Critique my Photoshoppery!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

My oldest niece is 15, and I thought, since I’m poor as dirt at the mnoment, that I’d give her a more personalized gift for Christmas…the ol’ mix CD (actually, 3 of 'em.) :slight_smile: She’s super-smart, but her budding musical tastes, well, are horrible. Actually, I think it’s simply a case of not being exposed to good stuff.

Enter the cool uncle.

In an effort to make the CD’s look as presentable as possible, I’ve broken out the Photoshop and started playing around.

If you guys would take a look and let me know what you think, I’d appreciate it. Thus far, only one of the covers is done. Each CD will go into a slimline case. Therefore, there is only a front label and an inner song list. I’m considering doing a CD sticker too, but we’ll see.

Also, please note that the text on the front is pure filler. I simply haven’t come up with clever titles yet (suggestions for that always welcome as well!) I do like the style, though. :slight_smile:

Is it readable enough? Does it look stupid? Amateurish? Does it make you want to scrub your eyes out with a wire brush? You know, help me out.

The first versions follow. I liked them, but my girlfriend said they were way too Goth and depressing. Seems Christmas is a time for cheer. Who knew? The front is a blurred and processed B&W photo of an angel statue, and the back is a mega-processed photo of a mountain side (not that you can even remotely tell. It was intended solely as a base layer.)

Here they are:

[Version 1 front](http://www.potliquor.net/images/Alicia2004CD1front1 copy.jpg) and [Version 1 back](http://www.potliquor.net/images/Alicia2004CD1back1 copy.jpg)

The second versions are based on the same images, but are very different. Much more colorful and abstract. I like the fact that you can still see the angel’s face on the front, though.

[Version 2 front](http://www.potliquor.net/images/Alicia2004CD1front2 copy.jpg) and [Version 2 back](http://www.potliquor.net/images/Alicia2004CD1back2 copy.jpg)

Also keep in mind that they’re low-res jpegs. the printed versions will look much better. Thanks!

2

Oh, and between FTping, Photoshop, and Straight Dope all at more or less the same time, I’m loving my new dual-monitor setup. :slight_smile:

3

Hm… I like the 2nd versions better, but I can’t really distinguish the angel’s face on the cover of that one. Why did you blur it? It might look nice in B&W if it wasn’t blurred. Can you put some sort of border around it? That might look nice if it was in B&W. Nice idea though - I love it when people make me CDs like that.

4

Wow, I said “nice” three times in that short little post. I feel like an idiot now.

5

The second looks very nice. I can’t see an angel in it though.

The first looks too dark for a Christmas present. Also, perhaps in full-res it’s cooler, but to me, it isn’t very exciting; just looks like a blurred picture of a face.

6

Yes, I agree that the second one is more colorful and “Christmasy.”

Nice work! (I know, I know, I used “nice.” ;)) But it is! Very nice work!

7

I find the text hard to read on both versions. Perhaps use a lighter color.

Also, I think you need more fonts, and perhaps a solar flare. :smiley:

8

Fair enough. I’ll go with the second one. I’ve definitely warmed up to it. Thanks! How about the typeface? I luuuuurve Copperplate Bold. Is it good?

Excellent idea! I’m a geographer by training, so you’d think I’d put a neatline in by default. I also like the way the front looks like a color-enhanced Digital Elevation Model.

Thanks! This is actually one of the first times that I’ve really gotten in and tried to figure out the guts of Photoshop. Man, I’m so in love with layers now. :slight_smile:

9

I completely agree. Thanks. Instead of using a drop shadow effect, I duplicated the red text layer, except in black, giving me the luxury of switching layer orders (the version you’ve seen has the black on top, but it looks better with the red on top and the black underneath) as well as changing the relative postion of the “shadow” so that I can change the apparent “height” at which the red text sits above the background.

This may be a basic trick in Photoshop, but I discovered it on my own, and I’m now unreasonably impressed with myself. :slight_smile:

As for the solar flare, eh… :slight_smile:

10

I think the first CD is nicer, but you’ve fallen into the beginner’s trap of “throw a lot of filters on it.” This makes the text very difficult to read, especially on the back as the background gets darker.

