The more I looked at the book covers the more I felt like there was something completely wrong with them. They just weren’t flowing right. Deep down, I knew that it was the backgrounds that the collage had been placed on, so I decided to experiment and have a play around.
If I was to do the collage again, I definitely would have focused more on creating a full background that was just made from one simple block colour.
Saying that, by removing the background, things will definitely become a lot less cluttered, and I think it actually works better with the hand drawn type. Although on it's own, the collage may have been improved with use of a background, it would have conflicted with the text slightly, and therefore this seemed the right direction to go in.
However, without type, I would have used actual collage to create a background for the piece, possibly by using a selection of blocks of colour, pattern and shape. I definitely would have pushed myself more into finding nice papers and textures that I could have used to create a different effect. A lot of collage artists use found objects and paper in their pieces, which I wish I'd focused on doing more. I've always been a hoarder of all kinds of stuff, but unfortunately it was all in a different place to where I was. This is something to focus on next time I incorporate collage into my work.
Cutting the collage
Saying that, by removing the background, things will definitely become a lot less cluttered, and I think it actually works better with the hand drawn type. Although on it's own, the collage may have been improved with use of a background, it would have conflicted with the text slightly, and therefore this seemed the right direction to go in.
However, without type, I would have used actual collage to create a background for the piece, possibly by using a selection of blocks of colour, pattern and shape. I definitely would have pushed myself more into finding nice papers and textures that I could have used to create a different effect. A lot of collage artists use found objects and paper in their pieces, which I wish I'd focused on doing more. I've always been a hoarder of all kinds of stuff, but unfortunately it was all in a different place to where I was. This is something to focus on next time I incorporate collage into my work.
Cutting the collage
Fortunately, it was easy enough on Photoshop to use the magic wand tool to select only the background. For each collage, the tolerance had to be altered, and then the inverse image was simply selected and moved onto a white document.
Putting it together
Once placed onto the template, things looked automatically better. It just made it appear less cluttered and less forced. The colours weren’t fighting with each other, as the background sometimes made it quite difficult to find a colour for the titles. Now all the backgrounds had been removed, the fill colour of the text could be changed around a bit. The whole thing looked a lot cleaner and improved readability.
It also allowed for the opportunity to place something extra on the back of the cover. As there appeared to be quite a lot of blank space between the blurb and the barcode, there was definitely room for something more. Previously, I had considered placing a little image that related to the story on the spine of the book, but I gate it a go on the Hansel and Gretel cover and it looked a bit silly. However, the back allowed for more freedom and a small, but relevant, design could be placed on there.
Imagery relating to each story:
Hansel and Gretel - cottage, gingerbread house, sweets, lollypops, witch, oven, forest, bread crumbs
The Frog King - frog, crown, kiss, princess, prince
Cinderella - pumpkin, castle, carriage, mouse, slipper, dress, prince
Rapunzel - long hair, tall castle tower, prince, flowers, rampion
Story of a Youth - bell, bell tower, priest, church, crucifix
Little Rep Cap - cape, forest, axe, wolf, picnic basket, grandma
Jorinda and Joringel - castle, prince, princess, witch, forest
Relevant images were found online, and these were used to create small illustrations that would sit nicely on the back.
It also allowed for the opportunity to place something extra on the back of the cover. As there appeared to be quite a lot of blank space between the blurb and the barcode, there was definitely room for something more. Previously, I had considered placing a little image that related to the story on the spine of the book, but I gate it a go on the Hansel and Gretel cover and it looked a bit silly. However, the back allowed for more freedom and a small, but relevant, design could be placed on there.
Imagery relating to each story:
Hansel and Gretel - cottage, gingerbread house, sweets, lollypops, witch, oven, forest, bread crumbs
The Frog King - frog, crown, kiss, princess, prince
Cinderella - pumpkin, castle, carriage, mouse, slipper, dress, prince
Rapunzel - long hair, tall castle tower, prince, flowers, rampion
Story of a Youth - bell, bell tower, priest, church, crucifix
Little Rep Cap - cape, forest, axe, wolf, picnic basket, grandma
Jorinda and Joringel - castle, prince, princess, witch, forest
Relevant images were found online, and these were used to create small illustrations that would sit nicely on the back.
These were then scanned in, live traced and converted to live paint also.
All blurbs have been founded from the following websites, however, some changes may have been made by myself in some circumstances
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