, using the image editor gimp. File save, save the image to your computer as a png file with an appropriate name for example. I started gimp and dropped the template into the empty window. How to make a book cover with gimp, i rushed through the process skipping over two very important steps in. Design book cover for free with online templates adobe spark. I then made the cover, which was another insanely involved process that im not doing a walkthrough for.
That lets me know that this copy has everything for a full book cover design. Book cover templates for several different genres of literature such as novels, historical, scifi, medical, sports, marketing, economics, science, culinary arts, tourism, and everything else in between. Open the pdf or png file for the paperback book cover template in your image editing software. Below you will find our free microsoft word book templates for the inside pages. Gimp is a crossplatform image editor available for gnulinux, os x, windows and more operating systems. My printer has an online application that will generate a cover template based on book size and number of pages. Gimp can now save as pdf, but i like doing it this way better. Createspace requires that cover art be submitted in pdf format, and be a bookspecific size. Elegant botanical background with pink and green leaves. If youre using gimp for mac, simply substitute the ctrl key for. Always leave a safety margin of 18 from the edge of the paper to important text or visuals otherwise there is a risk of it getting cut off. However, with canvas design templates at your disposal, you can easily come up with a beautiful book cover of your own without having to hire a designer.
Design your cover in the design layer, using the template pdf or png file as the guide layer. To get started, youll want to first install gimp on your computer. This page describes how to create the cover for a book you will distribute. Free tools for comic book artists comics for beginners. Enter your books trim size, including bleed, into the width and height fields. Draw inspiration for your book cover through the art around you. It is free software, you can change its source code and distribute your changes.
Artwork for print must be a resolution of at least 300 pixels per inch. Work out the specifications for a paperback book cover or generate one in createspace, and then design your cover in canva with a little image manipulating in gimp. This video discusses how to make a book cover in gimp. Change the dialogue box to read inches rather than pixels. Creating your createspace paperback cover using gimp blue. Canvas free book cover maker is ridiculously easy to use even for the novice or notsotechsavvy writer.
Youll learn how to create a book cover design from start to finish, understanding the best settings for print vs. Canvas book cover maker makes designing book covers amazingly simple even for nondesigners. Learn how to design book covers for print or digital using the latest version of gimp. Design book covers with canvas free book cover maker. Open gimp by doubleclicking on the gimp icon on your desktop. Learn how to use the cover template for kdp print with gimp here. Free psd book cover templates free book cover templates.
Take as much time as you need to ensure your artwork is spoton and explore your world of options. Please browse and upload the jpg or png file for your book cover design. In addition to the free templates, youll learn how to create your own custom graphics, logo, flyers, brochures and more. When prompted if you want to save the update, click yes.
Ill be using the book cover i created in my 2d book cover class in this demonstration. How to create an album cover in gimp davies media design. How to create an album cover in gimp 2018 in this gimp tutorial, i show you how to design an album cover using the latest version of gimp 2. Youve done the hard work and created an amazing book. Opening your book cover in gimp and setting up the workspace go to file, open to locate the book template you downloaded from our website. It doesnt really matter if you supply rgb or cmyk files. Free tools for comic book artists making comics is not just about learning how to draw, its about storytelling. The saying may be, never judge a book by its cover, but every author and book publisher will tell you that your book cover is a key aspect for the marketing of your book. Now you know the basics of how to use adobe spark to create your book cover. If you are a graphic designer who need free book cover templates this site is for you as well. Each of our book cover templates is printready complete with book spine, front and back cover. Once i finished the interior formatting, i knew how many pages were in the book. Creating your createspace paperback cover using gimp.