PHOTOSHOP

HOW WE CREATED
OUR ANCILLARIES
BECKY BOYFIELD

DIGIPAK

We used Photoshop to create our digipak

because we understood the technology well
and we knew that constructing the product
together on this software, would be easily
laid out and would finish to a professional
standard. This image shows our digipak as a
full, finished product. As you can see our
colour theme for this product was purple and
the mask was present in almost every panel.
We constructed our digipak to look that of a
real CD product. We split our digipak into 6
panels. The first panel displays an image of
the artist holding the mask against a plain
white background with the typography
capture it, of our artists name and album
title. The second panel is an image of the
character in the mask against a plain white
background. The third panel is our CD itself
and this is where it shall be placed when the
cover is made. This contains the typography
with the artist name and album name once
again. Our fourth panel is of the mask again
which mirrors the second panel effectively.
The fifth panel is of our lyrics again, against a
plain white background using our typography
to keep a consistent theme. Finally our sixth
and back panel is of an image of the artist
facing away with the text highlighting song
names, typed over it. This panel also includes
our record label and media websites where
you can find our band. This also contains the
barcode and our website.

PANEL 1

On our first panel we wanted to have an

image that would be the main eyecatching focus on the cover. We place the
image onto Photoshop by going to file
and then going to place embedded.
When the file appeared onto the screen
we cropped and resized the image to the
correct specification size of the panel
template. This then appeared as a layer
on the right hand side on the screen. We
then had to import our text onto the
panel. To do this we downloaded a text
font from a website called DaFont. This
then created a zip file on the computer
which we could the import into the
computers fonts. By doing this, it allows
us to type freely without the need to type
it out on the website and then download
it. Once we had imported the text it was
then a matter or typing out the
typography we needed using the text
tool, which in our case was the title of the
band and album name, and then aligning
the text to a suitable place on the panel.

PANEL 2 AND 4

For our second and forth panel we

used the same process to import
our image, as we did on the first
panel. We went up to file then
place embedded and then chose
the image we wanted to use for
that panel and then imported it
onto the project. Once we had do
this we cropped and aligned the
image to co-operate with the
template guidelines. We decided
to create a mirrored effect
between the second and forth
panel because we wanted to
highlight the mask as our main
brand image for our entire
package. So we repeated this step
on the forth panel and aligned
them both to the correct position
on the page.

PANEL 3

For our third panel we wanted to include a

CD into the digipak because this is a
typical convention of the cover. We used
the shape tool to create the circular same
of the CD and then aligned it to the
template guidelines. We then used the
shape tool to create the inner circle and
then cut out a section in the middle to
create a rim for the CD. We wanted to link
the colour of the CD to the colours of the
mask therefore, we used the eyedropper
tool to select the colour purple integrated
in the mask and then used the paint tool
to colour the circle of the CD. We then
decided to paint the inner rim of the CD a
grey colour because we wanted to
continue the simplicity of the product and
the genre. So we used the paint tool once
again to place this colour into this object.
Once we had finished selecting our colours
we used the text tool to type out the title
of the band and the title of the album onto
the CD. We did this because this is a
common feature in digipaks across all
genres.

PANEL 5

For our fifth panel we knew we

wanted to include our lyrics
inside the cover. So we used our
font capture it and typed out
our lyrics using the text tool
and then reduced the size so
that it could fit on the panel. We
then wanted to include the white
background on the panel to keep
the panel simple looking but
also to give a good contrast
between the colour of the black
text and the whiteness of the
background. We decided to align
the lyrics on the left hand side of
the panel because it looked
more professional this way and
was better for the symmetry of
the Digipak.

PANEL 6

For the last panel we wanted to use an

image differently to the ones already placed
on the other panels. So when looking
through our images we decided to chose this
image of the artists back. We felt that by
doing this it showed how he didnt want to
be the central focus on the panel which links
with the conventions within the indie genre.
This demonstrates more about the narrative
than the performance. To place the image
we went to file then place embedded and
then selected the image we wanted to use.
After this we aligned and cropped the image
to the dimensions of the template to finish
the panel. We then wanted to import some
song titles onto the back of the panel so we
used the text tool to type out song names,
including the one we performed, onto the
coat of the artist. We then decided to import
a barcode image to enhance the realistic
effect of the digipak and a record label to
give it a personalised touch. We also
included the iTunes logo and Soundcloud
logo onto the panel. We did this by
downloading the images and the embedding
them onto the panel. We then typed out our
website using a more simplistic font using
the text tool to have two contrasting texts.
This then finalised the digipak.

PROMOTIONAL POSTER

When creating our promotional poster we

decided to use the same image as the one
on the first panel of the digipak. So we
went over to file then place embedded
and then resized the image by holding the
shift key to keep the resolution of the
image the same otherwise it would have
made it blurry. We then placed it into our
A4 page. Once we had the image in place
we used the text tool to type our artist
name and album title onto the page and
aligned them to the top left hand corner on
the poster. We included this both on the
digipak and poster to continue the synergy
between the products and keep the
package looking professional and to allow
the audience to recognise our unique font
when the products are exhibited. We also
decided to use the same font to type the
date of our album release and the reviews
of Kerrang! magazine. We then imported
our record label and iTunes logo onto the
poster to keep the professionalism, by
going to file and then place embedded.
Finally we typed out our website again and
place it on the left hand side of the page.
We then imported the star rating above
the review using place embedded again
which then finalised the product,
completing the package.

LAYERS PANEL ON PHOTOSHOP

The layers section on Photoshop

allows you to see what order your
images, objects and text are placed
on the screen. This means that you
can change the name of the layers to
something you can remember, delete
layers if you no longer require them
and edit within the layer. You can also
group layers together so that they
move in unison together and create
folders, which a group of layers can
be put into. This section of Photoshop
is the most important and is the
control centre of everything you input
onto photoshop to allow your product
to be made. It was important to refer
to this as we developed our digipak
and poster so that if we made any
mistakes, then we would bee able to
notice them sooner rather than later.