Gregory McLaney

Stages of Production – Front Cover

Step 1: The above image is my original photography. I'm going to use this image for my front cover. However, I need to edit this image to make it look more like a hip-hop image. So I'm going to show how I did this in the following steps.

Gregory McLaney

Step 2: The above image shows the edited version of front cover image. I adjusted the curves, hue and saturation, brightness and contrast and added a vignette effect. Final I added a pink filter tint to make the image have an overall professional look. I also masked out the males eyes because the flash of the camera made his eyes look tearful.

Step 3: The above image is the final edited image. I wasn't happy with the first edit. It didn't seem dark enough so I simply added darker levels creating a darker more imposing image which links much better with the connotations of hip-hop.

Gregory McLaney

Step 4: After I was happy with my image I created my mast head. I wanted an original bold mast head. So, I used a 3D software (Cinema 4d) to create the title. I added lighting left to right so the B is brighter than the S. I added a full stroke to the whole text creating the 3D look. I then tilted the text to an appropriate angle. Finally, I exported the file as a .png so there isn't any background. This meant I could put it straight in to photoshop I then resized it to fit in the desired place.

Step 5: Here I masked the male cover artists head to go behind the text using the polygon lasso tool with a 5px feather, I then duplicated the layer and cut out the section of the head. I then positioned the 'BASS' mast head in-between the two layers so the text was positioned behind the artist.

Gregory McLaney

Step 6: Here I added a rectangle black header and footer. I did this by using the shape tool and positioning the bars at the top and bottom of my composition.

Step 7: Here I have added my desired text in to my footer boxes. I simply used the text tool to add in the typography. I had already planned what I was going to write in my drafts.

Gregory McLaney

Step 8: Here I added a sell line, 'Laest gigs inside'. I used the text tool with a drop shadow. I made the text grey to stand out against the background colours. The font I used for this is called 'bebas'.

Step 9: Here I added the artists name. I used large, bold, capitalised, text. I also used a drop shadow to make the text stand out. I then added a small sell line below this which I used red text with a drop shadow.

Gregory McLaney

Step 10: In the next process I added a barcode, I just imported a .jpg file. I then added a red text with the price and issue number.

Step 11: Here I added a sell line 'Top 40 Rappers' I did this by using the text tool and positioning the text in the appropriate place. I also used a drop shadow.

Gregory McLaney

Step 12: In this step I deleted the cover line I added previously because it didn't fit well. I then added a bigger drop shadow to the main title 'IMPACT SOUNDS'. I then changed the issue number area. I added a plain white shape (using the shape tool) to blend in to the barcode. After this I added the date, issue number, price and website to give the image a profession look (using the text tool).

Gregory McLaney

Step 13: In this next process above I added a circular flasher (using the shape tool) and made it grey. I then added a sell line inside it. I also layered the shape behind the mast head.

Step 14: This is the final production step of my cover. In this step I took away the initial grey sell line. Then I added a new sell line with various colours which creates a more stylish look. Then I changed the colour of my flasher to black with white text. Finally, I added a stroke to the flasher (using blending options) which is red to create a more vibrant eye catching appeal to the flasher.