Set up and design book covers in gimp using layer masks and blend modes to create interesting effects. The book was written by the gimp documentation team. Gimp is an acronym for gnu image manipulation program. Im not getting in to any of that, so were just going to leave it as is.
Ill show you how to do a simple one here and then you can go and play around with it when you have time. What he failed to realize, however, is that people do, in fact, judge a book by its cover in reality, according to the book smuggler, 79% of people say book cover designs play a decisive role in their decision to purchase a book. How to make a book cover with gimp, i rushed through the process skipping over two very important steps in creating a good paperback book cover. In this photo manipulation tutorial, i show you how to combine images, shapes, and filters using gimp 2. It should be noted, however, that this is considered an unstable version of gimp and so there are still a few bugs that the gimp team are working on prior to releasing the. Read how to make an ebook cover with gimp part 2 by j. Gimp is a graphic manipulation program that is freely distributed. Downloaded it and found it to be very helpful and easy to follow, so part 1 was purchased. I found that it was a good program but a little complicated. Make a book cover spine with gimp selfpublishing with dale. The book covers only chapter 1 to 15 withe the rest chapters chapter 1618 are covered in the second volume. Ill be using the book cover i created in my 2d book cover class in this demonstration.
Adobe photoshop, corel pain shop, microsoft paint, and gimp. Book covers how to create an ebook cover with gimp. In this tutorial we walk you through how to design a book cover in gimp, using one our diy templates. Can you, the author, also be enough of an artist to design a cover that is as good as your book. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality. This is the part you have to design for yourself to suit your own ebook. Were going to attempt to make the same basic cover in each program.
This video discusses how to make a book cover in gimp. The intermediate course material provided here should propel youre gimp graphics to the next level. If you want to restore some deleted templates, you can copy or append template entries to your file from the master templaterc file at the etcgimp 2. Well start with the process of downloading gimp and finish with using it to design your book cover book template. Timo gives a clear and concise tutorial on how to use gimp which can be downloaded free and use it to design a great book cover. Smashwords how to make an ebook cover with gimp part 1 a. Tutorials cover the gamut of design topics, from web design and photographic techniques to advertising and interface design. In this course ill show you how to use the gnu image manipulation program gimp, a free photoshop like. Its like ms paint if you bombarded it with gamma rays. The artists guide to gimp effects is the followup text to the first book ever published on gimp, the artists guide to the gimp. In this gimp for beginners class, youll learn how to use the gnu image manipulation program gimp to create a 3d book cover. The gimp is suitable for a variety of image manipulation tasks, including photo retouching, image composition, and image construction. Due to the large size of this ebook i had to break it into 2 parts. The course uses the creation of book covers for selfpublishing as the basis for demonstrating the use of the program.
Besides, you only need to know the fundamentals of using the gimp to produce book covers. However, not all documentations are covered in the book due to physical book size restrictions. This is perfect for selfpublishing authors including business owners c. How to create an album cover in gimp davies media design. Smashwords how to make an ebook cover with gimp part 2 a. Note that this is a fairly advanced class so you should be familiar with the gimp. Here, timo takes us step by step through the process of using gimp to create a book cover. Design an ebook catalogue cover in canva using either a template or your own specifications and images 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. In this course ill show you how to use the gnu image manipulation program gimp, a free photoshop like program, to produce professional looking, high quality graphics on a budget.
Smashwords how to make an ebook cover with gimp part 2. Design book cover for free with online templates adobe spark. How to make an ebook cover with gimp part 1 how to make an ebook cover with gimp part 2 free the second part is free but will make no sense without part 1. Take you book cover creation knowledge to the next level. This ebook is for the beginner and great for the author wantin. Well start with the process of downloading gimp and finish. Learn how to use the gimp to produce a variety of web graphics. For best results, a good rule of thumb is to use an image that is a minimum of 300 dpi.
In this course we go beyond the basics of producing a simple book cover using the gimp as introduced in my course gimp for beginners. Aug 10, 2017 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. Yesterday i showed you how to use paint brush to make an ebook cover, so today i am going to show you how to make. You see, richard knew the contents of the book were important. The best free book cover makers and a few paid ones. Assuming you can get your colors right, its possible to do a professionallooking cover yourself, using gimp. Creating your createspace paperback cover using gimp.
