PAINT SHOP PRO TUTORIAL - HOW TO MAKE E-BOOK COVERS

This ebook cover tutorial is lengthy but is well worth the effort of doing it. You will learn a lot of different techniques, and uses, for different PSP tools.

For those who may want to skip this Paint Shop Pro tutorial, at the bottom of this page there is a selection of E-Book Cover Tubes available for download.

Step 1

Open a New Image

400
Transparent Background
16 Million Colors

Step 2

Click on the Preset-Shapes tool in your tool palette then the Toggle Tool Options :

Style Type = Rounded Rectangle
Retain Style = unchecked
Antialias
Create as vector = unchecked

Step 3

Set your foreground style to "None" (click on the arrow in the Foreground Style box and choose the icon on the right) and your background style to "Solid Color" (click on the arrow in the Background Style box and choose the brush icon on the left).

Then click right into the Background Style box and and choose the brush icon on the left). Then click right into the Background Style box and choose a suitable colour for your book's binding.

Step 4

Draw a rounded rectangle of about 255x300 in the center of your image (watch the third brackets in your status bar for the dimensions of your rectangle).

Step 5

Click on the Selection Tool on your tool palette:
Then select the Toggle Tool Options.
Selection type = Rectangle
Feather = 0
Antialias = unchecked

Draw a long selection at the right edge of your rounded rectangle, covering all of the rounded top and bottom corners. Now hit the Delete key (Edit || Clear) and cut off the rounded corners on the right hand side of the rectangle.

You should now have a rectangle with rounded corners on the left side and 90-degree corners on the right side.

Deselect by right-clicking into the image or with Ctrl+D
(Selections || Select None).

Step 6

Select theToggle Layer Palette

Right-click on the layer in your layer palette and choose "Duplicate" from the context menu.

Right-click on the top layer, choose "Rename" from the context menu and type in "Binding".

Right-click on the bottom layer and rename it to "Back cover".

Click on the "New Layer" icon at the top left corner of your layer palette, and name this new layer "Pages". Leave that layer active, and click on the little glasses next to "Binding" to make that layer invisible.

Step 7

Click on the Preset-Shapes Tool in your tool palette again, and change the Style Type to Ellipse.

Click into your background-style box and change the colour to white.

Keep the Shift Key pressed and draw a circle of 40x40 somewhere onto the book rectangle. (watch the third brackets in your status bar again for the dimensions of your circle).

Step 8

Click on the Mover Tool in your tool palette and drag the circle to the bottom left, rounded corner of the rectangle, leaving a bit of color at the outer edge.

Step 9

Click on the Preset-Shapes Tool in your tool palette again, and change the Style Type toRectangle.

Begin at the topmost point of the white circle (you may want to zoom in a bit to get that right), and draw a rectangle with a height of 40 pixels (watch the second number in the third brackets of your status bar) and a width of about 210; it should reach a bit beyond the right edge of the book rectangle.

STEP 10

Click on the Magic Wand Tool in your tool palette:
Match mode = All Opaque
Tolerance = 0
Feather = 0
Sample merged = unchecked

Click once into the white shape you've created so far. Now click on the "Binding" layer in your layer palette to make it the active layer (it will become visible again), and hit the Delete key (Edit || Clear).

Deselect by right-clicking into your image or with Ctrl+D (Selections || Select None), then click on your "Pages" layer to make it the active layer again.

Step 11

Click on the Selection Tool in your tool palette and change the Selection Type to Ellipse.

Draw an ellipse selection at the right of the white rectangle, dimensions about 45x60.

Click on the Mover Tool in your tool palette and - with the "right mouse button" - drag the selection to its right place, a bit inwards of the right rectangle.

Now hit the Delete key (Edit || Clear), and deselect.
Ctrl+D (Selections || No Selections).

Step 12

Select theToggle Layer

Right-click on the "Pages" layer in your layer palette and choose "Duplicate" from the context menu. Right-click on the new layer (named "Copy of Pages"), choose"Rename" from the context menu and rename it to "Band".

Step 13

Select Effects || Texture Effects || Blinds:
Width = 5
Opacity = 100
Color = Dark Blue #000040
Horizontal = checked
Light from left/top = unchecked

Click on your "Pages" layer in the layer palette to make it the active layer again.

Step 14

Click on the Deformation Tool in your tool palette, then keep the Ctrl key pressed while hitting the Keyboards Right Arrow Key three times. This way you move the whole layer three pixels to the right.

Click on the Apply button in the Toggle Tool Options palette .

STEP 15

Click on the Magic-Wand tool in your tool palette and then somewhere in the blue-striped shape that you see; remember that your "Pages" layer is still active, and almost identical with your "Band" layer, so you're actually selecting the white pages shape by clicking on the blue-striped shape. Now click on your "Band" layer to make it the active layer, and hit the Delete key (Edit || Clear)
.
There should now only be a three-pixel wide band remaining to the left of the white pages shape.

