Construction of Adjustments to Front Cover

Skyline

I believed that the original skyline made the magazine not look realistic therefore I made changes. First of all I selected the skyline layer and I highlighted the text and deleted it. Then I inserted different names of R&B artist after that I changed the colour to black then every other artist have a font colour of the red colour been used throughout the front cover. Next I scaled the image the text so it fit along my masthead to scale the text selected 'edit' option from bar above then 'transform' after that I then selected 'scale' I then scaled my text to how I felt it looked best.

Feature stories

One of the main feedback's I got from my front cover draft was that me feature stories look blocky and need to be different sizes to stand out more. I have took this comment on board and made some changes. 

Unfortunately I have lost the file I had which had print screens of the changes that where made to the feature stories so i'm unable to show you the process of changing my feature stories.

Main image

From the feedback given from my teacher she told me I needed to make the outer layer of the image less pixelated. She also told me that if I use the 'Polygonal lasso' tool in Photoshop and go around the edge of the image this will help it not to look pixelated. Therefore I have took on board this comment and editing my main image. As you can see below the images now looks less pixelated and more professional by having a smooth edge around the image.

Head-

 Before                                         After

Legs- 

Before                                            After

 

                                

Masthead

 

 

I wanted my masthead to stand out more on the page so I decided to make some changes. Image 1 is my previous masthead. Image 2 is my final masthead after making changes. First of all I opened up a new layer and named it masthead 2 therefore if I need to make any further adjustments in the future I can, too create a new layer look at image 3. Next I copied the text from the original masthead to this I right selected the text then selected the copy option as seen in image 4. Next I then pasted the text on to the  'masthead 2' layer to do this I right selected and selected the paste option as seen in image 5/

 After copying and pasting I changed 'masthead 2' too the red colour which has been used throughout the front cover. Finally I placed this text on top of the 'masthead' layer then slightly above so it gave the text a 3D effect.

Before and after making adjustment

Before                                                         After

                     

I'm pleased with the way my front cover looks now, I believe it looks more realistic as a magazine due to the different font sizes, making the masthead look 3D, smoothing the outer layer on the main image also the skyline adjustments not making it stand out as much on the page as it previously did. I am glad that I made the adjustments to my main image as I believe it has really made a difference as to the way me and the readers will see the image and that its that it looks professional.

                                                                          

Feedback on front cover

I received my feedback on my front cover draft and overall the teacher was pleased but there where just a few adjustments that needed to be made to improve the magazine.  The first tip she gave me was to use the Polygonal tool in Photoshop and use this around the artist/models legs and hair so it will look less pixelated therefore the image will have a smooth outer layer. The second tip given was to adjust my feature stories meaning make certain text larger then other as she believed it looked too boxy. Third tip was to add a footer to the page just so that there was an extra convention. I will take on board all of the tips given by my teacher and make these changes for my magazine.

Front cover draft

 

 

Here is the draft of my front cover. I am now waiting to get feedback from my techer to see if there are any changes/ improvements that could be made.

Check list

This screen shot image of a checklist shows that I am up to date with my work. This shows that I am good with time management and are keeping track of what I have done and what I am currently working on. in green are the thing which I have completed and the things in yellow are things in progress.

Construction of Front cover

New Project

I will be creating my front cover using the software Photoshop because I feel like its one of the easiest program to use. I have started my front cover by opening a blank page, to do this I opened up Photoshop then I selected the 'file' tab near the top, then from there I selected the 'new' option. Then I ensured that the 'Present' was set on to 'International pages' so therefore the page size is A4. I also changed the Colour mode to 'RGB' Then I selected 'okay'. I now have a base for my magazine.

Background

 

A colour for my background needs to be added as it will help my main image stand out also I have decided to use a grey colour because its a colour i have decided to use in my colour scheme also if i use a light grey the image will stand out for my readers meaning it will be eye catching. From the layer section I selected the 'background' layer then from where the tool box section is I selected the colour icon and chose the appropiate shade of grey for my background after this I selected 'okay'. As my background is now done i can now add my main image.

Masthead

                                     

To create my masthead I opened up a new layer and named it 'Masthead' therefor in the future if I need to change anything regarding the masthead it will be easy to find rather then going through each layer. After opening a new layer I ensured I was on the layer then selected the 'horizontal type tool' tool from the left hand side and then typed my magazine name 'RHYTHMIX'.  I decided to keep the masthead black because its one of the colours in my colour scheme and also I even though its black it stands out against the grey background. I have chosen 'impact' as my font because I feel that its looks modern and also not childish therefor it suits my target audience.

Adding main image

 

As shown previously on my blog I  have edited my main image and now its ready to use on my front cover. To add my main image I opened up the image by going to 'file' then 'open' I selected the photo I am using then selected 'open'. After this the image was too small so I had to 'scale' the image to do this I selected the 'edit' tab from there I selected the 'transform' option then the last option of 'scale'. I adjusted my image to the size I wanted then selected the tick button above. Now my image is scaled to the right size and now I can add other conventions of a magazine. 

