Step by step guide for my front cover

Here is the final out come of my music magazine’s front cover in Photoshop.

To start, I made my background into a blue fade using the gradient tool. I used the colour blue because it is a very cool colour and is a nice base to work on.

The next step I took was placing my chosen image where I wanted it to sit. Before I had placed the image onto the page I had edited it to make it black and white with grain to make sure it fitted nicely with the blue behind it. I cropped the image with the rule of thirds in mind and made sure to not overpower the page with the image.

After I was happy with the positioning of the image I went and placed in the masthead. I situated it behind the girls head so it didn’t cut off the top of her head and was still readable.

I then went and placed the date and issue number on the ‘F’, deeming it a suitable place for it to sit.

Next, I wrote over the image for my main coverline ‘Two Brass Shoes’. I wrote this in red so it would stand out against the black and white on the page and contrast with the blue in the background. To make the text seem a little less flat I went and added a drop shadow and a white stroke, making it bolder and more noticeable than before.

I made a small rectangle box, placed it above the main cover line, rotated it and reduced its opacity so the image behind it could still be visible. I then got the text tool and wrote ‘EXCLUSIVE’ to place in the new box I had created.

Going back to the box tool I made another rectangle box under the coverline and spread it across the page. I filled this one in black to make it bold and contrast with the text that I was going to place over the top of it.

Once I was happy with the new box I had created, I went back to the type tool and wrote a little summary of what the article mentioned was about, then placing it over the black box.

After I was satisfied with my main coverline and all the things surrounding it I moved on to the other coverlines that I was going to use on my front cover. I used small black lines to separate the individual coverlines and show that they were separate articles. I made the font italic for the last cover line to show that it is of more importance than the others that it was situated alongside it.