Recently, I needed a photo of my friend Steve Laskevitch’s new book to illustrate a tip. The problem, his book doesn’t ship until the end of February.
That’s where a remarkable set of scripts from Photoshop trainer Mark Monciardini saves the day. Mark has designed Cover Action Pro, a collection of specialized Photoshop Actions that magically turn your flat artwork into book covers, software boxes, dvd cases, magazines, and other images perfectly suited for e-commerce sites. The full collection of Photoshop Actions costs $127.
Read on to download two free Photoshop Actions from this collection.
Free Photoshop Action: Paperback Book Cover.
Mark gave me permission to post a free copy of one of his Photoshop Actions for our blog readers. I picked this paperback book as one of my favorites. Download a free copy and give it a spin. Even if you don’t need to create a 3D book cover right now, there are a ton of tricks to learn from just watching the script at work.
Cover Action Pro – Paperback Book.zip
Download and decompress this zipped file, and follow these simple instructions to install:
1. In Photoshop, Choose Window > Actions.
2. Choose Load from the Action Palette menu.
3. Load the action file you just downloaded.
Here is a short video showing how to use that action:
Another Free Photoshop Action from CAP 2.0.
If one free Action isn’t enough, I discovered that you can get another, slightly different, paperback book design from Mark’s not-yet-released CAP 2.0 product. If you sign-up for the pre-notification list on the Cover Action Pro blog, you’ll get the action shown above as a free gift.
Link: Cover Action Pro Blog.
Had I realized beforehand, I might have picked a different action to post as my example, but I really do like these paperback book designs. This way you’ll have two styles to choose from.
I’ve been quite impressed with the skill and workmanship in these scripts. Mark is currently working on CAP 2.0 — an updated collection of scripts covering new types of products. I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s got in store.
Enjoy!
Source: I discovered Cover Action Pro on the Help! My Business Sucks podcast. Thanks to Steve Laskevitch for letting me use his Photoshop CS4 Photographer’s Handbook as an example. (You can pre-order his book at Amazon by the way.)
