Hand Drawings for Cover Page

  

This is the first drawing I did for my cover and saw there many problems with this drawing. I had a lot of empty space that needed to be filled. I didn’t like the writing I put on my model as it looked messy. And I didn’t like the way the title went behind the model as it was hard to read.

This is the second drawing I made to try to repair the faults from my last drawing. However, I still had some empty space that needed to be filled and I did not like the way ‘lily Love is Back’ was on the side. In addition, I still did not like the way the title was and so I had to change that.

After I made my first draft, I went straight back to the drawing board ad it did not seem right. I drew another plan and felt I made a number of improvements, including the titel. However I still did notice there was empty spaces that needed to be filled and I did not like the way the writing was on the model and the star.

This is the last drawing that I was most happy with as it gave me a better idea of what it would look like and i felt it now looks like a real music magazine cover, however, there are a few problems I need to change in the process of making my final product.

Cover Photo

These are all of the photographs I have taken. I have used a female model with a white background and dressed her up with and indie look with a cream dress, black bowlers had, black DMs, black lipstick and black makeup. I had decided to do this is way as I feel this is what represents my magazine genre best. I have also taken many pictures so then I have a wide variety of pictures to choose from.

After looking through these pictures I had decided on the picture I wanted to use and decided how I would manipulate it.

The first thing I noticed about this picture was that itself it looked extremely dark. So I adjusted the image slightly by moving the levels.

I then used the lasso tool to select the whole background of the photograph and then adjusted the photograph by changing the levels to make it white so then the model would stand out.

I then used the levels again to make the whole photograph itself seem brighter.

When I zoomed onto my models face, I noticed some dirty marks or errors made with the makeup so I mostly used the cloning tool to correct these errors. I did this by removing the shine from the end of her nose, adding black to her lips, and removing the dirty marks on her face.

Final Cover Photo



I have decided to leave my cover photo like this as I feel that this is a powerful portrait of my model. I have changed the background plain white to make the model stand out more and I have also noticed that a lot of my research used plain backgrounds so the model if the main focus. I also made the photo brighter so it didn’t seem too dim. I also made some correction on her face to make the image as well as the hair and makeup seem more professional.

Cover Title

Firstly I made a list of all of the names I wanted to call my magazine and after thinking about it for a long time, I decided to use vanity.

I then randomly selected fonts to change the way to write the word ‘Vanity’. I then looked at them all individually and am indecisive on a few of them so I will have a look at them differently.

These are the 5 fonts that I am indecisive on. I then look through which font and think about which will be most appropriate for my magazine and I decided to go with the second from the top font as that seems to fit my magazine more.

Once I had chosen my font I thought of different ways I could change the look of the word to make it my own design and to see how it would fit my magazine.

I firstly changed it to have a thicker black outline as the original font seemed to be a bit boring and didn’t match my magazine very well. However, I still think it looks boring after and needs to be changed again.

I then thought that changing the colour of the font would make it seem interesting and would bring some colour onto the front pace. However, I still feel that it needs to have something added to it as it does not seem to be the right title.

I then decided to changes the colour of each letter to make it stand out more and to seem more interesting. I feel that this was succeeded, however, I still felt as though some changes still needed to be made.

I then decided to colour in the letter V to make it seem a bit different make it seem more exciting. However, I came to the conclusion that these different colours of the letters made the writing seem too childish and therefore does not fit the style of my magazine.

Final Decision

I then changed it back to be all red, keeping the V coloured in to make it stand out more. I have decided to leave the colour of my title like this due to the research, I realised that most magazines used red at their title as it is a sign of excitement and danger, which is what I want my magazine to look like. I decided to keep the inside of the letters colourless and keep the inside of the V red to make the title different from other magazine title. I am happy with my final title as I feel it is the best fit for my magazine as it goes with the theme of my magazine.

Mood Board

This is the mood board I have made for my music magazine. As you can see the image the mood board gives off is dull and mysterious but it’s exciting at the same time. It also gives an indie vibe which is why I have found pictures of girls with dark makeup and looking sexy.

Detailed Cover Research

Specific Cover Research

‘Billboard’s magazine cover is one of my favourite covers. This is because they never have the same colours or design at the front. Billboard is an international news weekly magazine devoted to music and the music industry. This is also one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognised music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly base. As you can see with the pictures above, even though they use different models and different colours each week, they have a similar layout.

This is how I wish to lay out my music magazine. I’d like to have my model at the front with the title of it above them and then the writing about what is in the magazine around the edges of them.

However, I do not like the way they have enabled the model to cover up the title as it is hard to read. I also think that there is too much small writing on the cover so it seems to look a bit over crowded and difficult to read.

‘Q’ magazine is another one of my favourite music magazines when it comes to layout and display. This magazine is a popular music magazine which is published monthly in the United Kingdom. The founders of this magazine, Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs. This magazine was first published in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years it was sub-titles ‘The modern guide to music and more’. Originally, it was called ‘Cue’ but the name was changed so that it wouldn’t be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason was that on ‘Q’s 200^th edition, due to it being a single-letter title, it would be more prominent on newsstands.

The reason for why I like this magazine is because I like the way they don’t cover their title like‘Billboard’ magazine does. I also like the way they have done a close up shot of the faces of the model to be able to sense the attitude they are trying to give off. I also like the way they have added shapes on the magazine to make it seem more interesting and it grabs the viewer’s attention.

However, similar to ‘Billboard’magazine, I’m not too keen on the way the writing on the magazine has gone over the model which makes it seem to be overcrowded with small words.

General Cover Research

This‘We ♥ Pop’ magazine I feel is a good magazine. The reason for why I think this is a good magazine cover is because the colours they have used are bright colours and so it would attract the audiences’ eye. Also this magazine is roughly for girls around the ages of 10 to 18 similar to my magazine. This is shown with the colours they use and the people they have put on the magazine.

However, in some ways I do not think this magazine is the best because it seems to be over crowded with writing and it seems like there is too much on it so it makes the audience not want to read it because there is too much on the cover. Also this magazine cover seems to be a bit too young for my audience and childish.

This‘Q’ magazine is another good music magazine. This is because the model on the front page is of a popular singer. This magazine is generally aimed at people of an older age around 13-25. This is because Lana Del Rey’s music wish is the same age group as my magazine as this is classed as an indie/pop magazine because it doesn’t seem so sweet and innocent like the previous magazine cover, this is shown with the blood on her head. Also I’ve noticed the magazine is advertising festival which is also for people of the older age so this would attract the age group more.

However, I also feel the same with this magazine cover and the last, I feel there is too much writing on and it seems too over crowded. But I do feel that there is less writing which makes it better. I also feel there are too many colours which can confuse the reader.

These two magazine covers I feel are the best and the most appropriate. This is not only because Katy Perry is on the front of both of them but because the cover does not seem over crowded with writing so it would not confuse the reader. Also not a lot of colours are used so that also makes it so it is not confusing. Also it contains a popular singer that people from the ages of 13 to 25 listen too which is the age group I want to sell my magazine to. It also contains all of the information needed to let the reader know what is inside.

However, I don’t like the way they have put the model over the writing of the title because people don’t really know what the title of the magazine is. I also feel that the magazine in the left should not have covered the model with flowers because I feel it is too distractive. Also the cover on the right I feel is too revealing for younger people to read.