Designing a CD Cover

My task was to design a CD cover using Photoshop-particularly using brushes and imaginative fonts. Therefore, I had to learn how to download brushes from Brusheezy.com and use skills I had previously learned to pick a suitable font and download it for use in Photoshop.

Firstly, I had to create a new document in Photoshop to use as my background. This meant inputting the correct dimensions of a CD cover size-this was 120mm x 120mm. I then set the resolution to 300 pixels per inch and 16 bit. These are the resolutions used in print media production to produce something of good quality. 
Having created my blank background I could now foucus on downloading custom brushes for use on my cover. Photoshop has a large amount of pre-installed brushes but to get images such as the one I have used on my final cover you must download a brush from a site such as Brusheezy.com or Deviant Art. To do this, you use a similar method as when downloading fonts. Firstly, I selected a brush set from Brusheezy.com and clicked download. To ensure I could access my fonts easily I created a new 'Brushes' folder in my Unit 2 media folder. This would save time when browsing for my brush set to open it in Photoshop. My chosen brush set was then downloaded to my new folder. I then had to extract its contents by right-clicking the zipped file and selecting 'Extract all'. This meant my brush set was usable and I would be able to open it in Photoshop. Next, I began the process of opening my brush set in Photoshop. Firstly, I selected the brush tool and opened the dropdown box which would let me edit my brush. In this dropdown box there is a small right-pointing arrow which opens another menu. In this menu, I selected 'Load brushes', this gave the option to open my chosen brush selection. I then selected the folder where I had saved my new brush and opened it for use in my cover design. I was then able to select my particular flower shape and 'paint' it onto my blank background. I found that my initial image I was left with was quite faint to I applied the brush several times in the same place to make the colours stronger and the contrast in the colours more effective. I chose to use one large image as I thought it looked bold and the flower image itself was relevant to the band name I was given of 'Natures Heroes'. 

The font I chose was called 'Over Atlantic City' and I selected this from dafont.com. I liked this font because it was simple and gave a look of long, spiny letters similar to flower stems-again linking to the bands title. To do this I chose my font from the website, clicked download and then had to right-click to extract my font to ensure it was accessible. To install it on my computer I went to Local Disk, Windows, Fonts and then copied it across. I had created a folder specifically for fonts within my media folder to make sure my font was easy to find. I chose a yellow colour to reflect the colour of the background sunflower image to show what colour it would be if it was not desaturated. The yellow also stood out well on the black, white and grey brush image. I also edited the shape of my text so that it followed the shape of the flower. To this I used a text editing tool to create an arc and adjusted the amount of curve it was given to ensure it fitted my background shape. 

Overall I am pleased with my finished result as it simple yet effective. My background image is bold on the white background an links to the bands title as it features a natural image of a sunflower. I also like the font I have chosen as it has a natural feel due to it not having perfectly straight lines.  I have also considered the colour of my font and linked it to the colour of the background image. My text is in yellow and shows the colour of the sunflower if it was not desaturated. The way my text is fitted to follow the shape of the background images adds fluidity and the circular shape also links to the shape of the CD which would be inside the finished case.


Cross Processing


             Original Image

Creating this vintage-style effect is very simple to do when using Photoshop. I chose this image as it featured a lot of different colours which meant the adjustments I made would have a different effect on each colour in the image. 

After opening up the image you want to edit the first step in creating this effect is to create a new adjustment layer. This is done by clicking the small 'New Layer' icon at the bottom of the layers window and selecting curves in the type of layer you require. This icon is 2 icons left of the 'New Layer' icon. A menu will open up and will have the option of creating a 'Curves' layer. A new editing window will open above the layers window which enables you to edit the amount of red, green and blue within your image. 



I first edited the amount of red in my image. I aimed to make an 'S' shape in the box where I could edit this. I experimented with where I placed my dots on my line in the box until I thought the amount of red in my image was suitably adjusted. I did not want to give my image a red hue. 

I then moved on to editing the levels of green within my image. This time, I wanted the line within the curves box to remain straight. Instead of making an 'S' shape I clicked at each end of the line and dragged top point down and the bottom point up. I think that this adjustment especially gave my finished image a vintage-look. 






When editing the levels of blue I again wanted my line to be an 'S' shape. However this time I found that I did not want too much blue in my image as it was a strong colour in my original image. My 'S' was much more sloped when compared to the red line and was more stretched.

Edited Image