Main feature story

To create my main feature story I opened up a new layer and named it 'Main feature story ' therefor in the future if I need to change anything regarding the main feature story it will be easy to find rather then going through each layer. After opening a new layer I ensured I was on the layer then selected the 'horizontal type tool' tool from the left hand side and then typed my main feature story name 'AMY'S BACK   BETTER THAN EVER!'. I decided to have the main feature story in the colour because its one of the colours in my colour scheme and also it stands out against my pale grey background I have chosen 'impact' as my font because I feel that its looks modern and also not childish therefor it suits my target audience and also its the same font as my masthead having this makes the front cover not look scruffy.

Bar code

Bar codes are one of the main conventions for a magazine so I have included one. To add a bar code I previously saved an copyright image of the internet. Then on Photoshop I opened up a new layer and named it 'barcode' therefore in the future if any changes need to be made i can find the layer easily. After opening a new layer I opened up the bar code image by selecting the 'file' then 'open' I selected the bar code image I am using then selected 'open'. After this the image was too big so I had to 'scale' the image to do this I selected the 'edit' tab from there I selected the 'transform' option then the last option of 'scale'. I adjusted my image to the size I wanted then selected the tick button above. Now my image is scaled to the right size and now I can add other conventions of a magazine.

I needed to personalize my bar code meaning add website, date and the price. First of all I added the website by using the 'horizontal type tool' and inserted the appropriate information I have used Arial as my font because its a formal font. Next I enlarged my bar code by creating a white rectangle to go above the bar code this was done by using the 'rectangle tool' and then using the 'bucket tool' and filling it in white. After extending the bar code I used the 'horizontal type tool' again and included a date and the price I kept the same style of font as the website.

Adjusting main feature story

 

After adding other conventions to my magazine I believed that the main feature story didn't stand out as much as I wanted to therefore I copied and pasted the text that was already created then I changed the colour to black and placed it behind and just above the original main story now the text has a 3D effect and also its eye catching for the readers. I then again copied and pasted the text and changed the colour to the red that I have been using. Now the main feature story stands out even more.

Feature stories

Although feature stories are not as important as the main feature story I still wanted them to stand out on the cover as well as everything else on the cover. So I firstly created a new layer and named it feature story 1 so that in the future if I have to change anything regarding this I will be able to find the layer easily. I then created a rectangle shape using the 'rectangle tool' then I needed to change the colour so that it was the same red on the model/artist shirt, so using the 'colour picker' I selected the red on her shirt then selected 'okay' my rectangle shape then became the colour I wanted it to be. Next I added text by using the 'horizontal type tool' I then changed the font to 'perputa tilting MT' and also changed it to 'bold' so that it stands out more as the 'light' was hard to read also I changed the colour of the text to black so that more of my colour scheme colours where involved. I then scaled the text so that it fit in my rectangle box. After this I used the text tool again and added the appropriate text relating the box above them. The font is the same as the font in the rectangle box I have done this so that the front cover does not look scruffy. I had trouble lining up my text to the box above so I used a 'grid' so that I could line the text up against the box above.

Grid- 

Plug

I have decided to add a plug to my magazine. To create my plug I opened up a new layer and named it plug therefor in the future if i need to make any changes the layer will be easy to find. I started to create my plug by using the 'Ellipse tool' in Photoshop and made a circle shape then after this I used the bucket tool and colour the circle in the red that I have been using throughout my front cover. to make the shape stand out on the page I decided to add a black glow around the shape. To add a glow I double clicked the plug layer then selected the 'outer glow' option then I adjusted the 'range' to 50% and then adjusted the 'jitter' to 28%.

 

After creating my shape I then used the 'horizontal text tool' and inserted the appropriate information and placed it over the circle. The font I have decided to use is 'Segoe Script' with the font size of 15 but in my plug I wanted the text of 'free' to stand out more than the rest so the font size for this part of the text is 20 and also bold. Then I rotated my text just slightly as its conventional that text in plugs are angled not straight. Next I added a white glow to the text to add a glow I double clicked the plug layer then selected the 'outer glow' option then I adjusted the 'range' to 50%.

Changing background colour

Throughout creating my creating my front cover I decided that I didn't like my background cover so I changed the background from grey to white by creating a new layer and with the 'bucket tool' filling the background white. Having made this change I believe that the text and image now stands out and is more eye catching.

Skyline

A skyline is a convention for a front cover therefore I have included one. I started of by opening a new layer and naming it 'skyline' therefore if I have to make any changes in the future I can find the layer easily and make the adjustments that may be needed. After adding the new layer I then used the 'horizontal text tool' and inserted the appropriate information changed the text colour to red as therefore this will stand out on the page against the white background also the font style is 'verdana' as this font is very bold so again this will be eye-catching for the readers. Finally I scaled the text to that it fit along the top of my masthead.

Changing feature story colour

I decided to change some of the feature story colour, as I felt like there was too much red colour and they needed to be some more black therfore I changed the box around the text to black and the text below to the red colour. To change the colour of the box I changed the colour to black then using the 'paint bucket' tool I selected over each of the boxes. to change the colour of the text I changed the colour icon to the red colour i have been using throughout my front cover I then highlighted the text i was changing with the 'horizontal text tool' then selected the tick near the top of the software.