BASIC BOOK COVER GUIDE, part 2 - "layers"

Hi! I hope you have read the first book cover guide. If not, I recommend you to read through that one first, and then come back here, as this one is a step forward from that one. Find it here: http://www.wattpad.com/forums/discussion/1306/Very+basic+BOOK+COVER+GUIDE

I am still using the free program Picasa, but feel free to use whatever program you prefer.

Step 1

What I will do first is to find TWO pictures I'd like for my book cover to be. I open them in Picasa. In this tutorial I am using a picture of myself, and a background type photo I found on a web page that offers free, uncopyrighted pictures. Yes - just because it's open on the internet, doesn't mean you can take it and use it like you want to. What if someone stole your story? It's just the same with images.

Picture 1.

> Picture 2.

Now, what I do is to pin these pictures in the little grey square on the left corner. See it? It should be called something like "Selection". If you look to the very right of that square, there should be a green pin, over a red circle. Click that one when you're on both pictures, and the two of them should appear together in the square.

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Step 2

Now you have to adjust your pictures so they will look good over each other. I do so by overdoing the contrast on the first picture, Picture 1. That way, when they overlap each other, the darker features will show better through.

(Yes, I did tag this because I'm afraid of people using it for their own pictures without my permission)

I also fix some basic stuff on the sky picture, and then I click the little picture on the menu, it is an icon with a sunset and a blue little picture over it. It should say Collage or something like that under it.

Your window should now look like this:

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Step 3

You're now in Collage mode. Here you have tons of different typed of collages you can make, but we focus on the last one on the list; the layer one. Translated from Norwegian it says "multiple exposure"

Now your pictures are squished together. But it doesn't look like a real book cover yet. Under the drop down menu where you choose sizes for your picture there are two icons, the one has a landscape on it, and the other a silhouette of a person. Click the latter.

Now your collage is almost ready, what remains is to click the upper right icon of the four, the "make collage" or something along those lines. Then you will have to wait a couple seconds, up to a minute until your picture is ready.

When it's ready, Picasa sees it as a whole new picture. Now you can add text, and edit it as it is. You can add effects, such as grey with focus, or sepia.

And this is the finished product!

GOOD LUCK!

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*Post if I need to add something later, just ignore this* :)

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@CarolinaV Hey!!! You should post this in the Book Cover forum too!! :D :D

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Done! :) @Kaye21

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what is the website?

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@Booksaregreat You can google it, I won't put out the link because if might be just the Norwegian version then. It's a google program too. :)

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This is really cool! I used the first guide I'm gonna try this one now too! :) I love Picasa! It's so easy to use! I love your guides!

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@CarolinaV you're really pretty:) ...and this was very helpful. Thank you!

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I'm so glad you did this! People ask me how to layer photos all the time, now I can just send them your way! :-P

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what's the web page that you said has free pictures

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Hey how do i like make a awesome book cover like the ones on the homepage without coping pictures from site like Google and stuff? Plzz help!

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@CarolinaV hi um do u know how to put two celebrities on the cover but like you've cut them out and stuck them on that pic? i know i can't explain very well but if u get me u get me

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What website did you get the picture from?

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how do you put the pictures on to wattpad

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@perfectrain Owh, thanks! @buzzergirl94 Haha, so cool!

This picture is mine, it is of me. To find free pictures you have to do some research for yourself. Try "uncopyrighted pictures" or something similar in Google. @raylinn1365 @ItsDeeeee @twinkly123

I understand what you mean, and I do know. Except that it is a VERY complicated process compared to the picasa-way of doing it. It is called photoshop, you copy-paste pictures in each other so they look real. Google around :) @Pictures_For_Annipel

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@CarolinaV ok thanks for the advice!

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thank you so much...... this is such a great help

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Is there any way that I could do this even if I can't download the software? I can't and I would really like to be able to make my own book covers. Please help!

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GASP PICASA CAN DO THAT??? Thank you so much for enlightening me! ~Alice

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What's the Image code? That you use to post the image to the post?

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@AlexKellerr < img src="imagelinkhere" > Except no spaces between the

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Oh my gosh, this was so helpful!! It was EXACTLY what I needed to make my cover for my book! Thank you soo much!! :D

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@CarolinaV

How do you embed the picture/book cover into a comment?

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