Ok i feel a bit of a fraud posting my WIP here when i know its nowhere near the standards of all you proper artists, but i need a few ideas and a bit of help.

For a start its very hard finding decent quailty artwork of Hulk Hogan to use(well i googled anyway!!) :(

As some may know ive been toying with using the pen/wand etc to cut out some pictures i have found.
As you can see ive kind of mirrored one main picture that i wanted on front and back cover the only problem is that once the pictures is reverse the wording on his headwear and vest is also reversed, can this be overcome?

Ive done a couple of versions today one with US Flag as background and one as plain Black.

Any help and advice would be appreciated but remember this is my first proper cover from scratch and my skills are very limited at the moment until i learn some more.

Its going to be a Double slimline case and there 2 parts.

I think the correct dimensions for this size case is 3180 x 2175 (110 spine) is this right, im sure there was a post here(maybe from kylumi?) that stated all different case dimensions but i cant see for looking :D

Ive added both versions and IMAX covers to so i can get the 'feel' of it. :)

Rule One.................never use a low rez image (unless your name is kylumi).......I specialize in these:thumbup:

This cover will not work simply because your main image is low rez................But, on the a brighter note m8................you are putting together a true custom which has every right to be in any WIP section.

my advice to you at this point ULAM is forget this cover and move onto a standard popular movie cover which has plenty of hi-rez images available........this way you will be able to get advice knowing that eventually the cover will end up in the gallery as you own properly produced work:thumbup:

Thats what i thought the image was too low-res :(

The thing is though is that i need a cover for these 4 discs :D

So what should i do, outa interest is there a way when you mirror reverse an image so any writing can change too,as you can see the 'Hulk Rules' on hat doesnt read correct on back cover?

Kylumi is right...low res image. I would also recommend that you start on something much easier that has more art work available.

Although since you need this and have already started you may as well continue to the end for your personal pleasure. My recommendation for now would be to remove the back image of hogan since its already on the front. Place a nice border around the images/screenshots (one of which is pretty low res as well).But yeah maybe try find some other pictures of hogan or couple even if smaller and use them for the back and see how you go...:jedi:

This is a cover set for my son so it has to be good..................but not that good :D he wont know the difference although i will :(

I got heaps of pics its just that most are low-res, i'll try and sort out the best ones and change some around.
I tried without the back main image and i think it will look ok without that one there. :)
I know i asked before but when you mirror an image is there anyway to keep the text the 'right' way round?
What kind of border frame do you recommend i use?

I have found some good ones by searching MSN Images, i usually take for granted the Google has everything but in this case msn-live search had some more pictures, not sure of res yet and how they would look but have done a quick mock-up.

Theres also two different kinds of flags, one stretched out (does the 2 flag colours work, im not sure??????) and the main text font, small pics faded etc

Not sure on where to put the title on one flag version, its in middle at mo but not sure where else it can go with that colour?????

Should there be warning text as well ( ''all character names are property of blah blah blah'' etc)

Is it any better/worse/same etc?

These are better. Still low res but should do the trick for you and I think the colours are better. In terms of warning text etc that entirely up to you. I don't own any wrestling DVD's so have nothing to base it off. You should be careful when stretching images because its quite visible. Always try to preserve the ratio by holding the shift key when enlarging with the transform tool. Its also better to crop images rather than squash them. The dvd logo also looks strange on the spine. Try replace it with another one (theres one on this site). See how you go with those..

Done a couple of changes, not done dvd logo yet though, i think i prefer the Hulkamania one.

Not sure about text title what do you think?

I like the yellow hulkmania text however I feel that you minimise it and have it show just on the front of the cover.

That was already part of the artworlk with flag and back pic of Hulk, not sure how to bring just that to the front?

Are my dimensions right for a thinpak double as when i load it into imax the spine seems off center?