Deselect by right-clicking into your image or with Ctrl+D (Selections || Select None) and switch back to your "Pages" layer in the layer palette.

Step 16

Go again to Effects || Texture Effects || Blinds:
Width = 3
Opacity = 100
Color = #000080
Horizontal = checked
Light from left/top

You now move to the book's front cover.

Cover Step 1

Click on the "Binding" layer in your layer palette to make it the active layer. Click on the Selection tool in your tool palette, and change the Selection type to Rectangle.

Then draw a big rectangular selection over the book shape. Leave the left side where you want your leather cover to go into the binding, i.e. not too far away from the circle part of your pages shape.

The top, right and bottom edge of the selection should reach beyond the blue shape.

Now reduce the selection to its opaque part by going to
Selections || Float.

Cover Step 2

Click on the "New Layer" icon in your layer palette, make a new layer and name it "Front cover".

Click on the Flood-Fill tool in your tool palette:
Blend mode = Normal
Match mode = None
Tolerance = n/a
Opacity = 100
Sample merged = unchecked

Choose another color for your background colour, slightly lighter than the original, and right-click into your selection to fill it with the new colour.

Deselect with Ctrl+D (Selections || Select None) and make sure that the "Front cover" layer is the active layer.

Cover Step 3

Give the cover a nice "Leather Look".

Effects || Texture Effects || Fine Leather:
Color = Gey
Angle = 30
Blur = 40
Number of furrows = 40
Length of furrows = 4
Transparency = 250

Cover Step 4

Now click on the "Back cover" layer in your layer palette and then on the Selection tool in your tool palette and set to Rectangle.

Draw a selection on the right of the blue rectangle, the left side of the selection not too far away from the bottom right corner of the pages shape. Again, the top, right and bottom edge of the selection should reach beyond the book part of the layer; that way we make sure that nothing is left in the end.

Now hit the Delete key (Edit || Clear) and deselect by right-clicking into your image or with Ctrl+D (Selections || Select None).

Cover Step 5

First click on the Magic-Wand tool in your tool palette and then on the book to select all the "Back cover" layer.

Now click on the Flood-Fill tool in your tool palette and right-click into your selection to fill it with the lighter color.

Deselect Ctrl+D (Selections || Select None)

Select Effects || Texture Effects || Fine Leather again and use the same settings as before.

Cover Step 6

Click on the "Binding" layer in your layer palette and then on the Selection tool in your tool palette. Draw a rectangular selection surrounding this bottom line of the "Binding" layer, with the left edge where you want your binding to go into the back cover. Hit the Delete key (Edit || Clear) and deselect by right-clicking into your image or with Ctrl+D (Selection || Select None).

Cover Step 7

Select Effects || Texture Effects || Fine Leather
Color = RGB All 64 #404040
Blur = 20
Number of furrows = 30
Length of furrows = 6
Transparency = 247

Cover Step 8

Go to Selections || Select All (Ctrl+A), then to Selections || Float (Ctrl+F).

Then go to Effects || 3D Effects || Cutout:
Vertical and Horizontal offset = both 0
Opacity = 100
Blur = 50
Shadow color = black
Fill interior with color = unchecked

Deselect with Ctrl+D (Selections || Select None).

Well, we're almost finished with our book. However, to be able to open this book easily, we need a little indentation on the binding, right next to the front cover.

Cover Step 9

Your Selection tool should still be activated and set to Rectangle.

Draw a very narrow selection alongside the front cover onto the binding (you may want to zoom in for this). Make your selection go beyond the top and bottom edge of your binding. Now go to Selections || Float (Ctrl+F) to have only the opaque part of your selection included, then to Selections || Defloat to make it a standard selection again.

Cover Step 10

Add a little drop shadow.
Effects || 3D Effects || Drop Shadow:
Vertical offset = 0
Horizontal offset = -2
Opacity = 100
Blur = 7.1
Color = black

Deselect by right-clicking into your image or with Ctrl+D (Selection || Select None). You may now notice a tiny little shadow just over and under the binding, next to the indentation.

To get rid of it, click on the "Back cover" layer in your layer palette, then on the Magic-Wand tool in your tool palette. In your Tool Options palette , change the Match Mode to "RGB Value". Now click somewhere into the empty space around the book, then click on the "Binding" layer in your layer palette and hit the Delete key (Edit || Clear). The shadow over the book should have disappeared.

Cover Step 11

We'll now add a little shadow to the pages, so click on the "Pages" layer in your layer palette. In the Tool Options palette , change the Match Mode back to "All Opaque" and click with the Magic Wand somewhere on your pages.

Go to Selections || Modify || Expand, and increase your selection by 1.

Click on the "New Layer" icon in your layer palette (no need to name the layer, but if you wish you can name it "Pages shadow").

Select
Effects || 3D Effects || Cutout:
Vertical offset = 4
Horizontal offset = 4
Opacity = 100
Blur = 6
Shadow color = black
Fill interior with color = unchecked

Deselect by right-clicking into the image or with
Ctrl+D (Selections || Select None).