Make a list of at least 10 things that come to mind when you think of your project. These could be key scenes from the story; images of nature (including the weather); architecture; colors and textures; emotional mood (rapture, depression, confusion, etc.); or inanimate objects such as a typewriter, spoon, or an old pair of boots. Narrow your list down until you find the one that is the closest match to what the project itself "says" to your target demographic.
Start with a rough pencil sketch of the chosen image with dimensions that correspond to the size and format of the project. A book or a videotape cover, for example, will be in a vertical (portrait) mode, a coffee table book will be horizontal (landscape), a DVD or CD project cover (including ebooks) will be square.
Determine whether your cover art is going to be an actual photograph, clip art or an original drawing. In order to manipulate the size, color and placement of elements such as titles and logos, the image will first need to be in a JPEG format and uploaded to your computer. Digital photos and downloaded clip art will already be in this format. If, however, the photograph or original drawing exists only as a hard copy, you'll need to scan it first and save it on your computer as a JPEG.
Use the tools in your photo editing software to manipulate the image to fit the look you want for your cover. These tools include cropping, flipping, creating photo collages, tweaking the color, controlling the amount of light and dark, or even turning it into a cartoon. When cropping, keep in mind that either the sides or the top and bottom will need to be trimmed to fit a square format.
Use the "Insert Text" or "Compose" feature in your photo editing software to incorporate the title of the project and your name. Experiment with different placement as well as different style fonts and colors. The text should be easy for anyone to read (test it on your friends) and should not be swallowed up by the picture (i.e., dark lettering isn't going to show up well against a dark background).
Repeat these steps for the back cover design. Instead of a title and your name, however, the text will be a teaser about the story, a listing of songs, and room for the ISBN and pertinent publishing information.
Save the image. This camera-ready cover art can then be taken to whatever entity is publishing or producing your project, uploaded to a self-publishing website, or printed out on card stock or photo paper on an as-needed basis.