Okay, you would have to remove the text and re-create it :D The dimensions for thinpak single/double is:

ThinPak Single = 3150 x 2175 (80 spine)
ThinPak Double = 3180 x 2175 (110 spine)

Hey ULAM,
Just thought I would contribute what I could. I did not see an answer on the reverse text problem. So, here is my answer. If there is an image that you truely want to use and mirror, you must really like it. That would in turn lead me to believe that you would spend the time to fix it, because that is exactly what it will take, time. There is no quick and easy way to do it. What you are going to have to do is rework the image with the original text. This is one of those more experienced tricks so depending on you level of progression this may take some effort. Essentially you are going to need to copy the correct text onto a layer and position it above the revere text area. From there you are going to have to blend, delete, and add to give it the look of correctness. The text on the bandana should not be a problem as it is straight (more or less). The shirt however, is going to give you a headache. It has wrinkles and the arm to deal with. It can be done. With some time and patience I believe you will complete it to you liking.
No as for the covers so far. Of the 2 originals posted I think the flag background was better. The black looked too empty. For the flag you may want to crank down the opacity. It was conflicting with your main image of HH. Be careful with the placement of text in relation to background. There are a few areas that are whited out. This makes it somewhat difficult to read through the wording. A specific example was Rowdy Roddy Pipper. Some of the letters were lost in the white background. To defeat this quickly and keep placement, you can add a drop shadow. If you don't like that, you can change the color of whichever letter is getting lost. I also noticed that there is some white fringe on the main image of HH. This will make the image look cut out no matter how precise the actual method. You can either run defringe or select the image/ contract selection/ inverse/ delete. In either case you will want to blur the border slightly to give it an even flow with the surrounding pics. True you could feather you selction prior to deleting the border. However, by using a blur filter you will be able to have more control in the end.
To blur the border: Select the image, contract the selection by 1-3 pixels (depending on your preferance), Save the selection, select the entire layer, while the layer is still selected load the previous selection you just saved, make sure you choose the option "subtract from channel", then blur away. The result of the selection should leave you with everything minus the meat and potatoes of the HH image.
Hope this helps. :D If at any point this seems like a little too much let me know and I will explain in in another way. I often just blaze through an explanation and give it in the briefest way possible. By looking at the length of this ya d never guess. :omg:

Great advice there gravital...very insightful as usual:thumbup:

Great advice there gravital...very insightful as usual:thumbup:

Thanks SW, I am just here to help and contribute all I can.

Cheers gravital, theres a lot to digest so i will read it over and get back to you, :thumbup:

@ SW do you mean cut it out with the pen of doom or some other means?

Ok had time to go through what you suggested gravital and can i say i appreciate your help and comments :)

I think the reverse text is definately something i would do but in the future when i think the picture is worth it but for now i am doing away with the reflected image on back of pic and i need to practise my skills a bit more before attempting to do that, but i will be back at a later date on that one :D

The black cover is deffo out as i was never to keen on that one, as is the half/half flag copy, it looked too much like two covers joined up for my liking.

Im left with the big Hulkamania one and the flag one i like both and seeing as its going to be a 2 disc cover set i may use them both(still undecided)

Ive added shadow to rear text and spine( thanks for the tip i didnt notice some words obscured by bright background)

Ok now to tricky part, try as i may i couldnt get your 'Blur the border' method to work, not sure i was doing it right :(
I have got round the white outline of HH by using 'refine edge' and contact/expand by -30 that amount seemed to get rid of most white edge.

Attached retouched effort :)

The text looks much better. The fringe on HH is still present but less noticable. The amount of -30 pixs was a little too much and you can notice the change in image rather quick. It looks better (more like it belongs there than before) but, it sounds like it is tutorial time for gravital:). Gimme some time and I will have a step by step process on the whole selction/border blur thang. This way everyone can use it. I am glad to do this because there are some shortcuts that I can point out.

No probs gravital whenever your ready mate :D

Just finished installing PS, Illustrator, and powerpoint on an alternate computer. I should be able to knock it out tonight. You WILL have it no later than tomorrow morn. Asalaam a laykum:thumbup:

WOW thats fast!! cheers gravital :thumbup:

Another small snag i've come across is that i can no longer edit any text, i wanted to see what it would look like with 'Part-1' added to original text on front but it keeps bringing up a new layer so i cant edit it :(

I think i rasterized type as the 'T' has now gone from the layer box, can i do anything about now or is it too late?

Your tutorial (http://www.dvdcoversfuzion.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3493#post3493) As for the capability in editing your text layer, yep is sounds rasterized to me. It is probabley pointless now as you may have moved on, but have you checked the history. As for a reco for the future save mutiple versions. this way you can go back.