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lillyr32396140
lillyr32396140
Known Participant
September 1, 2023
질문

How do I create an artist book with text and beautiful images from start to finish for digital print

  • September 1, 2023
  • 3 답변들
  • 3001 조회

Unable to find videos that show how to create an artist book from start to finish. I've watched all the other videos for one page layouts, covers etc....but..nothing addresses an artist book of about 70 pages with texts and images. Do I do a book? Or a document first? I'm having formatting issues with starting off as a book. Any urls to watch from start to finish for macs? I am copying and pasting the text from ms word. Do I make images boxes (frames) and text boxes first and import the text and then later the images? How do I number the pages? 

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3 답변

James Gifford—NitroPress
James Gifford—NitroPress
Legend
September 1, 2023

This is much like a few other recent inquiries, and the question really distills down to "How do I use InDesign?"

 

There are two facets to what you're asking. One is a reasonable mastery of InDesign as a tool, so that you can do the layout, import the images correctly, and set it all up for printing or other output. For that, the suggestions to work through some of the basic tutorials are the right direction. Until you are comfortable working with the techical elements, there's not much value in explaining the more subtle aspects of book layout.

 

The other part is a grasp of print and layout esthetics — using the tools to make something "beautiful" — and that is not as easily taught. Either you have those basic skills, or acquired them from another endeavor, or you're going to have to develop them.

 

If you have one or a few projects in mind for some content, Derek's suggestion of using one of the template-based service printers is probably the easiest road. If you want to get into this on a larger scale... those tutorials are the starting place.

    lillyr32396140
    lillyr32396140작성자
    Known Participant
    September 6, 2023

    Thank you. It would be nice for Adobe to do a tutorial called, "Book Design" and just show us how to set up and format the pages for print on demand, ebook, and offset. It could be a simple book of 15 pages and they just show how to do the front cover and a few pages. In any case, I found this video by Terry Lee White. It was extremely informative in that he goes into the difference between choosing creating a document vs a book to create the book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaJG3buRh2Y&list=PLy78BhdrmzwV1Osq6c7TAMNDi3EEYZaQ1&index=1&t=1398s

    lillyr32396140
    lillyr32396140작성자
    Known Participant
    September 6, 2023

    Well, that would kind of be equivalent to a short tutorial on how to win the Indy 500. 🙂

     

    There's a lot that goes into a successful book design, and by 'successful' I mean just getting it all technically and esthetically right. Any simplified step-by-step guide is only going to show you how to do that layout etc., and book publication isn't really a Lego or Paint-by-Numbers endeavor. You really do have to have decent mastery of InDesign layout and features, and then decent grasp of book layout and esthetics... other than blindly dumping content into a pre-made template, there really isn't any middle ground.

     

    InDesign is a complex tool, not a Canva template. And it's complicated because publication design, from basic stuff to books, is very complex. The tool just makes the tasks a little easier and more organized, but it doesn't replace the need for those two areas of knowledge... and that's separate from knowing enough to write and create a book about something.

     

    There is no such thing as pushbutton publishing. Not even on Canva.


    Understood. I took graphic design classes long ago and learned about kerning, justifying, etc...and you are absolutely right about aesthetics. Most books look horrible because many people doing books are amateurs and have 0 design skills. Lol...

    Derek Cross
    Community Expert
    Derek CrossCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 1, 2023

    Alternatively Photobook printing companies like Bob Books https://www.bobbooks.co.uk/ and Blurb https://www.blurb.co.uk/ have templates and software to make it easier for those without InDesign skills to create such books.

      lillyr32396140
      lillyr32396140작성자
      Known Participant
      September 6, 2023

      Thanks. So appreciate your recommendations.

      T
      Thunder-Lightning
      Inspiring
      September 1, 2023

      Hi,

      I would suggest you to watch some InDesign training videos on LinkedIn Learning.

      lillyr32396140
      lillyr32396140작성자
      Known Participant
      September 6, 2023

      Thank you. Can you post the direct link to InDesign training videos. I couldn't find them. 

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