First Album Cover Draft Mrs Fisher

From the photo shoot we carried out as a group I favoured this picture to be used as an album cover as I feel it represents the artist and will appeal to a wide target audience. As well as this I feel that this image shows the conventions of a Reggae artist. The body language of the artist is sophisticated from the outfit she is wearing and gives the feel of a friendly, sweet young fresh new artist. Below is the original image and you are able to see the difference made just by different editing techniques.

I will now be stating the different stages I had to go through in order to create my final draft for my album cover.


Firstly I had to separate the background from the actual image of the artist which is what I wanted. I did this by using a specific tool and removing certain layers to free the outline of the artist’s body. Following this I cut the shape out of the artist and deleted the background making sure I did not cut anything off the image. Only when I managed to get the image cut out to the way I wanted was I then able to delete the background and start adding in effects and edits, I cut out the image using the tool ‘magic wand’ which allowed me to be precise and exact. However before I could do this I had to change the colour of the background so that I was able to see the off cuts of what I did not want to be included in the image. The best colour that brought out any of the little bits I did not want to be included in the image was burgundy. Only then was I able to identify and correct the outline of the image. Here is a screenshot below displaying what procedures I had to follow in order for the outline of the artist to be exact and sufficient enough for an album cover.

After the artist was cut out correctly I removed the burgundy background and changed it to plain white, this then allowed me to experiment with different backgrounds for the album cover. Once this was done the edges looked a bit harsh from the outline I had cut out this then meant I did not feel it looked the best it could. As a result of this I then chose to blur the outline of the image which created a softer looking edge. I found this most effective around the hair as it made the texture of the image look smother and professional. In conclusion to this I am very happy with the way the image was cut out of the background, then placed on to a plain white background while using the different tools I did in order to help me. Moreover by experimenting with Photo Shop it has allowed my confidence to grow throughout more editing aspects.



After I was happy with the edges of the image I then moved onto the background colour of the album. I thought it would be best to apply a neutral colour base due to the colour of the dress being so bold and vibrant. As a result of this I chose cream and added a small hint of green to add on effect. Once this was done I felt that everything was put into place, as well as that my edited image was looking like an album cover that would attract consumers of all kind.


Once my final image was done I was pleased with what I had produced, however I still felt that there is room for improvement which is why I carried out a draft version first in order to see what direction my album cover was going. Now a draft has been done I will be able to see different aspects that have a positive impact as well as negative ones and make changes so that in my final draft of my album cover I will have no doubts about any of the editing styles or layout of the image.
In conclusion to this I do feel the image is lacking something due to the large space left on the left hand side of the image. Having said that it is not too busy and does not distract away from the artist which is the main cause for album cover artwork.

Final Album Cover Artwork Mrs Fisher

In order for the image to be placed in I had to create another layer and then loading the picture onto that layer. I then had to mix the layers and fade them in so that I would get the effect I wanted. Once I had both images in place I adjusted the fade level which allowed the left image to change into the same colour as the background.


After this was done I was very happy with the overall outcome, however I had to remove the flower in the artists hair on the left image. I was able to do this by blurring out the flower again into the background and making sure I stuck to the same method. Only then did I feel successful in creating my own album cover and the final image is shown above of the album cover for Shani.

As well as a front cover an album needs a back cover as well displaying a barcode, website, parental guidence logo and the logo of the music label the artist is signed to. The back of an album cover also includes all the names of the songs on the album and displays a picture of the artist again promoting the new release. Below is the back cover of the album I have created and the different elements that make this back cover professional and conventional.





As you are able to see this back cover follows the conventions of any back album cover. The name of the artist is clear at the top for consumers to read a well as the name of the album. This allows the back artwork piece to look professional as I have studied a number of different album covers that follow the same elements. Moreover on a album/single back cover the songs on the Cd are always available to be seen so that it is clear what consumers are listening to. As a result of this again I chose to use the same font as the rest of the album front cover to follow the conventions as well as it being easy to read.

On the bottom left hand corner a parental advisory logo is placed so that the parents/careers of anyone buying the Cd under a certain age is able to see that the lyrics in the song do contain some sexual references. This aspect is vital to include on any back album cover as it enables consumers to know what they are buying and if they do or do not want to purchase the good. Following this 'OCK' is the name of the music label supporting 'Shani'. On all album back covers organisations make it clear from the start which artists they manage in order to set themselves apart. In conclusion to this 'OCK' stands for Ozgen, Christina and Katie which are the names of my group and I.

