for a work of art, all you need is creativity, inspiration and patience.

and about a dozen more programs and apps.

↝ apps

okay, in the last chapter, i said this book was mainly photoshop and pixlr (website) tutorials/tips and possibly mobile tutorials

about the mobile part, ahaha no

i was running out of storage on my phone and so in a desperate bid to stay alive, i deleted all of my graphic resources and all of my editing apps.

it's fine, i already converted all of my resources onto my laptop since i've moved on from mobile designing to designing on photoshop (previously pixlr editor).

please don't say something like "ummmm wtf just re-download all 7234391232023 apps and textures no biggie" bc yes it is a huge biggie

i don't have storage and phonto, my all-time favourite text-adding app, requires you to completely re-install your fonts after you deleted it. seeing as i have 200+, that would be a lot of work

and i hate work

long story short, sorry for any inconvenience but for now there won't be many (or any at all) mobile tutorials bc i'm lazy and bc my phone would explode from the mass downloads

however, i will include my top few recommendations for those who are looking to find suitable mobile apps. don't worry, when i first started i downloaded literally 30 different editing apps and tried them out individually before deleting more than 20.

+ superimpose

price ; $0.99 AUD

rating ; 90%

notes ; sure, okay, this might cost a pretty penny but is definitely worth it. despite not being able to work with layers, this app has amazing masking abilities and also can apply adjustments such as hue, saturation and also includes a few filter effects. it also has really cool layer effects like different types of blurring, perspective and loads of others.

+ picsart

price ; free

rating ; 82%

notes ; great substitute for superimpose and includes many many many amazing filter effects. also includes stickers (some of which are not free and require a couple dollars or so) and can also add some really cool extras such as light flares, frames and also has different kinds of brushes which allow you to draw on a canvas as well and not just working with stock images.

+ phonto

price ; free

rating ; 94%

notes ; must have for adding text to your covers. you can download your own fonts from dafont.com or choose from a range of default ones (not recommended though). you can also play around with the text and changing colours, adding gradient colours, manage the spacing in between the letters and even curl your text into a circle if you want. also includes a few light filter colourings.

+ polarr

price ; free

rating ; 95%

notes ; absolutely stunning for apply filters and colourings to your graphics. you can manage single colours or hues so for example, you could have a black and white cover but with splashes of green here and there if you want. there are also many pre-made filter effects already in the app which you can apply, or you can make your own custom ones which you can also save for later on. not to mention, there are so many polarr filters that other people have made and there will be at least a few polarr filters in a couple wattpad cover tips book here and there.

+ adobe illustrator draw

price ; free

rating ; 86%

notes ; beautiful if you're interested in vectors. i know that many people already use picsart to make vectors since picsart does have a brush tool, however, adobe illustrator draw is a better app to use in my opinion. you can easily change brush size, there are multiple different brushes already installed, you can easily undo and redo with a single swipe on the screen and not to mention you can work with layers and merge them if you like. i sound like i'm some adobe advertiser XD but legit this was the app i used for all of my earlier vectors.

that's the top ones i used to use frequently for my graphics. if you want more mobile tutorials and tips, head over to -fadedlights's cover tips book!

↝ software/programs

however, yes, i am able to make tutorials on my laptop using a variation of software or programs. currently, i am only able to use pixlr (the website) and photoshop (specifically cs6) familiarly and accurately. if you do want a tutorial on other programs such as gimp or picmonkey or canva (which i have used multiple times for school projects), feel free to ask in the comments and i'll check that out!

+ photoshop

price ; depends on what currency and what model (if you download illegally, it is free but not guaranteed to work or be safe for your device so be careful)

rating ; 93%

notes ; absolutely amazing if you're looking to start designing professionally and is ready to get serious. a few marks off since isn't very accessible due to it being so pricey and the controls appearing very complex and hard to understand. however, it's like those prestigious schools which are the best in the country but very very expensive

+ pixlr editor

price ; free

rating ; 84%

notes ; still pretty cool, many photoshop users had a 'pixlr phase' before being able to access photoshop. very good alternative to ps and is completely and utterly free. also you have the capability of working with layers and there are also PXDs which are filter colourings exclusive to pixlr and do not work with any other program. but make sure that the version of pixlr you're using is the website version. even if you're accessing it via a computer/laptop, you may be using the desktop app which is not the same and equivalent to the mobile app.

+ pixlr express

price ; free

rating ; 78%

notes ; companion to pixlr editor, not many people use this or are aware of what it does, but it offers a very quick brushing up and not really full-out editing sessions. very good for applying a finishing touch of colouring and has many filter effects. also offers tools that are unavailable in pixlr editor like the warp tool.

+ canva

price ; free

rating ; 72%

notes ; very nice if you're aiming for a minimal graphic. they have loads of illustrations you can add and nice clean fonts. i'm not sure if you can download your own custom ones though. but they have templates ready for you if you want to make a brochure or a letter, infographic and they also added a wattpad cover template recently! it's already exactly measured for you so you don't have to worry about it being the right cover size. however, it's not very ideal for more complex designs as canva doesn't offer a lot of blending options or anything.

a/n ; ahh i think that's all! there are probably loads more of amazing apps and programs i have no idea exist and absolutely don't be afraid to download or suggest others you prefer! these are just a recommendation and my personal favourites.

hopefully that wasn't too boring and long haha but i'll be posting a chapter on ingredients, basically different apps and websites that are very useful in obtaining resources or pictures to use. add this to your library if you haven't already and thank you for reading!