I have sort of a lukewarm feeling toward Valentine's Day. I love my husband. I don't need a single day of the year to give/receive romance and appreciation. That said, it's a great excuse to find a babysitter and go out on a date. I'm never averse to a little extra romance amidst the everyday romance.
But that's not what this post is about. It's about LOVE, yes...but it's about something I LOVE about writing that, uh, has nothing to do with writing.
I love making mock covers for my books. I'm not an expert in graphic design, and I don't even have Photoshop. My covers are pretty basic; I have two steps.
1. Make a list of words that reflect your book's themes, plot points, and characters. Then do a Google image search for those.
2. I pull the images I want into a freeware program called GIMP. I do some tweaking, effects, rearranging, image combinations, and text creation for the titles.
And voila! I get a temporary face for my book. Here are some designs I've played with for my current WIPs.
This is the cover for Devolutionaries. I had a hard time coming up with a cover for this one. I think this one looks awesome, but I'm not sure it really captures the book. [image removed]
This one is for Black and Blue. While the story is currently waiting its turn because I got wrapped up in another project, I love the cover! [image removed]
And now for my favorite...the cover for The Unhappening of Genesis Lee. A few effects turned the basic picture into something that reflects the story. [image removed]
So, my friends, what fun things do you do with your WIPs that have nothing to do with the writing of it? Have you ever made your own covers, just to put a face on your book?
And don't forget, you can enter to win a critique from agent Sarah LaPolla and editor C.A. Marshall-- and help five kids in Africa get an education!
18 comments:
Oh, these covers are really gorgeous!
Hah, making covers is so much fun!Particularly love the third one. I had a post on the same thing a few days ago, only I used Picnik :)
oh, I love your covers. I think about mine, but never sit down and do anything like this.
The hubs is learning photoshop right now, maybe I will get him to make me a cover or two for my books.
Enjoy the extra romance today.
Love em! And I love GIMP. I basically live on it.
I draw pictures of my characters all the time, and then go back and manipulate them in GIMP.
Although I've considered making my own book cover in GIMP, I haven't taken the time to do it.
These are very cool covers! And thanks for the info, very helpful!
Your covers are stunning, especially the one for Devolutionaries. I only recently found the delight of making mock covers and now have one for both my novels.
Sweet covers! I've been guilty of doing the same thing - nothing elaborate. The blue stone picture on the side of my blog is one of them. It adds a touch of accomplishment, plus it's a lot of fun giving your words something to look at. Nice work! :)
wow, those covers are amazing, esp. the one for devolutionaries; very intriguing - that cover would entice me to pick up the book and maybe read the first page or two.
The third one is epic!!! You did a great job! I can't do stuff like this.... I'm horrible at doing paint and stuff on the computer...
These covers are beautiful. I've heard great things about GIMP, but I've never tried it. I'm a Photoshop nerd.
I always have trouble designing stuff for myself. I can never get it PERFECT and then I get mad. Maybe I should try it though. Next time I'm procrastinating...
Love your covers. I use GIMP to make mine too! Your last one is incredible.
Those are great covers! I like the first one--it interesting that there's so much technology and I love the virtual feel to it.
I made a cover for a WIP once--it was simple, based on one of Word's templates, but there's something about having a cover that adds a little to the novel. :)
Shallee, I love them all! And I love GIMP! The third is my favorite, too. :) The picture is so beautiful, it makes me really wonder what the book is about, awesome!
What an awesome idea! I've never thought of doing this but now I have to go and make me some covers :).
I especially like your third one, but they're all great.
Those are awesome Shallee! I totally want to do that sometime! And that third book? My curiosity is peaked! :)
Holy flaming cow! The girl on your cover for Black and Blue is *almost* a carbon copy of how I imagine one of my characters looking. Nice work!
I like the other ones too, by the way ;)
nice covers! esp the last one--reminds me of the about-to-be-released book
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer--which is a pretty big compliment, cause that book's cover is STUNNING.
i make my covers too--its so much fun! :D
Popped over here from a post by Karie Marie who's doing the A to Z Challenge. I'll have to check out your advice. Sounds fun and useful.
Contrary to my usual practice of subscribing to comments, to save time during challenge I will not be doing so during April. If you want to respond to my comment , please email me directly from your email notification for the comment.
Thanks.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Twitter hashtag: #atozchallenge
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