Treat the folded card as a printer-ready spread, not as two unrelated images. Confirm whether the provider wants an outer spread, inner spread, or separate panels, then mark the fold score, trim edge, grain direction, and safe area in an external layout editor. Keep faces, lettering, and important edges away from the score. Make a physical paper dummy before approving the artwork.
Map the physical card
Start by asking the printer for the finished size, open spread size, bleed requirement, fold position, panel order, and grain direction. A folded card can be portrait, landscape, gate-fold, or another construction, so a familiar template is not automatically correct. Grain direction also depends on the paper and folding method; the provider should confirm it.
In Imagild, choose a current Skill that suits the illustration or photo treatment and inspect its source and result examples. Use the generated result as visual artwork only. Exact panel placement, fold guides, typography, and production marks belong in an external layout editor. Do not assume the film workspace or another creator tool performs folding or delivery preparation.
Decision checkpoint 1: Before editing, can you point to the front cover, back cover, inside-left, and inside-right on one labeled spread? If not, stop and resolve panel order with the provider.
Protect the score and trim
Keep faces, hands, borders, logos, and wording clear of the score and trim. The safe distance is a production requirement to confirm, not a universal number. Extend backgrounds beyond the trim when bleed is requested, but do not extend a face or a line of type into an area that may be removed or folded.
A useful sequence is:
- Place the flat artwork on a spread guide supplied or approved by the provider.
- Add non-printing guides for trim, fold score, bleed, and safe areas.
- Move essential subjects and wording inward, then check each panel at the finished size.
- Export the required panel arrangement and inspect it at 100 percent before sending it.
Decision checkpoint 2: Does every important feature remain readable when the card is viewed as a closed object and as a fully opened spread? A design that works only when flat is not ready.
Make a paper dummy
Print a rough version on ordinary paper at the intended proportions. Mark the top edge with an arrow, fold on the proposed score, and check front-to-back orientation. Look for a face crossing the fold, text hidden on the reverse, uneven margins, and artwork that feels visually tilted after folding.
Fictional planning example: In “Mara’s Moon Garden,” the cover has a crescent near the right edge and the inside message sits on the right panel. The paper dummy shows the crescent partly disappearing into the fold, so the planned correction moves it outward and shifts the message inward. The observable acceptance check is simple: after folding, the crescent remains visible and the message can be read without opening the card fully.
Decision checkpoint 3: Approve the spread only when the folded dummy, panel labels, and provider instructions agree. If they conflict, resolve the physical construction before refining the AI artwork.
Finish outside Imagild
Use the external editor for exact typography, panel layout, guides, color handling, metadata checks, and the provider’s final export requirements. Keep an editable version with guides separate from the clean output. Imagild can help develop the visual concept, but it does not supply a folding or delivery feature.
Should I generate the whole spread as one image?
Only when the chosen workflow and provider accept that arrangement. A single image can still place key details across a fold, so a labeled layout and paper dummy remain necessary.
How close can text be to the fold?
Use the provider’s specified safe area. There is no universal distance that fits every stock, fold, or finishing process.
Do I need to show fold lines in the final file?
Usually guides and scores are handled according to the provider’s template or layout instructions. Keep them visible in a working file, but follow the requested clean-output format for delivery.