How to Create a Book Cover in Affinity Photo

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a book cover in Affinity Photo.

Before you begin to create the book cover in Affinity Photo, go to the following links to download the resources used in the tutorial.

• Mountains/hills
• Nebula/Galaxy
• Spaceship
• Explosion
• Woman avatar
• Alien
• Creature
• Amaz Obitaem Ostrov Italic font
• Agency Bold font
• Agency Regular font
• Barcode label
• Book mockup

Step 1

First, go to File > New. Set the Page Height to 9 in. Then, set the Page Width to 13 in. Also, set the DPI to 300.

Step 2

Make sure you have the rulers showing. Press CTRL + R to show the rulers. Or go to View and click on Show Rulers.

Step 3

Now drag two guidelines from the ruler on the left. Place the first guideline on the 6in and the 7in. Go to View and check Lock Guides.

Step 4

Next, go to File > Open. Select the image of the mountain range and drag it onto the document turn on the Lock Aspect Ratio in the Transform Panel. Then, resize the image to fit the document. Right-click on the image. Go to Transform > Flip Horizontal.

Step 5

Grab the Selection Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Context Toolbar, set the Mode to Add and check the Snap to Edges box. Select the mountains. Press CTRL + ALT + R to refine the selection. Or you can hit the Refine button in the Context Toolbar. Set the Output to New Layer and hit Apply. Take the Move Tool and bring the image down some. Label the layer Land.

Step 6

Go to File > Open and select the nebula/galaxy image and drag it onto the document. Place it beneath the land layer. Resize the image the way you see it on the screen. Label the layer Sky.

Step 7

With the sky image selected, click the Add Pixel Layer icon in the Layers Panel two times to add two new layers. Select the two layers and drag them into the sky layer.

Step 8

Now, select the first pixel layer we added. Go to the Swatches Panel. Double click on the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the following hex code #322F30. Then, go to the Edit menu and click Fill with Primary Color. Set the Blend Mode of the layer to Overlay.

Step 9

After that, select the second pixel layer. Next, go to the Swatches Panel. Double click on the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the following hex code #9B4436. Go to the Edit menu and select Fill with Primary Color. Set the Blend Mode of the layer to Color Dodge.

Step 10

Next, go to the Layers Panel. Select the first layer we added to the sky layer. Press CTRL + J to duplicate the layer. Then, drag the duplicate into the land layer. Change the Blend Mode to Color Burn and lower the Opacity to 60%.

Step 11

Once you’ve done that, go to File > Open. Select the image of the spaceship and drag it onto the document. With the Move Tool, resize the image the way you see it on the screen.

Step 12

With the spaceship image still selected, press CTRL and click the thumbnail of the ship in the Layers Panel. Next, click the Adjustments icon and select the Curves adjustment. Drag the adjustment into the Spaceship layer. Go to the Master Channel. Now add a point in the middle of the curve and drag it slightly up. Add a point between the point on the left and the pointe we just added and drag it slightly down. After that, add a point up the curve between the middle point and the point on the right and bring this point down some.

Step 13

Go to the Red Channel. Add a point and drag it up some. Label this layer Spaceship.

Step 14

Now, go to File > Open and select the image of the soldier with the explosion in the background.

Step 15

Grab the Selection Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Context Toolbar, set the Mode to Add and check the Snap to Edges box. Take the brush and select the yellow area of the explosion along with the debris that’s in this area. Once you’ve done that, press CTRL + J to place a copy of the selection onto a new layer. Then copy the layer and place it onto the book cover. In the Layers Panel, drag the layer between the spaceship layer and the land layer.

Step 16

Now, press CTRL and click the thumbnail of the explosion image. In the Master Channel, add a point in the center of the curve and drag it up some. Now, go to the Red Channel. Click and drag a point above the point on the left and drag it up some. Next, add a point in the middle and drag it up some. Add a point further up the curve and drag it up. Label the layer Explosion.

