Kesia Lualemana Digital Media
Book Cover Design
1.What book did you decide to redesign the cover for? Why did you choose this book?
I chose to redesign "Where the Sidewalk ends" by Shel Silverstein because this was a book my dad read to me throughout my childhood.
2. What parts of the plot did you use as inspiration for your book cover design?
This book does not contain a plot nor a story , this is a collection of poems for children. I took inspiration from the original cover and chose to create a simplistic and semi-realistic look in order to give a more modern aesthetic.
3. In as much detail as possible record the steps it took to create this project in photoshop. Use complete sentences.
Try to recall as many of the different tools, processes and keyboard commands as possible.
To start off my design, I transferred a picture of the sky from google to photo shop onto each of the art boards. I then chose a picture of a cloud, duplicated it multiple times , flipped it, cropped it and combined the duplications to create different looking clouds. I then grabbed a picture of a cliff, used the magic wand tool to crop it and then used a clipping mask to add shadows. After, I grab an image of a man sitting, used the magic wand tool again and adjusted the picture on the cliff until i was satisfied. I then used a clipping mask to add shadows so it looks more natural on the cliff. I then grabbed a picture of a city, used the magic wand tool, minimized the image and used a clipping mask to create a darker blue shadow. This made it possible to give the illusion that the city from a far distance. I used the text tool to create the title and the author's name. For the back cover I repeated the process when creating the sky and clouds. I then grabbed a png of one of Silverstein's illustrations, applied a blend mode to create that white outline. I used the text box tool to write the general description of the book. For the spine I repeated the sky and cloud process again and extended the cliff to by duplicating it and adding a clipping mask to extend the shadows. I used the ext box tool to write the title. For the inside front cover flap, I repeated the sky and cloud process and added a picture of the author as well as a little biography. For the inside back cover flap, I repeated the sky and cloud process, and used the text box tool to add a quote from the book.
4.What was the easiest and what was the most challenging part of creating your cover?
The easiest part of making this design was creating the clouds and the sky. The most challenging part was making the city look distant.
5. Based on the learning target, "Students will redesign a cover for a famous book that appeals to a modern literacy audience by developing, proposing and refining artistic ideas, plans, prototypes and production processes for media arts productions. " what level of mastery does your project demonstrate (Exceeds, Meets, Needs Work, minimal understanding). Why do you think so? Make sure to provide specific evidence.
I believe that my cover meets the criteria because I used all the tools and methods that we were required to use. I definitely could have put in more effort and detail to my cover to better fit the aesthetic that Silverstein often demonstrates in his work.