Constructing the front cover of my film magazine

I wanted to create a striking background. In order to do this, I re-named the background layer “Layer 0” and filled it with a blue/teal colour. I then went on ‘Filter’ –> ‘Render’ –> ‘Lighting Effects’ and added a spotlight.

I then created a new layer and added this image of an old letter, which I found on the internet at this web address: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=old+letter+wiki&um=1&hl=en&safe=vss&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=EzvCoJYHdewzcM:&imgrefurl=http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Old_Letter.jpg&docid=fnYVInl06D_7HM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Old_Letter.jpg&w=1597&h=2437&ei=y-sfT-uVBYiv8gPVy_DADg&zoom=1&biw=1280&bih=827&iact=rc&dur=0&sig=112547272124444989628&page=1&tbnh=149&tbnw=98&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=38&ty=55

I then adjusted the opacity of the letter layer to 54%, so that the blue spotlight would shine through.

I then cut out this image of Sarah in a new Photoshop document using the ‘Magic Wand Tool’, the ‘Magnetic Lasso Tool’ and the ‘Eraser Tool’. I then cropped it using the ‘Rectangular Marquee Tool” and stretched it by transforming it. Finally, I got rid of any imperfections with the ‘Spot Healing Brush Tool’ and increased the contrast and saturation on the levels palette.

I then created a new layer and opened up the picture of the old letter again, dragging it so that it fully covered Sarah’s face and chest. I then created a layer mask, and, using a black paintbrush, painted over the areas around such as her hair and clothes.

This was the result: I then changed the blending mode to ‘Multiply’ and the opacity to 55%:

This was the finished result.

I then adjusted the levels, brightness and contrast slightly:

I then added it to the background:

Next, I added a black border using the ‘stroke tool’ and a title, using a font from www.dafont.com.

I then changed the colour of the title to one similar to that in Sarah’s jumper, by using the ‘eye-dropper tool’, the ‘magic wand tool’ and the ‘fill tool’.

At this point, however, I decided that I wasn’t at all happy with my magazine so far. As with the initial version of my poster, it didn’t appear to conform very well with conventional film magazines, as the background meant that nothing stood out or was eye-catching. This meant that nothing I placed on the cover looked right, or simply wasn’t visible enough. I therefore decided to restart my magazine front cover so as to make it more conventional and eye-catching, taking these magazine covers as inspiration:

I started again with the manipulated image:

I then put the image onto a stripy white background and added an image of a vintage-looking union flag. I then added a strip along the bottom that was the same colour as parts of the flag, and also added a strip along the top containing the magazine name (using a font from www.dafont.com) and tagline, which I put in the middle of two black lines to make it stand out more, and fill blank space.

I then added a dateline, website and barcode, along with extra information about a competition featured in the magazine in the bottom strip, which I also added a border to.

I then added a coverline; I created the word “British” with the union flag printed on it in the same way that I did the image manipulation on Sarah’s face, using a vector mask and a black paintbrush with the word “British” and the image of the union flag.

I then added more coverlines and used the ‘stroke’ tool to give the words in red and blue a border. I think the combination of modern-looking and old-looking fonts helps to create synergy between the old and new themes of the film, and the variation in the font sizes makes it eye-catching and aesthetically-pleasing.

I then added the writing on the flag, and created a border around each letter with the ‘stroke’ tool so that the words would look slightly three dimensional. I also added two black lines above and below the name “Sarah Brewitt” so that it was emphasised more, and the whole thing looked more aesthetially-pleasing. Finally, I added a puff, using the ‘elliptical marquee tool’ and created two different coloured borders around it using the ‘stroke’ tool.

Overall, I am very pleased with my magazine, as I believe I have managed to make it look conventional and professional.

Feedback:

•It looks busy and packed with information•I like the design and colours – the red, white and blue reflects the ‘best of British’ theme•It looks like a real magazine•I like the way you’ve layered the text over the image•I love the old lettering on the girl’s face •I think you have used a really effective combination of fonts•I like the vintage look of the flag•It’s quite striking in its symmetry•I like the fact that the tricolour theme is continued throughout•It’s very clear

Here is the feedback I have received about my magazine cover: