I’ve been asked how I make the 3D covers for my books.

It isn’t all that hard if you have a program like Photoshop or something to put the two images together.

 

But let me show you how.

Step 1.

First you need a cover of the book you want to use. For this example I used the cover of my newest book Triple Creek Ranch book 6. You also need whatever 3D book template you decide on. I’m including links at the bottom of this post.

Select all the cover, or in this case, the part inside the light blue markings. (These are there because for a print book you have to have extra on the edges. And you probably can’t see them well in the picture.) Copy.

Step 2.

Paste your cover into the image with the 3D blank book. If it’s anything like mine, you’ll have to majorly resize it. But that’s not hard. Simply press Command + T and then hold down the shift button as you grab a corner and drag it smaller. (This keeps the cover from being distorted in strange ways when you make it smaller.)

Step 3.

Size it so the cover and the spine are the same size. I know the rest of it doesn’t match, but we’ll get to that. It can be a bit tricky if you are working with a white book on a white background, but if you are careful, you can see the edge.

Now we get the fun part. 🙂 Are you ready?

Step 4.

You want to go up to Edit, and down to Transform, and click on Distort. Now click and drag the top right corner to match the top right corner of the blank book.

Step 5.

Then do the same with the bottom corner. Click and drag the bottom corner. Now, you may notice that, at least in this template, some of the blank cover is still showing. Don’t try to drag the corners out more or it will end up looking like the cover is too large for the book. (Believe me, I’ve done that.)

Step 6.

Instead, we want to go back to Edit, then Transform, and this time click on Warp. Click and drag the little black dots on the right until the cover fits nicely over the blank one.

And there you have it. All you have to do is save your file. I’d choose Save As so that you still have the original template and can use it again. One other tip, save it as a .jpg but don’t save it full size! I usually save mine about 5. If it is too large, it will take a while to load on the page, but a smaller size looks just as good.

I got all three of my templates from Canstock. There are hundreds to choose from, so take a look, find one or more that you like and try it out. Suggestion: download a “sample” one to see if you like it before you purchase one of the images. (Don’t worry, you can use the smallest one just fine for only about $3.00.)

And there you have it. Go make some amazing 3D covers of your own! Are you going to go try some? I’d love to hear how it goes. Are you interested in more instructions on how to create something? Just ask.

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