Double Page Spread, final design/scamp

This is my final scamp for my double page spread design. I am very happy with the outcome as I feel the sketchpad design really makes the pages feel and look like something from the concept books of the original artists. To add further depth to the page, I will he including an 'interview' with one of 'Dreamwork's concept artists'. 

The final changes I will be making to this page will be the blue sky in the top right corner, and making things a lot more clean cut. 

I might try and achieve more accurate textures by screwing up paper, printing an actual coffee mug stain on it, and scanning it in. I will probably then set it to an overlay layer setting to really achieve a legitimate appearance.

To help the spread relate to the cover designs I had produced in my mock exam, I will use repetition of type and colour. Probably only hints of each as I want the main focus of my page to be the contents, but enough so that it is clear they are from the same magazine issue.

Double page scamp (further development of original design)

This is further development of one of my original designs for my magazine's double page spread. 

Here I elaborated on layout design, what the content would be, and the visuals on the page. 

I wanted the page to contain several images of sketched designs from the film, as well as an interview from the designer. I feel like this would make the reader feel as though they are having their own mini tour of the development process of the movie progression from initial sketch to finished animation. 

To make the page seem more scrapbook-like, I am going to design the pages so that they are actually creased/crinkled paper, with ink marks, tea stains, and generally anything to make it appear worn. 

Paper printed on paper. Paperception. 

I feel like this will add another dimension to the page and make it appear to be a lot more rustic and increase the amount of pleasure people would get from reading it.  

Double Page Scamps (copies and original layout)

Using a V5 Hi-tecpoint 0.5 pen I sketched out eight double page spread copies, and eight original designs for my own magazine. 

These are the eight double page spread copies that I did. To get a more diverse knowledge of layout, I  copied from various magazine genres, ranging from classical and rock music, to beauty, pop culture and traditional/digital art. Each magazine has a different target audience, and is aimed at a particular age group. As opposed to age group, I wanted my magazine to suit some what specific interests. I think this will be best achieved by using the magazine Imagine FX, a digital and traditional art magazine, as a main source of influence. 

These are my eight scamps of original design for my double page spread layout. 

I feel that out of all of them, the page of sketches would be the most successful in terms of relevance to the theme of my magazine. My only concern is that if I were to base a double page spread on a 'scrapbook'-like design, would the lack of alignment  make it appear messy? Or would it add a sense of charm and make the reader feel as though they are actually reading from the designers notebook?

Using adjustment layers.

This is the original photo that I started out with. I find the composition to be interesting and balanced, and I really liked the splash of colour that contrasts with the otherwise monochromatic setting. 

Using adjustment layers, I altered the image to suit my taste.

  The first thing I did was alter the highlight/shadow levels so that the photo looked more bright.

 After that, I then altered the colour levels to make the photo appear a little colder in colour so that it contrasted with the red in foreground and background.

I found that after altering the colour levels of the photo, it appeared to be saturated and bright. It was a little too bright for my taste, so I lowered the saturation and increased the luminosity slightly, this way the photo wasn't as intense, but still had the contrasting colours without the burning of the retinas.  

Mock: Cover Comparisons.

I really like both cover designs as they both emit different vibes. When comparing the two to my original brief of what I wanted my magazine to be about and who I wanted my target audience to be, I feel that the How To Train Your Dragon issue may be more appropriate as it has more features that tick off the goals I had set.

However, I do feel that in terms of layout, the first issue (Alien) was more successful, as it was eye catching without being overly busy. It had a sophisticated feel to it and really set the mood for the magazine.

In conclusion, though both were good in terms of layout and illustration, I feel that the How To Train Your Dragon issue may be more appropriate to my brief.

If I was to do this task again, I would combine the two elements of each cover to get a successful middle ground.

Mock: Cover Progression. HTTYD.

To the complete cover art work, I added the same mast head which I used for my other cover design. The only changes I made were to the colours. I changed orange to green so that it complimented the lush background of the illustration.
I repeated the same elements in a different colour so that it's evident that the two are a different issues from a series.

The only issue with the illustration was the white backdrop made it difficult to read the mast head.
To improve this, I expanded the green foliage to use as a backdrop.

I wanted to make reference to costume builders in my magazine if they were relevant to the theme, as the community of costumers is huge and global, and would serve for a good target audience.
Prior to creating this magazine, I had attended a MCM Comic Convention as Astrid from How To Train Your Dragon 2. My costume was entirely hand made from recycled materials.
Because the costume was entered into the masquerade along side other costumers, and won, I thought it would be suitable to include an interview.
The fact that there's an interview with a "winner" figure adds attraction to the cover and draws people in.

I felt like the three pictures disrupted the flow of the cover, so I replaced it with the How To Train Your Dragon logo. It's also instantly recognisable and the red contrasts nicely with the green due to them being contrasting colours on the colour wheel.
There is also red in the costumes in the photos, making it seem as though they are a matching set.
Having a matching set 'contained' in a box gives the cover a sense of order.

After adding the text, I found it was difficult to read due to the sketch lines behind it. To improve this, I used a set brush with a low hardness to work in white. This muted the lines and allowed for reading the text with ease.

This is the final design for the Dragons issue of Concept FX. I am really happy with how this came out as I feel it has a very friendly, happy vibe to it when comparing it to the previous Alien cover with Xenomorph, which had an almost sinister theme.
I really like the sketch to paint transition on the cover as it demonstrates the process of creation and allows the reader to get an idea of what the contents of the magazine would be.

Mock: Cover Progression. Xenomorph.

At first, I wanted to have a kind of sketchy mast head, but after experimenting with type, I realised that it made the magazine look really informal and low end. To change this, I altered the type into a classy Serif type.

This is the mast head after I had altered it.
I really like how classy it looks, as it's contrasts from the sketchy feel of the cover art.

To hook in the readers, above the mast head I advertised what 'free' content would be in the magazine, and exclusive content to make the readers feel drawn and special to my magazine.

I also proceeded to add text to the cover to break up the picture and display what contents was in my magazine. To avoid having large chunks of text, I alternated between bold and standard text.
To keep up with the high end theme of the magazine cover, I used another concording serif type.

After seeing all the text together, my magazine looked incredibly monotonous, and through which made it look boring. To detract from that, I added colour to key titles and places where I want the reader's eyes to be drawn.
Having the text in several places and alignments however caused confusion to where to look first, and rendered the white space to poor use. To change this, I altered where the text aligned, and transformed the cover art to be larger so the focus was on the mouth.
I had also noticed that the picture looked dull and boring, so to alter this I edited it in Photoshop with the burn tool to make the highlights really stand out.

This is my final design and I am very happy with the outcome.
Having all of the information on a right alignment created a balance with the head of the alien on the left. It looks almost as though it is looking round the text to the reader which is a really cool effect.
I also really like the use of orange as it adds life to the cover, and makes repetition on the cover, tying everything together.