15 Comments Written by Andrew Bonar on November 10, 2008 – 10:39 am

Create 3d Book Covers and Software Boxes Using Actionscripts

If you are in the business of ’selling’ digital information or products then you must have wondered how to create 3d ebook covers and the like . Even if you are giving away a free book or report to try and encourage opt-in subscribers then creating a 3d cover helps make your digital product more tangible in the mind of your website visitor. If you are trying to charge for an ebook then it is absolutely essential. I used to spend hours trying to create the effect before I realized it was a relatively simple and painless process if you simply used a Photoshop Action-Script.

What about other soft products like software, scripts or programs? Well a 3d Software Box is perfect for making the product seem more real to your users.

So this is exactly what we have for you today. A Photoshop ActionScript and a collection of templates you can download right here at StylishDesign and use completely free of charge. With these tools and this step by step guide you can have your first 3d cover complete in 20 minutes. Also included in the download is an actionscript for creating a software box. In a follow up article we will cover creating a software box in more detail. However follow the steps in this article and you should find using the other ActionScript is intuitive.

• Download the complete contents here (requires a zip program to unpack.)

Note: Throughout this article screenshots and diagrams are taken from Adobe Photoshop CS2. Therefore, you are recommended to use or this version or higher to achieve desired results (these scripts have been fully tested with CS3). No guarantee is made as to whether older versions of Adobe Photoshop can support the usage of the scripts. DO feel free to try and test them though and provide feedback through the comments section.

Step 1: Launch Photoshop

Launch Photoshop

Step 2: Loading the Action Scripts

Unzip the entire StylishDesigns ZIP package to your hard drive. The files should be allocated into their own respective directories (C:/…/Stylish Designs Covers) so just remember where you extract the files to.

You will be prompted to have all of the following files unzipped:

• PS Action Scripts – these scripts are found in the /PS Action Scripts folder. There should be 2 scripts altogether, the E-book cover and software box.

• PSDTemplates – These are 3 pre-made templates for the Box. You can find them in the /PSDTemplates folder.

Now, in your Adobe Photoshop environment, you need to load the action script:

1. Go to the “Actions” tab. You can see it on your right hand side in the Adobe Photoshop program.
   

   Go to Actions Tab

2. Click on the “triangle” icon and a list of options will appear. Select “Load Actions…”
3. The “Load” screen will appear. Go to your PS Action Scripts directory that you have unzipped earlier (C:/…/Stylish CoverDesigns/PS Action Scripts). Select “Cover – E-Book.atn” and click “Load”.
4. The E-book cover action script will be loaded and now, it is visible in your “Actions” tab!

DESIGNING YOUR COVER

Starting Your Action Script

To get started, pull down the list of actions under the “Cover – E-Book” action script. Again, you can find this under the “Actions” tab on your right hand of the Adobe Photoshop interface.

You’ll be prompted with 3 sequences:

• Start
• Compile
• Finalize

Highlight “Start”, and then click on the “Play” icon. A blank cover will be pre-made for you, like in the screen shot below:

This is the flat surface of an E-book, with the right gray area indicating the book’s binder and the lighter gray area being the front cover. When compiled, the final result will look something like this:

Inserting Text and Graphics on Your Cover

We have provided a blank template which if you follow the steps in this guide will produce exactly that – a blank 3D cover – after compilation.

Prior to compilation it’s up to you to style, design and decorate the cover – of course remembering to add words to the flat cover and the spine.

The main elements to edit are:

• Add text to the cover – put in your product title, description, sub title, author name, and/or website URL.
• Change the color of the cover’s background to suit your own tastes.
• Add graphics images and designs, from other sources or your own hand.

Because we are such a good bunch here at StylshDesign we have thrown in a couple of templates in the Zip file pre-populated with graphics and blank text for you to amend to your own requirements. Hopefully they will prove to be a useful starting point for your own inspiration.

Enjoy, and we would love to hear your comments!