Adding the rest to my Magazine Cover..

The first thing I decided to improve was my Main cover line. only 'Introducing BITE' needed the rest of the title so in a new text layer, I created the line 'They're making a breaktrhough' all in the same font. I made it white to match the rest of the cover line and found it matched the backgrounf well. I then decided that it was too plain and the word breathrough should stand out. This would mean that it would catch the eye more, giving the reader a quicker insight to the featured story faster. I then deleted the word breakthrough from the cover line and created another text layer, and put it in there. I then resized it so it was larger and changed the font so it was bolder, but similar to the rest of the text. I then moved it to where I wanted it, in line with the rest of the cover line, and merged the two layers. This means I can have it all as one line and move it all at the same time if it needs moving.

Then I began putting in my other cover lines. I started with the cover line on my plan that was in the bottom left corner. I stuck with the plan of a giant yellow '+' to catch the eye, which I found woked very well as it was different to the rest of the cover and stood out. I then created a new text layer and put it below this '+'. I wrote down 8 band names and listed them down the left third, one below the other in list format. This gives the impression that we've listed other bands featured and looks as if theres a lot more inside. It makes it look more than you've bargaiend for. I put it in white to contrast the dark background and stand out, as awell as not looking too 'in your face' so it's pleasing to the eye. I then added my give away cover line. I put each line in a separate text layer so I could rearrange the size of each word and place them where I planned. I also put the words 'free' and 'inside' in a separate font to the words 'iTunes' and 'Download' to make each word stand out as much as possible. Free was also in yellow so it was bright and eye catching, and 'iTunes download' in a bold white font so it would also stand out, as it would a huge promotion for the magazine among it's audience who love downloading new music, especially free and perhaps of a song they've discover in the magazine. I then put in the big number cover line. I just made a text layer, put '50' in it and made it larger, making the number more noticeable. I then changed the colour to black as it was over a white background to make it stand out, then in a new text layer, wrote 'best' above '50' and 'albums of 2010' below. I put these in the same font and font size as they're the less eye catching part of the cover line. This means the '50' will stand out. I then made the cover line 'Win tickets to move'. I put 'WIN' in big bold yellow letters in one text layer to draw in the eye, and 'tickets to muse' in another in white in the same font but smaller so it's not as bold and looks pleasing to the eye. I made sure the cover lines where all of similar fonts and the same colours for consistency to make it appealing.

As I assumed, some of the cover lines didn't stand out as intended so I put in the the splodges behind the '+', my 'win' cover line and the large number. To make it look splodged, I used the paintbrush tool with the edges at 20% hardness and make small circles with little circles around it at varied sizes. i then used the smudge tool to smudge around the edges of the splodges to make it look more splattered. I did this with both the 'win' and '+' cover lines. I then used just one round yellow splodge behind the '50' so there wasn't too much red splodges. I didn't use too much yellow so that it didn't look too much with the red, meaning it's still pleasing to the eye.

I then created a new text layer and created the selling line. I resized the text so it fitted exactly between the masthead and the top as well as leaving a small space. I made it red to separate it from the masthead. I made it a font that was similar to the mast head and the same as the cover lines so it was attractive. I then added the date below the masthead in a new text box in yellow to fit the rest of the magazine cover. I then put the price on bellow it in another text layer with the word only yellow and bigger than the date to draw attention, and then made the price white to separate it so it stands out.

Finally, i added a barcode. This was the tricky part. I used  It took several attempts as I struggled to put the black lines in evenly at even lengths. I used the rectangular marquee tool to select the area in the bottom right corner that I wanted my barcode to be in. I used the paint bucket tool to sill it with white. I then used the rectangular marquee tool and paint bucket again to create strips of black as if in a barcode. It looked tacky and messy at first due to being unable to create each line at the exact same length, but then I figured I could use the same method to create a white bar across the bottom and top, cutting them all to the same length. where I needed. I then put in yet another text layer and inserted the numbers in a plain 'Arial' font and black to fit in with the barcode and inserted random numbers. and DONE! a front cover! :D