Print screens of my magazines construction

1. Print screen of magazine front
cover construction

3. I started by placing the image onto the page. The first
skill I learnt was to use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to get rid
of the images background. I did this by going around the
part of the image I wanted to keep with the lasso tool
and then use inverse select so I could delete the
background. I did this because my image wasn’t big
enough for the page and by getting rid of the background
it meant I could just have my male artist slightly to the
right of the page without the image having white space
either side of where the image had ended. From this I
learnt how to use the lasso tool which I found useful for
the rest of the construction. I have also learnt that
pressing Control and Alt either adds or minuses to the
selection. I think by getting rid of the background I made
the image look a lot better and crisper as the background
made the image look unprofessional.

5. I then had to use the Polygonal Lasso Tool again but this
time to create the top of the models head as I accidently
cut it off when taking the photograph. After I had
selected which area I wanted to make the rest of his
head, I selected the fill tool and chose the content aware
setting which filled the area with his hair. This then gave
the male artist the top of his head. I did this as the front
cover would look bad and unprofessional if the artist had
part of his head chopped off and I didn’t want to make
the image any bigger as the masthead would cover his
face. From this I learnt how to use content aware and I
got to practice using the lasso tool again which improved
my skills. By adding the rest of the male’s hair it made
the image look complete and also made the overall look
of the front cover a lot better.

6. I then inserted a barcode by placing it on the page. I
wanted to have the barcode on my front cover as it follows
basic magazine codes and conventions.

8. After this I started to add my cover lines. I did this by inserting rectangle
shapes and filling them with the colour I wanted. I then added the text
into the box and again then made the text the colour I wanted. I did this
as I wanted the cover lines to stand out on the page and by placing them
in boxes and making them colourful they stood out more on the page.
From this I learnt the basic skills of resizing the boxes and text and
choosing the exact colour I wanted by taking samples from the other
boxes once I had found the right colour. I think by having the boxes it
made the magazine look more like a pop magazine as the text is bold
and bright. I also put a black stroke effect around the text to make it
stand out more against the colour of the box. I continued to do this for
the majority of my cover lines including my main cover line, which I
decided I wanted to have a thick red stroke around the white text to
make it stand out from all the other cover lines on the page and grab
the reader’s attention straight away.

10. The next skill I learnt was how to paste the
masthead onto the page after print screening it
from DaFont. After I had done this I used the Magic
Wand Tool to get rid of the white bits that weren’t
needed. After this I added a blue stroke to it so the
masthead integrated with my colour scheme of
blue, white, red and yellow. I also added a colour
overlay which made the mast head brighter and
stand out more on the page. I didn’t just want a
plain black mast head as I didn’t think this would
be eye catching and I wanted the masthead to
reflect the magazines pop genre.

11. The skill I have learnt here is how to use curves to make the image
lighter. I thought that the image was quite dark on the page and I
wanted to make it lighter. To do this I used the curve tool and played
around with it until I was satisfied with the images brightness. I feel
as if this has improved the magazine as if the image was too dark it
wouldn’t look like a pop magazine as other pop magazines are
bright as this reflects the magazines genre.

12. I then added extra text at the top to make the skyline. I also
used the colour sampler to get the right shade of blue that I
wanted. I wanted to have the skyline at the top so the
reader could easily see who would feature in the magazine.
I think this added a lot to the magazine as it might
encourage people to buy the magazine as they want to read
about the people who are featured.

14. To make my poster strip at the bottom of the
page I did what I had done before and added a
rectangle shape and rotated it so it was on an
angle. After this I placed the images I wanted to
use and rotated these as well so they would be
parallel to the rectangle. I continued to add text
and other boxes and made them as colourful as
I could as I wanted them to stand out on the
page. From this I learnt how to move the
images on the page by using the key board
which was much more effective and precise
compared to using a mouse.

15. I then added the price and magazine issue on the barcode as
this also follows magazines codes and conventions to have
these features on the front cover of the magazine. This was
the final stage of construction for my front cover.

