On Writing : Book Covers by Maurice Vaughan

Hi Maurice, my buddy from junior high-school, stepfather was an artist for book covers

Hi, Billy Kwack. Cool. Do you know any of the books that he did covers for?

Hi Maurice, no I can't remember. By the way I checked out full sail animation on YouTube, not too many good videos

What type of videos are they, Billy Kwack? Like character design?

Hi Maurice, a lot of talking videos and more talking about character build ups. I wanted to see classes and real work

Stage 32 has an Animation class and webinars, Billy Kwack (www.stage32.com/education/search?term=Animation). The class and webinars are on demand recordings, so you can watch them anytime.

I make my own book covers, and I use my art supplies to do so :) Depending on how detailed I want to be I like acrylic paints as well as Copic markers.

Hi Maurice, neat, I'll check

I like that, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh! What's a Copic marker? And how do you get your book covers onto the computer?

Thank you Maurice Vaughan, so far I just take photos via my phone of them but I'll slowly learn how to use Clip Studio Paint to add lettering and whatnot.

You're welcome, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. I think this is my first time hearing of Clip Studio Paint. I'll have to check it out. I use Canva to make script posters, pitch decks, etc. I just found out Canva has book cover templates.

Hi! I make my own book covers. I use GIMP and find images from Adobe.

Hi, Kat Spencer. Great to meet you. I've heard of GIMP. I didn't know it could be used to make book covers. Thanks.

Maurice Vaughan Sorry, I missed an earlier part of your comment haha. Copic markers are very high quality alcohol-based markers made in Japan. They come in lots of different colours and shades and they're refillable and blendable.

I looked at a Copic marker video, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. The markers are incredible! I would've loved to have them back when I drew.

They are Maurice Vaughan, they're a fantastic investment. Only real issue is that being alcohol-based they bleed through paper so you'll want to maybe use a cardboard sheet underneath. I really gotta work with mine more haha

I mix and match. Sometimes, I design my own; other times, I hire people who know what they're doing. I've had success both ways.

Thanks for the heads-up and tip, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh.

Cool, Bill McCormick. I do the same thing for my script posters. What program do you use to make your covers?

Maurice Vaughan, I lean into Photoshop since I'm old school, but have used Corel and a few others as needed.

I'd like to learn Photoshop, Bill McCormick. I need a better laptop though. I'm not sure if I've heard of Corel. Do you think Photoshop or Corel is easier to use?

Maurice Vaughan That depends on the user. Corel is more intuitive but not as widely accepted as Photoshop.

I got this fellows name from a fellow author. His covers are beautiful. I used him fot my latest novel.

https://www.jcovers.com/

Thanks, Bill McCormick. I'll go with Photoshop. At least at first.

That book cover is incredible, Dave Wickenden! I bookmarked Juan's website in case I need to get a cover done. Thanks.

I've evolved from constructing the poster for F-STOPS stemming from a sketch by one of the actors who was also as great designer. We took photos of the cast and then I went to work in Photoshop. Then I later engaged a designer when the film sold to generate the posters for F-STOPS which was radically different from the original. For another project, I engaged designer, Christopher Shy to make the poster for my short screenplay MURPHY'S GULCH. I loved working with that guy. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to see- we talked- and then he went away to design it. I was thrilled with the results.

GIMP

For my first book White Rabbit, I used miblart - book cover designers from Ukraine.

I'm almost ready to start looking for a book designer for my second book, a middle grade mystery. This time however, they need to be a Canadian business who bills in $CAD. It's not for political reasons, it's for financial reasons. The $CAD exchange rate against most other foreign currency is not good - at times 1.6 or 1.8 X more so the company needs to be Canadian - and be knowledgeable about the tech specs required for Ingram, D2D and the Zon ebooks and full wrap paperbacks.

Fantastic cover, Jeff Bassetti! Stock photos are great, but photos of the cast are the best in my opinion. You can do more with photos of the cast. I design posters for my scripts, but sometimes I'm limited by stock photos. I'll keep Christopher Shy in mind for posters. Thanks.

I like your book cover, Trevor Chittick. A middle grade Mystery sounds interesting. Hope you find a book designer for your book. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Hire a professional cover artist who specialized in your genre. Look at the acknowledgments section of books with your favorite covers. The artist is sometimes attributed. Or you can just email the author through their website or on social media and ask.

That's great advice, Debra Holland! Thanks for sharing it.

Great question, Maurice Vaughan ! I design & create my own covers as well as graphics for all my film projects Wy first novel CYBER FIGHTER is also a feature script that I'm doing a short film proof of concept for (short film is in post right now).

Congratulations on CYBER FIGHTER being in post, William Joseph Hill! Can't wait to see it!

I use Canva and Photoshop. I looked at hiring someone to design a cover for me once and they quoted £1,000! For ONE book! Way too expensive unless you're a professional writer and already getting 10's of thousands of books sold every month.

I use Canva for different things, David E. Gates. I'd like to learn Photoshop one day.

David E. Gates I have found excellent cover designers for around $250 (USD) per book. Message me if you want names.