Hello Everyone!!

I'm in Carmel with the Snaps and Art clubs today, but I'd like to see everyone start working on the typography (or text) on your magazine covers. I found a website with a lot of important tips, and a HUGE collection of interesting examples. (OK, I didn't find it- Jake did.)
 I want you to OPEN A NEW WORD DOCUMENT, visit this link, and thoroughly read it:

http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/tips-and-inspiration-on-how-to-design-a-magazine-cover/

NOTE: I will be collecting this Friday, and it will be worth 20 points, because I want the text on your magazine cover to be perfect. Reading and understanding the following article will be very important because it will save you and me both time in fixing poor design choices someone might otherwise make. Questions are organized chronologically as you read the webpage.

1. It is important to show the reader certain articles that are more important than others. This is called typographic hierarchy. What is one example of typographic hierarchy that is mentioned?

2. Name one big typographic mistake from rookie designers.

3. For text to be read, it must be ___________ on a dark background or the other way around.

4. As the author states: Any color just won't do. You have to use a color ____________ on the page design, so be sure you haven't forgotten about color ________________ or color _____________.

5. Under Guidelines, what is a Dateline?

6. If you are using a photograph of a person, what is one trick to attract people's attention on the news stand?

7. What are some extras, called "Flashes" that you can add to make your cover more attractive?

8. Some people say you should use grids because you must create an ________________    __________________ on the page to please the reader, not a chaotic one.

9. Look at the long list of magazine covers. Pick 2 covers that really grab your eye and write a short paragraph on what reasons that cover interests you. Is it the colors? The fonts? The photograph? The way the type interacts with the photo? Other reasons?

Cover 1:

Cover 2:

10. When you are finished with this worksheet, begin adding the type to your magazine. Remember:

• It must be readable. It must be uniform (no more than 2 different fonts, usually). 
• If you use colored text, the colors must match colors in your cover photo, or make some kind of sense in your design.
• The major magazine "title" should be the biggest, most noticeable thing next to your face.
• You want "bigger", more important headlines to be larger and bolder than small stories.
• Get inspiration from the huge list of magazine covers you saw, and try adding an "extra" like a barcode.
• Always put EVERYTHING on a new layer, so you can delete or change it later.
• Always save in PSD so I can help you modify details when I get back on Friday.
• Type "Hi, Miss E. I actually read this!" for #10 so I know you read this :) 

I WILL MAKE A TURN-IN FOLDER ON FRIDAY. I expect you to have completed this and used these tips to complete the text in your layout.

Open Photoshop and create a new document with the following properties:

(Change "pixels" to inches first!)
8" width
11" height
300 resolution

Drag your selected cover image in as layer 1. Next, you will give yourself the celebrity retouching treatment. You might want to consider:

-Levels and cropping (ALWAYS!)
-Whiten eyes and teeth
-Make eyes "pop" with burn, dodge, and hue/saturation
-Liquify face if you want a nosejob/smaller jaw/higher cheekbones/smaller ears/whatever.
-Retouching skin using FREQUENCY SEPARATION. The steps are still in the Miss E Folder. Remember to merge the high and low frequency layers when you are finished with your skin, before moving on to other edits.

Magazine Madness!

We are creating magazine covers! The first thing I want you to do in preparing for your magazine cover is to learn about and practice using some of the words that are proven to grab peoples attention: You will read about each of these words and COME UP WITH ONE ORIGINAL MAGAZINE HEADLINE CONTAINING EACH WORD. Make it sound clever and interesting.

"I guarantee that this is the most important article you’ll ever read. Here you’ll discover new ideas that have been proven to save time and energy – oh, and make money. What you’ll love about these proven new ideas is that they are so easy to understand and safe to apply that you’ll get results that will improve the health of your business immediately!

According to the scientists at Yale University I should have had you eating out of the palm of my hand by the end of the introductory paragraph. You see, it contains all twelve of what their research says are the most persuasive words in the English language. They found that you don’t really need the fabled “gift of gab” if you infuse your pitch with these powerful persuading words.
In order of impact, the twelve great influencing words are:

1.    1.   Discover / Discovery
Discover(y) is special – Yale’s research showed that it had a universal appeal that outstripped every other English word in persuasion power. Discovery implies uncharted territory alive with excitement and adventure. What valuable treasures can your products and services help me to discover? 

