Cover Art Resources

[greyliliy]

True. But that's the only reason why you don't get showered with praises and instead people argue with you.

I wasn't looking for praise? I provided resources.

I figured if people disagreed they'd ignore the thread the same way I don't comment on all the threads recommending, promoting and/or critiquing AI art.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

I wasn't looking for praise? I provided resources.

I figured if people disagreed they'd ignore the thread the same way I don't comment on all the threads recommending, promoting and/or critiquing AI art.

Most people will comment on things they don't agree with.

Most people will comment on things they don't agree with.

Maybe not most people, but a lot do.

 

[SailusGebel]

I wasn't looking for praise? I provided resources.

You were not looking for arguing either. I'm just stating what you could've gotten vs what you got.

I figured if people disagreed they'd ignore the thread the same way I don't comment on all the threads recommending, promoting and/or critiquing AI art.

This topic is serious for authors who don't have means to comission art. Not as serious as, for example, discussing real world politics, or certain moral dillemas, but it's not a childish argument either. It's not a "mango tastes just like carrot" kind of thread.

 

[greyliliy]

This topic is serious for authors who don't have means to comission art. Not as serious as, for example, discussing real world politics, or certain moral dillemas, but it's not a childish argument either. It's not a "mango tastes just like carrot" kind of thread.

I'm aware it's a serious topic, and I know not many can afford to commission artwork. I can't afford to commission artwork!

But I still do not want to support the use of AI artwork in projects, which is why I provided a list of free resources.

No one's cover has to have illustration-style artwork to be good. Photographs are great. Text only covers are great. Modified textures with text are great. Using pre-made assets licensed for free use is great.

There is more than one way to make a great cover.

 

[SailusGebel]

But I still do not want to support the use of AI artwork in projects, which is why I provided a list of free resources.

You also stated your opinion. Divisive opinion. If you don't believe it's divisive you can simply look at this thread. I'm not saying you can't have it, or you can't state your own opinon. Just saying that it will result in a discussion\arguing.

No one's cover has to have illustration-style artwork to be good. Photographs are great. Text only covers are great. Modified textures with text are great. Using pre-made assets licensed for free use is great.

Unfortunately, it is not true here, on SH. We, forum users are not very representative. I agree with you here, other might agree with you, but all that matters to some of us are opinions of our readers. And to get opinions of readers it would be better to look at SH trending for a few days, to get the full picture.

 

[greyliliy]

You also stated your opinion. Divisive opinion. If you don't believe it's divisive you can simply look at this thread. I'm not saying you can't have it, or you can't state your own opinon. Just saying that it will result in a discussion\arguing.

I knew it was devisive. People are free to disagree just as I'm free to express my own.

Unfortunately, it is not true here, on SH. We, forum users are not very representative. I agree with you here, other might agree with you, but all that matters to some of us are opinions of our readers. And to get opinions of readers it would be better to look at SH trending for a few days, to get the full picture.

I assume readers are more attracted to the content than the covers, since I see a pretty varied range of covers in trending, including one Basic ScribbleHub placeholder.

Either way, people read my stuff or they don't. They like my covers or they don't. I've been writing a mix of fanfiction and original work since 2005, and while I adore reader feedback as much as the next person, I know it's never a guarantee.

Personally, I look at tags, summaries and the first chapter more than covers. Lol. Pretty covers are just a bonus.

***

EDIT: I cleaned up the first post a little bit and added a tutorial for basic typography. :D

 

[SailusGebel]

I knew it was devisive. People are free to disagree just as I'm free to express my own.

Yes. Sorry for being rude. And thank you for providing those free resources.

 

[doravg]

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!

I am not stealing with the AI. I pay for it every month. Look, AI is good if it helps you get unstuck. I am not going to waste my time learning how to draw, but with AI, I can make my scenes. And just one question, do you use a grammar checker? That is pretty similar. Why don't you give it up in solidarity?

Honestly, getting your art out there shouldn't be about competing, but about sharing.

 

[greyliliy]

I am not stealing with the AI. I pay for it every month. Look, AI is good if it helps you get unstuck. I am not going to waste my time learning how to draw, but with AI, I can make my scenes. And just one question, do you use a grammar checker? That is pretty similar. Why don't you give it up in solidarity?

Honestly, getting your art out there shouldn't be about competing, but about sharing.

The fact AI companies charge money and profit after using mass amounts of stolen art would be my issue, yes.

And no, I never used Grammarly. I used to use ProWritingAid, but I uninstalled the program when they added Generative AI. I also canceled my Adobe Subscription when they added Firefly (and raised their price due to said new features).

(Edit: I should probably add I didn't use ProWritingAid much even before they added the AI, as a disclaimer. Used it mostly to edit someone else's stuff lol. I think I maybe used it on half a WIP? Wasnt impressed. It wasn't a big sacrifice on my part.)

(Edit 2: My regretful "I live in a society" with GenAI is my Samsung/Android phone and using Google. I'm upset about their adoption of AI, but I'm still using their other products. Unfortunately, pretty much every company is adopting some form of AI so it's sort of impossible to entirely avoid it.)

Yes. Sorry for being rude. And thank you for providing those free resources.

Sorry for getting a little heated myself. Xd

 

[greyliliy]

I've added Photopea to the software list. I played around with it and it seems to be a fairly powerful browser editor. The text editing let's you adjust kerning and leading, so that's a win. Lol.

 

[PancakesWitch]

But isn't some of your covers made by AI?

Nope

 

[greyliliy]

Updated the Stock Art section with https://freestocktextures.com/

Textures can add so much to a piece of artwork or a photo, and they're usually very easy to add if you have an editing program, like the ones listed. They also make for great backgrounds and what not if you have transparent or cut out parts of a photo.