As a trained graphic designer (I have a Diploma in Graphic Design and have 25+ years’ experience) and visual artist, I put in a considerable amount of thought – and heart – into my book cover designs and illustrations.
So, how are book covers made? Each artist or designer has their own way of doing it, I primarily work in the area of photomanipulation. One might ask, how is this different to using generative A.I.?
For me it comes down to how a cover is composed. I use royalty free, CC0 or public domain imagery to create my covers. I take existing images and compose them into an eerie, evocative image. I try and use the adage of “’less is more” focusing on a central point of reference.
My inspiration comes from other covers and artists, or just the images themselves, but my goal is always to take a static image or images and expand them into a montage that might tell a story or give a sense of what the book might contain.
I make a lot of pre-mades, because, well, I just love making them. I enjoy forcing images together. I also do covers on request, so I thought I’d share a cover I’ve done for Cameron at Black Beacon Books.
Take the cover for Steampunk Sleuths (out August the 30th) for example:
When designing, the art and typography always go hand in hand. You shouldn’t really consider one without the other.
This design is made up of the following images that I sourced from CC0 websites… including Pixabay, Pexels and Unsplash.
Figure 2: I liked the tunnel glimpse of the London skyline for the background
Figure 3: This guy's coat just screamed "detective"
Figure 4: The perfect steampunk hat
Figure 5: I stole the head off this image and painted on a moustache and monocle
By using all these images and cutting them up and compositing various the pieces into a whole, I’ve created a whole new image. Something that didn’t exist before. I’ve thought carefully about how they all fit together and also considered colour, mood, texturing, lighting and most importantly matched the image to the themes of the anthology: steampunk and mystery.
It probably from memory took me 1-2 days to create. Of course some might prefer to let a gen-AI do all this work. Sure it might do it in seconds but it will simply spit out an amalgamation of hundreds, potentially thousands of pieces of stolen art. There won’t be any thought put into it, no skill, no dedication to what makes a cover interesting and inviting.
Ultimately book cover designers are real people. People who read books, appreciate story and art and what makes a book special.
Please consider using a real person for your next book.
Thank you.
