Stages of front cover

Stage one

This was the first front cover i started to create, however stopped as i started to create a different one as i like the text and photo better. The pose of the photo i liked and the way she looks like she is leaning against the edge of the magazine but i feel that her face is very blank and not friendly and welcoming to the magazine. I used the font pricedown from the website dafont.com. I changed the image size to fit the image size of the a4 page i then copied and pasted it onto the blank page and made it fit across the top unfortunately i didnt leave enough space to fit a banner across the top. I then used the magic wand and rubber tool to erase the background from the photo of vicky. After this was done i used the magnetic lassoo tool to cut her out then copied and pasted her on the front cover.

I chose this photo as she is smiling and her arms are open wide as if she is welcoming people to read the magazine. I edited the photo by brightening it and removing the 'red eyes' i continued by opening up a new a4 blank page on photoshop the text that i wanted for the masthead i found on a website dafont.com and i tried to download it but it did not work so to proceed i print screened the page and cut out the text and saved it as a jpeg. I preferred this font to the other one as the stars and more rounded letters give it more of a pop feel which is what my genre is. I opened it up on photoshop and changed the image size so it would be big enough and fit on the top of the a4 blank page. I then cut and pasted it on to the blank page and made it fit i placed it at the top however leaving a gap bwetween the text and the top of the page to put my banner. I changed the photo of vicky's image size to match the blank page. I then used the magic wand tool to cut out the background however as it was a creme wall vicky blended in to much with the background so after the magic wand tool cut out as much as it could of the background i used the rubber tool to rub out the leftover backgrounds and all the hard little details bits which was quite difficult but finally after i done this, i then used the magnetic lassoo tool to cut around vicky and copied and pasted the cutout image on to the a4 page with the masthead. The position where i wanted vicky on the page the text was covering part of her head and as i didnt want this i changed it so the text was behind her only slightly covered by her which is a convention of magazines that i have looked at.

Stage 2

To fill the space above the masthead i put a text box consisting of 'Top 10 artists for this summer!' in pink to go with my colour scheme.  Then below the masthead on the right i put another text box for the date of the magazine and the price i made the text fit around the star.  Underneath i used another text box for the website of the magazine.  For the headline story i didn't know where would be best to place it so using the same font: Ar essence and the same pink to go with my colour scheme and also stand out more, be more eye grabbing i placed the writing over her body centre and at the bottom of the page.  I then arranged it to bring the text layer forward to the writing is at the front and the image in the back.  I also experimented with making the headline story text black as well to see what colour worked best.

Stage 3

I decided that i did not like the position of the headline story and as i wanted my front cover to use left to right column alignment and the image of vicky to be the main feature.  I undid the original headline story text box and did another one consisting of just Emily in the same font still yet in black and slightly smaller i also used a lower case i as i liked the effect it gave and made her name look more girly.  I created another text box for her last name which was all in capital letters and to fit in with my colour scheme i used pink font and lined it up with Emily.  The only reason i used two separate  text boxes were to be able to move the names around and make the gap between them smaller.  Underneath this i used another text box for 'UNLEASHED' i used all capital letters however made the font slightly smaller so it did not take the focus away from her name as she is a new artist and not that well known.  Coordinating with the colour scheme i made the font black. I also rotated the text slightly as i think it worked well and matched the position of her open arms.  I added a barcode that i found on google and copied and pasted it onto my front cover and changed the size to fit.

Final stage

For the final stage i added the rest of the text and also made some adjustments.  I did not want too much text on the front cover as i wanted it to be plain and simple.  On the bottom left side of the page i added a selection of artists names that would be featured in my magazine.  I created a text box for the plus sign and made this black still in the same font.  I then used a separate text box for Katy Perry and made this pink, underneath i used another separate text box for Owl City coordinating the colours i made this black and also moved the text slightly to the left of Katy Perry's name.  The reason i started with pink first is so that the text would be visible over the black shorts otherwise the text would have blended in.  Under Owl city i used another separate text box for Lady GaGa and also made this text pink i lined this text up with the other pink text for Katy perry.  The last text box for Justin Bieber i used black font and also aligned it with the other black font.  I think using different text boxes for each piece of text helps make the writing look neater and as if it is all the same story. I arranged the text to bring it forward so it was on top of the image. Underneath the website address i used another text box for the issue number and aligned the text.  The text above the masthead i did not like so i added a rectangle to fit across the top of the page and filled it pink to match the colour scheme added a text box and changed from having a story across the top to a ----- saying Britains best-selling pop magazine. I used the same front and black.  I Decided to still use the story Top 10 artists for this summer but to move it to the top left side of the page.  

Final finishes/ adjustments

After this to add the final touches and adjustments i increased the size of the plus sign to make it stand out a lot more and moved all the text for the Top 10 artists for this summer and made it fit round her head shape so it was curved.