Picking up from last week:

And again, the basic design elements

• The bench background. (Unlimited usage on DeviantArt.com; Permission needed off-site)
• Floral filigree. (Free to use if credit provided)
• Necklace inspiration. (Used only for inspiration, as the final necklace was drawn in)
• Stripe generator. (Generate the stripe texture)
• Proxima Nova font. (Feel free to sub with Collaborate – Thin, font)
• Gotham font. (Feel free to sub with Century Gothic font, standard on most operating systems)

Part III: Step-By-Step Tutorial for the Unmoving Book Cover

Open the Necklace inspiration image in a new browser tab to use as shape inspiration. You don’t need to pull it into photoshop, just have it easily accessible to reference. In a new layer, above all the background/bench style layers, zoom in and draw with the brush tool (“B” on your keyboard to bring it up). It doesn’t matter what color you use to start, but remember to keep the brush sharp:

Before I show how it looks on my screen, we’ll have to add some layer FX to the necklace base. Remember the button? Make sure you have the text layer selected, and from the layer toolbar at the bottom of your layer window, click the FX icon and select “Drop Shadow”:

We’ll start with Drop Down, but we’ll be adding a couple different effects in one swoop. This’ll open the effects window, where you can change the Distance to “3″, Spread to “0″, Size to “38″ and Angle to “150″:

Then, from the left-hand column, click “Outer Glow” (as you see from the above screen shot). You’ll change these options to Blend Mode of “Hard Light”, Opacity of “100%”, Spread to “29%”, Size to “90px”, Range to “50%” and Color to “#c0c9cc” :

Then hit OK. And, while still selecting that layer, set it to Multiply, Opacity “48%” and Fill “0%”:

It should look something like this (zoomed in):

Duplicate the layer by either clicking CTRL/command + J or right-clicking the layer and selecting Duplicate Layer:

With your new layer, open up the FX window again from the Drop Down option. You’ll notice the previous FXs have been already applied to this duplicate layer:

Drop Shadow and Outer Glow but we’ll be adding a Gradient Overlay, so select that option from the left side bar. Set Blend Mode to “Mulitply”, Opacity to “100%”, Style to “Linear”, and Angle to “90”:

The gradient colors themselves look like this:

From left to right the color are “#262626”, “#575757”, “#8a8a8a” and “#262626”. Hit OK and OK, then look back at your layer. Make sure you change your layer Opacity to “87%” and you should see something like this:

In a new layer below the necklace, using a soft edged brush, with a black color (#000000), add a slight drop shadow to the bottom edge of the necklace:

I want to apologize for this next step, which I forgot to document from the get go: the gem  image and coloring. For this step, you can either play around and come up with your own gem, or use the following image (taken directly from my design file) and add it as a new layer below your necklace, but above the drop shadow layer:

With the gem in place, you should have something that looks like this:

Zooming back out, the last thing we need to add is the chain. Zooming out allows you to better see how it’ll fall off of the bench in relation to the design. This step was as simple as using the brush tool with a hard brush to draw out a chain:

To add a little bit of realism, we’ll add a Gradient Overlay to the layer, so open the FX and select Gradient Overlay:

Set your options to Blend Mode at “Normal”, Opacity at “100%”, Style to “Linear” and Angle to “90%”:

With the gradient colors from left to right at “#262626”, “#575757”, “#000000” and “#262626”.

Hit OK and OK for one final time, and you’re done! Bask in your new cover, and the new techniques, tips and tricks you’ve learned! There you have it (again) the final cover!

Thank you for participating and following our Book Cover Art Series!  REUTS would love to showcase the work you come up with based on our series, so email them to , and we’ll display them right here, on our blog! Happy designing, reading and writing!

