I ordered Magic Masterclass II and am in the process of trying to design the cover art for the dvd case. I have photoshop but have never designed anything this detailed. Anyone have any advice or tips on how I should begin? Thanks.

Eric

If you're printing it from your home computer design in RGB minimum 300 dpi or if you're having it printed by a real printer design it in CMYK minimum 300 dpi. or you could just go to http://www.spikedsperris.com and ask them to design one for you ok had to do it...

Eric,

I would be happy to offer some help to you. It gets pretty complicated, so rather than bore everyone here with design terminology, you might want to PM me. I would be happy to give you some tips and such. My pleasure.

One tip I can share with you here is that when using a program like Photoshop,always use layers and layer masks as it will make it much easier for you to make updates and edits.

Dan gives some good advice as well. If you are printing them out or having a printer do the final output, you will want todesign it in CMYK and at hi resolution at 300DPI.

Also, please keepin mind that Photoshop is a raster based program. This means that the quality and resolution is based on how many pixels there are per inch. Because of this,you will always want to design your artwork 100% to size or larger. You never want to scale up raster art as you will end uplosing quality.

Hope this helps.

Kyle

Can I throw a small bucket of cold water here?

If you have no experience in this, don't do it. Take it to a professional and have them do it. This will look 100% better than if you do it yourself.

It is crazy to put an inferior product out there with your name on it. Pay professionals to do their job and do it well. It is very tough to do the things you want done, as Kyle has mentioned. It is a spacific skill set.

It is up to you entirely needless to say, it is only my opinion. I hope you do well and have a wonderfull cover.

Thanks guys. I'm actually pretty skilled with Photoshop, Paintshop Pro etc. But I think you're probably right that it's best to have a pro do it. Thanks for all the info.

Here is a link to a page with templates. These are the guys who did my DVD. I designed my cover myself which won't win any awards, but did the job.

http://www.customflix.com/Producer/HowTo......emplates

The good thing abot CustomFlix is that they will also set up for sales on Amazon.com.

Best,
James

Thanks James!

I've designed a couple of magic-themed desktop wallpapers (with Photoshop and Bryce) if anyone wants to download them... see here

You can do a lot with Photoshop and other various tools out there. They are so plentiful and many feel that they can do it because they own thesoftware. just keep in mind that the program is just a tool and it is the person behind the tool that can make or break a design. It is best to always go to a professional for help and advice because the first impression you make on peopleis often form the materials you send out.

Kyle

Understand what kind of DVD case they will be going into---

Their are thin DVD cases, the ones normal DVD's come in and then there are thick double ones.

Make sure you design the cover to fit the case you can buy most cost effectively.

But for sizes - get any DVD you own and get a ruller our and measure it

use those sizes in photo shop.


I originally used a very simple program called Microsoft Pcture it to create the design as it is very simple to drag & Drop- after I giot all the key featurs ready I saved as a TIFF and moved in into Photo shop for some touchups and adding the words and saved it in PDF, PSD < TIFF and a few others for the Printer to use.

It is always best to start a project like this knowing how the finished design will be printed. There are many various methods from offset printing to online digital formats. All them are different processes and each have their own unique "fingerprints" as to what they can and can not do. Knowing the end printing method will allow you to set up the design properly in the design program you use. If you are not sure of the exact printing method your printerwill be using, it is best to contect them and ask to speak with their pre-press dept. They will be more then happy to helpyou set up your file the right way and save you valuable time later on.

Kyle

Eric... do yourself a favour and get a good book on Photoshop. I can recommend one of the Visual Quickstart guides... it'll give you a good grounding. If you want something more visual, see the free shows over at http://www.photoshoptv.com/

A good Photoshop book is a great place to start. Just keep in mind that Photoshop is a very difficult program to learn and master. As a graphic designer, it took me well over 3 to 4 years to really understand it well enough to know exactly what I am doing and how to use the tools in it to obtain any results I am after. This is not meant to steer you away from trying and learning. It is only meant to realize that Photoshop is not something you will be able to learn over night or even in a week. You must really study it and use it in order to comprehand it well.

Kyle

CMYK, RGB, DPI, raster, pixels per inch, layer masks, pre-press, offset printing... at this rate it'll be 3-4 years before Eric gets his head around just this thread

Eric, hope it doesn't appear too daunting... you'll soon get the hang of it, and Photoshop certainly helps make life a little easier...

Well the point being is that if you are not ready to really learn and study the program, then it might just be a better bet to hire a professional who understands the formats, terminology and understands the design field and who can not only make something look good but also communicate the message that it needs to communicate.

Designing DVD covers and the like is a daunting task and there are a lot of factors that must be thought out before one even begins to work on the computer. It can certainly belearned and done by oneself, but it is not an easy thing to do and get right without spending the time needed to really set it up properly for the way your printer will need it.

If you can give me some ideas as to the end product and the way you plan on printing the DVDs, I can better help you and point you in the right direction for what might work best for you.

Kyle

Good luck, Eric!

If you've got the time and energy, do it yourself! Just don't rush it, give it time, and it'll come.

I needed a website for my show, so I taught myself HTML, CSS & Javascript. I Made a great website.

I needed images, graphics, brochures and logos, so I taught myself to use Photoshop. Made some neat promo material.

Needed a promo video. So I brought myself a $2000 camera, taught myself how to edit. Made a great promo video. Also a DVD Cover with my new photochop skills!


I wouldn't recommend this for anybody, but I am a perfectionist and enjoy the challenge of mastering something new. So, I gave it time and jumped right in. Now I have skills I can use for the rest of my life for any promotional platform. And when people mention RGB, DPI, JAVA, CMYK and MILF, I now know what they’re talking about.

^ love to see the web site

Nah, I value my privacy, and being able to freudian slip without having it forever linked to my name and site.

^ A promo web site you don't want people to see! interesting concept!