How to Create a Spread for a Children's Book in Photoshop (for Amazon KDP)

[@DiegoguerraCocc]

Did you know that I love you? This is exactly what I was looking for!

[@HeatherCashArt]

Awww!!! You're so sweet!!! Thank you!! 😝

[@vivianuwakwestudio]

Your video was the biggest gift I received today. So concise and easy to follow. Thanks a million, Heather! You've gained a new subscriber

[@HeatherCashArt]

Aw thank you so much!!! ❤️

[@horoshuhin]

great tutorials, Heather. here's a quick tip... you can do math in photoshop. just type 8.75*2 and click off, it will make the calculation. hope that helps

[@HeatherCashArt]

I thought I had tried that but it never worked! I will try again!!

[@Videogamergurl64]

Very helpful, Thanks

[@anigarzat7]

Excelente tutorial, thanks! I created and uploaded a Coloring Book to Amazon KDP, and know I am creating a Story Book for children with two page spread and did not know how to do it, this was exactly what I needed. Thanks and regards from México!

[@HeatherCashArt]

Awesome! So glad I could help! That's so cool that you made a coloring book!! I'd love to see it (and your story book) ☺️

[@anigarzat7]

@@HeatherCashArt Thanks Heather, do you want me to send you the link of my book in Amazon?

[@HeatherCashArt]

@@anigarzat7 Yes!!

[@alisagreen3162]

Heather, you're a great instructor! Thank you! 💚

[@HeatherCashArt]

You are so welcome! Thank you for the kind words :)

[@dineshrodrigo5452]

Loves from Sri Lanka. Good video i am doing children book too. Great video learnt many things from your video. Thank you !!

[@HeatherCashArt]

You're so welcome!! Good luck with your book! ❤️

[@dineshrodrigo5452]

@@HeatherCashArt Thank you so much. I wish your all the best too from my bottom of heart. God bless you

[@lauram.9306]

Thank you so much, Heather! Your video is very helpful.

[@HeatherCashArt]

Aw, so glad you like it! Thank you for watching! ❤️

[@percys8774]

Super helpful, thanks.

[@HeatherCashArt]

You're very welcome! ☺️

[@natalieingram3631]

This is a wonderful tutorial. Thank you so much for being so generous with your time and knowledge. :D

[@HeatherCashArt]

You're so welcome!

[@f.fierro1256]

Thanks for all you do....you're awesome

[@RetirementGain]

Hi Heather, have you also tested saving your fonts to shapes (outlines) and saving each page as a PDF. This avoids having to 'flatten' all the CMYK layers as a single JPEG bitmap. Theoretically, this should give you a better resolution and clarity on the final page product. I haven't done an AB test on the Amazon on Demand printing services, curious to know if you have tested the 'save pages as a PDF' approach and reviewed the final finished product?

[@HeatherCashArt]

Hi, I have not done extensive testing but if your file resolution is 300dpi and you are not compressing the jpg, I don't believe it would make a difference. For all of my books that I uploaded to KDP, I flattened my PDFs, and the quality came out great. The only time I could see having the text as shapes would be if you wanted to make the dimensions larger, then you wouldn't lose quality, but if you are saving it out at the appropriate size then there shouldn't be an issue. But, correct me if I'm wrong.

[@RetirementGain]

@@HeatherCashArt Thanks for responding so quickly! My artwork is highly detailed with multiple layers and filters ... I think the only way to make a proper assessment is to test! Especially as the Amazon printer process is highly viable with multiple POD contractors. To the best of my knowledge they don't even specify their preferred CYMK printing model! I will give the PDF page approach with shapes a blast and share the results.

[@faithleblanc197]

Thank you this is exactly what I needed!

[@HeatherCashArt]

Yay!! So glad you liked it ☺️

[@HA-cz7rq]

Thank you so much Heather for presenting this! In KDP website, the largest size for picture book is 8.5"x 8.5". How about if print bigger than this, such as 10"x 10"? Does it mean that as to use other publishers? Thank you!

[@HeatherCashArt]

Hi! Yes that is correct, if you want to do a bigger book, unfortunately you'd have to go to a different publisher.