If it looks too odd, try inverting the colors and throwing some additional contrast on there. That may make it look even spookier though.

11

Excellent advice. Contrast makes all the difference.

12

I like the iconography of the first and the color of the second.
May I suggest you color the first?

13

I kinda did. :slight_smile: But I grt what you’re saying. Actually, I think I like the second one as it is now, but hey, I have 2 more to do.

14

White text on the 2nd version would look good and make it easier to read. Also, check the tracking of the text (spacing between the letters) to make sure it’s readable. Some of the spaces don’t show (#7 looks like I Kickeda Boy - TheSundays) and some letters have space where ther shouldn’t (#4 looks like Parlia Ment). Also, increase the spacing between the lines of text to increase the text clarity.

To show you another homemade cover, I recently made a CD for a friend who’s into blues music but not too familiar with classic rock bands. What I did was find blues songs by various rock artists as a way of blending the two genres. Several people thought the cover was something I bought in a store and not something made in Photoshop. front cover, back cover.

15

Not bad.

I get the feeling of emotional noise from the design… perfect for a Industrial/Blues mix CD!

The only specific comment that I have is to rethink the ebossed text. I hate to be negative, but it always looks cheap and amatuerish to me…

IMHO simplicity is key and the less fussy the image and (especially text) the better. That said rules are meant to be broken…

If you want some inspiration you should have a look at this guys designs…
Some examples
Finally, if you haven’t already, have a look at Worth1000, a good place to get advice and to be inspired…

16

I like the first front and the second back.

I would move the text to be in the dark area in the upper left. That will make the angel more readable. Maybe make it a little less grainy but it may be the resolution of the JPEG.

17

I agree. Unless put in the right hands, embossed text and drop-shadows can look extremely cheap. If I design things like this, I abide by the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) school of graphic design. Even minimalist designs like a white cover with a understated lowercase bold sans serif font positioned strategically can look better than hours and hours of noodling in Photoshop. Also, it helps to start with an idea beforehand (on paper, preferably), rather than messing about on the computer.

For the OP’s efforts, they’re so-so, but there’s way too much competing for my attention, especially on the back cover. The colors of the fonts crash into the colors of the background. Frankly, all the colors to me scream out “psychedelic” rather than Christmas mix.

Personally, I would strip down the design, get rid of the drop shadows and embossing, make it 2D, choose a harmonious color palette and just stick with strong graphical images rather than swirling, overfiltered Photoshop pics. Photoshop filters applied indescriminately look awful.

18

As a Graphic Designer, I must say I’m very impressed! I love Photoshop, filters are my favorite. I especially go crazy with embossing text. Try going with white text when you are using a lot of color, either that or bright yellow. You want the text to “pop”.

I personally like the 2nd one, as I see you’ve gone with that one. I’m sure whatever you choose to do, she will love it.

Good luck! :cool:

19

I prefer the first cover, but that’s just me and my taste for all things bleak and stark looking.

I’d recommend enlarging the title and moving it to the top over the angel’s head. Also, although I like the touch of blood red, it’s overdone and busy-looking when you color the bevels of the title that way. I’d recommend making the title a white font and the bevels a dark grey, kind of like the way Frank#2 did.

Also try this: use the magic wand, click in the area besides the angel’s head, then click invert selection. Make this a new top layer, and create a new layer below it and title layer. Fill that layer with a gradient fill that goes from dark grey at the top to blood red at the bottom. It’ll make the angel look like she’s standing in front of a diminishing sunset.

20

I like the color but I think the angel needs to be much more blunt than subtle (and perhaps more modern and gothic or stark but in color). Consider also some back art, whether a collage of the artists or just something operatic. (If I were doing it I would probably have a very stark angel with a Santa hat and jingle bell earrings welded on digitally, but then if I were doing it it’d be all showtunes save for an occasional Louis Prima or Willie Nelson thrown in for flavor; otoh these are just my personal opinions and if you want to ignore them and ruin your niece’s Christmas that’s okay by me*.)

*Sorry- I’ve been around my mother for a few days.