July 11, 2011

Official Cover for Iwishacana!!!!!

Omg you guys! Look at it! I can't stop looking at it!



Isn't it just darling!? 

Okay, I know you guys are going to ask me, so let me put it out there: How in the WORLD did you create a cover so gorgeous without any help from a publisher or anyone with an ounce of art talent?

Well, remember that post about cover shopping? (Pssst, check it out!) And the whole cheap royalty-free stock pics I mentioned? Well, I got the 50 dollar price plan and downloaded it. It was SUPER easy.

You think I'm lying don't ya? It's the truth. Now this is the original of the picture:



Still gorgeous, but not the same. How did I change it? Two words: Photo shop.

Wait, don't go running off into your little corners mumbling, "I'm no good with technology like her! Gosh darn youth and their apparent advance killer skills in photo shopping!"

Let me tell you a little secret: This is my first time photo shopping.

I know! Shut up, right?! And I did it in like an hour. Now I know you STILL may not believe me, but it's totally true. I was actually labeling my books for my classroom library and watching a Tyler Perry movie (they were playing ALL DAY today, so I watched it. Normally, I wouldn't but my grandmother wanted to watch it, so I did.) when I downloaded this photo and was like, "Hmm, let me try out the Adobe Photo shop thingy."

It's the best, so I've heard. I tried to tinker with it a little bit before, but I couldn't even use the darn thing. And no, when I tried to use it, I still couldn't get the hang of it. So you know what I did? Ended the trial. There's no point to wasting time, reading the manual and trying to photo shop when there are plenty of other free (and yes, you read right FREE) photo shop programs out there.

So I know you're on your toes wondering: What kind of photo shop software did SHE use and was it easy to find?

Uh YEAH or else I wouldn't blog about it. Basically, I typed in free photo shop software and bam there it was: PhotoScape. No kidding.

And let me tell you once again that this software is FREE. The great price of nothing. Gotta love it. Then I thought, "Okay, let's try to use this darn thing." So I pushed a few buttons, and uploaded my pic up there and viola! Easy. Simple. Direct. Instant results.

Photo shop beginners dream.

I put down my labeler and pushed a few more buttons, just playing with it, and wiggled my eyebrows (seriously, just like in Ace Ventura Pet Detective) and said, "This is going to be fun."

And an hour or so later my wonderful book cover appeared. And it was really under an hour or two. Solemnly swear PhotoScape is as easy as breathing. This is my first time I've used it and I'm going to keep using it until . . . Well, forever.

I'm telling you guys, I was so intimated with photo shopping. I really was. I was like, "What? Me? Tamper with a photo? Ha! I'm not even an artist!" But I did it. And you guys cannot ignore the simple results of how professional the cover looks.

Come on, look at it.  All the cool kids are doing it. I'll wait.

*looks down at watches then resumes typing*

Anyway, those are the results just as I promised to present to you. Now who said I needed a publisher again to produce a professional looking book cover?

*crickets*

Yeah, that's what I thought. :)

8 comments:

  1. LOL Congrats. The cover is quite beautiful! I have had mixed luck with photoshop myself, however for help with it I have found youtube to be the best source because I can see the screen. Some videos are better than others--but I found some basics explained there that helped me a lot. :)

    New Follower. Please feel free to visit me at www.thebookaddict.net

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  2. Definitely eye catching.

    Where did you get the image? It sounds like a similar plan I subscribed to at dreamstime.com (2 wks- $45- 10 downloads/day). I'm finding that most images cost about 2 "credits," but that still gets you 70 images for $45. And I'm impressed with your photoshopping ability. I have a friend with more experience working up a new cover image for me.

    Congrats again.
    Paul Dail
    www.pauldail.com

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  3. Hey guys! Thanks for commenting and joining my group of devoted followers. :)

    @Shanan, the Book Addict-Thanks for the compliment on my cover! :) I'm tickled pink about it and excited about photo shopping the next cover. But I should have thought about checking out youtube. Adobe Photoshop just seemed too comlpicated for me. I heart PhotoScape and I probably won't go back, lol.

    I'm now a follower of your blog too. It's super cute. :)

    @Rebecca-Thanks! :)

    @pauldail-I got my image from shuttershock.com. It was five images for fifty bucks, but yours sounds better! 45 bucks for 70 images!! :O I might have to check that out. Thanks for the heads up.

    Oh, lol, my photoshopping ability? *rolls over laughing* I don't have any but thanks for the compliment. I'll take it all the same. :)

    Oooh, you're having a new cover done too?! :) May have to check yours out. *wiggles eyebrows*

    Thanks again!

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  4. I'll second everyone's opinion. That cover is great-looking.

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  5. Thanks Kristian! :) I'm glad it's getting such a positive response.

    Thanks for commenting!

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  6. I love this cover! If this is your first time with photoshop then you have done far better than I would have.

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  7. Dearest L,

    I love it love it love it. Welcome to the club. I'm in love with photoshop elements. Till now I've only used it for digital scrapbooking but it's quite addictive to photoshop photos. Well done girl. I missed you. I was buried in work the last couple of weeks and slept so little, i was sick most of last week. I'm back though. I always come back. I see you've made amazing progress. I'm so proud of you. Don't ask about my progress. Hugs, G

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  8. Hey all, and thanks for stopping by and commenting!

    @Gilbert and Gomez-Omg, thanks! :) I heart this cover and I'm glad nobody said like it sucked or anything. I was afriad that somebody would say it looked like it was photoshopped. :P

    Lol, trust me I struggled with photoshop but once I got PhotoScape, it was just SOO much easier. It was like the basics for free and after that the rest was history.

    @G-A girl after my own heart! Glad you love it! I can't believe I'm now in the photoshop addicted club! Yeah! Thanks for the compliments. :P

    Girl, I missed you too. I was wondering what was going on. You seemed so determined toedit that novel then poof. Gone. Glad to see you bounce back. You're immune system must be great. I'm proud of you too. I can't wait to see your book on the shelves. Will you join me in the evolution of e-books!? *wiggles eyesbrows and extends hand* I guess we'll see.

    Always glad to hear from you, G! Stop by anytime!

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