Album cover process:
Using photoshop to design the front and back cover
Photoshop;
During the process, I found it hard to use photoshop. Mainly because we were not taught the basics. However I managed to get a grasp of using photoshop, and the tools. It became easier the more I practiced. Before we even got to the stage of designing our albums, I had already made some before, so I had some sort of idea about what my album which actually look like.
Mock up designs I did before the Ancillary task got set:
First design I made:
This was the first one I made, I really liked this one, it was clear and simple, which is something i wanted my album to be.
Second design:
I wanted to incorporate the metallic tattoos which is our synergy, so it's simulator to the first on, however the text is in white, and the metallic tattoos are in the background.
Third design:
This is the third design, I wanted the background to be gold, as it's my album name. However we don't actually get to see the artist, which won;t get her known very well.
Fourth design:
This was a rushed design, it wasn't planned properly. However there's a strong image of the artists, and strong colour used.
First back cover:
This was a very simple back cover, but looked very effective. I wanted the floral border to represent the metallic tattoos.
Second back cover:
I really liked this one, a different image of the artist is used, and the colours look really well.
Mock ups:
I made these before we were even set the ancillary tasks, because I wanted to to have a good visual sense of what my album may look like. My main inspiration for album designs came from Foxes. The actual artists who sand 'Let go for tonight' I really liked the way how her album was simple, but it looked really effective, and looked youthful. This was something I wanted in my own album.
Foxes- Glorious
As you can see, the way the artist is positioned in the middle of the page, makes it look like a really good album cover. She has direct eye contact with the audience which pulls them in more. The colours are subtle, and light hearted. It's simple, but it looks really effective.
Using photoshop:
Developing my album cover:
Photoshop was very tricky at first, but I was able to get use to it, and play around with different things. I noticed the most tool that i've needed was the magic wand too, which allowed me to select parts of an image such as the background, and remove it. The bucket tool was also useful for colouring the background to a soft pink tone. I was also able to saturate and enhance my photos making them look more professional and sophisticated.
CD Template:
This is a template that I used to create my album.
Importing image:
I had to import the image onto photoshop, this is when i adjusted the colour, and made it stand out, as well as scaling it to the right size.
Using the magic wand tool:
I used the magic wand tool to delete the background, so I had a clean white background with an image of the artist.
Paint bucket tool:
I used the paint bucket tool, to fill in the whet background, I chose a light pink tone, as it will attract our target audience.
Final image:
This is the final image of the artist. I enhanced the image, by changing the brightness and contrast. All I had left to do was to add the artist name and album name.
Font for the artist:
This the the font I chose for my artist, I liked the way it was layered out, with block shapes. I felt that this typeface suited our artist.
Placing the text:
I placed the text on the top left hand corner of the album cover. I didn't want the colour to be black, so I change the colour to black and white- which is something seen in our music video.
Placing album name:
The album name is 'Gold' So I placed that below the name of the artist. Instead of having it gold I changed it to white.
How I changed the colour:
I managed to changed the colour using this tool: I was able to change the way it looked, and was able to manipulate the colours.
(Final cover)
This is the final cover of my album. It's simple but does look effective just likes Foxes album.
Developing my back cover:
I found the back cover hard at first, but I managed to be able create a back cover. I used the same principle as the front cover, however instead of having the actual artist, she's seen as a cartoon like image.
Placing the image on the CD template:
I placed the front cover on the CD template, where I started to make the background colour the same. I added the metallic tattoos at the top and bottom to create a border.
Placing a new image:
I placed an image of the artist in the background, however I didn't want it to be over complicated, so I tried to change the colour of the image.
Colour:
Since i'm using three colours (Grey, white and pink) I changed the artist into a grey silhouette - which is also used in our music video.
Change of image:
I didn't like the way the image looked, so I changed the image into another one, and scaled it so it became more clear.
Adding text:
This is when I added text- track list to my album back cover. I tried to find a simple font, and used that.
Adding extra bits:
After I finished positioning my text, I added the barcode, record company, artist website and copyright information. This made my album cover look more professional.
(Final back cover)
As you can see, my back cover has deferred to my mock up designs. I changed the layout, and made it more graphic.