Our Album cover

Final Album Cover:
Front Cover:

Insert:


Back:


Larger, more helpful images can be found
here http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq148/group2d/front.jpg
and here http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq148/group2d/back.jpg
I put together the front cover, which i made from images that the other members of the group had edited; having changed brightness and contrast etc. Angela found the font, called "HookedUp" on the interweb. James made the insert, and i put the two of them onto the same PSP file. I used Paint Shop Pro for the entire thinng.
I am particularly proud with the back cover. Taking a picture of the blank background was a good idea. James and I came up with the names of the tracks, making them sound proud and pretentious, for example "The End (Part 1)" is track 3. I made the SP and MX logos quickly on PSP, I thought that the SP logo had to have the signature font of the band. The Barcode came from google, and the serial number "MXR90234 / 0289384-2" although being made up, is in the same form as real serial numbers. I looked at a number of albums, most notably "Steal This Album" by System of a Down as templates for the conventions, like barcode, and serial number. I hope i got it as accurate as possible when i made the cover.

xx

cover art

as we have decided on "the scarlet pimpernels" as our band name, and i have been thinking about cover art.
my main idea is a red rose/flower, on a plain white background. the rose will be vectory, like this http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/577172/2/istockphoto_577172-vector-rose.jpg but with the shape like this http://i.pbase.com/o6/91/43791/1/39531401.9W7F3NGv.6EET9042_web_red_rose.jpg .

i think there should be no text on the cover, or maybe very small writing ina corner, just as a convention. this is so that the main image stays striking.

album research

1- +44 - When your heart stops beating

2) The Beatles - The White Album
3) Pendulum - Hold Your Colour
4) System of a Down - Steal This Album!
5) O.P.M. - Menace To Sobriety

6) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication

7) Angelspit - Krankhaus
8) Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing
9) A1 - The A List
10) The Prodigy - Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned

Typical Features

- All have a striking image, with the exception of The White Album, which is striking in itself, as it is just blank. Steal This Album is notable, as like the White Album, there is no striking image, but the message offered by the cover and title itself are rather contraversial, making the album cover as a whole striking without the need for a striking image.

- Most have the album name, except for the White Album, When Your Heart Stops Beating, and Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. This is because in the case of the White album, the artist name speaks for itself, and the title of the album is descriptive of the cover. In the case of +44, it is a striking image of the band name, a band whuich was much hyped at conception, so the name speaks for itself. Always outnumbered, Never Outgunned is rather anomalous, as it lets the image speak over both the title, and artist name.

- All of them except Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned have the artist name. The White Album, although mot noticable, has the artist name embossed into the vinyl cover, which is why i chose to use the vinyl version not the CD version.

Ways of Categorising the Covers.

- The A list, Krankhaus, The best damn Thing, all have a striking image of the artist.

- Always outnumbered, Never Outgunned, Californication, Menace To Sobriety, Hold Your Colour, and When Your heart Stops Beating all have a striking, more artistically abstract image