600 Word with my final album cover

Alabama Shakes is an American blues rock band from Athens, Alabama. They were originally called ‘The Shakes’ until ATO Records added ‘Alabama’, as there are many groups that share the same name.

Being able to get a feel of who Alabama Shakes are by their sound, name, video clips and meaning to their songs, is what makes my album art.

Based on their album 'Sound & Color' I will be making an album cover with geometric shapes in Adobe Illustrator and will be manipulating a photograph in Adobe Photoshop.

The main feature on my album art is the geometric shapes. I was able to do this in illustrator with a few tutorials from YouTube as well as help from Lyle. The main tools that were used in Illustrator was the shape tool. I was able to use the shape tool to create the main symbol on my album cover. I was then able to copy my finished symbol into Adobe Photoshop, layered on top of my background. The main tool that was used in Adobe Photoshop was the magic wand tool. I was able to copy and paste each shape with a different look but using the same photo.

Each time I clicked onto a shape, I had to go back and forth. From my copied illustrated symbol layer, which I named ‘outline’ to the background layer, so that I was able to move the chosen shape to another area of the picture, for it to be copied and pasted. Aligning the shapes back into its place was a bit tricky as I wasn’t able to perfectly fit it in to its shape, but being able to zoom in, with a shortcut, was a great help. Also the amount of shapes that had to be worked on was hard work. To work on each shape one by one, back and forth, same process, was something to get use to as well, as the amount of shortcuts I had to do for every shape was confusing. I had to go a step back a lot of times because I was doing something wrong. But being able to edit these mistakes by stepping backwards helped a lot.

For my background I decided to look at sound waves with colour, as their album is called ‘Sound & Color’. So by their album name I was able to choose a background for my album cover. My original background that was going to be used, was a scene from their music video clip ‘Sound & Color’ which is the first track in the album. I chose this specific sound wave background because I feel like their songs are loud but with a nice and soft kind of feeling. So saying this, the colours of the sound wave background that I have chosen goes well with what I was feeling when listening to their album, 'Sound & Color'.

Visually their album covers are simple and plain and was something I wanted to try out as I started collecting ideas for my album art. I was able to use Adobe Illustrator in a way that was easy for me and that worked with my art style. Adobe Photoshop is a great software that I was able to use too.

The font I have chosen was based on their album . I wanted it to be similar to the one on their album. By creating this album art, I was able to incorporate their sound, name and what I felt as a designer to something that I would have done and researched on for an album art cover.

3 researched album art

Coldplay-A head full of dreams

• Artwork created by Pilar Zeta in collaboration with the band.
• An 'overlapping circles grid' is positioned in the middle aka 'Flower of life'.
• The artwork is colourful. All the colours of the rainbow.
• I think they used Illustration to create the circles.
• Photoshop to add the animated pictures that are layered around the album.
• http://www.pilarzeta.com/work/coldplay-a-head-full-of-dreams/ -Designer

Years & Years-Communion

• Artwork created by Bristol based digital design company 'Pretty Good' 
• The angular grid has their signature 'Y' on it, which is a different way of portraying yourself on an album. It's clever branding.
• This album, like my first researched album cover (Coldplay), also has a mix of colours. Plain muted rainbow colours.
• It's simple compared to the Coldplay album cover.
• I think it's done illustration because of the geometric shapes that are added to make this album cover.
• Black background. 
• The text is placed in the centre, top and bottom.

• Artwork created by an independent design studio 'La Boca'.
• The colours go from dark to bright as the little man looks ahead.
• Artist name and album name is at the top and bottom 
• Text on the top left corner and bottom right corner.
• I think it's made on illustrator. 
• Main shapes are the hexagons.
• White background. The white background makes a difference because it makes the colours of the objects go in. Like into space. 

Album cover inspiration

Changes

I've decided to do American blues rock band 'Alabama Shakes' because I wasn't feeling my album art for Adam Ness.

Based on their album 'Sound & Color' I will be making an album cover with geometric shapes in Adobe Illustrator and will be manipulating my chosen photograph to place into the geometric shapes with Adobe Photoshop which will also be the background of my album cover.

2 of their album covers. Visually their album covers are just simple and plain which is what I tried to add into my album art but with the use of Adobe illustration and photoshop.

  

What would have been my final album cover if I stuck to artist Adam Ness.
I wasn't feeling confident in using the pen tool which is why I kept it simple.
Pen tool was used to outline his face.

Album art Inspiration

Creedence Clearwater Revival-Creedence Gold

Adam Ness - My artist

https://adamness.bandcamp.com/releases

Research Component (3 albums)

Trey Songz-Trigga

• I like how it's a photograph layered into a silhouette of the artist (Trey Songz)
• How the album name is shown is cool. As he stands forming himself as the letter T and 'rigga' mirrored each other on each side of him, which becomes 'Trigga'
• Black and white colours.
• Wearing a suit and showing this through the silhouette makes a difference.
• Silhouette looking to our right.

Kehlani ft Chance the Rapper-The way (Album: You should be here)

• Silhouette with those colours added into them.
• White background
• Purple writing
• I like how the writing goes well with the cover.
• The colours in the silhouette goes well with colour of the font.
• Silhouette of both artists facing each other
• These are the colours Kehlani uses through out her other album covers as well.

• Love the colours
• I like how they've used the colours. Like what colour they've used for the shadows etc.

Illustration Album Covers

Album covers I find...wow.





Although I prefer the emptiness in things, the amount of work that is happening in these albums are amazing. They're wicked.

I know I will not be doing something like this for my album cover. (Too much skills)

I think for my album art, I'm going to do something with silhouette. I will be able to use what I have learnt to do this.

Pen tool will be my best friend in this process.

Ways I could form my illustration or something

  

  

  


I have a thing with empty space, which I like.
I like the different kind of ways these albums are created.
I want to be able to create something like this, but in a illustrated way.

14/04

Isometric Illustration

Command & R -To bring up rulers


got to check out and play Monument valley

31/03

Illustration class

got into Lynda.com

watched this video by Scott Robertson

scottrobertson.com 

Glen Keen

Chris Sanders

on illustrator (2:04pm)

introducing us to illustrator

Illustrator works by making shapes

17/16

Save as .psd because you can always go back and edit it When in photoshop. 

Just played with photoshop. Album cover. And Adobe Illustration.

original

24/03/16

First Thursday lesson

10 March (first thurs class) 

Artists: 

• Damien Hirst 
• Mark Ryden: He made Michael Jackson' Dangerous album cover. 
• Tanja Jade 'Miseryland' <<< She can be used for Gary' class too. 
• Chris Wahl 

PHOTOSHOP! 

Resolution should be between 300 DPI and 600 DPI 

RGB (red, green, blue) is for anything screen based such as being on computer, tv screen 

CYMK (Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Black) is print based, colour you find in your printer.  

During the creation process (making it) you will work in RGB. Because we working on a moniter (screen) at the end it will be CYMK. Always set to RGB when working on photoshop, illustrator etc. It will look dull when its on CYMK. CYMK at the end, outputting. 

CYMK colours are dull, so RGB through the whole process, creation whatever. 

Canvas size is better than image size if you want to change the size of the paper you're not interested in. So do canvas size because it changes the size of the canvas. Image size changes the images size and the overall image.Canvas is just the size of the canvas. (something like that, on the difference of canvas and image size. 

30cm-30cm 600 resolution for our artwork (Vynal Size) 

Windows>>tool If you don't have your tools bar) 

http://www.shouldiworkforfree.com/  SHOULD I WORK FOR FREE? 

Colour Adobe-The colour wheel thing. Copy and paste the code. From the website to photoshop colour palette.