In search of a free and easy 3D cover mock up tool?

I’ve used a selection of free and paid book cover mock up tools in the past, because there’s nothing more satisfying than adding your one-dimensional book cover to a mobile or tablet device, to create an eye-catching 3D representation of the different formats your book can be read on.

There are lots of tools out there, but most of the free ones have limited access to the templates you can choose, and the process to upload your image and create your finished 3D design is often challenging. For such a simple process, some developers just don’t want to make it easy for you.

Those days of struggle and limited choice are over.

Free Online Book Mockup Maker

I’m really excited to have discovered Derek Murphy’s Free online book mockup making tool on his DIY Book Design website.

Derek’s an established cover designer and prolific author, and I partnered with him at this year’s Self-Publishing Advice Conference, run by the Alliance of Independent Authors, presenting our session “Write and Publish Anywhere. How to become a Digital Nomad and write from anywhere in the World”. We’re both digital nomads and shared our experiences about being authors and self-publishers. 

Examples of 3D book graphics I created

Book Mock Up with Transparent Background

If you want to drop your 3D mock up onto a different background (as in the examples above), you can export your image as a PNG rather than a JPG so that you have a transparent background.

With a transparent background, you can drop your image into any web page or marketing materials, and it will look seamlessly integrated.

3D Book Mock Up Templates

Derek’s free 3D tool has a great selection of single double and triple mock up arrangements.

To create you cover mock up is an easy three-step process:

1. Choose your Template layout
2. Upload your book cover image
3. Choose your format jpg or png and download your mock up

It couldn’t be simpler, and it couldn’t be cheaper (did I mention it’s free to use?)

Big Thanks to Derek for building this tool for authors. There are lots of paid and free tools on the market, but out of all of the ones I’ve tested, this is by far the best.

Other Free 3D Book cover creation tools

• Behance
• Smart Mock Ups

Read more articles in my How to Write a Travel Guide Series

I’m putting the finishing touches on my How to Write and Self-Publish a Travel Guide Series, which details a step by step approach for writing and producing your own travel guide. It’s part of a four-part series aimed at helping travel bloggers achieve passive income based on their passions and existing content.

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