Photoshop - First Self-taught tutorial

Self-taught tutorials:

In a later post I will explain and show all the experiments I have undertaken before starting my final DVD inlay. Before and during my experiments I decided that I wanted to look around the subject slightly more, this was to not only broaden my knowledge of Photoshop but also explore all the options I have when creating this piece of work. In my previous post I discussed the idea of having a heart shape on the back cover of my DVD inlay which would house the film information. As I experimented with this it became apparent that I had little knowledge behind how I would actually achieve this look. This was hence the first feature I began to delve into. I came across a website which gave many different Photoshop tutorials for all different areas of the software, this site had a tutorial for using text frames.

What did I do?

I began by opening a Photoshop document and setting a random canvas size, this was due to the fact that I was simply trying and testing the idea rather than applying it to my template. I then selected the Custom Shape Tool. This can be found hidden behind the Rectangle Tool in the Tool Panel down the left hand side of the screen.

While I had the Custom Shape Tool selected, I clicked on the shape preview thumbnail in the Options Bar, this can be found along the top of the screen. The Shape Picker then opens to display a variety of different shapes, to select a shape I simply clicked on the one I wanted. To begin with I selected the heart shape as this was my initial idea but as you read through you will see I actually ended up testing a variety of different shapes to see their affects.

In the same tool bar as the Shape Picker is a small drop down menu which has three options – Shape, Path and Pixels. This is normally by default set to Shape however for this tutorial to work I had to change this setting to Path. This Path is the outline of the shape. It acts as a path for the text as it is not able to type outside of this ‘Path’. I then simply drew the shape onto the canvas.

An issue which I found when creating this shape was that once I had positioned it I couldn’t get it to move/rotate/reshape. In order to achieve this I had to use the Edit Menu and then select the ‘Free Transform Path’ button. Once I had changed the size of my shape I then pressed Enter to apply these changes.

Now I had to add the text to my image. To do this I selected the Type Tool in the Tool Panel down the left hand side of the screen. I used the Horizontal Type Tool however there were other options to choose from. This maybe something to change depending on the Shape Path used. I was then able to change the size, font and colour of the Type in the Tool Bar along the top of the screen. To add my text I simply placed the cursor inside the Path of my shape and clicked. I could then add my text. To apply and finish this tutorial I simply used the tick button along the top Tool Bar. The Path outline then disappeared and in theory the type should be in the shape selected.

 

My results and evaluation:

When I found this tutorial I was really pleased based on the result that they displayed could be achieved. When I first used this tutorial for the heart shape my text didn’t fill the whole shape. For this reason I changed the text size and also the font to try to achieve the same look. This just didn’t work as intended. I played around with this shape for ages but still had no luck. When the Shape Path was removed the text wasn’t in a distinguished enough shape to still tell what I was trying to achieve and hence it looked unprofessional and messy. The images below show three separate stages of this technique including the final result. In comparison to what I was expecting to achieve you can clearly see why I was disappointed with this result. I was prepared to rule this technique out altogether based on one shape not going as planned and for this reason I tried again with two different shapes. The next shape path I tested was a flower. I wanted to try and keep with my girly/feminine theme and hence this justifies the shape. I spent time changing and adapting the text inside of this path like I did with the heart to try to improve the look of this piece however the final result ended up as poorly as the heart. This hence completely changed my ideas for the back cover as I was no longer wanting or able to create this effect. Before completely admitting defeat with this technique I tried a much simpler shape. I used a rounded corner rectangle. This simply gave boundaries for my text and actually worked well. Although this wasn’t exactly as complex as I would have liked this simplicity looked so much better than the undefined complex shapes. For all of these reasons I feel that if I was to use this technique in my final piece I would need to use a basic shape. I have completely ruled out the use of the heart path.

 

 

 

Reference : 

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/fill-shapes-with-text/ - Accessed 20/02/2014



 

 

Photoshop - DVD Inlay Layout

After making my final decisions on the theme of my DVD inlay and the colour scheme I aim to use I decided to apply all of these features and create a layout onto the basic template I had already made. The aim of this is to decide where I will place all the different elements of my DVD cover. When I come to bring all of my elements together I can simply replace or edit the layout and design which you can see I have made from the image below.

