FRONT COVER STEP BY STEP

STEP 1I started with a new A4 document on

Photoshop as ‘International Paper’. I found

my the font I liked on ‘Dafont’ and then print

screened it. I opened the print screen in

Photoshop and cropped around the text. I

then used the Magic wand tool to select and

erase the background. To add the stroke I

used the ‘fx’ button on the tool bar and

selected the stroke to size 12 and opacity

100%. I applied the RGB to 139, 30 and 54

to give it the burgundy colour of the skirt the

model was wearing. I found the RGB codes

by using the Eye drop tool. I then added a

drop shadow size 32 and distance of 40. I

selected the preview button so I could see

what I was adjusting before clicking OK.

After this, I dragged the background into the

bin and cropped around the image before

saving the masthead to my images.

On the Front Cover document, I then placed

the saved masthead onto the page and

whilst holding shift adjusted the size to fit

the width of the page.

‘fx’

button

Step 2The next step was to create

the banner at the top of the

page which I did in two

layers. First of all I created a

box using the rectangle tool

and filling it with the same

burgundy colour used on the

masthead with the RGB

codes 139, 30 and 54. I then

created a text box over this

using the text tool. I applied a

stroke of 5 to help the text

stand out from the

background of the box and

changed the size of the text

to 14 so it fit inside the box.

Rectangle

tool

STEP 3To place the image on a white

background, I first had to open

the image in a new Photoshop

document and using the

Polygon too cut around her. I

zoomed in the photo and using

the fill tool made the

background black so it was

clear to see any small bits that

had been missed, this helped

me make the cutting more

precise. I then put the

background in the rubbish bin

and cropped around the image

before saving. In my front

cover document, I opened the

image and using the arrow

keys on my keyboard

Polygon tool

positioned her slightly over the masthead. I did this by dragging that layer about the layer that had the

masthead on. I used the arrow keys to make the movements more accurate.

STEP 4To make the shape that

the ‘news’ cover line

would go in I used the

custom shape and filled it

using the bucket tool.

I changed the points of the

shape myself using the

convert point tool and add

another anchor point tool.

This allowed me to add

more spikes and change

the length and width of the

existing ones which

allowed me to fit the

space that I had well

whilst leaving enough

room for the writing. I also

applied effects to the

I used this shape.

shape adding a stroke of 7 in a black and a drop shadow with a

distance 12 and size of 5 in the same blue used for the ‘news’. I did

this to give it a 3d effect on the page.

STEP 5The next step was adding

the cover line into the

shape. I used two

separate text boxes for

this because I wanted

different effects on the

‘news’ to the ‘Billie-Joe’

section. For the news I

changed the colour to

match the colour of the

shirt on the model.

Again, I did this by using

the eye drop tool and

changing the RGB codes

to match which were

34, 39 and 91. I then

applied a white stroke of 3

to help it stand out. Next, I wrote the Billie-Joe cover line and put the two parts on separate lines so it easily fit inside the shape.

I made the text white to contrast the blue and burgundy and used a black stroke of 6.

STEP 6Step 6 was adding the

barcode and date to the

bottom right corner of the

page. I placed the

barcode onto the page

from a previous saved

Photoshop document

using the same method as

the masthead – cropping

around the image and

binning the background. I

then added the date by

again using the text tool

and changing the size to fit

the length of the barcode.

STEP 7The next stage was adding

the smaller cover lines. I did

the ‘PLUS’ cover line by

creating a custom shape

using the custom shape tool

like in step 4 and filling it with

the same blue as the ‘news’. I

put a stroke of 5 in black

around the edge and a drop

shadow with a distance of 16

and size 5. I wrote the font by

creating a new text layer and

writing each artist on separate

lines. On the text I used a

stroke of 4 in black and a

drop shadow with the

distance of 9 and size of 5 to

again help it stand out of the

white background. I lined the

text up with the right hand

side of the frame by spacing

the text out on each line.

STEP 8‘Chantelle Dionne’ and

‘Meet the upcoming star’

are in different text boxes

using the text tool. I

changed the colour of the

font to white and applied

a stroke in black of 5. I

created a drop shadow on

it by again clicking the ‘fx’

button and changing the

colour to match the blue

with the RGB codes 34,

39 and 91. I moved the

text box to line up with

the side of the page by

using the arrow keys to

make the movements

more precise. I put the next cover line over 3 lines so the last line

didn’t go over the model’s side. I changed the colour

of the font to burgundy by using the eye drop tool

again and copying the RGB codes of 139, 30 and 54.

I applied a black stroke of 4 to fit with the size of the

font and applied a drop shadow with the distance of

10 and size 5 so it wasn’t as prominent as the

‘Chantelle Dionne’.

STEP 9First of all I opened a new document

of Photoshop and opened the

original image before cropping

around the guitar using the polygon

tool. I roughly cute around the

guitar at first to eliminate the rest of

the image which enabled me to

zoom up better on the guitar and

crop neatly around it. After this, I

put the background in the rubbish

bin and cropped around the guitar

before saving it as a new image. I

then placed this onto the front cover

document and dragged the layer

beneath the cover lines but above

the cover image.

STEP 10I made the ‘win’ cover line the

same way at the ‘Chantelle

Dionne’ except the stroke was

size 8 and in the blue colour

and the drop shadow was

black with a distance of 16 and

size 5.

The next part of the cover line

was done in a separate text

box using the text tool and

coloured the same blue and the

‘news’. I twisted the text box

by using the move tool and

hovering over the corner of text

box which bought up the

twisting option. The text has a

stroke of 4 in black and a drop

shadow in black with the

distance of 10, size of 5 and

opacity of 75%.

Move

tool

STEP 11The final step was adding the

‘Billie-Jade’ cover line. I got

rid of the background on the

image first with the same

method as step 9 and then

placed it on the front cover

document. I held down the

shift key at the same time as

adjusting the size of the photo

from the corners so that I

didn’t distort the image. Then

I did the ‘exclusive’ line by

first creating a new rectangle

box filled in black (the same

method as in step 2) but

applying the stroke of 8

in the burgundy colour using the RGB code of 139, 30 and 54.

I made the text the same colour to match the stoke. I then

linked the layers so they both turned simultaneously by using

the link tool. The next part of the cover line used a separate

text box and I adjusted each line to align the right hand side of

the page. I made the text the same burgundy colour and

applied a stroke of 5 in black and a drop shadow with a

distance of 10, size 5 and an opacity of 75% so it wasn't as

prominent.