The extensive use of Generative AI covers these days depresses me. I strongly believe most major GenAI platforms are guilty of mass theft from artists and unethical business practices. They steal just as much from artists as writers, so I want to encourage solidarity in not using it.
[Edit: Feel free to agree or disagree. The choice for what cover art you want to use is your own, but the resources below are available all the same.]
I understand that good art is expensive, so I wanted to pool together some free and low-cost resources to make your own covers. I believe in you all and the covers you make yourself! :D
The below are things I have personal experience with, but please feel free to recommend any other resource you know!
Art Programs
Ibis Paint (iOS, Android, Window)
https://ibispaint.com/?lang=en-
Free with ads, but you can pay to remove them. This is a powerful paint program with tons of tutorials, built-in materials and traceable objects, lots of fonts, and a large community. The UI can take a little getting used to but I highly recommend it.
Krita (Windows, Mac, Linux)
https://krita.org/en/
A free, open source paint program. I'd recommend this for desktop use.
Clip Studio Paint (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS)
https://www.clipstudio.net/en/
This one isn't free, but it is inexpensive for a full art program with resources. Very powerful and affordable with a free trial.
Fonts
Font Squirrel
https://www.fontsquirrel.com/
Free, open sourced fonts chosen for being approved for commercial work. Amazing resource.
Dafont
https://www.dafont.com/
Open source and paid fonts. Make sure you read the licenses.
Stock Art
Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/
Royalty free images and stock art. They also have a section for illustrations, both color and black and white.
Pexels
https://www.pexels.com/
Free images and stock art. Wonderful site with an explicit policy against uploading AI artwork.
Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
It might take some digging, but there is a ton of photography and art here. A great resource especially for old paintings and illustrations from books.
Tutorials/Lessons
Beginning Graphic Design - Typography
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/beginning-graphic-design/typography/1/
Clean and quick guide to basic Typography to help with adding text to your covers. Their
general guide to graphic design is pretty nice overall! :D
Ask Nicely
Last but not least, if you see artwork that would work for your cover, you can ask the artist if you can use it with credit. Since many books here are available for free, I'm sure many artists wouldn't mind letting you use art with proper credits. (However, if you plan to publish for sale, you either need to use royalty free resources or pay the artist.)
HAPPY CREATING!