What have you learnt about technologies from

the process of constructing this product?

Eleanor Jeffrey

Introduction

From my preliminary task to now, I feel that I have learnt a lot about technology. This includes Quark, Photoshop, Microsoft software and using the internet and websites.

Quark To create my contents page and double page spread to a high standard I learnt how to make it look professional. To do this this I needed to create columns. So during my production on quark I learnt how to do this. It is done when you first start up the page.

Another way to make the magazine look conventional was to add in guide lines. This enabled me to line up the images and text. To do this accurately you can use the rulers and the top and side of the page.

I learnt how to insert images/pictures and logo’s onto the magazine. First you draw out where you want to put the image using the image box tool. The image doesn’t always fit to the box. To resolve this you simply just right click the image and press ‘scale image to fit box’ by doing this, you will have no white space left around the box.

I learnt how to change my font size and style to fit it with the conventions of a magazine.

This is where I used the image tool

This is an example of where I used the text tool. I changed the font, the font colour and I highlighted the background to make it stand out.

These are the column guide lines that I put In place. They correctly aloud me to evenly space out my text and image.

I learnt how to created this image using photo shop, this is an example of when I changed the layer style creating an unusual effect which fits with the genre of m magazine.

This is the columns that I used for the page layout.

This is an example of where I learnt how to use the image tool.

This is an example of how I learnt how to get the lines parallel with each other, adhering to the typical conventions. I did this by using the column lines and the text box

Photoshop To make my images stand out I used Photoshop. There are many different way that I leant how to do this, my first one was to overlay two photos together. I did this by creating new layers and merging the layers to either ‘screen’ or ‘lighten’ which will put a cool effect on the pictures and they both look like they are merged together.

I also learnt how to crop around images so I can then add the image to the background of my choice. Cropping out images was either done by using the magnetic lasso tool which will automatically crop around it. Or the freeform pen tool. The magnetic one is faster and simpler to use but the pen tool is more accurate. Smudging the outline of the cut out image make it less sharp.

For my front cover image, I learnt how to put a glow effect around her to make her stand out, I also did this with some of my text on the page. The stroke effect also made the same outcome.

Photoshop

Using the image adjustment to brighten a photo or change the contrast, I also found loads more effects that I could of used to change the image style.

To add a rasterised effect around the pictures, I used the eraser tool and changed it to ‘spatter’.

I learnt how to recreate the artists logo. I could do this by using the different custom shapes tool and putting them on top of each other. I then fixed the layers together. I used 4 different shapes to create this logo.

PhotoshopFor the construction of the background in my front cover, I Used the pen tool to select lines and I put gradients through them and changes the opacity and the colours to create a beam effect.

This image has been adjusted using the image tool, I changed the brightness and contrast to make it stand out. I also used the blending options and put a glow on around her. The original image did have a background but I used the pen tool and the magic lasso tool to crop her out.

I also learnt how to use the blending options to create this effect on the masthead. I used the stroke and change the colour to blue.

I used the gradient tool here on the blue band

I used the circle shape took here, I also used the blending options to put a stroke around it.

Websites

I learnt how to use some webpages like’ befunky.com’ and ‘picmonkey.com’ where good for modifying images and making the artists look more glamorous.

PicMonkey http://www.picmonkey.com/

befunky http://www.befunky.com/

Conclusion

By understanding and learning about technology, I was able to create a conventional media product to a fairly high standard. I could appropriately address my target audience as I knew how to use technology to do so.