Step 17

Go to File > Open. Select the image of the woman avatar. Drag her onto the document. Right-click on the image. Go to Transform > Flip Horizontal. Then, resize the image the way you see it on the screen.

Step 18

Now, press CTRL and click the thumbnail of the woman avatar. Click the Adjustments icon and select the Curves adjustment.

Step 19

Now go to File > Open. Drag the image onto the document. Resize it the way you see it on the screen and place it on the book cover. In the Layers Panel, place the alien layer below the woman avatar layer.

Step 20

Select the alien. Press CTRL and click the thumbnail of this layer in the Layers Panel. Click the Adjustments icon and select the Curve adjustment. Drag this layer into the alien layer. Click and add a point in the middle and drag it slightly up. Next, go to the Red Channel. Click and add a point in the middle of the curve and drag it up. Now, click and add a point further up the curve. Drag this point down.

Step 21

Next, go to File > Open and select the image of the creature. Grab the Selection Brush Tool. Like before, set the Mode to Add and check the Snap to Edges Box. Take the tool and select the creature. Once you’ve done that, press CTRL + J to place a copy of the selection onto a new layer. Then, copy the create and paste it into the book cover. Resize it the way you see it on the screen.

Step 22

With the creature still selected, press CTRL and click on the thumbnail of the image. In the Layers Panel, click the Adjustments icon and select the Curves adjustment. Add a point slightly above the point on the left and drag it up. Add a point in the middle and drag it down some. Then, add a point further up the curve and drag it up.

Step 23

Now, go to the Red Channel. Add a point in the middle and drag it down some. Now, add a point further up the curve and drag it up. Label this Creature 1.

Step 24

Select the creature. Then, press CTRL + J to duplicate the layer. Resize the duplicate making it smaller. Then, place it in the area you see on the screen. Label it Creature 2. Make sure this layer is beneath Creature 1 in the Layers Panel.

Step 25

Next, click the Adjustments icon and select the Recolor adjustment. Make sure the layer is at the top of everything. Set the Saturation to 49% and Lightness to 6%. Then, set the Blend Mode to Average and lower the Opacity to 50%.

Step 26

After that, click the Adjustments icon again. This time, select the Level adjustment. Set the Black Level to 4%, Gamma to 1.1, and the Output White Level to 94%.

The next steps for creating a book cover in Affinity Photo is to add the text to the design.

Step 27

Grab the Artistic Text Tool from the Tools Panel. Type Battle of. Then select the text layer. Press CTRL + Shift, then drag a copy of the text layer beneath the original. Type Polaris. Select both text layers. Go to the Font Family and select the Amaz Obitaem Ostrov Italic font that you downloaded. Or you can use another type of sci-fi font.

Step 28

With the text layers still selected, go to the Swatches Panel and set the text to the following hex color #FBDA40.

Step 29

Now, select both of the text again. Press CTRL + Enter to change the text into curves. Turn on Snapping in the Toolbar. Double click on the B to select the letter. Space the letter out the way you see them on the screen.

Step 30

After that, select both the text groups. Press CTRL + J to duplicate the layers. Select the Battle of group. Press Shift and rotate the group -90 degrees. Resize the text and place it along the spine of the cover. Now, select the Polaris group. Press Shift and rotate the group -90 degrees. Then, place the text along the spine of the book and resize the text way you see it on the screen.

Step 31

Grab the Artistic Text Tool from the Tools Panel. Click and type C. Neil. Now, go to the Font Family and set the font to Agency FB Bold. Then, press CTRL + J to duplicate the text layer.

Step 32

Select the duplicated text layer. Press and hold Shift, then, rotate the text to -90 degrees and place it on the spine of the book. Resize the text like it is on the screen.

Step 33

Now, select the two text layers of the front cover. Press CTRL + J to duplicate the layers. Place the duplicated layers on the back of the book cover. Resize the text the way you see it on the screen.

Step 34

After that, grab the Frame Text Tool from the Tools Panel. Draw a text box on the backside of the book cover. Go to the Swatches Panel. Double click the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. Set the text to the following hex code #FCE784.

Step 35

Next, go to File > Open. Select the bar code label and drag it onto the document. Place it on the bar code label and drag it onto the document. Place it on the backside of the book cover. Take the Move Tool and resize it the way you see it on the screen.

Step 36

Grab the Frame Text Tool from the Tools Panel. Draw a text box beneath the summary of the book. Type the text that you see on the screen. Go to the Font Family and set it to Agency FB regular and set the color of the text to the same color as the text in the other text box #FCE784.

Mockup

Now, it’s time to take the book cover in Affinity Photo and place it onto a mockup.

Step 1

In the Layers Panel, select all the layers. Click the first layer. Then, scroll down. Hold Shift and click on the sky layer. Right-click on the selected layers and select Merge Visible. Turn the layers we selected off.

Step 2

Select the merged layer. Next, grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the Tools Panel. Set the Mode to New in the Context Toolbar. Take the tool and make a selection of the front cover of the book. Then, press CTRL + J to place a copy of the duplicate onto a new layer. Label this layer Front. Press CTRL + D to deselect. Turn this layer off for now.

Step 3

After that, select the merged layer. Then, take the Rectangular Marquee Tool and make a selection of the spine of the book. Press CTRL + J to duplicate the selection. Label this layer Spine. Press CTRL + D to deselect and turn this layer off.

Step 4

Now, select the merged layer. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to make a selection of the back of the book. Press CTRL + J to duplicate the selection. Label this layer Back. Press CTRL + D to deselect and turn this layer off.

Step 5

Turn the merged layer off and turn the front layer on. With this layer selected, go to File > Export. Select PNG. Then, go to Area. Click on Selection Area. Then, click Export. Name the layer Front and save it. Turn this layer off.

Step 6

Next, turn the spine layer on. Make sure the layer is selected. Then, go to File > Export. Go to Area and set it to Selection Area. Click Export and name it Spine. Then, save the image. Turn this layer off.

Step 7

After that, turn the back layer on. Select the layer. Then, go to File > Export. Change the Area to Selection Area. Click Export. Name the image Back and save it. Press CTRL + ; to remove the guides.

Step 8

Now, go to the mockup link. Scroll down and click Download Photoshop PSD. Right-click on the downloaded file and click Extract All > Extract. Open the extracted file. Click on the mockup file and open it.

Step 9

Open the Front Cover group. Then, open the Front Spine group. Double click on the Front Spine layer. Go to File > Open and select the spine image. Drag it onto the document. Grab the Move Tool. Make sure Snapping is turned on in the Toolbar. Take the tool and line up the spine with the place holder spine. Once you’ve done that, delete the Layer 6 layer and close the embedded tab.

Step 10

Now, open the Front Cover group. Double click on the Front Cover layer. Next, go to File > Open and select the front cover of the book. Drag it onto the document. Take the Move Tool and align the front cover image with the placeholder layer. Then, delete Layer 7. Close the embedded tab.

Step 11

After that, open the Back Cover Book group. Then, open the Back Cover Spine group. Double click on the Back Cover Spine layer. Next, go to File > Open. Select the spine image again and drag it onto the document. Grab the Move Tool and arrange the spine image. Delete the Layer 7. Then, close the embedded tab.

Step 12

Once you’ve done that, open the Back Cover group. Double click on the Back Cover layer. Next, go to File > Open. Select the back cover of the book and drag it on the document. Take the Move Tool and place the image over the document. Then, delete Layer 7 and Layer 5. Close the embedded tab.

We’ll now change the background for the book cover in Affinity Photo.

Step 13

Turn the Backdrop layer off. Select the Model Background layer off. Go to the Swatches Panel and bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the following hex code #05A96B. Or you can use whatever color you want.

Step 14

Go to the Edit menu and select Fill with Primary Color to fill the layer. If you choose not to use the Backdrop image, turn the Wall Shadow layer off in the Layers Panel. Also, you might want to turn off the Catch Shadow layer in the Front Cover Book group.