Learning how to use Adobe Photoshop CC

INTRODUCTION

Tools
Photoshop has all the standard tools of an image editor (like the Move, Text and Shape tools), but also includes all these specialist tools that we learnt how to use.

• Marquee: Selecting rectangular sections of a layer.
• Lasso: Cutting out random shaped sections of a layer.
• Quick Selection: selecting areas of a certain colour/texture that is recognised by the software.
• Blur (etc.): smudges, blends and adds texture to layers.
• Eyedropper: selecting specific colours featured in a layer.
• Gradient/PaintBucket: fills a selected area with a colour or colour gradient.

We also learnt about how layers work within a project and how to see/un-see layers (click the eye icon on & off) and the key fact of having to select the specific area that you want to edit.

It was important for us to understand the basics of opening, saving and copy & pasting files within Photoshop. As well as this, the simple manipulation of images is a key part to the general photoshop process. For example, to change a picture's size - Edit > Transform > Scale - or to change the picture's colour parameters - Image > Adjustments.

CONSTRUCTING AN ALBUM COVER

Concept

I decided to make an album cover for a track I had made with a Grime rapper, called "3 Strokes". My concept revolved around three thick paints smudges/strokes that I searched on google images for. After a few minutes of searching I decided on this single pain stroke graphic that had no background (which was a bonus as I didn't have to cut the smudge out of the image). I imported the large jpeg file into photoshop and changed the hue to turn the originally pink paint stroke to turquoise just because it was the best looking colour for this graphic. I then duplicated this layer two other times, and arranged the strokes like below.

\/ \/ \/ \/ \/ 

Then I used the online Adobe Colour wheel (https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/) to choose a colour scheme...

I decided that pink/magenta would be the best colour to compliment the turquoise strokes.

I then used the Text tool to write the three phrases "3 Strokes", "Genranon" and "feat. ETI" as separate layers. I selected a script-like font and a magenta colour for the text. I then stretched the text using the text arc tool to make it look more random and flowing with the stroke. I then rasterised the text layers so that I could smudge the to look like they had been painted over.

Then I searched for a paper like texture on google images, to use as a background, and found a high resolution image of old paper. I darkened the image to almost black using the image adjustment settings.

I wanted to add some sort of lighter border to this as a background. To do this I selected a square, slightly smaller than the layer, using the marquee tool. I then filled this area with a circular gradient of black at the edges to transparent in the centre. Using a large radius smudge tool, I then smudged the edges of this section into the lighter border, leaving this effect...

Finally, I organised all the layers...

... to produce this final product...

ANALYSIS OF FINAL PROCESS & PRODUCT

What I have learnt:

• Using a well calculated colour scheme throughout the digi-pack keeps everything related and in unison which further engrains the artwork into the listener's mind.
• Featuring common themes and fonts, throughout the digi-pack, creates an entire combined product that resonates better with the audience.
• I good idea for future constructions would be to create brainstorm diagrams and draft sketches to develop the idea as much as possible before starting the construction process.
• Featuring conventions of the genre of the music will spark the idea of the genre in the viewer's head, allowing the artwork to advertise more appropriately and resonate with the listener.
• This artwork is for an electronic dance music collaboration between a DJ and a grime rapper, and I feel that it would be a good idea to create a digi-pack that maybe features the artists featured.
• Addressing the target audience (of 16-25 in this case) is very important.
• It is also important to clearly present the artist(s) as either synthetic or organic. (My artwork is too much of a mixture of both).

I think that my design was very successful for a first try. I like the colour scheme I used and the feature of paint stroke graphics, but I would prefer the design if it was of a higher quality as my inexperience really shows through.

Artist Case Study: Craig David

CRAIG DAVID : PROFILE
 - Genre: UKG/RnB/Pop
 - Target Audience: 90s and 00's born (mostly female)
 - USP: raps and sings, unique vocal UKG sound of early 00's

WEBSITE

Craig David's Website is very clean and modern. A crisp white, silver and red colour scheme is used throughout. It features professional photos of him performing, latest news on releases, videos and tour dates, along with his full discography - a collection of all albums he has released with links to download sites.

UPCOMING ALBUM

'Follow My Intuition'
 - He addresses it's release to many blogs/magazines/etc...

"I'm not going to be the guy who says it because I've had so many fans say, 'You told me 2013 and it's still not here!' Even I thought it was coming out then. 2016, though, the album - it's called 'Following My Intuition' - it'll definitely be dropping and hopefully the early side of the year as well. I'm very thankful and glad to see such love come at this point in my career."
He said said to Complex magazine: "There's Kaytranada as well, who I did some wicked stuff with out in Canada. He's about to drop his project which is going to be fire, because he's still on that futuristic R&B thing and he's taken it electronic. Working with him was dope. Diplo too; we've actually got a few things coming up. That's going to be big. Oh, and GoldLink. He's got his new record dropping soon, but we have a few bits dropping together next year... Who am I forgetting? Oh! I've also done some stuff with Chase & Status. Pure flames, man." 

