User blog:Book Beliefs/How to Graphic Design - Simple Cover

Level of Difficulty: Easy
=Stuff You Need=

'''Hi guys! Welcomes to the first lesson of HTG. Here, we are going to learn how to create a simple cover. As you know, there are tons of types of covers out there. However, those advanced covers can not be made if you don’t have a foundation. This simple, straightforward cover will start building your foundation. What I classify as a simple cover is following a template without making any custom changes.'''

That looks like this:



'''So before you go off and feed all your graphic design needs with whatever, you’ll need a few things. The first thing being stuff to make your cover on.'''

'''For this cover, I used Canva for the most part. This software can be accessed on a Computer, Ipad, and Android devices.'''

The cover I’m showing how to do is:



=Step One:=

'''Canva gives you a large amount of options when making covers. When making fanfiction covers, you choose either Ebook, or Wattpad Book Cover.'''



'''When it comes to simplistic covers, the format you use doesn’t make much of a difference. Each layout has different templates, so it really depends on which one looks more appealing to you. Ebook Covers are more polished, but Wattpad Covers are more people based. For this tutorial, I chose Ebook. Majority of the time I use Ebook.'''

=Step Two:=

'''Once you open up a layout, you will see that there are a bunch of templates to choose from! You’ll also see that some cost money, and others do not. I’ve never paid for my Graphic Designs, and you don’t have to either. The templates provided give a lot of rome for creativity, even if you do not pay.'''



'''From there, choose any template you would like! Remember, you do not have to copy everything I do. Graphic Design stretches out into so many realms, you have tons of opportunities to do whatever you dream up. This is just a guide. '''



=Step Three:=

'''After choosing a template, this is where you get to have fun! First, ask yourself this: What is my story about? Do you have an answer? Now, think of something that represents your story. For example, the story I am creating a cover for is about facing your fears. A common fear that people have is heights. Something super high up is a mountain. You can be as obvious or as subtle as you want. From experience, my best covers are the ones where there are multiple subtle messages are sent. If my story has a lot of secrets, I’ll have a mask that represents that. If the story consists of trust, I will make sure my cover holds eyes. For this cover, I am going to use mountains.'''



'''One of my foundations when it comes to finding pictures is ALWAYS putting tumblr at the end of my search. You can try searching up your background image without tumblr at the end, then with it. You’ll see a huge difference. If you have Pinterest, feel free to use that! There are some really good images there too. '''

'''Choosing an image is always about perception. When putting tumblr at the end of your search, it typically limits your options to good ones. From there, you decide which image suits your story. Will an image at night suit it? Or maybe an image at daytime? This is where the mood of your story shines. If it is a darker mood, it’s reasonable to choose a darker picture. '''



'''On the left hand bar, you will see that there is an option called “Upload” Once you enter that section, choose the option that says “Uploads” then choose the large green button that pops up. From there, just choose the image you are using, then it will upload onto Canva. To get it as the background, drag it into the template. If it does not automatically make it your background, continue to move it around and it should make it your background at some point.'''

=Step Four:= '''Now you fill out all the info, this means the title, tagline, the book number if it is in a series, and who it is written by. Of course, you don’t have to use all this info. If it’s not part of a series, don’t put the book number. If you don’t have a tagline, don’t include it. However, I highly recommend using all this info if you have it. Come up with a tagline. If it is part of a series, put that on. The last thing is, if you are creating the cover for someone else, MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE YOUR SIGNATURE! People need to know that you were the one to create this beautiful piece of art.'''



=Step Five:= '''When typing out the info, you probably noticed that there is room to customize your writing. Use it! First, change the font. You do not have to do this. If you like it how it is, keep it. But if you want to change it, go ahead! Please do not do anything with the font colour if you are doing this as you read the steps. There is a specific thing you have to do for that. Font includes uppercase and lowercase. If you choose to use a more cursive font, I suggest you don’t do all caps. If you have a very dark background, using bold letters and all capitals makes the background pop. '''

'''Play around with the font size! Do you want your name to be bigger than your title? On a cover with not much going on, big words make it look interesting. '''



=Step Six:= '''Now that we have found the fonts we would like to use, we move onto a different aspect: Colour! There are two ways you can do this: One, choose the colours you think suit and use those, or two: use a colour wheel. The first way is pretty straightforward, so I will not explain it. But this is how the second way works:'''

'''Look at the background you chose, what colours is it made up of? The background I chose is made up of lighter blues, and white. Now, pull up a colour wheel and find the main colours on it. If you have found at least something similar to it, find the exact opposite space. '''



'''For me, the opposite space was red. Now whatever colour you got, use that colour, or something similar to it for a font colour. You can find a few different colours in your background and use multiple font colours.'''



'''You can see that on mine, I used the colour wheel for some places, and I didn’t for others. What this method does is that it makes your font really visible. Sometimes it doesn’t look that good, and other times it does. You do not always have to use this tactic.'''

=Step Seven:= '''After that, you’re all set! You can download your cover by pressing the “Download” button. You’ll get options for how you want to download it, but do not pick PNG. That’ll change the white spots into blanks. '''



'''This tutorial had a lot of me typing, but the coming ones will not have as much. This is because much of the coming tutorials use the same concepts. Everytime I introduce something new, I’ll explain it very thoroughly. '''

'''Show my your creations! I really want to see what you have made! '''

'''What can I do to make this easier for you guys? How can I improve? Thank you for reading! I hope you learn't something!'''