My Typeface

I decided to create this typeface to use on my book cover. 

The dots and lines mimic how constellations are drawn. I decided to go with this theme because there is a well known quote from the book that says 'My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.' The title also links with this typeface as it mentions 'stars'. 

There are names, places and themes featured in the book that are shown in the place of names of stars.

Type Moodboard

Here is my type mood board. 

I have included images of the main characters and quotes from the book/film. This will give me inspiration on what I want my typeface to look like. 

I like the handwritten type. It reflects the fact that the cancer patients were only teenagers and that the majority of their childhood was spent battling cancer. 

Drafting Ideas

Here are my drafting ideas. I took inspiration from my scamps and created four drafts for my front cover. 

I like the first draft as it is eye catching and appeals to a teenage/young adult audience. The use of an iPhone template creates an interesting layout that links to when Hazel and Augustus text each other in the book.

The champagne glass cover is simple and poetic. The stars in the champagne link to a quote in the book, "Do you know what Dom Périgon said after inventing champagne? He called out to his fellow monks, 'Come quickly: I am tasting the stars!'"

The swing set cover is pleasant to look at because it is symmetrical. It links to when Augustus and Hazel are sat on the 'Old Swing Set of Tears.'

The cigarette cover has the title written out on cigarettes. I like this idea as it's unusual but links to the metaphor of cigarettes in the book, "It's a metaphor, see: you put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do it's killing."

Print Analysis - Written

Emulation

I created a new Photoshop document. I imported in an image of rolled out ink and used 'colour overlay' to make it blue. I chose blue because it had connotations of sadness and that links in with the sad storyline. 

I decided to create a packet of cigarettes to link in with the metaphor that is mentioned in the book. "It's a metaphor, see: you put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do it's killing."

I used picture of a packet of cigarettes to copy.

I started off by using the lasso tool to select a rectangle of the blue background to delete. When I deleted this, it left a white space. I then drew in two red triangles to create the top of the packet. 

I drew a red line near the bottom with the rectangle tool and then used the rubber to create a white oval in the red part at the top of the box. 

I used a wax crayon to create the text. I scanned it into the computer and imported it into Photoshop.

I resized the text to fit the spaces. I changed the threshold of the text so that they became black and then altered the opacity so that the black wasn't so strong.

I then drew the crest that is featured on the cigarette packet and imported it into Photoshop. I changed the threshold, like with the text, and resized it.

I then drew in a red circle to go behind the crest and created a red/grey line to mimic the edge of the lid.

I added in the title and author's name, resized them and altered the threshold.

Copy

I chose this print by Tatsuro Kiuchi to copy. I liked the messy style and simple shapes that he had used to create the image.

I found the print on Pinterest and followed the website link to a blog that displayed a selection of the artist's work. I looked at his style and his the various prints to see which one I wanted to copy. 

To create a copy of the print, I opened a new Photoshop file and created the pink background. I did this by using an existing image of printed ink. I changed it's colour to match the original and cropped it to create the rectangle shape. 

Next, I used the lasso tool to cut out an outline of the dog. I deleted this selection and was left with the dog shaped white space. 

I created a new layer. I then used the lasso tool to draw an outline for the black dog shape. I filled it with the same print pattern but coloured it grey with the colour overlay effect.

On paper, I drew the sketchy shadow of the dog with a wax crayon. I scanned this into the computer and imported it into Photoshop. 

After I had imported it, I resized it to roughly fit the dog shape. 

I then put a colour overlay on the wax crayon layer and changed the colour to dark brown. 

To make the collar, I used the lasso tool to draw out the shape. I filled the shape with the same colour as on the original and then drew in the buckles and shadows. 

Subject Matter - Contact Sheet

These photos give me something to refer back to when designing my cover or creating drafts.