The front of the DVD inlay has a bar along the top, this will include all of the four main actor names. The first name will be in White with their surname in a different shade of Pink. There will be a small bow on this divide line. Below this will be the 5 star rating with a quote. I haven't decided exactly what this quote will be however other DVD inlays I have researched take a quote from a magazine company so this is something I will look into further. I like the idea of all of the stars being different colours however this still may change depending on how the front of my inlay looks as a whole. I don't want it to look too colourful and hence tacky. The title will sit under this star rating. This should overlap the main image but not cover it too much. Two small love hearts should fill in any white space under this. The biggest and most important aspect of my DVD cover is the main image. This will sit at the bottom of the inlay. I am undecided exactly how far up the page this will spread however it must at least reach the film title. Finally there will be an age rating in the bottom right hand corner.

The spine of my DVD inlay is very simple however from my research into existing products I found this was the most effective and hence applied it to my work. The bottom of the spine sits the age rating with the title nearer the top but still quite central as a whole. There will be two bows on the spine. One at the very top and one where the title finishes.

The back of the DVD inlay uses a lot of aspects I gathered from my research into existing products. The main focal point of the back cover is the large heart. This will be where I place all of my film information. I like the idea of displaying this information in an unconventional way. The design below shows 3 images spread diagonally across the back of my inlay, this is a rough number however subject to change. It is however more than likely that I will only be able to fit 3, 4 at a push images in this section. I placed the barcode in the top left hand corner of my inlay. This is mainly to save space as my film information takes up so much room. I do however feel this fills up the space which would otherwise be left blank. The bar along the bottom represents all of the film information in terms of running time, language etc... I have only allocated a small amount of space for this which I hope will work but this could be stretched at a push. Finally to decorate the back cover I added a small heart to follow the running theme from the front cover.

Photoshop - Colour Scheme Decision

Now that I have made my final decision on the overall theme of my DVD inlay it is important I look at which colours I want to use. After undertaking various research on current DVD inlays it became apparent just how important the colours can be. Those DVD inlays which used bright bold colours stood out much more than those who used simple colours and general black text. The DVD 'Friends With Kids' used the most random colour scheme but this surprisingly worked really well, this used pink and blue text with a mostly white back ground. My favourite and most inspirational use of colour and design has come from the film ' thebigWedding'. This used a mostly grey and black theme in relation to text however bright pink is used to make areas stand out. I particularly like the use of more than one colour in the title of this film and the way the actor names have been separated by colour. The target audience for my film is young/middle aged woman, this is due to the fact that it is a chick flick/RomCom. For this reason the colours I used should relate and appeal to this market. Although I don't have the set colour codes for the colours I wish to use yet I aim to use pinks, in both light and dark shades along with a small amount of purple. White is always a good and effective colour to use as it stands out on most backgrounds and hence I feel this is a colour I am most likely to use. I would like to steer away from black as I feel this is much to common and doesn't have the same girly affect that white would. I had originally liked the idea of using red as part of my colour scheme however I think a better look can be achieved by sticking to the more girly colours, I haven't ruled out the use of red and I aim to test this colour throughout the process however it is not part of my set colour scheme as of yet. There are many places and ways I wish to bring my colour scheme into light. The main and most obvious way I can do this is through the use of text. The title, actor names and star ratings will all use the colours mentioned above, I have white and a bright pink in mind for these particular bit however like anything when applied this is subject to change. The research into DVD inlays brought out my desire for a plain and basic spine as I felt this was most effective. For this reason I am to have a white spine with hot pink text. (This text will follow whatever is decided for the main title on the front of the inlay). I also aim to have a small heart on the top of the spine. This is likely to be in a shade of purple. The next idea which I have is in relation to the actors on the front of my inlay. These are more than likely to all have random coloured outfits on and hence this may look odd when pulled together. For this reason I aim to use techniques such as the Hue/Saturation effect tool to change the colour of just the girls outfits to tie in with the colour scheme. This I feel would be a simple yet effective way to bring everything together. The colours I aim to use for these outfits are pink (mostly a baby pink), light purple and a darker/rich purple. This is definitely something which is subject to change as it may not work as intended however from an aesthetics point of view I feel this would work well.