16. Print screen of magazine
contents page construction

17. I began by pasting the contents title on to the page from DaFont, like I did with the
mast head. I then followed to do the same as I did with the masthead and give the
contents title a blue stroke to make it stand out on the page. I also had to rotate the
title at I wanted it on its side. I wanted the contents title to look the same as the
masthead so the magazine would have a certain house style. I did the same for the
masthead that I placed beside the contents title.

18. I then inserted social media icons on my contents page. The skill I
learned was to use the magic wand tool to get rid of the black bits that
were around the icons. I did this to make the icons look neater and to
make the magazine look more professional. I think be adding the social
media icons it shows the reader who the magazine is targeted at as
the younger generation are more likely to use these forms of social
media.

20. I then continued to add the sub headings and page
details however I used the same tools that I have
used before so I wasn’t learning anything new. I
used lots of rectangle shapes as I wanted my
contents page to be organised and to have
structure like Kerrang’s contents page. To replicate
these rectangles so they were all the same size, I
used the duplicate layer tool and then just changed
the colour of the rectangles. Duplicating the layer
was a lot more efficient that creating a new
rectangle every time. I also then added my images
and gave them subheadings.

21. I then added an editorial which I had to create a
rectangle shape and give it a stroke effect. I had
done this before so it wasn’t challenging. However
when I wanted to type over the box, it didn’t work.
The skill I learned was to rearrange the order of the
features in the side box so the text went in front of
the box. I did this by placing the text over the
rectangle. I needed to do this so the text could be
seen. After I had done this I placed another Dafont
font onto the page and used the magic wand tool
again to get rid of any extra bits that weren’t
needed.

23. I then added my last two images. They weren’t the
right colours when I placed them onto the
contents page. The skill I learnt in order to change
this was using the colour balance to balance out
the colours and make the images fit with the rest
of the colour scheme on the page. I did this as one
of the images looked green and looked strange on
the contents so I had to use colour balance tool to
make it go back to normal. This defiantly improved
the look of the image and made the contents page
look more ascetically pleasing. Also I made on the
images have more blue/purple undertones which
made it integrate with the colour scheme better.

24. Print screen of magazine double
page spread construction

25. I began by inserting my main image. Once I had done this I rearranged
the picture to make it fit the page. The skill I learnt was how to
feather/merge the image into the page so it filtered out onto the next
page. I did this because I only wanted the main image on one of the
pages, I also thought that the fade was very effective and looked more
interesting than just ending the image on the second page. This effect
defiantly made the page look more ascetically pleasing and also made
the image blend nicely with the next page.

27. I then went back on to Photoshop to create the
main heading. I did this by using a Dafont font and
then pasting it into Photoshop. I then placed a
rectangle shape behind it like I have done before
and used stroke to make it stand out more. Once I
had finished I had to save the main heading as a
file and place this onto Indesign. I learnt a new skill
because I had to draw where I wanted the heading
to go and then had to crop some of the edges so
the heading would fit on the page. This was very
effective as the heading turned out bright and
bold. Also the colours I used integrated well with
the colours in the images.

29. I then added the sub heading and the article. The article was all over the main image
so I had to use the Lasso tool to draw around the part of the image that I didn’t want
the text on. I then made the text go around this area with some extra room around
the image. This is effective as the text immediately went around the image. I learnt
how to use the lasso tool and how to move certain parts of the line surrounding the
image after I had drawn the area as in some places as I didn’t leave enough room
between the lasso and the image and some text was still on the image. I then went
on to add the other images onto the page. I selected these images by drawing a line
from the side of the page and dragging the mouse onto the image whilst pressing
shift. After I had done this I made the text go around these images as well by clicking
the buttons at the top of the page that allowed the text to go around images.

30. I then used the drop cap tool to
add a drop cap to the article. I did
this as it is one of the double page
spread codes and conventions. I
also added a by line as this is also a
double page spread code and
convention. This was the last bit of
construction that I did on my
double page spread and I am proud
of the final result of the front
cover, contents page and double
page spread.