Creating the Outside DVD Cover

There are many elements of Photoshop which I have used to create the final version of my DVD cover. Initially, part of my design was a firey background, and to create this I would not only need to add a gradient but I would need to manipulate the colour of the gradient - to do this, I went into the gradient settings and was able to change the colour spectrum towards red, which would give a gradient that went from Red to Yellow, the colour I needed.

One of my next steps was to add images which I had taken to go onto the front cover. An image from the Music Video which I found particularly strong was the image of the warning sign, bright yellow with a bold exclamation mark - I felt this was a strong link to our agressive music genre, so I used the image in the cover (the image I took and used is shown in this entry). As I only wanted the actual warning triange with no background, I used the magic wand tool to get rid of the block white background. To make the image look more interesting, I added effects to the image.

Other images I added to the cover included screenshots from the music video (to which I added a cartoon effect, subtle but adding to the look of the cover) along with official images such as a 15 certificate, which I feel gives a strong clue to the audience to which our band appeals to.

Finally, I needed to add text to the cover. To start with, I added main text such as the title of the DVD along with the band name and track listing. I also added special features to the DVD to appeal to the audience, and also official copyright information (a format which I followed from viewing official DVD covers on the internet). I feel the fonts I used were mainly successful - I feel I made the right choices with font, as they suit the genre well.

Some aspects I had to change regarding my paper design was the layout of the back cover (due to space taken up by the track listing) along with a different image for the front cover (an image of a tarantula I feel would have been hard to find myself). However, I feel the image on the front of the cover as it stands is effective as it has a stronger impact on the audience and suits the genre well.