How to Design a Book Cover With Corel Draw

Software Used
Corel® Painter™

Hardware Used
Wacom® Pen Tablet

Techniques
Watercolor Underpainting
Vector Art
Oil brushes
Impasto Effects

Step 1: Sketching a Layout

Examining the past

In successfully redesigning a book cover, it helps to understand current trends. Although it certainly has nostalgic appeal, the original book design may not be bold enough for today's crowded bookshelf. I decided that I wanted to retain the nostalgia of the original tale while making it look more sophisticated (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: First edition cover, 1972

Sketching

I first made a sketch by using pencil and paper, and then scanned it. Despite the book's talking rabbits,Watership Down is quite a dark tale with many of its characters as ruthless as the humans that the rabbits fear. I needed elements to communicate this subconscious underworld so I chose to surround two of the main characters, Hazel and Bigwig, with thorny branches. This twisted frame of branches reminded me of the dark undergoing in the rabbit's warren (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: The cover does not need to tell the whole story but it should pique the viewer's curiosity

Setting tone

Nature is an important theme inWatership Down, so I wanted the background color and pencil lines to have an earthy feel. In Painter, I put the sketch on its own layer and set itsComposite Method toMultiply.

Next, I used thePaint Bucket tool to fill the background with a light, yellowish brown. I created a new layer above the sketch layer and filled it with a darker brown color. I set this new layer'sComposite Method toColorize. This will make my lines look more like brown Conté crayon (see Figure 3). Lastly, I dropped theColorize layer and thesketch layer down to the canvas.

Figure 3: The browns will be the base color for the next step and set the tone for the subsequent paint layers.

Step 2: Creating a Watercolor Underpainting

Applying base colors

I created a new layer and selected theNew Simple Water brush from theDigital Watercolor brush category. On the property bar, I changed theOpacity to10%,Grain to100%,Diffusion to20, andWet Fringe to0 (see Figure 4). This creates a very soft tinting of color with some slight texture.

Figure 4: By varying the New Simple Water brush's settings as you paint, you can create a more spontaneous-looking underpainting.

Remember that with any brush that has a Grain option, your chosen paper will determine the shape of the texture. I wanted my brush to pick up a very fine pebbled tooth, so I chose theSandy Pastel Paper from thePaper Selector (see Figures 5 and 5b). To display thePapers panel, clickWindow >Paper Panels >Papers.

Figure 5 and 5b: I often work up the background colors before painting in the foreground figures.

Adding more texture

To pick up even more texture, I next chose theSponge brush from theSponges brush category. On the property bar, I changed theOpacity to20% and theGrain to20%. I then created a new layer above the Base Color layer and painted in the mottled sponge texture. Lastly, I lowered theOpacity of this layer to reduce the amount of texture (see Figure 7).

Figure 6: If you want a finer tooth in your paper, lower the paper's scale (A). You can also control the Contrast (B) and Brightness(C) of your paper. I often vary these settings as I paint to avoid a tiled-looking texture.

Figure 7: The Sponge brush creates a mottled texture around the edges. This texture reminded me of aged paper.

Painting Grisaille figures

Next, I painted in the rabbits with soft gray tones by using the New Simple Water Brush that was used previously. I made sure to work from the outside in, keeping the edges darker. This creates more of a rounded feeling in the bodies that echoes my circular composition (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Creating an underpainting in Grisaille (mostly gray tones) is an old master's technique made popular in the Renaissance. This method allows you to better see your painting's values. Get your values right and you have conquered the most difficult part of any painting.

Step 3: Creating a Vector Frame with Pattern Brushes

Creating a vector brush

Using thePen tool on a new layer, I created a thorny branch in black (see Figure 9). If I needed to adjust the branch, I used the Shape Selection tool to adjust the points.

Figure 9: I drew the branches as vector art so that I would get a clean edge to contrast with the soft edges of the rabbit's bodies.

Adding a masked pattern

On my branch layer, I made a selection around the branch with theRectangular Selection tool. I made sure to get enough space at the top and bottom. This step is important if you want to avoid feathering the black portion of your masked pattern. I then clicked theCapture Pattern button in thePattern Libraries panel. To display the panel, clickWindow >Media Library Panel >Patterns (see Figure 10).

In theCapture Pattern dialog box, I named the brushBriar Branch 1, and set theHorizontal Shift,Rectangular Tile, and Vertical Shift to0. I then repeated steps 7 & 8 five times to create five different Briar Branch brush patterns.

