Modifications identified

This is what I did before sending off my book. 

This was the first cover (the one I was going to use for my book).


Now, this was the third book cover I sketch and designed in photoshop. The idea was that because the other two were turning out to be a challenge to get the finish I came up with this design as a simple cover. This way if the other two didn't get the finish I would have another design that I knew could get finished.

Using a questionnaire, I got people to comment on the cover and mainly what could be changed is the font matching and maybe adding a motor vehicle front on the cover. In the end, Nick looked at my cover and said that I could do better and that also because it were for my FMP, my last one and showed me a quick design similar to what I want and it did look better.

So going through my photo's I found a better image for my book cover and came up with my newest cover.

This is the fourth and final cover I have designed, I did sketch a design because I did it on the day and because I had planned on sending my book over that week so I needed to start it there and then. I have to admit that this one does look a lot better and am very happy with it.

I also surveyed with both covers and asking people which would they read/pick up to look at and so far three people have marked that they like my new cover.

Cover 1 - newest 
Cover 2 - old 

Screenshot 2

Here is the link to my second screenshot.

Screenshot

I will be talking about my schedule update and my book cover

Digital copy

The reason I didn't link it in my blog because of what it said in this email.


So I thought it would save it just link it to my brief so that only teachers could see it and no one else.

From the PDF it looks like I got a lot of blank pages but I think if it was laid out like the pages on Indesign it, it looked better and like that the blanks are black to other pages.

Other than that I am pretty happy with it.

(It looks like I won't be able to link up a digital version as it can only be seen throught my Blurb account) It looks like I can only hand in a copy of my book.

Create an event

At this point what we do know is that it will be held at the Apex Hotel Bath, on the 7th June at 5:30. How much the cost? We've gone for a budget of around £700 and the idea on how to raise this is by starting crowdfunding on Kickstarter. The idea is for prices starting at £3 we offer the person something in return. For £3 is a sticker and the price goes up the offers increase. A good one I think is for the £10 you get a sticker and at least comp drink x2, what I suggest is because it was mention that the drink being wine but I think it should be optional like for people who don't like wine they could have a soft drink as part of the comp drink x2. The theme? Once person suggests the theme being masqueraded, which is not a bad idea but I don't think it would go with the showcase. I think the theme will be hard because everyone got different themes like for me I have books and the themed gothic, horror, paranormal that's for my area. As for one whole themed maybe with setting up, keeping peoples project close to similar like moving image in one area and depending on the theme/genre they did for their project order it so that similar one stick together and the same with publishing like me I've done a book and so that should be next to someone who's done something with writing a magazine or news article and again order with the themed they did. As for the theme for the entire showcase, I would suggest the seasons/Holidays since they're both very similar. As an example, my project books, relating to horror and for me season would relate to Autumn or the holiday Halloween. So for the different section, there could be a display case's with each season as a way for guest to see where is where. That way It shorts it a bit and guest will get a chance to see everything. For the film department, they could look up genre's relating to their project and see when their usually release or they could decide or create a survey on when they might watch this sort of film or documentary. This way guest could choose one of the season's and see what students had done in that area. But this might work depending on the number of students' has a project that's more in one season than the other. Who to invite? Ideas for who to invite would be family and friends. Maybe inviting people who are also in the same industry and getting students talking and perhaps even getting some tips from them. Another could be trying to invite teachers from university, but that's a maybe. Better would be inviting teacher from a university that students will be going to in September. It could be tricky to do if most students are going to university further away, but it's just an idea.

Development

Stories

It first started with google doc then my journal that got me started with writing down ideas for my stories.


Next came writing the keywords/title for each story. The story Land I start on a google doc and then went on to use my journal which helped me to come up with the ideas for my stories. How this work is that each word represents each story, it's a way to write about it but also making it the focus of the story.  Story 3 and six didn't happen because I did start writing it but I was having trouble trying to complete it, so I left it at four which is a good amount.

Next was adding small sentences and some keys words. This is very similar to a creating a chapter timeline, but with these stories, they don't have chapters, so instead, I did the keywords/titles.

 Part of story 4



Next was actually wring the story up on google doc, then Grammarly

Google Doc




Now all stories placed on the Blurb book layout on InDesign.





Book cover

Started with two sketches for the first two book cover Ideas.




But when I released that they were hard to design I came up with another sketch. This one is a more straightforward design so that it's guaranteed that I would have one that I could design if the other two didn't end up working out.



And on Photoshop I design the simple book cover



























However, when Nick saw it, he said that I could do better and showed me a simple design which looked even better. So using a different picture (I took the photo) I redesign the cover and also added an image that I used on my first FMP. Because I created the cover on the same day, there is no sketch.


New book cover which I will be using                                             



Everything is all laid out on InDesign ready for printing.

Project management technique

Management

Plans

How I've managed my project is by creating a schedule to help keep me updated on each blog I need to write as well as keeping updated on my stories to help that I get enough time to write my blogs as well as getting my stories up to date. At this point my stories have all been writing, grammar checked along with proofreading so now I can focus on my blogs.



Software used or will be using.

Adobe

Photoshop - Photoshop has been used a lot when it comes to my book covers. Being a software, I am comfortable using it does help a lot to design my book covers.

