I created a magazine cover based on a love for music. I started playing around with the title and thought it appropriate to name the magazine Burning Music since there is an issue with copyrighted music and consumers burning it for free. Once the title was developed, I decided to find images of a guitar on fire and a band that is know for it revolutionary beliefs and political views then I began prepping in Adobe Illustrator (AI).

The photo of a guitar on fire was opened in AI. I selected the image and created a live trace using 16 colors then expanded it. Next an image trace using high fidelity photo of bass guitarist Tim Commerford was expanded. I placed a white rectangle behind the photo to create a photo border effect, grouped the image and white rectangle and then added a drop shadow.

A new file in AI was opened for the magazine cover, bleeds were added, and a white and black gradient used for the background. The photo of the guitar on fire was the prominent photo and needed stress so I placed it to the left side of the cover. Commerford’s prepped photo was place above and to the right of the guitar on fire. The title Burning Music was added, and an outline and a gradient were created using the colors of the flames. More text was added to balance the cover.

Lastly, a logo was made in AI following the shape of a guitar and the letters “B” and “M” using the pen tools, anchors, lines, shapes and gradients.