Photoshop - Final decisions

Final Decisions:

I feel that now is a good time within my project to make some final decisions for my film as a whole but most importantly my DVD inlay. My DVD as a whole will be set around 4 woman who go to Paris together rather than spending Valentine’s Day alone. The four actors will be Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Cameron Diaz and finally Mila Kunis. Based on my research into existing DVD inlays I have decided that I would like my design to include a background image and all four girls. Previous Sex and the City films only used Sarah Jessica Parker however this didn’t appeal to me. Another design I explored included the idea of having four separate images of the actors however I have also gone against this idea based on personal preference. Due to the setting of my film I would like to use an Eiffel Tower background. The front will also be home to the film title. I have decided my film will be called ‘What happens in Paris, stays in Paris’. I would also like the front of my inlay to include all four actor names, these will preferably be along the top however this is subject to change based on how my final product looks when it’s pulled together. My hand drawn designs also included a star rating, this is something I would like to continue and use in my final piece however I haven’t decided exactly where I want to place it yet. The age rating to my film will be a 15, this will be displayed in the bottom right hand corner. Now I have made my decisions my next step is to decide on a colour scheme for my DVD inlay and finally apply both these decisions, and my colour scheme to a template which will map out the key areas of my inlay. I will use the colours within my colour scheme on this map/template in order to tie all my ideas together in one place.

Logo Ideas

When creating my DVD project it was important to create my own logo/brand. The first aspect I thought about was the name of my brand. I didn't have many ideas in this area but came up with KacMedia. These are my initials followed by simply Media. I began my research for a design online. Although the internet was full of different ideas there were very few which I actually liked. I found that any with bright colours caught my eye first and hence my logo must include bright colours. I also found that the simpler the better. A logo with slick lines and a simple basis stood out the most. When these simple shapes where mixed with bright colours the results were really eye catching. Another idea which caught my eye was by making the KacMedia a picture. Many logo's did this using word art in many different ways. Within my sketches you can see some of my ideas for this style but also for the simple shapes/lines style. Below are the ideas I found on the internet which I could have in some cases have used as inspiration. In a later post I will narrow my ideas down to my favourite 3 and then make a decision on which logo I will create and use for my product.

 

http://www.rvoice.co.uk/pages/home/my-education/what-is-the-virtual-school/design-a-logo-for-the-hope-

 

http://susanhendrich.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/michellina_designs1.jpg

 

There was one website which I found particularly helpful. This website had many different logo ideas from simple shapes with bright colours. The weblink for this is as follows: http://www.ozoneeleven.com/freebies/120-creative-beautiful-free-vector-logo-design-inspirations/ 

 

 

Colours

There are two main types of colour choices when it comes to Photoshop. The first and most common is RGB. These 3 letters stand for Red, Green and Blue. These are standard colours and can be found in the right hand bar of the screen. Each of these colours have a slider between 0 and 255. The second is hexadecimal colours. These use a number and letter system to give each colour a code. RGB colour and Hexadecimal colour link together. Red, Green and Blue are all classed as light sources. The lowest value that can be given to one of the light sources is 0 (hex 00). The highest value is 255 (hex FF). A Hexadecimal value is written as 3 double digit numbers, starting with a # sign. The combination of Red, Green and Blue values from 0 to 255 gives a total of more than 16 million different colours to play with (256 x 256 x 256) however modern monitors are capable of displaying at around 16384 different colours. To achieve the various colours you change the number of the RGB. Photoshop is helpful and gives you a hexadecimal equivalent based on this but also works in the opposite way. If you know the hexadecimal value it will provide you with the number of RGB particles. For every hexadecimal figure there is a plain English equivalent. This can be seen in the chart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_color#Hex_triplet – Accessed 13/02/14

http://www.mathsisfun.com/hexadecimal-decimal-colors.html - Accessed 13/02/14

 

 

Photoshop - Hand Drawn Design Ideas

After looking at current DVD covers I have designed 5 of my own. I have tired to use different ideas for each however I have taken aspects which I like most and used them in more than one design. Although I haven't completely decided which design I like best I aim to use aspects from many different designs to achieve the most professional look.