2. Easy
   Life is complicated enough – if those providing me with products and services can make it easy then count me in.  Easy is a particularly powerful word when used to describe something that is traditionally considered to be anything but. Remember that we are all basically lazy – we want to get the maximum output for the minimum input. In what ways can what you offer make my life easier?
3. Guarantee
   We are all, to some extent, averse to risk, and the fear it generates is one of the most substantial obstacles that marketers or salespeople have to overcome. The word guarantee jumps off the page because it promises to do just that. An assurance of excellent on-going support or of money back in the event of a failure to meet my requirements makes it much easier for me to take the leap.How can you put my mind at rest?
4. Health
   We all now know about the many threats to our own longevity and health, to that of our family and loved ones, and to our businesses. Self-preservation moves us all to action. How can you help me, my family, or my business to live longer more healthy lives? 
5. Love
   Your clients and prospects don’t necessarily want to feel loved, but they do all want their suppliers to care about their needs and desires. Tell me, how can you prove to me the importance that you place on my needs? 
6. Money
   Nobody is completely unmoved by opportunities to make or save money. Money attracts, motivates, and persuades. Be sure that your promotions, presentations, and sales presentations take into account the concern we all have for this essential commodity. Can you quantify how much money your service will help me make or save? 
7. New
   Why do many products still use that old “New and Improved” slogan as an integral part of their advertising and promotion? Because it works! Most of us want to feel that we’re working with the most up to date knowledge, equipment, and supplies. What exactly is exciting and new about what you have to offer?
8. Proven
   Now, while I want the very latest bleeding edge technology; the most up to date of everything, with the best service and support, and at the best possible cost, I really only want it if you can show me lots of situations where it is already proven. Contradiction?  Absolutely, but one you have to deal with. Who do you know who’s just like me and received all of the benefits you promise from using your products and services in exactly the way I intend to? 
9. Results
   Precisely what tangible and valuable results will I get in return for giving you my money? Tell me all about them in terms that will appeal to me, in language I’ll understand, and with whatever backup materials you have to prove what you say - and I’ll seriously consider giving you my money.What’s in it for me? 
10. Safety
    I want it all; action, adventure and excitement – with absolutely no risk to my family, my money, my business, or me. How can you help me feel more secure about doing business with you? Tell me: why should I feel safe with you?
11. Save
    I don’t have enough time, money, or energy to do everything I want to do.  So, if you can really help me save any of these precious commodities then why are you keeping it to yourself?  Tell me what you can save me – detail how, how much, and how much it’ll cost me and you’ll get my attention every time. Just how much will I save by putting your system in?

112.  You -There are three topics of conversation which I will never tire – me, myself, and I. You can keep me engaged for hours just by ensuring that every comment you make is directed at me alone. You cannot overuse the word you. The word ‘you’ motivates, persuades, and sells. Don’t you find me fascinating?

13. Now, Tell me one theme you might like to focus on for your magazine. Cats? Cooking? Soccer? Animal training? Bikes? Skating? Art? School?

14. Come up with 3 possible titles for your magazine.
15. Come up with 5 fake article titles to go with your theme, and use those magic words above if possible!

TODAY:
Finish and TURN IN Your JakeFace and your edited Face Lady from Wednesday.

IF you are done and don't know what to do, this double exposure effect is really nice. Try it out for extra practice and credit:
http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/make-a-trendy-double-exposure-effect-in-adobe-photoshop--cms-23774

Make fun of Jake Day!

Hey guys, guess what? Today is Make-Fun-Of-Jake-Day!

In case you didn't know, Jake is my boyfriend. You may have seen him on my computer wallpaper. He is a high school history teacher who recently started entertaining his students by sneaking historical pics of his face into each lesson.
(You can see a couple below)

Basically, he offered up this pre-cut photo of his face, and challenged all of you to make the funniest meme or famous photo you can.

Everyone must make at least one, using your best Photoshop skills. BUT there is an added bonus. The picture he picks as the funniest or most well-done photo wins a pair of free movie tickets.
Everyone must play- even Photo II. He doesn't know any of you and I'll keep totally quiet, so judging is completely fair. Ill make turn-in folders on Friday, and we will have a winner by Monday.

This is the last grade that will go on your Progress Report. Pics may be well known historical, popular, artistic, or celebrity photos, popular memes, movie stills, or even famous works of art. Be funny, creative and appropriate!

Here we have a classic Lewis Hine photograph, a US propaganda poster from World War I, a possible Matthew Brady photo of Lincoln, and my personal contribution, Tupac and Lisa Frank <3

SHOW ME THOSE PHOTOSHOP SKILLS!