Stay tuned for the next design-based series, by yours truly

The post Book Cover Art Chapter 7: UNMOVING Tutorial Finale appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

And again, the basic design elements

• The bench background. (Unlimited usage on DeviantArt.com; Permission needed off-site)
• Floral filigree. (Free to use if credit provided)
• Necklace inspiration. (Used only for inspiration, as the final necklace was drawn in)
• Stripe generator. (Generate the stripe texture)
• Proxima Nova font. (Feel free to sub with Collaborate – Thin, font)
• Gotham font. (Feel free to sub with Century Gothic font, standard on most operating systems)

Part II: Step-By-Step Tutorial for the Unmoving Book Cover

Bring in the filigree

To start, we’re going to jump right in to the floral filigree steps, which is– by far– the more difficult part. Bring the floral filigree in to your photoshop document by your preferred method (c+p, drag/drop, etc…), into a new layer above the work we’ve already done. You’ll want to Transform (CTRL/Command +T) and rotate the image -5.77 degrees to the left, to get it in a similar location as the final for unmoving. Of course, you can omit this step.

Set the layer to Lighten and you’ll see a very gray silhouette of the filigree:

To get that gold color, we need to mess with the image Hue & Saturation by going to Image > Adjustment > Hue and Saturation: 

Click the Colorize option, and then then this is where a lot of playing around, and guess/check comes into play. If you select Preview you can see your progress before committing to anything. I set Hue to “45”, Saturation to “24” and Lightness to “+15”.

It’ll give you that gold color on only the filigree element.

But the filigree in the sky too light for our liking, so duplicate the layer by either clicking CTRL/command + J or right-clicking the layer and selecting Duplicate Layer:

Set this layer to “49%” Opacity:

There, that’s a little better! But now we have all that crap over the fence that we definitely don’t need. Here’s another section that’s guess-and-check worthy as well. Take those two filigree layers and put them in a group of their own by highlighting them both and hitting CNTRL/Command + G or right-clicking and clicking the folder icon at the bottom of your layer window:

Your two filigree layers should now be in their own group, easy to edit at the same time, which is what we’re about to do! Using that same icon bar above, when selecting the group folder as a whole, hit the icon with the circle in the square to create a mask.

This adds a white box next to your group, which – in essence – allows us to erase any element within the group, without truly editing the image itself. That way, if we ever need to go back and make changes, we don’t lose the authenticity of the image:

(Disregard that mine says “Group 9”, yours likely will say “Group 1”)

Now, name sure you’re selecting the mask (it should have a the frame around the corners when selected as seen above), you can select the Eraser tool. You can hit “E” on your keyboard to pull it up, or find the eraser icon in your left toolbar:

From the color selection at the bottom of your toolbar, make sure the foreground color is set to white:

We’re moving all around your screen now. Looking at the top toolbar, you can select the brush size and shape to use. Make sure it’s set to a fuzzy circle, at any given size (mine is 300px):

Working back on your artboard, begin to “erase” the filigree overlapping the bench and surrounding area. You’ll notice your mask on the group layer begin to turn black where you’ve erased:

I can’t say exactly how I erased, but you can see my mask on the guide layer as a general idea. The lighter grays were created by changing the opacity of my eraser while erasing, so I wasn’t deleting as much. And there you have it! The filigree has been added to your design.

Typesetting title, author name, and tagline

We’re now jumping to the easiest part of the design. You’ll see that’s italicized, because although I consider it now the easiest part of the design, Kisa and I still went through multiple different combinations and options before settling on the final. Let’s start with the tagline…

The fonts used were “Gotham – Light” and “Gotham – Bold”, for the unbolded and bolded words, respectively, at a font size of 9pt. Here’s where you can sub for Century Gothic (a common computer font). All you really have to do here is type out

“Everyone has a limited supply of good karma. What happens when it’s gone?”

And break the line between the sentences. Center this nicely in the sky, and you’re all set with the tagline:

Next, the title. The title is “Proxima Nova Alt Condensed – Light” at font size “64pt”. Here’s where you can sub “Collaborate – Thin“. Type out “Unmoving” in all UPPERCASE. The font color doesn’t matter at this point. Set it evenly between the tagline and the top of the bench:

Back in your layers window, change the fill to “0%”

You’ll notice the font has disappeared, but that’s okay! That’s what we want. Make sure you have the text layer selected, and from the layer toolbar at the bottom of your layer window, click the FX icon and select “Drop Shadow”:

This’ll open the effects window, where you can change the Distance to “5”, Spread to “89”, Size to “1” and Angle to “150”:

 You’ll see back on your artboard a really cool shadowed text:

And, boom. The title The last piece of text, Kisa’s name. Her name is in the “Proxima Nova Alt Condensed – Light” font at size size “14pt”. Here’s another place where you can sub “Collaborate – Thin“. Type out “Kisa Whipkey” in all UPPERCASE, and place it right below the title, centered on the artboard.

