Not everyone can afford to use Photoshop and while Gimp is a free download, both programs require a huge learning curve. So if you are in the market for ecovers, below you will find a few simple ideas for creating your own ecovers, icons, banners and report covers.
Sometimes the issue with a photo editing program is that they are just too complex. A much simpler version would often be sufficient for creating images.
Quite by accident I ran into a simple solution that I wanted to share with you today. That is to use Microsoft Power Point to create your ebook covers.
The one requirement that you will need here is to have a suitable image for your ecover. There are various websites where you can download quality images from. Some will be free but others require that you purchase the image. Sites I like to use include:
- RGB Stock Images
- Dreamstime
- iStockphoto
- Stockfresh
When paying for an image most sites use a credit system. The larger sized photos require more credits. So when you join you would purchase a certain number of credits and apply these against your purchases. You may need to use anywhere from 5 to 13 or more credits for your photo. Compare the sites and browse through their photos before deciding where to use your money.
Once you have your image we are ready to start creating your new ecover. Open up Power Point and choose a theme related to your ecover. Select the design and then hover over the color options to see the variations.
If your book is based on black magic then you would want to use a darker theme color. If it is based on a relationship then a more light or bright based theme would be best. Remember that you can always change your design later. I find it easiest to save a new copy each time I add a new variation. This way I can just go back to the original if I end up not liking it!
Next you want to select your page size and orientation. Just change the orientation to portrait and use a 6 x 8 inch size or select 600 x 800 pixels. This provides you with lots of room to work with and you can always clip or resize the image if necessary afterwards.
You are now ready to insert your image onto the slide. Use the Insert > Picture File commands to do this. I like to pull the image so that it fits onto the entire slide, you can pull it over a little as well, if necessary to hide any of the background.
The next step is to add your name and the title of your book. You will do each one separately by using the Insert > Text Box commands. Add your text and then move the box around until it looks good on the page. Use a font that stands out but make sure that it is readable. So choose a good font size and it often helps to Bold the font as well.
You can easily add effects to your text such as Bold, glow, italics and you can even add drop shadows. Play around with these effects until you are happy with your results. To find effects go to the Drawing Tools command and then click on Text Effects and select your choice. Using the glow and soft edges effect can really make your image stand out and it almost turns it into a 3D effect.
Your name and title may spread into two lines and sometimes it is easier if you create a new text box instead of letting the words wrap. If you want to go back and make changes this is often an easier method to use. Or you may wish to have your surname slightly larger than your first name.
Once you have played around with your image and are satisfied with the results it is now time to export your image. Go to the Windows button and click on Save As and for file type you want to choose the JPEG option. A window will pop up asking if you want to apply this to all the slides or just the current slide, select current and save to your computer.
If you need to resize your image you can use an editor such as Paint or Snag it to achieve this. Your new ecover is ready for you.
Still find this option a little too time consuming or difficult, or still too expensive, it will cost you around $15 – $20 to create each ecover. This eBook cover creator is another option that I also use on a regular basis.