Most people need a little extra time to work on our woman from yesterday. I wanted to make a list of requirements and extras that you can do to retouch her portrait:

1. Skin retouching using frequency separation
2. Brighten the whites of the eyes, dodge and burn irises, change color if desired.
3. Whiten and brighten teeth
4. Use cut, move, and clone stamp to close gap in teeth
5. Tan skin slightly for color
6. Use burn tool and faint opacity brush to touch up grey hair on the hairline
7. Use Filter-->Liquify to slightly thin the left jaw, raise the left lower lip, straighten nose slightly (remember these changes are SUBTLE. Don't go nuts.)
8. Clean up the stray hairs on the outside of the hair (lasso the strays and clone stamp from background)
9. Google image search "eyelashes photoshop" and turn search filters on "large". Roughly cut and place the eyelashes you want and turn the master blending mode to MULTIPLY. The white will disappear, leaving the lashes.

<-----I used this image.

10. Optional makeup (eye makeup using burn tool, lip color using a paint brush with color and LIGHT opacity, blush with a large soft brush and extremely light opacity, etc.) DO ALL MAKEUP ON A NEW, SEPARATE LAYER.

11. Contouring using large soft brush and light opacity. Dodge highlights on face (forehead, top of nose, cheekbones) and slightly Burn shadows (lower jaw/cheek). Here is a contouring guide:

Retouching continued...

Tuesday:
We can take this period to finish our girl from yesterday.
When you are finished with yesterday's retouching, you will try the final facial challenge!
Tomorrow we will move on to bodies.

MONDAY:

Open up the image "skin client.jpg" from the Miss E Folder.
Open Microsoft Word and find the Retouching document I have posted in the Miss E Folder. This has step by step instructions for retouching eyes, skin, and tan.

Retouching continues...

Today we will

1. Review frequency separation (skin retouching)
2. Do a digital nose-job using Liquify filter
3. Learn to give a digital spray-tan

So open up Photoshop and your nose-job-guy.psd :)

MONDAY will be your retouching challenge. I will give you an un-retouched portrait and the basic list of steps for eyes and skin. You will have to perfect our digital model.

Retouching!!

Open up your nose-job man. Your challenge will be to edit the eyes on the RIGHT SIDE on your own. (Test yourself and see if you can remember techniques from yesterday).

ALSO, a lot of people were out testing. If your partner was out testing, walk them through the techniques step by step as you go. They say you don't truly know something until you can teach someone else...

Here are the steps to help you remember:

Editing Eyes:

1. Select the whites of the eyes.
2. Go to ImageàAdjustmentsàHue and Saturation
3. Change Master drop-down menu to “yellow” and pull the saturation bar to the LEFT (Desaturate) *** NOTE: THIS IS ALSO HOW YOU WHITEN TEETH***
4. Change the Master drop-down menu to “red” and pull the saturation bar to the LEFT (Desaturate)
5. Go to ImageàAdjustmentsàBrightness Contrast and raise the brightness a LITTLE bit. Don’t over do it.
6. Select the Iris (colored part) of the eye. Go to ImageàAdjustmentsàHue and Saturation to change the color if desired.
7. Zoom way in on one eye. Use the DODGE tool to lighten the center bottom part of the iris, or colored part.
8. Using the BURN tool, and a 0% Harndness brush, burn the outer edges of the iris. 
9. Burn the pupil (the black part) but do not burn the white shine on the pupil.
10. Using a tiny brush, DODGE the tiny shine in the pupil (black part)
11. Pass over the eyelashes and eyebrow once with the BURN tool to give contrast.
12. Pass over the eyelashes once with sharpen. 

Turn in Surreal Photos to your period turn-in folder by the end of the period! 

You have today and tomorrow to turn in Surreal Photos.
Photos will be graded on:

-Creativity (Did you make the idea your own?)
-Workmanship (Are your selections/cuts clean? Is any clone stamping you did clean?)
-Difficulty (Did you try something hard or take the easy route?)

REMEMBER: Participation points are starting today.
DO NOT let yourself lose points by surfing other websites, playing games, looking at memes, etc.
DO create another surreal photo for extra credit.
DO a tutorial (get extra credit!) from http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/
DO read some interesting Photography/graphic arts related articles at http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/guides/photography/

Use your knowledge of clone stamping and layer masking to composite at least 3 different images into one new surreal photograph.

Things to consider when mixing images:

-The lighting must be the same in each photo (brightness AND the angle of the light)
-The angle at which the photo was taken must be the same for each item/person
-Stay out of bright sun to avoid harsh shadows

Open up Microsoft Word, and open the document titled "Surrealist Exhibition" from the Miss E folder. We will see a little bit more about Surrealism before starting on your own surreal creation.