[Dano2]

Hi all...
I am writing an e-book and I need to create a graphic that looks like a book. I am pretty good at design having used Publisher for years but I have old publisher and it cannot create that kind of graphic. Are there any free programs out there that I can use? thanks in advance...dano

[tomdkat]

I tend to like Gimp. You can find a Windows installer here.

Would MS Paint work for you? You might have that already, if you're using Windows. What platform do you need this app for? Gimp runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix/Linux.

Peace...

[Dano2]

Hi...I have Gimp and tried it but to tell you the truth I can't seem to figure out how to use it...it must be either really simple or complicated?
Yea I have Win XP and it has paintbrush but I can do more with Publisher....

[tomdkat]

Ok, that's cool. Until someone else posts a recommendation that you find suitable, send me your Gimp questions via PM and maybe I can help you, in the interim.

Peace...

[Dano2]

Just need to know where to start with it? Any online instructions? I open it up and just go in circles trying to create something....It seems not very user friendly and I hate to say it but I'm a software tester....and I just end up going in circles trying to use it to make a simple square or something...thanks

[Sequal7]

Hello Dano2

If you want to learn to use gimp, follow this;
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

If you want to create a fast, simple ebook logo, use this;
http://www.bosseye.com/boxshot/index.htm

[Dano2]

Hello JoyCo and thanks for the links. It appears that with boxshot you need to already have an image to use and ready to go? So therefore I would have to use something like Gimp to first create image? Is there any other software to use other than Gimp? thanks...dano

[Sequal7]

Not really, all you need is any image (like that of a book) you can get lots of them from the internet to use as your ebook background, or simpy, take a picture of a book and use that image. Trust me, it doesn't get much easier than that.

If you want to learn theGimp just play around with it a bit, follow tutorials etc. I can offer to build you an ebook image too if you want, just pm me and I will be happy to assist.

[Dano2]

Hi.. Yes I found some free book images online, my question is what do you do about putting
text on the front of the free book image? Like the name of my ebook? thanks...Dano

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by Dano2

Hi.. Yes I found some free book images online, my question is what do you do about putting
text on the front of the free book image? Like the name of my ebook? thanks...Dano

Easy. Using Gimp:

1. Load the book image into Gimp
2. In the toolbox, click the "A" (or 'T' depending on the version of Gimp you're using) icon. That is the text tool.
3. Click on the book image and a dialog window appears for you to enter your text.
4. Enter your text
5. Choose the font and size you want, etc.
6. The text will appear in its own layer and you can drag the layer around to position the text where you want.
7. Save the image as a ".XCF" file, which is Gimp's proprietary format. This preserves the layers so you can edit them later.
8. Save the image again as a JPEG and export the image (you will be prompted for this)

You can find a tutorial on some of this here.

Peace...

[Dano2]

Thats awesome thanks for the step by step thats exaclty what I needed...one last thing, do you recommend any particular site to get the e book image? one that may work better than most for Gimp? thanks...

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by Dano2

do you recommend any particular site to get the e book image? one that may work better than most for Gimp? thanks...

Naw, Gimp can work just fine with any GIF, JPEG, PNG, Bitmap (BMP), and several other image formats. What I would do is grab ANY image and practice the steps above so you can get the hang of it.

Peace...

[Dano2]

Will do..and thanks alot!

[Dano2]

Well I hate to say it but I'm having a terrible time with Gimp....seems you need a class or masters degree to use it....not very user friendly I don't think. So far I opened up a ebook graphic in gimp....that was easy to do, I was able to type some text onto the book but then when ever I tried to move the text the text edit box would just keep opening up...
Next problem I see is that the ebook images are at a angle and the text is straight on flat and won't match the angle of the graphic unless there is a way I don't know about...but I can't even get that far....

[tomdkat]

Ok, if you can post the ebook image you're using in this thread and I'll send more detailed instructions.

Peace...