Similar to the title, we’ll open the Drop Shadow Effects window, and set the Blend Mode to “Normal”, Opacity to “75”, Angle at “150”, Distance to “1”, Spread to “0” and Size to “1”:

After hitting “OK”, all the text in the design is complete!

Last, but certainly not least, next week we’ll address the necklace sitting on the bench, and finish off the Book Cover Art Series! I hope you’ve enjoyed (and found useful) this step-by-step tutorial. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. That’s what I’m here for!

The post Book Cover Art Chapter 6: UNMOVING tutorial continued appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

There it is! This final cover has a nice mix of both original mock-up elements. The black and white simplicity from the first version, and the filigree/zoomed out bench from the second version.

Let us know what you think in the comments, or on Twitter @REUTSpub.

Requesting Usage Permission

Depending on where you collect your stock, you may or may not need to request permission to use the images. If your stock comes from a stock website library (e.g. IStockPhoto or Veer), you simply have to purchase the image for usage rights– just make sure you purchase the image large enough, with a high enough resolution depending on your needs.

If you prefer to go the route REUTS takes, which prefers to support smaller photographers, and interact with them directly, you always have to request permission, unless otherwise stated. When reaching out to an artist regarding permission to use their image, you should give a little background on you, and how the image is going to be used:

“I’m the Creative Director for an indie publishing company, (LINK), and interested in using your image (LINK) in one of our new publication’s cover art. We are planning on using it electronically and in print, with credit given inside the book pages.”

This is a good jump-off point because you’ve introduced yourself, and explain exactly what your intentions are with their image. Since REUTS always provides credit to the artist (whether they require it or not), I make sure to include it in my initial message. Next, we typically move into what their request for compensation might be:

“If you’d be willing/interested, please let me know what form of compensation you’d need.”

This allows the artist to set their rates/requests, and opens up the conversation to negotiate. Always remember to show your appreciation within an email, not only for their hard work in creating stock, but for taking the time to answer your questions. Give the artist an opportunity to respond with questions of their own, and make sure you’re easily accessible if they need to contact you offsite (I always like to provide my email address).

You’ve now begun the conversation, and potential negotiations, and since each situation is different, we can’t provide a thorough walk-through passed the initial point of communication.

And, like I said, just to be safe, REUTS always includes credit within the printed or digital book with:

“Cover Art © YEAR ARTIST-NAME”

The Basic Design Elements

• The bench background. (Unlimited usage on DeviantArt.com; Permission needed off-site)
• Floral filigree. (Free to use if credit provided)
• Necklace inspiration. (Used only for inspiration, as the final necklace was drawn in)
• Stripe generator. (Generate the stripe texture)
• Proxima Nova font. (Feel free to sub with Collaborate – Thin, font)
• Gotham font. (Feel free to sub with Century Gothic font, standard on most operating systems)

Step-By-Step Tutorial for the Unmoving Book Cover

Create a new Photoshop document with the dimensions 5.5″ x 8.5″ with a resolution of 200:

^{You’ll notice this art board size does not have a built-in bleed. Because Kisa needed this cover primarily for online purposes, I figured when the time comes for this to be used as a print cover, I’d be able to easily adjust the image to fit the additional bleed. Given the nature of the background image, it won’t be hard to extend off the edge.}

Import Your Main Image

Drag and drop, or CTRL+C/CTRL+P the bench background image into your art board:

You’ve probably noticed by now that this raw image looks much different than the one in the final. That means we have some work to do…

Create a New Layer Adjustment – Hue/Saturation

From the top menu bar, navigate to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation…

From the window that opens (mine does so in the right sidebar above my “Layers” tab), set the “Saturation” option all the way to “-100,” which essentially turns your canvas black and white:

Then, in your “Layers” tab, set this new adjustment layer to “Soft Light”:

Your art board should now look like:

There isn’t much of a difference, but colors are more accentuated, and have almost a shine to them.

