Cover It - Some Basics for Cover Design

It's Art Y'all

There are graphic designers and there are graphic artists and the two are not necessarily one and the same.

Just because you're a graphic designer doesn't automatically mean you're also a graphic artist. Yes, there are graphic designers who draw and create from scratch but the majority of us use premade images that we put together to create a final product. We aren't artists.

I've seen some people recently judging graphics based on whether the designer used premade images or made their own. That isn't how you judge designs. You look for how skillfully the final product was made. I don't care if the images were all premade, if you put them together with skill and the final product looks awesome then you're a designer. 

I can't draw to save my life. If that was a requirement for being a designer I'd fail miserably. I can put together images to make a pretty damn decent final design though. Does that mean I'm not a designer? No, it simply means my skillset is different than an artist's is. 

You must look at the entire picture (so to speak) when considering anything graphic design because there are so many forms to it. And when judging it's about skill, not what's pretty or you feel should be done. It doesn't matter where the original images were farmed from as long as the designer was able to make the final product look good. Who cares if they made their own backgrounds or blended several together as long as what was done looks good? 

Don't get hung up on what others are doing, you have your style and that's okay. Also, don't try and shove what you do off on others as being 'they way it should be done' what works for you may not work for them. We have our own styles and ways of doing things and we need to accept that not everyone will do things the same as we do. Do your thing and don't worry about what others think. If it's working then you're doing it right. Get out there and show off your talent.