Front Cover Construction

Magazine front cover Construction

The first thing I had to do with editing is to resize the image to magazine size, this meant 8.5 inches wide and 11.5 inches long. This then cut the grey line off at the bottom which meant it no longer needed to be edited out. Although the guitar has been cut out more it is still eye catching.

Although the background was how I wanted it, it was empty. Therefore cloning just the top halves of the models this give more of an effect that the band is superior. As this is for a rock magazine I also had to darken the image, however this made major blemishes which would need fixing, as shown in the picture to the right.

As the image still wasn't dark enough for common conventions on a regular rock magazine. I took a graffiti brush on photoshop and sprayed black ink on the bottom of the band members and the background, excluding the guitar in the middle as I feel that it is important to be shown clear.











After analysing this as my front cover I decided it wasn't appropriate as it didn't follow common conventions of a rock magazine, but more of over genres. I picture my new magazine to have black backgrounds. Instead of having three members of a band in my front cover, I will focus on having just one member, as i feel this follows the conventions more.

This is the photograph that I have chosen for my final front cover. I chose this photo because it has a strong portrait, which is good for a rock magazine, as it is the correct character.

 To start my front cover I chose a very basic grey background. I chose this as it fits in with rock common conventions of dark colours. Choosing a dark colour will also the make the portrait photograph stand out more.

 Secondly, to make the magazine look more realistic, I added a Masthead with the brand name of 'Rock Garage' to create the logo I used 'How Do You Sleep' font, with a black background. So that the logo wasn't just black and white I highlighted the vowels throughout in yellow. The photograph of the model shows him topless, I did this so the photograph was more editorial; for example tattoos could be added to give the magazine a more grunge look, to give the rock effect. I also added a bar code, which I made in Publisher, I have stuck to common conventions by placing it vertically to the right hand side of the magazine.

The next screen shot shows the tattoos, as mentioned above, which have been edited on the model using Photoshop. The tattoos were taking from a photograph using the magnetic lasso tool. They were then copied onto the model carefully.

More tattoos were added to the magazine cover using the same technique, this were the final tattoos. I am happy with the outcome and it increased my knowledge on Photoshop.

Once I was finished with the main image, the main story and sub-line were added, using the font 'Tobago Poster' and 'Anton' these fonts were clear to read and stood out. The yellow text corresponds with the yellow within the logo.

To make the magazine look less empty, the black border at the bottom of the front cover so that the article displayed is eye catching to the reader. I've also included the brand logo to keep the branding going throughout the cover.

To create an advantage between my magazine and the rest, I created a badge, which is free with the issue. The badge is simply white and has the brand logo on.

This is the final screen shot. The photograph has been clowned and faded to give the effect there is two of John, this makes him more powerful. Which is important to have when desiring such an important portrait.

Font Planning

The picture above is evidence of my font planning. I have looked at different type of fonts that i felt would work with my rock magazine. I have analysed them and named the ones most appropriate. The fonts above are considered for title and main body of text.