Figure 10: Masked Patterns

If your masked pattern does not turn out properly, there are a couple of common mistakes. First, make sure that you are making your brush from left to right and not up and down. Second, your branch must be on a transparent layer before you hit the Capture Pattern button. Lastly, select enough space from top to bottom to get a clean edge to your mask.

Painting with patterns

On a new layer, I drew a rough black frame around my painting. I selected thePattern Pen Masked brush from thePatterns brush category. From thePattern Library, I selected one of my newBriar Branch patterns, and used my paint brush to paint in a swirling motion (see Figure 11).

Figure 11: Using Pattern brushes saves time with repetitive elements.

I then painted with each of the differentBriar Branch patterns around the circle (see Figure 12).

Figure 12: The new pattern brushes will automatically follow the direction of my hand.

Step 4: Adding Depth

Applying oil paint

Next, I switched to theReal Round brush from theOils brush category. On the property bar, I set theOpacity to20%, the Feature to3.5, theResaturation to100%, and theBleed to100%. This creates a brush that is perfect for rendering hair. It paints with wet bristly strokes that blend with the underlying paint (see Figure 13).

Figure 13: Brush feature settings

As I paint, I vary the Feature setting of my brush. A higher Feature setting creates a stiffer brush that has fewer hairs (above left). I also vary the Impasto amount so that the paint's depth varies (above right).

Adding weight

Next, I further built up my paint by increasing theImpasto Effects (clickWindow >Brush Control Panel >Impasto). On the Impasto panel, I selectedColor and Depth from theDraw to list box (see Figure 14 – A). Then, I chosePressure from the Expression list box (see Figure 14 – C). With theDepth Slider (see Figure 14 – B), I started with around2% and slowly built up to 10% making sure to add heavier paint to the lighter areas so that they appear more three-dimensional.

Figure 14: Remember to vary the depth of your Impasto Effects to create more realistic paint.

Figure 15

One of the most common mistakes that I see in digital art is that the paint lacks weight, meaning the paint's depth does not vary. Remember that you don't have to use Impasto brushes to get impasto effects. Impasto effects can be added to most of Painter's brushes.

Step 5: Adding Texture

Creating cross hatch

Next, I wanted some light cross hatching on the background and the rabbit's edges to give it a bit more texture. From theBrush Selector, I chose thePencil brush category, and then theGrainy Variable Pencil. I could start cross hatching manually, but there is a faster way to create this texture. First, I created a small pattern of cross hatches on a white background (see Figure 16).

Figure 16: A small cross hatch pattern on a white background.

Capturing a Dab profile

With theRectangular Selection tool, I made a selection around the cross hatch pattern without selecting any white edges. In thePattern Library panel (Window >Media Library Panels >Patterns), I clicked theCapture Pattern button, and named itCross Hatch. Then, I changed theHorizontal Shift andVertical Shift to50% and clickedOK (see Figure 17).

Figure 17: You may choose to create several of these hatch patterns to add some variance in your painting.

Using a Pattern Pen

From theBrush Selector, I chose thePattern Pens brush category and thePattern Chalk brush. On theDab Profile panel (Window >Brush Control Panels >Dab Profile), I changed the Dab Type to theDull Profile dab so that my new brush would create a softer mark (see Figure 18 and Figure 19).

Figure 18: The Dab Profile panel allows you to change the shape of your mark.

The Dull Profile creates more of a feathered mark while the flatter brushes create a sharper mark.

Figure 19: The Pattern brush speeds up the hatching. I always apply this texture on a separate layer in case I need to remove some later.

Step 6: Capturing Character

Adding a final wash of color

Next, I increased the warmth of the colors by clickingEffects >Tonal Control >Adjust Colors. I used theHue Shift slider to select a warmer tone. With theSaturation slider, I increased the amount to65% (see Figure 20).

Figure 20: You can increase the warmth of colors by using tonal controls.

Giving the bunnies a makeover

Lastly, I re-evaluated my characters and changed the face of Hazel (left-hand rabbit) to be a tad friendlier looking. I also had forgotten Big Wig's signature tuft of hair. So I increased theFeature setting of theReal Round brush to6, and painted in some hair on the top of his head (see Figure 21).

Figure 21: A final makeover for the bunnies.

Adding text

Finally, I added in the text that best matched with the book cover's mood. I chose an elegant font to match the swirling vines, but kept the author's name in a modern font to give it an updated look (see Figure 22).

Figure 22: The redesigned book cover.

How to Design a Book Cover With Corel Draw

Source: https://learn.corel.com/tutorials/how-to-design-a-book-cover/

Share this post