3D Software Boxes
Many people who create or market software, eBooks, or other downloadable products feel that some kind graphical representation of their product is useful. This isn’t because they want to trick people into believing the product is something that it isn’t, it’s simply because they want a nice image to represent the product in an attractive light. Such images can be used in the product itself (for example, as a logo or in a copyright, title screen or splash page), in advertising and marketing materials, and on the web as a navigation tool (a site offering multiple products could allow visitors to choose between products by clicking on the appropriate image).
The most popular type of images that used for this purpose are 3D box shots (also known as “virtual box shots”, “box covers” or “virtual boxes” in the case of software, and generally known as “eBook covers” or “eCovers” in the case of eBooks) which contain a image of a product as it were in a box (or book/binder), drawn as if to look 3D. These images are in fact simply graphics, usually in PNG or JPEG format, but occassionally in other formats such GIF, BMP or Flash.
There are quite a few different ways of creating such images:
1. You can draw them yourself using a painting program - obviously it helps if you’re an expert at computer graphics!
2. You can pay a professional graphic artist to draw the images for you. Working closing with a good artist can produce some great results, but of course this approach is likely to be expensive, especially if you need quite a few images.
3. You can get scripts for Adobe Photoshop that help will you draw the box shot. Generally what you have to do is create a 2D image of the front cover yourself, and the script then manipulates the image to give it a 3D appearance. The drawback with this approach is you need to buy both the Adobe Photoshop program itself, and the eCover scripts for Photoshop, and that can add up to quite a bit.
4. You can purchase standalone software speocifically designed for creating box shots and ebook cover images.
By S. Tanna. Easy-to-use and affordable software for creating your own 3D software boxes and ebook covers - http://www.coverfactory.com/ - Why pay somebody else, when this software lets you create as many box shots and ebook covers as you want.
