Canine Magazine Construction

Possible images for the cover

The magazine cover will feature the sister and the wolf shadow. I decided to use the half face image as this will give generous space for the shadow and can still make eye contact with anyone who picks up the magazine, encouraging them to look inside. By not showing all of her face it also gives the impression that she has something to hide.

Magazine construction 1

I began by adding a layer mask to the picture and then using the magnetic lasso tool to select the subject. By then inverting the selection I could fill just the background with colour and remove it from view.

Magazine construction 2

I have begun to trim away any stray bits of hair by covering these with the layer mask.

I used a similar technique to cut out the ‘empire’ title from a real magazine, which I have then added to my own cover.

Magazine construction 3

I have added the copyright free werewolf image, applied a layer mask and cut round the view I want to use.

Magazine construction 4

Having cut out the correct view of the wolf I then used the paint bucket tool to fill it in black.

Magazine construction 5

I have turned down the opacity of the wolf to make it look more like a shadow. I then enlarged and repositioned it in the top corner to give the impression that the actual wolf is stood in the same place as the reader and this is what the subject on the cover is looking at.

I have added the title of my film in a font downloaded from www.dafont.com and with a red outer shadow.

Magazine Construction 6

I have downloaded an image from www.brusheezy.comand used it as the background. I want something that looks like a wall or fence that the sister can be cowering against but will also emphasise the shadow. This background is not very effective at either of these things, even after changing its brightness and contrast levels.

Magazine construction 7

This background (also downloaded from www.brusheezy.com) works much better as it both resembles a stone wall and is light enough for the shadow to stand out. Plus it also gives subtle hints to the moon as it resembles the visible surface.

Magazine Construction 8

I have added some additional articles and features of my magazine onto the cover. I have coloured them red to continue with the horror theme but outlined the text in white to give it emphasis on the page.

Magazine construction 9 part 1

I am following the instructions of a YouTube tutorial to add a glamour glow effect to the cover model http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64-23bvHi3Q

I have started by adding a duplicate layer of the image of the sister character.

Magazine Construction 9 part 2

• I then changed the layer type to overlay so that both images of the sister effectively blend together.

Magazine construction 9 part 3

At this stage the image is given the effect of a very powerful spray tan. I now have to tone this down to get the desired glow effect.

Magazine construction 9 part 4

The way to tone down the glow is to apply a Gaussian Blur onto the top image.

Magazine construction 9 part 5

The general rule with the Gaussian Blur is to adjust it so as you can just make out the facial features which is what I have done here.

Magazine construction 9 part 6

This is the before / after glamour glow effect comparison. As you can see, the image on the right (after) looks far more professional and glamorous than the image on the left (before). This look of glamour is normal for images on the covers of magazines and this includes those of the horror genre.

Magazine construction part 10 part 1

I now want to add an outline to the sister and found this YouTube tutorial which should give me the desired look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcJB3db28p4

Magazine construction 10 part 2

I added a new layer group and named it brushes. I then added brush strokes of increasing lightness onto separate layers in the group and then toned down the hue/saturation to get the look I wanted.

Magazine construction 11

This is the effect that the background brushes give, the subject stands out better from the background and is more dominant on the page. I have darkened the background itself to fit better with the horror genre.

Magazine construction 12

I added a white box in which to place my barcode. After downloading a barcode font from www.dafont.com I added it to my cover. I then cut off the excess barcode by using the selection box tool.

Magazine construction 13

After looking at other magazine covers again I noticed that the text for the other features is much plainer but just as effective. I therefore decided to change mine to match this.

Magazine construction 14

I have removed the outline of the text and changed the colour back to just white which stands out very well against the dark background and image.

Magazine construction 15

I have spaced the text out at the bottom to further resemble the published magazines.

I have also made my magazine a special ‘monstrous’ issue which will target fans of the horror genre.

Magazine construction 16

I downloaded 3 different horror themed fonts from www.dafont.comas possibilities for the ‘monsterous issue’ title and asked my classmates to choose which one they preferred. Everyone chose the middle font as they thought it suited the overall design of the magazine cover the best and as a result this is the one I chose.

Magazine construction 17 part 1

Feedback from classmates also indicated that my magazine cover didn’t look horrific enough and made my film look like just a thriller rather than a horror film. I therefore decided to add a classic horror element to the cover: blood, which should fix this problem. I looked for a tutorial on YouTube to show me how to add the blood and found one which explained it well and made it easy to apply: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-udAS9Mn6XQ

Magazine construction 17 part 2

To add the fake blood I changed the paint brush palette to ‘dry media brushes’ and then selected a patterned brush (like the one circled red). I have also changed the layer type to multiply.

The blood itself has several connotations including the character having just been attacked or in a fight but also that they could be responsible for the violence (the blood is on their hands). This means that the blood is a polysemic symbol and all of the different possible meanings will help to interest my target audience because they will have questions to which they desire answers.

Magazine construction 17 part 3Here is the before/after of the fake blood effect. Class feedback confirmed that this had changed their opinion of the entire film to now being a horror rather than just a thriller, thus achieving what I had aimed for when adding the effect.

Completed Magazine CoverCover model making eye contact with

readers, engages them.Special ‘monsterous issue’ will create interest in

the magazine amongst fans of the horror genre but monster movies in particular. It will also generate hype for my film because it is on the cover.

Red links to blood (horror and danger), white links to the full moon (werewolf legends).

Werewolf shadow creates a sense of mystery and makes the concept more scary because we cannot see the creature, conforms to my audience research.

An ethnic minority character is featured on the cover, challenging the norms of the magazine industry where primarily Caucasian models are used. The blood on her face links the film to the horror genre.

Including the titles of other ‘monster themed’ articles in the magazine on the cover reinforces the fact that this is a special ‘monster themed edition of the magazine and will help to target fans of the genre.