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Post by Sepiana on Jun 22, 2016 15:26:17 GMT
Tosh,
Following up on Billie Jean's idea to create a book from scratch . . .
Wendy Williams to the rescue again with step-by-step instructions.
Making a book
I am not sure you want to go this way but you could try some third-party book templates. They are layered files in the PSD format, which will make editing much easier as details such as highlights and shadows are part of the template design.
NOTE: Some of these templates may contain Layer Groups (or Layer Sets). Layer groups are a Photoshop feature (not available in Elements). They are used to organize your layers when you have too many of them; it is a very common feature in template files which consist of many layers. These layer groups can be collapsed and expanded. Unfortunately, you cannot do so in Photoshop Elements. However, one of the members in the now-closed Elements Village forum, dconsc, created an action to group and ungroup layers in Elements. I can post this action files if you need them.
70+ Best Book Cover PSD Templates For Designer |
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Post by tangomike on Jun 23, 2016 13:19:37 GMT
All:
Once again, the forum experience comes through with members going out of their way to assist.
BillieJean, you are close to the look on the 3D cover I'm using for my template. I've been reluctant to add the image to a post because it's not mine and I've never watermarked anything. But this morning I found a tutorial on it and added what I hope is sufficient to address the cautions about copyright issues.
I'd be interested in how you built the image from scratch, because I haven't done that. My goal is to have templates for various 3D views of a book and be able to add layers, position them, and get the heightened look along the edge as shown below.
I've also added an example of another 3D cover I did yesterday using the template. None of the lightening techniques I tried came close enough to the sample, so I abandoned that and used a Gaussian blur to soften the demarcation edge of the front with the spine. To me, that looks pretty good, but it doesn't "grab the light."
I've still not been able to achieve the precise positioning with techniques suggested here. The problem with using Perspective is that even when holding another key, the corner I drag doesn't move independently. Distort has been the only reliable tool. Operator error, probably. =;^)
Tosh
Note: Images removed by OP
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Post by tangomike on Jun 23, 2016 14:06:54 GMT
Tosh,
Following up on Billie Jean's idea to create a book from scratch . . .
Wendy Williams to the rescue again with step-by-step instructions.
Making a book
Sepiana, this is great and it will be fun experimenting with different views. I may try to contact the designer who created the highlighted edge on the Compromise cover to see if she would be willing to share the particulars of how she did it.
Tosh
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Post by Lillias on Jun 23, 2016 15:06:52 GMT
Hi Tosh Oh gosh doing something and explaining how you do it is something else, anyway I'll have a go at it. Firstly I made templates for the front cover and the spine of the Book. I did this by drawing out on separate layers rectangles to the sizes I thought looked ok for both the front cover and the spine of the book and filled them with gray. I then used the perspective tool to adjust the right hand side of the template for the front cover but for the template for the spine I used the Distort tool to shape it. You must also make sure that the edge of the spine which meets the edge of the book marries up exactly height wise. I have found that I have to keep checking that repeatedly as it has a habit of moving slightly and catching me out… I then introduced my photo ( from Morguefile) and clipped it to the Front Cover. After doing that I used the Skew tool on the photo to hopefully get the perspective right for that. Used another copy of the photo and clipped it to the spine of the book and again using the skew tool and a certain amount of resizing hopefully managed to get the photo to look natural on the spine. As you will see from my Layers I introduced Gradient Layers together with Layer masks for the shading to the left hand side of the front cover and a little to the spine. It's not perfect I know that but I trust you will find this helpful. NOTE: Another way of making your templates is simply to use the Polygonal Lasso tool and as it were trace round the front cover and the spine separately and fill the selections and have them on separate layers.  |
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Post by Sepiana on Jun 23, 2016 15:09:13 GMT
I've been reluctant to add the image to a post because it's not mine and I've never watermarked anything. But this morning I found a tutorial on it and added what I hope is sufficient to address the cautions about copyright issues. Tosh,
If you have such concerns, I would strongly recommend you remove your images from your post. Anyone, registered member or guest, will be able to download them to their computers.
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Post by Sepiana on Jun 23, 2016 15:13:35 GMT
Tosh,
Following up on Billie Jean's idea to create a book from scratch . . .
Wendy Williams to the rescue again with step-by-step instructions.
Making a book
Sepiana, this is great and it will be fun experimenting with different views. I may try to contact the designer who created the highlighted edge on the Compromise cover to see if she would be willing to share the particulars of how she did it.
Tosh
Tosh,
You are most welcome!
The advantage of Wendy's tutorial is that she gives you the basics. You can go from there and develop your own template and adapt it to your needs. For example, you can change the perspective of the book.
It would be interesting to find out which software the designer used.
I was looking at the first image. I may be wrong but it looks like some dodging was done on the spine. The colors are not so bright as the front cover colors.