Following research I carried out I found that most album back covers contain a website of the artist they are promoting allowing consumers a fan page were they are able to go and find out information on the artist's album they just bought. As 'Shani's' image at the moment is very casual and sweet I felt that the colour white portrays what she represents. As well as this it is also a colour that stands out from the editing and the image placed in the background. Then finally, a barcode must be found on any good as it gives the prices of the item. Instead of having a barcode that takes up a large area it looks more effective to just have a small barcode representing the price of the item. As a result of all of this I am pleased in the way my album cover has come out both the front cover and the back as it symbolises 'Shani' as an artist.

Magazine Advert Mrs Fisher

In order to create an album advertisement that appeals to a wide target audience a number of aspects need to be taken into consideration before edits and and image can be used together to create a final piece. An advert is also used as a form of promotion which means that it gives a brief description of the product or service without giving too much information away. As a result of this I think this album advertisement shown above is a good example of a mainstream artists representation and what they stand for.

In order to create this advertisement I used Photoshop to add in text and the coloured blocks behind the text. Instead of adding different effects I think that it is more effective to have an image of the artist with brief information so that the editing style do not distract attention from the artist and the information being shown. In conclusion to this it is important to have the name of the artist on display at all times in any advertisement, moreover to establish the advertisement from being an album promotion it is vital that this is easily picked up on. I have done this by writing 'Amazing New Album' which gives knowledge to consumers that a new release has just been made. A release date is also shown so that consumers are able to go out and buy the album from a certain date. This is also a vital aspect due to the fact that if consumers do not know when the album is going to be released they will not know when or how to purchase the album. Then finally, a few featuring songs on the disc are shown so that the audience can see what kind of music the artist produces from the title of each song.

In conclusion to this the album advertisement is effective and straight to the point which consumers prefer, it leads consumers wanting to know more about the artist due to the information being kept brief and finally the image that has been used again represents the artist and allows a wide target audience to be drawn in as it is kept neutral.

Album Cover Mrs Fisher

Above is the second album cover design which was done by Christina Petrou who is a member in my group. As a group we were set a task to create an album cover each and then choose the best idea out of the three, as a group we decided to make this our final album cover design.
As a group we decided to use the two above images above as our album cover as we felt it represents the artist the best due to the images portraying the type of artist she is and the use of colour that will allow consumers of any age and gender to be attracted to buy this good.Moreover this album cover portrays how the artist should be seen, the front cover artwork piece is displaying an image on the right hand side which portrays innocence, a sweet young fresh artist and a happy idol for all age groups. From keeping in with the generic conventions of an album cover the right hand side picture shows a bit of skin however not too much so that it looks distasteful. Having said that this needed to be done in order to attract a male market, young girls as well as teenagers and adults will be able to relate to the artist due to the clothes she is wearing and her whole image which is an aspect most girls/women pick up on when presented with a new artist.

The image on the left hand side which is faded out shows the artists face so that consumers are able to have a clear indication of what the artist looks like from her neck up and thighs up. As a result of this taking into consideration all aspects of what consumers may think when looking at this album cover for the first time has made decisions and editing styles easier when you know what market you are trying to target.




Above is the second album cover design which was done by Katie Woodland who is a member in my group. As a group we were set a task to create an album cover each and then choose the best idea out of the three.

Above was my design idea for an album cover for our artist. I thought that it helped represent the artist the best due to the images portraying the type of artist she is and the use of colour that will allow consumers of any age and gender to be attracted to buy this good. Also this album cover portrays how the artist should be seen, the front cover artwork piece is displaying an image on the left hand side which portrays innocence, a sweet young fresh artist and a happy idol for all age groups. From keeping in with the generic conventions of an album cover at the top right hand side i placed the artists name and the title of the song, with a plain and simple font , with a baby pink colour outline, helped make the front of the cover more eye catching and attractive to our target audience.

This is the album cover by Gyptian which we researched into and gathered our own ideas from, as you can see this album cover is similar to our final chosen album cover so therefore this album cover successfully helped me and my group members with our final decission. Overall myself and my group members decided to choose Christina Petrou's album cover as our final cover because we thought that the album cover went well with the genre of our song, as we compared it to other reggae artists album covers eg Gyptian. We noticed that these album covers had a close up of the artists face on the cover and then the text was large and plain on the left hand side of the covers which is the same as our final design.