Create a New Layer Adjustment – Curves

Again, from the top menu bar, navigate to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves…

From the window that opens, create a new point, and set the Output as “128” and the Input as “153”:

Your art board should now just look a little bit darker:

Generate Some Stripes

Head over to the aforementioned Stripe Generator to create a free stripe texture. You have quite a few options here, feel free to play around with them for any future projects. This is intended for web design use (it’ll actually generate a seamless, tile-able image that you can assign to a website elements), but I’ve found it as a good resource for print design, too.

Change the options to:

Stripe size: 1
Spacing: 10
Stripe Color (s): Black (or #000000)

There’s a window to the left of these options that will refresh to show your new stripe based on these selected options:

Click the “Open Fullscreen Preview” link at the top, to fill your browser window with this striped texture, which you’ll screen grab and pull into your Photoshop art board:

(Of course make sure you scroll down so that “Click to Close” is not longer visible before you take your screen shot. The above is meant as to show what you’ll see)

When you pull it into your Photoshop file, feel free to scale and resize to fit the entire window, then set it to “Overlay” and Opacity “38”:

And you should see:

Create a New Layer Adjustment – Color Balance

Again, from the top menu bar, navigate to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance…

From the window that opens, create a new point, in the “Midtones” option set Cyan/Red to “+12” and Yellow/Blue to “+9”:

Change “Midtones” to “Shadows” and then set Cyan/Red to “-21” and Yellow/Blue to “-5”:

What Color Balance changes is the strength of certain colors within the image. You should now be seeing:

And, there you have it! The base to the Unmoving cover, and a good stopping point until next week’s post. Next week we’ll be adding the fonts and filigree. Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions regarding this process. Photoshop isn’t an over-night program to learn, and has a steep learning curve, but that’s why I’m here. Let me help you!

The post Book Cover Art Chapter 5: Cover Reveal & Tutorial appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Mock-Up #1

Feedback points from Kisa:

• Can the necklace be more prevalent, maybe with a chain interacting with the text?
• Add the filigree from mock-up #2 to mock-up #1, faintly in the corners
• Increase the title, and move it up more.

Overall, Kisa’s feedback was very positive regarding mock-up number one. I think there was even an “I love this!!!” somewhere in the email, which is great! But, it also makes it more difficult with the second mock-up. I made somewhat of a mistake sending Kisa this mock-up first, while working on the second. It allowed her to only focus on the design in front of her, develop a love (or hate) relationship with it, and then hold the second to a higher standard. I would recommend in the future sending all mock-ups at the same time, to give a fair comparison of both, and against one another. Fortunately for me, Kisa has an artistic background, and didn’t let the appeal of mock-up #1 get too much in the way of discussing mock-up #2

Back to the covers…

The contemporary, faint feel of this cover would stand on its own on a bookshelf, and captured many of the main elements of Unmoving, so overall she was pleased with the direction. I took her feedback and requests, and got to work. To the left is the original, to the right is the updated mock-up #1 (let’s call it mock-up #1.2):

 ^{Note: I began to play with the font, but didn’t complete this round of revisions. The same with the chain– since these are just rough mock-ups I didn’t take the time to shade/accentuate a 3D effect on the chain.}

Mock-Up #2

Feedback points from Kisa:

• Portland is very lush (constant rain) so the dirt below the bench feels out of place.
• Try something more along the lines of a gray pallet similar to the first mock-up.
• Apply the same styles but with an image we’ve referenced before, in Chapter 2.

As I expected after sending mock-up #1 first, mock-up #2 wasn’t received with as much excitement with the first already so loved to begin with. Kisa had a little more of a clear direction to take this design, which as always is helpful on my end. Overall, Kisa liked the styles of Mock-Up #2, but with Mock-Up #2.2 she wanted to try a new, lighter image.

Quite a different change, isn’t it? But you can still see how these two designs fall within the same vein: a more prominent bench, a fantastical overlay texture, movement bringing your eye around the design, etc… I’m actually much more pleased with round two of this mock-up, than the first– proof that a design continues to get better and better with collaboration, edits and multiple rounds of reviewing.

