Thread: Book Covers

My self designed cover for a story collection (much reduced):





I have a back cover too, but haven't gotten the text sharp enough. Still fiddlin'. It's fun.

Int'ristin'...that's bad on the eyes, no doubt intentionally. Definitely catches the attention.

It's.... busy.....

What program did you use to make it?

I've seen "real" covers kind of like that. The only thing I don't like is the "weird stories" text is too hard to read. That might just be on the computer, though.

What's with all the program questions? Photoshop. Everyone should use it. No contest. Or Gimp if you're poor and don't know how to download programs from the internet. I made one with Illustrator that came out pretty well. It does a better job with smooth text at 300ppi.

Originally Posted by Ungood

It's.... busy.....

What program did you use to make it?

Intentionally. I'm still tweaking it. I want it to be annoying to a point, to illustrate the concept of a bad pattern.

I use PaintShopPro 5.03, with all the then available plug-ins, etc. Old as the hills, but I know it well. I don't care for Adobe in general. Photoshop holds it reputation mainly because it managed to do the same thing with graphic designers that Microsoft pulled with PC's: presell before purchase. I've played with it, and I get the impression that the user interface is designed to sell classes and seminars rather than be intuitive and easy to use. It really always comes down to what you're used to, though.

My younger brother (who's the real artist in the family and uses this stuff for art rather than assin' around like me) prefers PSP 5.03 to all comers. But he's always been brand loyal. For ages he used a DOS program called DPaint to the exclusion of all else.

Originally Posted by Dr. Malone

I've seen "real" covers kind of like that. The only thing I don't like is the "weird stories" text is too hard to read. That might just be on the computer, though.

Not happy with that myself...still fiddlin'. Hell, I'll probably scrap the whole thing and start over in a day or two. It's mainly something to do to amuse myself.

If the busyness is intentional then it is well done! Kudos!

I just realized the title of the book is "Bad Patterns" . ...Sigh...

Originally Posted by Leyline

Not happy with that myself...still fiddlin'. Hell, I'll probably scrap the whole thing and start over in a day or two. It's mainly something to do to amuse myself.

IMHO The "Weird Stories" does not even need to be there. I personally think it would be better served on the inside flap. to me however "Weird" is very ambiguous word anyway.

Here's the art from a collection a bunch of friends put together for me. The covers were designed and created by my friend and sometimes editor Kris:

Front:



Back:

That front cover has all the makings of a good horror story novel.

Originally Posted by Ungood

That front cover has all the makings of a good horror story novel.

Actually, it's an illustration of my essay micropiece, a bottom-up examination of the glories of a free market from the POV of a truckstop cashier (me, seven years ago) on the night shift. It's probably my most well known work, since hundreds of libertarian and anarchist based blogs linked to it. A friend of mine (Econ PHD who actually introduced me to Von Mises Human Action and Rothbard's Man, Economy And State) used it in his Introduction To Austrian Economics class at George Mason University.