Hi, everyone! I'm Aina (formerly known as Nicola//), and today I'm going to present a short graphic design tutorial for people who are on-the-go and can't afford fancy editing software. Take me, for an example. I haven't purchased Adobe Photoshop, but I can still create covers and other aesthetic works of art that I am satisfied with.

In this article, I will be teaching you how to make a simple, minimalistic book cover. The first step is to look for pictures that are simple, clean, and easy to manipulate. The photo below is the one I will be using as an example for this tutorial.

(Helena888. (2016, March 27). [Digital image]. Retrieved July 8, 2018, from https://s10.favim.com/orig/160327/kfashion-aesthetic-korea-ulzzang-Favim.com-4127925.jpg)

Once you've chosen your picture, you can start editing. I use the apps PicsArt (base, details, filters, re-coloring, finishing touches) and Phonto (text) as my main graphic design platforms, and I recommend you do as well, so that you may be able to easily follow along with the tutorial.

We will be using PicsArt in the first part of the tutorial. Here is a step-by-step guide in pictures to be able to easily visualize my instructions.

From PicsArt, you may pull up a blank white base. The standard Wattpad cover size is 512 x 800, so be sure to crop or adjust it until it matches that size.

Add the image you have saved into the white base. Center it and make it larger or smaller according to your preferences.

Using the color picker found in the draw tab, select the exact same color as the edge of the image.

Once you have found the right shade, paint over the rest of the white section until the whole cover has the same color.

Open the brush tool tab. Pick the dotted line brush option, change the color to white, make the size of the brush smaller, and draw small lines around the figure or person in the cover.

Return to the draw tool tab and select the fourth brush, change the color to white, adjust the size according to personal preference, and draw random slashes/geometric shapes all over the cover to create an aesthetic-looking backdrop.

Save your work and go to the Phonto app.

The picture shown below is the second part of my graphic tutorial, which makes use of an app called Phonto. The app includes many free fonts, but if you would like more fonts, I suggest you download them on dafont.com (also free) which automatically and conveniently transfers the files to Phonto upon download.

In Phonto, open the image you have previously edited and saved.

Tap the middle of the image, and once the option to add text pops up, click on it.

Select a font. The font I used in this edit is called KG Life Is Messy, and it is a free font I downloaded from dafont.com.

Type the title of your story, and press 'done'.

Adjust the size of the text. You may also change its color.

Center the text.

Repeat steps 2-6 to add the author's name and the subtitle. This time, I used Avenir Black.

8-9. Adjust the spacing and size to align the author's name and subtitle.

10. Put the subtitle above the title, and the author's name below. Make sure the spacing between each set of words is equal.

After making use of Phonto, you may return to PicsArt and add some finishing touches or filters. This is the finished product I have come up with:

I hope you guys have learned a lot from my graphic design tutorial! If you would like me to make more covers like these, enter my giveaway and you may just become one of two lucky winners who will receive a free cover from me. Thanks for checking out my post; all votes, comments, and follows appreciated! Have a nice day :)

Finger hearts and hugs,

Aina