We’ll unveil between Mock-Up #1.2 and Mock-Up #2.2 what direction Kisa picks (and together we finalize) in next week’s post. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments below, or Tweet at us @REUTSpub. I have a favorite, and I have a feeling I know which one Kisa favors, but let us know what you would do, and which you’d pick if you were in her shoes. Maybe you can sway her opinion

Remember, next week we’ll get into the cover creation, meaning over the course of two or three posts I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of recreating this cover. You can practice and practice the techniques I’ve used, and maybe apply them to your own cover in the future. It’ll all begin with the Stock Permission Request mentioned way back when, and how to deal with copyrighted stock.

Have a fantastic rest of the week, everyone!

The post Book Cover Art Chapter 4: More Mocking appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Thankfully, I was able to request a little bit of Kisa’s aid before I restarted my designs. Browsing GoodReads.com, Kisa wrangled together a handful (or two) of already published cover art she felt (in one way or another) captured the Unmoving vibe. I don’t think these mock-ups would have come to be in time had it not been for her hasty help.

Last week I mentioned discussing how to go about acquiring permission to use stock from artists/photographers, however I’m going to hold off on that blog post until a Kisa has finalized a direction, and I know officially what images will be in use. Without any further ado, this week’s blog post:

Mock-Up #1

In addition to using Kisa’s cover inspiration, I happened to stumble upon my own which triggered a (small) bout of inspiration.

Teeth, by Hannah Moskowitz

The grayscale, the slight use of color, the simplicity. Given the stock photo collection Kisa and I gathered, maybe this is a direction I can attempt to pursue, I thought. I think a lot to myself. Sometimes I think it keeps me sane. This helped with my direction. I coupled the Teeth book cover with two Kisa provided as additional inspiration, below.

When the World was Flat, by Ingrid Jonach

 Thin Space, by Jody Casella

I knew upon seeing these two already published covers in addition to Teeth, I knew I could come up with something. And thus began mock-up number one–

A simple, grayscale park bench blurred in the background, with Karma’s necklace dangling off the page to the right (I’m a huge fan of making things extend off the page). Clean, crisp, and at this point I’m hoping Kisa likes something about it. As with any critique, honesty is the best policy. Never feel as if you’re hurting your designers feelings if your honest about not liking something.

^{(Please Note: Kisa’s feedback will be incorporated into next week’s post, as we  continue to refine a direction, or completely scrap both options. So each new iteration will be coupled with the feedback)}

Mock-Up #2

Hunger, by Jackie Morse Kessler

Shadows, by Robin McKinley

Which led me to the second mock-up:

More fantasy, more colors, more movement. More of a full bench is the focal point, along with the light orb texture to tie in the fantasy elements of Kisa’s story. The floral element (the only way I can describe the other overlaid texture) is meant to look blurred/in motion to add to the suspense/distress in the story.

^{(Please Note: Kisa’s feedback will be incorporated into next week’s post, as we  continue to refine a direction, or completely scrap both options. So each new iteration will be coupled with the feedback)}

So, there you have it: the two first initial mock-ups. They’ve been sent to Kisa, and will be modified based on her feedback. Who knows, if she hates them both, we’ll have to evolve one of the other ideas, now backstroking in my mind, into a cover design.

And keep in mind that once a direction is determined by Kisa, I’ll go through the step-by-step process I actually took to create the final cover.

What do you think? How did I translate Kisa’s info-dump from last week in these two designs? Let us know in the comments!

The post Book Cover Art Chapter 3: Mocking up the Mock-Ups appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

If you’re following the steps I denoted in Chapter 1, you should have an info dump of author knowledge on your hands. I know I did, and that’s the sign of a great start! You can gather a lot of ideas and inspiration from hearing the author (passionately) describe their book.

So we begin…

The Info Dump

Title: Unmoving

Genre: Urban Fantasy, NA/Adult
^{(Please Note: I had left this out of our Chapter 1 checklist, but the genre is another supportive piece of information to have. Each genre tends to have its own “style” of cover art, which you can easily refer to for inspiration)}

Unofficial Synopsis/Blurb*: “Derek Richards lost touch with his humanity after losing the woman he loved in a horrific car accident. Like flipping a switch, he turned off his emotions–including compassion and empathy–closing himself off from the world. But, three years later, his callous disregard has finally caught up to him.