[@michaelrascon7657]

Thank You for your video it is going to help a bunch, but I have a question about the PhotoShop do I need a laptop computer that runs Windows, because the one I have right now is a google chromebook that has intel, not windows do I need to upgrade?

[@HeatherCashArt]

Hi! I believe you can install Photoshop from the Google Play Store!

[@matthewroddy1]

Great info, Heather! Nicely presented and very helpful! May I ask, how do you develop the cover, including a spine? Layout seems simple enough, noting the cover is on the right and the back of the book is on the left, but how do you accommodate for the number of pages, which dictates the thickness of the book, which in turn dictates the width of the spine? Thanks again for your presentation here! Very much appreciated.

[@HeatherCashArt]

Hi Matthew! Glad you like it! My video after next will be on how to design the cover, but basically you design the cover all as one file (front & back together as one, like a wrap). The KDP help page with dimensions will tell you how much extra width to add to your file according to how many pages your book has. Hope that helps! You can also email me at [e-mail] if you have any more questions :)

[@matthewroddy1]

@@HeatherCashArt Thanks, Heather. I look forward to the next additions in your series! Thanks again! Sure wish more folk would Like these videos for you (hint hint, people! ;-)

[@HeatherCashArt]

@@matthewroddy1 aww thanks 😊😊😊

[@ZephrusPrime]

Very helpful!! TY!

[@HeatherCashArt]

You're so welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@cymy2]

Thanks!

[@HeatherCashArt]

Oh my gosh thank you so much!!! This is so sweet of you!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@cymy2]

@@HeatherCashArt Thank YOU! You saved me some trouble I would have run into! :)

[@histrus42]

Hi, is possible to export whole spread like pdf and insert it in Afinity or InDesign?

[@lauram.9306]

Hi Heather, when you save as a JPEG- I noticed there are 3 format options ( baseline standard, baseline optimized, and Progressive.) do you know if it makes a difference with KDP if one format option is selected over another? Thank you

[@HeatherCashArt]

Hi Laura! Thanks for your question! It doesn't really matter for KDP, but you can go with Baseline Standard :)

[@lauram.9306]

Thank you!

[@faithleblanc197]

May I ask, if you plan to have your book both printed and in a digital format (Kindle), should you create your art in Procreate in RGB or CMYK? Or both? Can you copy and past a RGB into a CMYK canvas to convert it to CMYK? Do you have a video on this?

[@HeatherCashArt]

Hi! I haven't worried too much about it because they usually convert ok, but if you want to do things the *right* way 🙃 you can start with a CMYK document. As for copy/paste, yes you can copy/paste one into the other. The one thing you may find is that after converting RGB to CMYK (i.e., pasting an RGB into a CMYK canvas) sometimes the colors will look duller. RGB colors have the ability to be brighter. I hope that helps!

[@HA-cz7rq]

Also, how to set up the name of the book in book spine area for KDP? Thank you.

[@HeatherCashArt]

In order to have text on the spine of a paperback, the book needs to have enough pages (so that the spine is big enough). From KDP's Paperback Submission Guidelines: "We only print spine text on books with more than 79 pages. Text on larger spines must be sized to fit the spine, with at least 0.0625" (1.6 mm) of space between the text and the edge of the spine. Every book varies slightly when bound. Allow for 0.0625" (1.6 mm) variance on either side of the fold lines for your cover" Or, you can do a hardcover book, but for that you'd need at least 75 pages.

[@cymy2]

Why don't you have a bleed overlap on the spine side? Doesn't that create a missing "chunk" of the image? Or is it small enough on children's books that it doesn't matter?

[@HeatherCashArt]

Hi! It is because the side of the page that is touching the spine does not get trimmed, it is just printed right up against the spine. So you should only add bleed to the outside edges - top, bottom, and outer edge of each page (whether you are dealing with a spread or not). Hope that makes sense!

[@agathaella2460]

Hi Please what app did you use?

[@HeatherCashArt]

This is in Photoshop

[@princeowiredu2022]

heey youre the best

[@HeatherCashArt]

Aww thank you!!! ❤️❤️❤️