Indesign - It will help a lot to get the book layout. Also, the website Blurb has its layout on InDesign so that should help me when getting my book all setup and ready to print.

websites I have and will be using.

Grammarly - This website it great to pick out grammar mistakes and spelling, for this project I paid extra to get more help with looking at my stories to help make them as best as they can be. It all has a small variety of different language preferences, of course for me I chose British English, this way I wrote a word spelt differently it will tell me an turn it to the British way.

Google doc - I used this to write my stories on because of it easy to access anywhere, and instead of saving it on my laptop I can also use my break time filling in the stories if I got an idea what to write next.

Blurb - This is the book printing website I will be using for my book. I haven't used it, but it was suggested from last year. I thought this year I would use it because I have been told more how good it is and I thought it would be a nice change from last year and also might be a bit easier to use than the last one.

Pre-production materials

Image - Ideas Journal

First writing now short notes for each story. This is what I wrote about when coming up with book ideas. Why I wrote in a book is because it was something I could carry around and once an idea came to mind I could easily write down instead of having to go on a computer and write it up.

I felt that using a journal to write down short sentences and keywords instead of a timeline was a better technique because it being a short story book it doesn't need a chapter timeline so instead with my journey I wrote down the story title/theme then wrote down words and short sentences. Easier and helps a lot I would say.


Sketch-Book covers

For the book cover, I had first come up with two book covers. The idea to have one drawn and the other a photo.



After making a start on each cover, it was showing to be a bit harder then what I had thought it would be, so I decided to sketch out another cover. This was a simple and easy cover, so that if the other two didn't work out, then I had another one that looks equally good and more straightforward to create.

Plans

This is schedule/plan that I created to help keep me updated on blogs I've done, needs finishing and needs starting. It also helps me to find blogs belonging to each brief section that way I don't have to go searching on blogger.



The story schedule is to help me keep a deadline for writing the story then grammar check, proofreading it and then re-write it.

Assessment 3, 1. Testers

Stories 

Started with the words

When I started to think about writing short stories, I based the themed on horror and road trips.  I started with writing down keywords as the stories title.

Title
Breakdown, Forest, Hitchhikers, Land,

How this helped is by having a keyword for my stories I needed to come up with a story that relates to each of these words.

Screenshot and image from the book

Book Cover

For my book cover, I started with coming up with two book cover's one drawn and the second a photo with added effect.







Cover started screenshot

Drawn 

Blank                                                    Added drawings
  


Cloak figure design

 


For my cloak figure what I did is find a cloaked figure and then crop it down, and the did an outline the cloak then just added red eyes. This is for the drawn cover.


Image

  (So Far)
The Idea is to have the window on the car covered in frost then underneath are two eyes. How I got, the frost effect was by one using the colour white then using the text I used this font.   and the letter G which using this font looks like this. Then using outer glow it helped spread them out making it look like frost.


Using outer glow


This is what I used to help get the frosted effect on the car window.

Before discovering the text, I had found trying to create the frost a big challenge and was thinking of scrapping the idea.

Started (Not going to plan)

The drawing cover is turning out harder then what I had planned. Drawing the car outline an image of a car is not going as well as I expected. So what I am planning is to change it will another design.

New design sketch

Back up, book cover

Because of the trouble, I have the two main book cover; I decided to come up with a more straightforward book cover. Using google, I wrote in 'Road Journey book cover' and was mainly getting road style images/drawings. So going through the images I've taken, I've found a simple road image that because it is the best one I'll be using that one. The main reason for this cover is for it to be simple, not to add too much, but also do some changes.

So Far

Blank                                               Added Image                                Added Font (working title)
    

Change image and add my name         Finished with actually title
   
So the photoshop part is turning the image black and white and colouring the white line as red to give it that spooky look. This cover I like a lot and most likely will use as my book cover.


Images I'm working with









These are the images I am working with for my Book cover. The car window is cover 2 and road is for the simple cover.

Update books covers

These are the book cover I first decided to create, I didn't quite finish them, but I thought it still is good to show what I had so far. The reason, why they didn't completely get finished, is because of 1. The simple one I like and 2, because I push the deadline for my book to get printed forward and not giving me enough time.

In all honesty, I think the cover with the frost effect window doesn't look as good as it could and wouldn't make a good book cover or show it as an improvement from my last FMP book cover.

This is the cover with the image. I think the problem is if I showed someone this they wouldn't know that it was meant or was a car window. What I should have done is kept some image of the car like to roof and part of the bonnet. I think the problem I was very focused on getting the window how I had hope for it to look like. I like it, but I don't think it would be a great improvement. The two red dots are eyes, it meant to give a spooky look like something evil is in the car.

The other cover I am having trouble finding.

 
This was the sort of car that I wanted for my front cover and since I didn't know anyone who owned one I decided to get an image of google then make an outline of it on Photoshop. The second time I just removed the car and placed in photoshop to make it easier. Now I did outline the vehicle, but it was then that I realised how much detail there was and also needed to uses the same colour but in different brightness and darkness.
 This was the start I made whilst trying to draw the Chevrolet Impala, the idea was to have a car in front and behind it was going to be the different characters and a scene from my book like a forest, hooded figure (the one of the cover) ghostly images and also maybe a handprint on the car window. But because drawing the car was causing trouble I stopped and went to focus on the cover with the frosted window with eyes.