After watching his current fling angrily storm out, he meanders through the streets of Portland to his favorite spot–a park bench by the river. His peace and quiet is interrupted by a homeless woman, and Derek finds himself entangled in a confrontation where money isn’t the only change at stake.

Now, literally turned to stone, he realizes Karma’s giving him a second chance. Like Ebeneezer Scrooge minus the helpful ghosts, he has to relive all his bad decisions–every selfish, incorrect choice he’s ever made–and reevaluate his life. If he can’t find a way to redeem himself, he’ll spend eternity as a statue. But after what he’s done, maybe he deserves it.”

Author’s Ideal: “Since the park bench is such a pivotal image in the story, I’d really like to feature that. I’d also like to try and keep it recognizable to the setting (Portland, OR). For some reason, I’d always pictured this cover as being almost cheerful. But this really isn’t a cheerful story. (I’m choosing to blame the inspiring song, The Man Who Can’t Be Moved by The Script, for that.) It’s also the first in a series of darker urban fantasies, so for branding purposes, I think we should stay away from my original thought of cheerful.

Something ethereal to capture the shifting feel of the memories he travels through, as well as something with a darker edge would probably work better. Tragedy, depression, anger, and anxiety are all heavy elements, but the overall theme is one of redemption, hope, and overcoming the things that weigh you down. The message I hope people take away from it is that it’s never too late to turn your life around and be the person you want to be. So if we could somehow also incorporate a hint of that hopeful feel, it’d be great. Just so people don’t expect this to be a horror. ;)”

^{*I was given the manuscript to read, but to respect Kisa’s WIP I’ll only be sharing a blurb she shared with me, which is a good explanation of her story and what the cover should reflect.}

The Brainstorming

So, with park benches on our mind, I began searching all forms of stock images for an image of a useable park bench, or an image that evoked a certain feel, ambiance, etc… Some stock images websites I frequent (from most inexpensive to most expensive):

• www.sxc.hu (free)
• www.DeviantArt.com (free or inexpensive)
• www.bigstockphoto.com (paid stock, although you can get 5 images/day for seven days for free if you sign up for the trail of their premium membership)
• www.istockphoto.com (paid stock)
• www.veer.com (paid stock)

There are many, many, more stock photography websites out there, so shop around and find your favorites. Since this is just the brainstorming phase, I’ll wait to cover approaching an artist requesting permission to use their image in next week’s post (mostly applicable with Deviant Art images).

Kisa and I began sharing park bench images back and forth, creating a cover database, and trying to spark any sort of inspiration.

^{mahdesigns-stock on dA}

I had initially mentioned to Kisa a stark cover, lots of grays, with maybe only a pop of color in the bench itself. That’s when she found the above image and brought to my attention for the the overall feel. We both liked this direction, and then began to search for some bench stock that could be manipulated in our cover art:

^{Undreamed-Stock on dA}

^{YsaeddaStock on dA}

Some more abstract options:

^{#803790 on sxc.hu}

^{#241005 on sxc.hu}

^{#86329 on sxc.hu}

^{#195336 on sxc.hu}

Or a super abstract option (my suggestion):

An aerial shot of the Portland, OR park where the book is set.

This last suggestion was a stretch for me to even suggest. It would take an aerial view (from either a Google Maps or Bing Maps), of the park where the story takes place, with the potential of some sort of map marker denoting the bench. It’s very much so an abstract approach, but because of that, it may be something worth pursuing.

Cover art is very time consuming to design. It’s always better to return to the author with some ideas, opposed to jumping right in to their creation with the possibility of wasting time. With the above ideas as a start (and a couple more swimming around in my head), I’ll come back next week with some initial (and rough… very rough) mock-ups for Kisa to react to. Additionally, we’ll discuss how to acquire usage rights directly from a photographer, if you run in to this particular situation.

The post Book Cover Art Chapter 2: Info Dump to Brainstroming appeared first on REUTS | Boutique Book Publisher |.

