iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Replies

Aeden Romeyn @pyrophobicpoet.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

From one broke and overworked writer/artist to another … if you need a book cover or illustration for your project, but can’t afford to pay a fellow struggling artist, don’t resort AI. Try these instead! #fuckai #writingcommunity #artcommunity #trading #writesky #artsky #booksky

From one broke and overworked writer to another … if you’re thinking about using AI for a book cover because you can’t afford to hire an artist, don’t! I’ve got you covered.

There’s about a thousand other free options that don’t involve remixing other people’s art without their permission (and destroying the environment in the process).

Here are some options you can try:

Trade with an artist (many artists like myself are happy to trade art for other goods & services—money is not our only currency, and artists help each other)

Befriend artists (friends also like to help each other)

Photographs (they don’t even have to be good, you can use those plastic cameras and it can work): nature, still lifes of relevant objects, long-exposure photos, textures, photos of art, etc.

Collages (with fair use images of course)

Public domain paintings and photographs

Go to a flea market, buy up a bunch of antique photos, use as you please

Shitty doodles (seriously, this is actually a thing with some covers)

Make a patterned cover using stamps, fabric, etc.

Use a flat color and bold, eye-catching fonts (there are online resources for good font pairings, and free online lessons on simple graphic design)

Use one of your other skills—Are you also a carpenter? An engineer? Do you knit? Are you photographer? Do you like bug pinning? Use your other skills to make a cover.

Burn paper! 🔥🔥🔥

Cut paper! ✂️✂️✂️

Paint paper! Just for the texture and color! 🎨🎨🎨

^^Do any of that to public domain images!

Learn to use Canva or other free graphic software

Learn to draw! (That’s what I did! If you really really really want that full original art for a cover, you’ll learn a new skill for it)

Poverty is hard, I know, especially as a writer trying to make it. But it’s not an excuse to tear down other artists. It’s not an excuse to be an asshole. You have other options, and you have other artists to lean on. You just have to put in the effort.

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Finance radar @financeradar.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I've had similar struggles and have found success with bartering services with fellow creatives. For example, an artist might offer their illustration services in exchange for a friend's writing services - a win-win!

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