Stepbystep tutorial on how to create an ebook cover using gimp free open source software. How to make an ebook cover with gimp part 1 and how to make an ebook cover with gimp part 2. Free ebook covers how to create yours for free with gimp. If you are looking for the inkscape guide, click here. Oct 30, 2018 design an ebook catalogue cover in canva using either a template or your own specifications and images 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. Learn tips and techniques for advanced text handling. The intermediate course material provided here should propel your gimp graphics to the next level. How to create yours for free with gimp part 1 of 2.
To create a cover, you will need to use a graphic design or image editing software program. Anyone here created a book cover for kdpcreatespace using. A good book with lots of great information for selfpublished writers who want to design their own covers as well. Youll also learn how to prepare the files for submission to kindle kdp. Youll learn how to create a book cover design from start to finish, understanding the best settings for print vs. Best software for diy book design alliance of independent. Today, im going to show you how to make a book cover spine with gimp.
The books cover art must use rgb color mode and should be at least 1400 pixels along the shorter axis. Free the second part is free but will make no sense without part 1. Learn how to design book covers for print or digital using the latest version of gimp. I downloaded a createspace template for my book size and created a professional design at 3803x2775, 299. In this gimp tutorial, i show you how to design an album cover using the latest version of gimp 2.
How to make a book cover in gimp selfpublished authors. Is it possible to design a book cover using gimp only. This ebook cover tutorial is targeted at self publishers and independent authors who are new to gimp. An introduction to using layer masks to modify the opacity of a layer. I downloaded it, and i used it to resolve my specific issue, but not for my total cover solution. If youre using gimp for mac, simply substitute the ctrl key for. Well minimize the back cover here in gimp, and select the front cover design. How to make an ebook cover with gimp part 2 rakuten kobo.
The gimp is a multiplatform photo manipulation tool. Every template is stored in a templaterc file at your personal gimp directory. As the saying goes, you cant judge a book by its cover, but the reality is that a soso book cover can keep potential buyers and readers away. The standard content will walk you through an easy step by step process to create an e book cover. Jan 11, 20 due to the large size of this ebook i had to break it into 2 parts. Smashwords how to make an ebook cover with gimp part 1. An introduction to creating an ebook cover with gimp. May 07, 2019 you see, richard knew the contents of the book were important.
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. For easy instructions buy this book and take control of your e book cover design. The proof copy i just received looks substantially darker bright yellow is a dark orange. Gimp tutorial on how to create ebook image boxshot. Gimp for beginners, book covers and free graphic design write, selfpublish and market on amazon 5 at. The course benefits from having a specific focus and im the most familiar with using the gimp to create book covers. Go beyond the basics in this course, we go beyond the basics of producing a simple book cover using the gimp as introduced in my course gimp for beginners. Use advanced concepts to produce professional looking book covers. The video is a little poor in quality because this is not my usual video production. I will try this out on my next cover and design it myself. The pixel limit for the interior cover, as with all interior book images, has been increased to 3. Dont worry, you can still create amazing images for the web and beyond using the basics of the gimp. This tutorial walks through some basic image and layer manipulation techniques.
Official gimp quick reference sheet pdf the gimp cheat sheet pdf gimp quick reference card v1. Creating your createspace paperback cover using gimp blue. If you need to design a 3d ebook image cover for your self published work, then this articlel can help. That lets me know that this copy has everything for a full book cover design. 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 tool. I am going to walk through the process of building a simple cover using gimp. Whittakers part 2 of how to make a ebook cover with gimp. Bite sized lessons that are clear and concise on how to use the gimp to create ebook covers for the kindle. This section briefly describes the new features that were added in gimp 2.
The last time i made a book cover, i struggled in paint, and when i mentioned on facebook that i had hit a snag, someone suggested gimp. 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. What he failed to realize, however, is that people do, in fact, judge a book by its cover in reality, according to the book smuggler, 79% of people say book cover designs play a decisive role in their decision to purchase a book so, are you a richardor will you learn what it takes to design a book cover that will sell your book. This is perfect for selfpublishing authors including business owners creating ebooks or for publishers. Im sure ill go through a few more iterations before im happy with mine. Use gimp for simple graphics needs without having to learn advanced image manipulation methods. 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. How to design a book cover if you are not a designer a great article on getting. 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. A first look at the curves tool and adjusting color tones in. The premium content will add step by step advanced techniques that will take your e book cover to the next level.