Unfortunately, different from the editorial phase, cover art requires a certain set of programs to work within, especially if you’re planning on working professionally in the industry. These programs are a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Now, all three of these are quite expensive to purchase without  the prospect of frequent use, however you’ll see there are online resource we’ve already touched on in a previous blog post: Cover Design On A Budget.

Before we begin the nitty-gritty designing, there are a few key pieces of information needed to set the groundwork. First and foremost, you need to have a book to design for, preferably one that’s nearing completion. Luckily, we have just that! Throughout this series, we’ll be using Kisa’s WIP, titled Unmoving, as the guinea pig for our designing adventures. So, although this is a good start, we usually need more than just a title to begin. In addition to knowing the title we have to work with, these are the elements I request before beginning any Cover Art project:

The Checklist

• Tagline / Sub-Title
• Full Book Synopsis or the Full Manuscript, Itself
• The Author’s Ideal Book Cover Art
• Dimensions of the Printed Book

Tagline / Sub-Title

Although this element isn’t mandatory, I’ll share some examples of popular novels in publication using a tagline to aid in their cover art.

DIVERGENT, by Veronica Roth: “One choice can transform you.”

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, by Beth Revis: “What does it take to survive aboard a spaceship feared by lies?”

JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE, by Beth Fantaskley: “The undead can really screw up your senior year.”

Essentially, the tagline expands on the theme or plot of the book, already addressed with the Title and Cover Art. In the case of Divergent, the title itself doesn’t explain much. Throw in the tagline “One choice can transform you,” and, as a reader, we’re given a peak inside the story. There’s some sort of conflict surrounding a decision, a decision serious enough to define the decision maker. This immediately adds prospective tension to the plot, in addition to interest to learn what decision holds so much weight on the main character’s life and future? And how does it all play out?

Consider the tagline added real estate to explain your plot (or tease your readers) when designing. Yes, books are judged (and quickly) by their covers, so they more you can explain in a quick glance, the better odds you have of attracting a reader.

The Author’s Ideal

Although not always feasible, the author’s ideal book cover is a great place to start when brainstorming what the cover art should be. If you’re designing for yourself, this part is easy. You know your story best, and how best you’d like to represent it. If you’re designing for another author, on the other hand, instead of stressing out trying to figure out what’s in the author’s head, just ask them! Sometimes it may be difficult to put to words, but if your author is able to visualize in their mind’s eye what type of cover they’d classify as ideal, you’re off to a great start. It may be difficult to make that ideal into a reality (e.g. finding the right stock photos could prove to be a challenge), but from this starting point you can begin collaboration and brainstorming how to meld together the author’s vision, with your creative input and own interpretation of the story.

Always remember: the best design is born out of collaboration. If you’re able to bounce ideas off of more than one individual, including the author, you’ll always come out with a stronger, more powerful design. So always feel free to seek input from friends, family, your team (in my case, the REUTS Acquisitions Team), etc… Trust me, you’ll appreciate the additional eyes, and create a better cover.

Dimensions

This one is tricky to get right off the bat. The standard book size REUTS uses is 5.5″x8.5″, however it can range from 5″x7″ to 6″x9″, and a few stragglers larger or smaller than those. Unfortunately, it takes a fully type-set book to determine the full cover dimensions. If you follow the 5.5″x8.5″ standard, you know the size to work within for the front and back cover, just not the spine. The final number of pages within your book will effect how thick or thin the spin ends up in print*. Since we are lacking information at the start of a new project, I usually like to nail down the front cover art, and bring those elements/themes into the back cover, then add the spin width once it’s determined.

Many times, a printer will provide you with a design template to work within once they finalize dimensions. In this case, it’s always safe to initial comp a larger cover size, and have to edit them down, than try to increase their size. Increasing anything from its original size in Photoshop that isn’t a vector will cause distortion and pixilation.

Always remember: Include a bleed in your working cover art file. It varies between printers, but you can be safe adding .25″ – .5″ around your artwork to account for any cutting idiosyncrasies when the book is in production.

*Obviously, this step can be disregarded if you’re focusing solely on an eBook cover design 

Stay tuned for next week’s post where we’ve gathered all the information needed, and begin brainstorming for Kisa’s story, Unmoving.

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