Ok all you wonderfully creative people who have created supplements, such as the ship repair rules, environmental set pieces, etc. How do you make the almost-official-looking covers?

Photoshop, not to hard once you learn the basics of the program. Cropping, copy paste, custom fonts, and the clone tool does wonders.

But, Photoshop is not free.

GIMP. Free, similarly powerful as Photoshop. Tutorials galore to learn where they have hidden the same types of tools and how to use them.

I use GIMP for my graphic work and MS Publisher for layouts.

But, Photoshop is not free.

Telling people to “Use photoshop” or “Use gimp” is about as useful as telling them “Use a brush”, when they’re asking how you go about painting the front cover to a book, or a piece of art in a museum.

Photoshop and gimp are tools. No more, no less. So is the brush.

The talent to use those tools, that’s something else.

The knowledge of how to apply that talent in such a way to achieve what you would see on the front cover of a book or in a painting in a museum, that’s the 640 million dollar question.

Quite correct brad, but I fear I mis-phrased my question. I indeed should have asked "what do you guys use to do those covers?" Just knowing that people are using Photoshop-type software points me in the right direction. I had wondered if there was an editable PDF out there where you just edited text and swapped graphics. Alas, gonna have to work for it.

Secondary question: where do you guys get your source material? Just scan one of your books?

Also, brad your post doubly and triply applies to all those awesome maps. Even with the same tools, I doubt if I could come near Domingo's work. But I can work up a cover mock up I think.

Easiest would be scanning your own if you have the gear. If not, there are often covers of the books in less than ideal resolutions on places like Amazon or the FFG store to use as a starting point.

Adobe has the Creative Cloud version of their programs now that are payable with a subscription.

If you are a student, they are very reasonable.

If you want just one app, it costs from $19.99/month and up. (this can get expensive)

I use the big three graphic design apps: InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop in my day job, for freelance gigs, and especially for gaming handouts.

Quite correct brad, but I fear I mis-phrased my question. I indeed should have asked "what do you guys use to do those covers?" Just knowing that people are using Photoshop-type software points me in the right direction. I had wondered if there was an editable PDF out there where you just edited text and swapped graphics. Alas, gonna have to work for it.

Secondary question: where do you guys get your source material? Just scan one of your books?

Also, brad your post doubly and triply applies to all those awesome maps. Even with the same tools, I doubt if I could come near Domingo's work. But I can work up a cover mock up I think.

There are a few posts that detail the fonts used for the various parts of the title/text. The rest is just choosing the right color for the setting (AoR vs EotE vs F&D) and then coming up with proper images (and getting permission if they aren't yours). Illustrator/Photoshop/GIMP/Inkscape/whatever to layout the title page, then Word or Publisher or InDesign for the page layouts and then Acrobat of some form to create the final PDF for giving to others to enjoy.

Here are some templates I've put together with photoshop

But, Photoshop is not free.

if your in college you used to be able to get a student version for free that lasted for a full year. That aside even if not free it's one of the most powerful programs out there for graphic design. Also while I wouldn't recommend them torrents are always a possibility albeit a somewhat riskier one.

Photoshop wasn't yet released when I was in college.

And I wouldn't recommend torrents either, since that would be suggesting to someone to commit a crime and telling them how to do it. That's called being an accessory.

I myself don't have the skill to do pretty stuff, but I do have GIMP and IrfanView for basic editting. I tend to use a free CAD program for my gaming needs (maps, deckplans, simple graphic objects) . I've mastered its use. It just doesn't have the beauty of what painting programs can do which I've never mastered. Perhaps someday.

Here are some templates I've put together with photoshop

Also, this may not be exactly right, but should be useful.