[Photoshop] Help design a book cover!

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SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
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I'm printing a few copies of my girlfriend's first book for a surprise Christmas gift to her, and I'm wanting a cover that's as slick and polished as possible. I'm a Photoshop novice, and so far I haven't been satisfied with my results, so I'm seeking the assistance of anyone able and willing to help. Also, if anyone can point me in the direction of a professional graphics designer that would be able to tackle this, I'd appreciate it. Money is tight for me right now, and I can't afford to pay much, but on the other hand I want to do this right...

Source image for the cover
More source images
my first attempt
my second attempt

Necessary specs: Sufficient quality for a glossy casewrap hardcover, 6" x 9" at 300dpi.
Desired attributes of the cover: Visually appealing, suitable for a Christian romance novel; must contain the swing and a portion of the tree from the source image. Image should include the title text. I'd prefer it to have the appearance of a painting, or perhaps a surrealistic photograph.

My thoughts/critiques of my first attempt: Looks too much like a photograph. Lighting is uneven, some colors may be undersaturated?
And of the second photo: I prefer the "painted" appearance of most of the image, but the tree leaves really don't look very good. Lighting still seems uneven to me.
Possible problems I see in both: I feel I didn't make a very good crop location, since the tree and the swing don't seem to match the rule of thirds. The swing is too small, since I'd like it to be a focal point of the picture, but I didn't think the quality allowed for a closer crop of it. I also don't like my font selections, but I haven't been able to find something I DO like.

If anybody feels compelled to help with this pet project of mine, and produces something I like well enough to end up using on the cover of this book, I'll gladly pay them $25--maybe more, if they pester me a bit :)

Thanks in advance!

Edit:

Here's a few examples of "slick" covers that are in the vein of what I want:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4

Cliff's:
1) I'm surprising my girlfriend with a few hardcover copies of the first romance novel she's written.
2) I suck at designing covers, so I'm here asking for help.
 
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techgamer

Senior member
Sep 19, 2007
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Originally posted by: bladder23
cliffs?

too much to read
Click to expand...

felt the same way... i think you need to take a deep breathe and summarize the important parts we need to read...put those in bold. thanks.

edit: Ok I just clicked on the picks...purple writing over a picture doesnt exactly scream professional to me...also who writes a book called beneath the oak tree? what is this about...maybe that will help you make a good cover
 
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SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
887
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Ok, I edited the OP. As originally stated, I'm not satisfied with what I've done, so I'm looking for help. The type of book falls into the "religious romance" category.
 
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warmodder

Senior member
Nov 1, 2007
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Here's my attempt to make it look like a painting: Tree Painting

I don't really have any ideas for the title, but I'll try and put something together. What's your girlfriend's name? That usually takes up most of the cover.

 
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SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
887
2
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Mmm, that's looking purty. Keep in mind the aspect ratio of a 6" x 9" book--that's 9" vertical.
The name is just going to be Savanna N.
 
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SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
887
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Well, the tree being dark like that makes for a foreboding atmosphere that I don't care for... Can you do bright and cheery? If not, well, it beats what I've done! Also, it still looks like a photograph to my eyes... Think you could make it look more like a painting? Maybe go for the style where you have to do a double-take to see if it's a painting or a photo?

Am I making sense? :p
 
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warmodder

Senior member
Nov 1, 2007
553
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Originally posted by: SandInMyShoes
Well, the tree being dark like that makes for a foreboding atmosphere that I don't care for... Can you do bright and cheery? If not, well, it beats what I've done! Also, it still looks like a photograph to my eyes... Think you could make it look more like a painting? Maybe go for the style where you have to do a double-take to see if it's a painting or a photo?

Am I making sense? :p
Click to expand...

Yea to get the color out of the grass and stuff the tree suffered. Do you have another source pic to use? Maybe something with a nice bright sky at the top kind of like the sample covers you showed? Because the tree is just cropped at the top and except for what I did I can't think of any other way to incorporate it.

If not I'll try and make it a bit more painting like and try and brighten it a bit. :)
 
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SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
887
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sash1: I like it, but I'm not feeling the blue... It'd fit a mystery/thriller fine, but a romance? Eh... Nice work, though!

warmodder: I understand! It'd freaking hard to get any good color out of that tree. I've uploaded all the source images from that day, but I'm not sure how useful they'll be. I really wish I'd been able to do the photography, and get the shots I wanted... But this is what I've got to work with.
More source images

Edit: Thanks for the effort, I really appreciate it!!
 
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SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
887
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81
:laugh: Well, I did mention a surreal look, didn't I?
Really, that's getting quite a bit closer to what I think she'll like, though that might be a little TOO green ;)

Edit: Maybe we should take it to chat or PM... We've been doing a lot of bumping.
 
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warmodder

Senior member
Nov 1, 2007
553
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Originally posted by: SandInMyShoes
:laugh: Well, I did mention a surreal look, didn't I?
Really, that's getting quite a bit closer to what I think she'll like, though that might be a little TOO green ;)
Click to expand...

I'll touch it up in the 'morrow...er today. It's 2 in the morning and I've got a calc quiz at 8. :)

 
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SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
887
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81
Sure thing. I've got work in 7, so it's about that time for me, too. Thanks again!

Also, I'm looking forward to seeing any other takes on this that other people might come up with!
 
ed21x

ed21x

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2001
5,411
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Originally posted by: Injury
You all fail because the images are in RGB with no bleed.
Click to expand...

it's not that hard to take a picture in photoshop and render it in RGB, and I believe most printing places know how to optimize a picture between that and CMYK.
 
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Injury

Lifer
Jul 19, 2004
13,066
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Originally posted by: ed21x
Originally posted by: Injury
You all fail because the images are in RGB with no bleed.
Click to expand...

it's not that hard to take a picture in photoshop and render it in RGB, and I believe most printing places know how to optimize a picture between that and CMYK.
Click to expand...

Never do print work in RGB simply because you don't know how some colors and effects are going to convert when you change it to CMYK, and you don't know how printer drivers are going to convert the colors if you don't.

All print media designers need to know that. If not for the purposes of creating more color accurate files, at least for the purpose of print houses will happily charge you for full production art costs just to add bleed, convert to CMYK, and add crop marks.

Any place like Kinko's will not color convert it and your prints will likely show.

 
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SandInMyShoes

Senior member
Apr 19, 2002
887
2
81
Originally posted by: ed21x
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eddyliao01/2037429936/

Here you go. Let me know if you'd like any changes :)
Click to expand...

I like it, but unfortunately any old tree won't work here--it needs to be the tree and the swing in the source images I provided. Why? That tree was the source of inspiration for the book title, as well as being the location for certain key scenes in the book.

Originally posted by: Injury
You all fail because the images are in RGB with no bleed.
Click to expand...

Actually, RGB is what I want. I'm printing with LuLu, and they say 8-bit RGB images are ideal. I'm not sure right now what bleed I'm going to need, but since it usually is 1/8" or less (per side), I think I should be able to upscale the final image a few percent to meet the bleed requirements.

Originally posted by: clamum
Text
Click to expand...

Hmm... I'm not feeling it, sorry. Thanks anyway! :)
 
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