how i used ai to make a screenplay cover
plus Seattle Zine Fest details for this coming Sunday!
Hey friends,
As I’ve mentioned to you a couple posts ago, I've been deep in zine-making mode these past few weeks. I can’t stop! It’s been a crash course in Indesign, printing (do I print for long edge binding, or short edge binding?), folding (get a bone folder tool if you don’t want your fingernails to hurt like mine!), branding, logos, signage, what’s the table going to look like, how much am I going to charge, displays, expense and inventory spreadsheets…
Between all of that, I ALSO had to make the artwork— not just for my zines— but most importantly, the cover for BODY BROKERS, the pilot script I’m debuting at the Seattle Zine Fest this weekend.
I didn’t have time to collaborate with an artist, but I also didn’t want to just grab something random online. I know a lot of zines use found art, but I felt like it needed something more intentional.
So I wanted to walk you through how I ended up using AI to help me create the cover art for BODY BROKERS.
1) finding the source image
I went looking for inspiration through one of my favorite archives: The Public Domain Review, which is a really great site that curates very beautiful, esoteric images from the public domain.
Public domain images are works that are free from copyright restrictions, meaning anyone can legally use, remix, or reproduce them without needing permission or paying a licensing fee. This is especially important when you’re creating something you are planning to sell (like a zine!), because using copyrighted images without proper clearance can lead to legal issues.
I ended up finding this 17th-century French engraving—an anonymous vanitas piece. These were super popular at the time and packed with symbolic objects like skulls, candles, wilting flowers, and decaying fruit.
The whole genre revolves around the idea of memento mori, Latin for “remember you must die.” These works were meant to remind viewers that beauty, youth, pride—all of it—is temporary. Death comes for everyone, no matter how important you think you are.
Which… felt very on brand for BODY BROKERS, especially considering Meadow and Veronica as they climb their way up and build their business in the body brokering world.
2) prompting ai
I used that image as a jumping-off point and plugged it into Sora, OpenAI’s image generator. It took several tries and lots of random prompts to get anything close to what I envisioned. (At one point, I asked it to generate a “college girl from the 2020s” and it spit out an image of a girl with a little like/comment box floating above her head! It definitely made me laugh.)
Eventually I landed on an image that felt right.
3) photoshop cleanup
Once I had the image, I brought it into Photoshop—cropped the edges, cleaned up the background, messed with the exposure and saturation, and removed the garbled AI text inside the oval frame. I added some taglines and cleaned up the layout.
And here’s a mockup of the final cover page:
To me, this is what Meadow sees when she looks at herself in the mirror: polished, powerful, a little smug, and completely blind to what’s coming.
I did experiment with a few other images—one in particular that felt more directly medical and aligned with the biotech world of the show—but ultimately I wanted something that was eye-catching, with a surreal mix of sorority culture, satire, and death and I think this one nails it.
If you’re coming to Seattle Zine Fest, here are the other zines I’ll have at my table:
a mini companion zine entitled “Veronica’s World”
Meadow’s pitch deck/business plan for Future Genex
“Twice Baked”, a limited-edition printed collection of Substack essays (comes with a little bakery charm!)
Plus, a group of my friends are making and selling their own zines and will also be there—so I’m really proud to be sharing a table with them.
event details
Seattle Zine Fest
🗓 Sunday, July 20, 2025
🕛 12pm – 6pm
📍 420 15th Ave E (Capitol Hill, Seattle)
💥 Heads up: Capitol Hill Block Party is that same weekend, so plan accordingly!
I’ll update this post with my table number as soon as I get it.
Come say hi! I’ll be there as half baked press. Hope to see you there :)
P.S. If you want me to hold onto a zine for you, just leave me a comment! I’m definitely planning on making a couple extras.
what i’m consuming 🍰
Just binged Too Much on Netflix. I thought it was charming! My favorite scene was at was the end of episode 2, where the camera lingers through the end credits on Jess and Felix lying next to each other as she listens to a mix CD.
who i am
Hi, I’m Gisella! I’m a repped screenwriter based in Seattle. I directed a feature-length documentary and most recently, my pilot Body Brokers was on the 2024 Blacklist Latine List. Follow me on my journey to get my first screenplay green lit 💚