This type of exclusive conversational/interview advertisement from the people involved in the music (i.e: Craig David) is very quickly shared virally through social media and is what fans constantly crave to hear about.


LATEST SINGLES 

'When The Bassline Drops' (Feat. Big Narstie)
 - 1st single off forthcoming album, "Follow My Intuition"




'One More Time'
 - 2nd single off forthcoming album.



MUSIC CAMPAIGN
 - a marketing campaign organised and paid for by the record label, the artist is signed to. It often costs a large amount of money invested by the label, that will then be at least tripled by the revenue produced by the release. A music campaign is designed to promote a song/album using multiple platforms and types of media - for example, releasing music videos for singles released before the album release, or the selling of merchandise (clothing/souvenirs), or the announcement of tour dates and tickets.

 - All three of these products (website, albums, music videos) link together. They are all very clean and polished products, while focusing hugely on the image (face) of the artist. Despite the colour scheme not flowing through all products, Craig David's fashion, performance style and party vibes are similarly featured in every product. The artist also comes across as very self aware, and despite having a playful image, his lyrics, album title and website composition are all mature - his experience and long-running career has resulted in him becoming a wiser artist.

 - There a very few other differences between the products. Craig David's products are so formulaic that there are very few differences between his and the rest of the commercial pop products released these days. The only difference between each product would be the slight differences in mood. For example, 'When The Bassline Drops' is a slightly darker/aggressive song compared to 'One More Time', and this is also shown stylistically in the videos for the two songs.

 - The ideology promoted through his products focuses on the enjoyment of life - through partying, girls and drinking - and living life to the full while you're still young. There is also a huge feature of lessons to be learnt about relationships and women. Therefore, despite Craig David now being a heavily synthesised artist, most of the messages put across through his products promote positive energy.

STAR THEORY
 - Richard Dyer's Star Theory explains the formation of a star (popular artist) as a construction, a commodity and an ideology.
 - Craig David is presented as a sexually active, attractive, young, welcoming, confident, party boy through his products. However, in the privacy of his own home/life, this is not his true personality (as far as the assumption can go). He is most likely a very greedy, selfish, narcissistic and tired person that wastes a lot of money on girls, drugs and alcohol. Therefore, his star image has been constructed to be a commodity and promote that specific ideology that he may or may not even believe in.

SYNTHETIC vs ORGANIC
 - Craig David is blatantly a synthetically constructed artist who is heavily guided by his record label in his music creation process and his marketing. This is proven by his polished and mainstream style of music (that follows a formula used and copied in every song), website, and music videos (as seen above).

CONCLUSION
 - Stylistically, the campaign comes across as very attractive and caters for a very wide audience of male and female of ages 8 - 50. Overall, the campaign is very successful and promotes the products as efficiently as possible. 

Introduction to A2 Year

Part 1
This year I will be looking at how the Music Industry functions. In accordance to this, I will be producing a Pop Music Video, paired with a CD Digipack and a Website for an unknown artist/band (possibly myself). 
During the process of writing last years blog, I discovered that I needed to be more creative and interesting in my posts, and that maybe it isn't as important to write a huge amount of posts. I'm very happy with the quality of my evaluation tasks, but I think I could have done with more creative resources (like Pinterest and Soundcloud) to feature in my posts earlier on in the year.
I hope to be more successful in producing the three media texts in a high quality - this will require me to be more creative and think further outside the box, while building better relationships with the other team members.

Part 2
My favourite Genre of music is Electronic Dance Music (EDM) - this includes Garage, House, Future Bass, Trap, Dubstep, Jungle and Drum n Bass. These styles purely focus on generating energy and euphoria within your mind and body, resulting in happiness and the need to dance. This style is massively orientated by the hugely popular festival culture of today...

Despite this love for originally an underground culture, I still enjoy listening to almost every other style of music, including Hip-Hop, Jazz-Swing and Acoustic.

My favourite artist would have to be Skrillex (Sonny Moore) - he started as one of the most talented young producers of underground 'Brostep' and has now become one of the highest paid DJs and most wanted Producers of all time, while remaining so humble and always staying close to his musical roots. The man has been my idol since I was 11 and he is by far the most inspirational and influential member of the EDM community. He is so successful alongside his partner, DIPLO, that they played on the main stage of the largest festival in the world, Coachella, in May of 2016...

These two superpowers together can conjure unbelievable amounts of energy within a crowd of over 50,000 people - listen...

Some of my other favourite artists include DIPLO, Kanye West, Flava D, Chance the Rapper, Flume, Mura Masa and many more.

Almost all EDM artists are US based, and because the culture isn't as popular here in the UK, the artists rarely come here to play. However, this year, Skrillex and DIPLO (as Jack U), are playing at the UK's biggest EDM festival, Creamfields (promo video above) - when the festival published the lineup, featuring them, I instantly bought a ticket with a friend of mine. 

His fun-loving, care-free character shows in his website http://main.skrillex.com/ , and any of his Music Videos.