VHS?

I notice the talented dvd cover artists like to show off the custom work here.
How are these 3-D boxes done?Just PS the image or is there software that does this with cover art?

GaryEA

Although other artists have created action files that can do this automatically, the simplest way to explain it is the following (I'm not promising it is the best way though ):

1. Create a new file in Photoshop (with a white background) that is larger and wider than the front cover and the spine.

2. Place the front cover and spine next to each other on the plane. They should be aligned and touching.

3. Select the front cover in the layers list, go to Edit>Transform> Perspective.

4. The corners of the covers will be selected with small boxes, as well as boxes at the midpoints. Pull the top right box down to make the cover change perspective. Click on the Move tool, and prompt will come up. Click "apply changes".

5. Select the front cover again. Go to Edit> Transform> Scale. Push the box at the midpint on the side in to "shorten the width of the cover.

6. Repeat steps 3-6 for the spine.

Now, the part I have yet to master is creating a look of a DVD case around the image, giving it reflections, and creating believable shadows.

I hope this gets you started, and if anyone else can offer tips or corrections to the above, I'm sure it'll get you (and me) even farther.

Good luck!

-g