Preliminary Print.

Originally posted, 16th October 2009.

After a tiring past few days working on my preliminary print, alone, I finally managed to complete my preliminary print to the very best of my abilities using the software we were given and the deadline which ran alongside it.

I then began to plan out the elements that would appear in my magazine. I began by looking at magazines that I myself had read recently - primarily that of Q Magazine and Kerrang! Magazine - I decided that I was going to incorporate the simplistic style of Q Magazine (the one photograph on a relatively plain background with very little writing around the side), I decided that I then going to incorporate some of the music that would be displayed in magazines which would be for an "alternative" audience.

Whilst planning my piece a large selections of factors had to be thought about and incorporated. The first issue arose when I took the photograph of my model for the front of my magazine; for example, there was the issue of not having a very clear background to work on - which would later be edited out - I decided that I was going to rectify this by choosing a background that only had similar colours on it - a brick wall of very industrial colours.

I began creating my actual piece by choosing the models from the selection of photographs that I had taken previously - see previous blogs for further details - I then opened a brand new Photoshop document on my computer, here I pasted the photograph into the blank space. To add my desired effect of having my model on a colourful beackground, I then set about using the Magnetic Lasso tool, cutting around the photograph making Rhian the sole subject of my magazine.

I then inserted Rhian into my blank file and decided that I would add a background to my piece; I began by using the Gradient tool and then selected the two colours that I believed were most predominant on my model at the time of the photograph - pink and black - and dragged the tool so that the entire page was filled with a variety of different colours of the two merging into each other.

To comply with the rule of three - a rule which must be incorporated into every magazine - I decided that I would add a brand new colour into my piece, I chose on a a pale, lemony yellow, I decided to incorporate this in the masthead of my magazine as well as the stories that are shown within the magazine itself. I then completed my piece by incorporating the barcode and a price into the very bottom of my magazine, both of these would also display on a normal, mainstream magazine.

I then moved on to the design and the creation of my magazine's contents page; I decided that I was going to add a link between the two pages of my blog and I did this by incorporating the same font face as before, as well as the Lutterworth College logo and a similar size of fonts.

I decided that I was going to add a Features list onto my contents page - this time with a photograph that I had taken of a recent  concert that I had been to - I then listed a selection of different venues and events that were occurring within my magazine.

I then decided - similar to the concept of the contents page in Q Magazine - that I would incorporate a series of photographs, I decided that I was going to incorporate a front cover and a photograph of my model by a tree - both of these I made smaller and rotated to attempt to add a different angle onto my piece.

The finished preliminary print; my magazine contents page.

I believe that the finished piece would appeal towards a teenager and young adult market, as the magazine itself is branded as a "school" magazine, it is obvious that the piece would be meant for those of school age - between the of around 14-19. If, however the magazine was expanded to a larger audience, the magazine could appeal to every teenager that would be interested in the "alternative" side of music.

This process has taught me that I am far more comfortable with creating my own magazine then working with a group doing a video; in a group, I always feel that once in a group you are given too little to work with - for example, I was simply placed in my filming group to film and add creative input - however, as an independent worker, I enjoy having complete creative control over what exactly my final finished piece actually looks like.

Whilst designing and creating my piece, I believe that overall I worked well whilst creating my piece; I believe that I worked quickly and well considering that I have very limited experience of using Photoshop. I believe that my biggest disadvantage is that I often seek perfection; in such a limited time my feelings often need to be tweaked and short cuts often need to occur throughout. One of the only few issues that occurred on top of this was that the simple alignment was off on some of the photographs with the ways that they were placed and sized; the remainder of the magazine completed with ease.