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Post by tangomike on Jun 23, 2016 20:37:00 GMT
I've been reluctant to add the image to a post because it's not mine and I've never watermarked anything. But this morning I found a tutorial on it and added what I hope is sufficient to address the cautions about copyright issues. Tosh,
If you have such concerns, I would strongly recommend you remove your images from your post. Anyone, registered member or guest, will be able to download them to their computers.
Should I be concerned? The only reason I brought it up is because of the caution included in the message about changing the file upload method. I've no other reason to suspect that there are thieves lurking about on the site. In the meantime, I'll remove them. As for your comment about the 2nd cover, I didn't use the dodge tool. The background image isn't continuous, so there is a demarcation line between the spine and both the front and back covers. All I did was use Gaussian Blur to soften it. |
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Post by cats4jan on Jun 23, 2016 20:45:38 GMT
I really like this effect. I have used Pano's action to create books and they look so awesome. I've never tried it on my own. I think the secret is shading and, of course, perspective.
BillieJean - your book looks so real - great job. Your instructions are easy to follow, too.
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Post by Sepiana on Jun 24, 2016 16:49:02 GMT
Tosh,
You may want to check the Books action mentioned by Janice. I agree with her; the results are awesome. However, if you decide to go down this route, I would suggest you get the purchased version of this action (commercial and home use). The free one is too limited for your project; it just gives you the option of creating an open book.
www.panosfx.com/commercial-free-photoshop-actions/books-brochures-boxes
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Post by tangomike on Jul 2, 2016 15:41:07 GMT
I've been able to obtain some nice 3D Effect covers for paperback presentations, but the highlighting/shadow effect the at the binding on a hardcover remains an elusive goal. I found a nice 3D hardcover template (inserted below), and I've layered a front cover on top, but I can't find a way to bring the highlight/shadow effect through to the top layer with any combination of fill/adjustment layers and blending modes. It's time to ask the experts for ideas . . . Thanks in advance, Tosh Edit as suggested by Sepiana: www.psdgraphics.com/3d/blank-white-book/I've tried the dodge/burn technique and couldn't get it to work well enough, probably due to operator error. I've not yet tried the gradient idea of BillieJean's because the thought of being able to do something like changing the color of a selected object or area while retaining the underlying texture seemed worth a little trial and error. Tosh |
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Post by Sepiana on Jul 2, 2016 16:18:40 GMT
Tosh,
I am not sure an Adjustment layer or layer blending mode is the solution here. Did you try any of the suggestions mentioned earlier in this thread? Dodge/Burn on a blank layer, Overlay mode, etc.? Or a gradient?
Also, will you please edit your post to insert a link to where you download this template? For two reasons:
1. Some sites are very particular about what they call "redistribution". They want you to post a link rather than posting the file itself.
2. We can download this template and try different techniques to help you.
Thanks!
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Post by tangomike on Jul 2, 2016 16:55:52 GMT
Tosh, I am not sure an Adjustment layer or layer blending mode is the solution here. Did you try any of the suggestions mentioned earlier in this thread? Dodge/Burn on a blank layer, Overlay mode, etc.? Or a gradient? Also, will you please edit your post to insert a link to where you download this template? For two reasons: 1. Some sites are very particular about what they call "redistribution". They want you to post a link rather than posting the file itself. 2. We can download this template and try different techniques to help you. Thanks! Done in the earlier post, Sepiana, thanks. And Overlay didn't work, I did try that. |
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Post by Sepiana on Jul 2, 2016 17:07:11 GMT
Tosh,
Thanks for posting the link! I am going to download that template and do some troubleshooting. I wish it were a PSD template; it would allow for more editing flexibility.
As a side note -- I am quite familiar with that website. I have quite a few of their templates.
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Post by tangomike on Jul 2, 2016 17:23:21 GMT
Tosh,
Thanks for posting the link! I am going to download that template and do some troubleshooting. I wish it were a PSD template; it would allow for more editing flexibility.
As a side note -- I am quite familiar with that website. I have quite a few of their templates.
Sepiana, What I've been doing is extracting the template from the background (minus the shadow) and saving it as PSD. Then I can add the cover, position and skew, and fine-tune the shadows for each layer. Tosh |
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Post by Sepiana on Jul 2, 2016 17:39:08 GMT
Sepiana, What I've been doing is extracting the template from the background (minus the shadow) and saving it as PSD. Then I can add the cover, position and skew, and fine-tune the shadows for each layer.
Tosh,
OK! I got it. I had in mind a PSD template with layers. For example, the book spine on one layer and the front cover on another. Then, it would be easier to copy/paste your own images on the book spine and on the front cover layer. I believe this would give you immense flexibility in adding shadows/highlights.
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