Album Art

Do you make your own album art or do you get someone else to do it?

If others, are they people you know or do you find artists by other means? If so, where do you find them?

I love making album covers, even for stuff I have no intention of releasing. If you want me to take a crack at something I would fo shore.

warhk, I've done most of mine. there're probably only 2 where I gave someone else the liberty of doing it (luke hazard did one and a friend did another). I'm also the art director of my label and I've been given creative control of all releases. I'm giving one of the artists that will soon be on our roster the libert to do it himself because he is prett well know and a great artist and all his fans associate his music with his art so it makes sense.

For me, I treat every release I design (for myself or others) a whole entire entity with the music. a whole package if you will. I normally listen to the release I'm designing for for hours on end getting inspiration and such. and of course I also incorporate whatever a client wants if they have a vision but can't realize it themselves or don't have the time.

Here's my tumblr site with some designs http://leftmgraphics.tumblr.com/, I can do something for you if you feel my aesthetic suits you. PM me if you're interested.

Superstix. She does great work.

i wouldn't get someone to do the music for me, why the album art?

perhaps someone else would do a much slicker job, but i wouldn't own it.

After spending a while on DeviantArt, I discovered an artist I'm very happy with, and she's made all my album covers.

I got a friend of a friend to make the cover of my EP. I told/show him what I exactly wanted and he did an amazing job (he's quite a talented guy anyway).

If you still decide what you want on the cover of your release, how you want it to be, chose the person to work on the artwork, and finally if it's still up to you to validate it or not, then I can't see the problem in asking someone else to do it.

  On 4/20/2011 at 6:17 AM, hahathhat said:

i wouldn't get someone to do the music for me, why the album art?

 

perhaps someone else would do a much slicker job, but i wouldn't own it.

Aye agreed, I'm really protective over my stuff and want complete creative control over all aspects of the album both with the music and artwork.

I made mine myself. It's incredibly minimalistic and simple, but it fits the overall feel I wanted for the album. Just a little hole in the black front, that shows through to the white background. If I were going for something more complex, I would have had my younger cousin do it for me.

I like the idea of making each copy by hand myself. It'll be a bitch, but since i'm just doing it for friends and family, I'm happy to put in the work to write all the info in the jacket and put it together.

edit for stupid grammar.

do a remix album with goatse hands gripping the hole

I actually found an artist on watmm that's doing my next release. He sent me the cover last weekend, and it looks fantastic.

I'm not a great visual artist, so I entrust that work to others that are. I've never been happy with the covers when I do them myself, so I feel I should collaborate with someone that will do a good job.

  On 4/20/2011 at 6:17 AM, hahathhat said:

i wouldn't get someone to do the music for me, why the album art?

 

perhaps someone else would do a much slicker job, but i wouldn't own it.

You sound like George Lucas.

My brother made the ape right there for me. I have a precise idea of what I want and have been quite fussy but now I'm happy with this first "preview" version. We'll finish it soon.

I want my artworks to be a full part of the music so at the moment I won't let someone else decide what will be on it but I also like the idea to work with someone else to do this, as a collaboration. Letting someone else putting his know-how in the pictures that goes with the music, and also listening if that person have some additional ideas to propose.

Also, that was a good occasion to give my 16 years old brother an opportunity to do such a work as he likes to draw. I want to do more stuff like that with him, and I have the secret wish that it will influence him in the chose of his future studies. I'd like him to make something about art and culture.

  On 4/21/2011 at 9:10 AM, Braintree said:

  On 4/20/2011 at 6:17 AM, hahathhat said:

i wouldn't get someone to do the music for me, why the album art?

 

perhaps someone else would do a much slicker job, but i wouldn't own it.

 

You sound like George Lucas.

wat? so george lucas was in the thick of it at skywalker sound, putting together one of the first digital multitracks based around the motorola 68k?

i guess i feel like it'll do a better job of re-enforcing the music if i do it, 'cos i know my music better than anyone else. i also feel it's my baby, my responsibility, and i should change the diapers !

  On 4/21/2011 at 2:31 PM, hahathhat said:

  On 4/21/2011 at 9:10 AM, Braintree said:

  On 4/20/2011 at 6:17 AM, hahathhat said:

i wouldn't get someone to do the music for me, why the album art?

 

perhaps someone else would do a much slicker job, but i wouldn't own it.

 

You sound like George Lucas.

 

wat? so george lucas was in the thick of it at skywalker sound, putting together one of the first digital multitracks based around the motorola 68k?

 

i guess i feel like it'll do a better job of re-enforcing the music if i do it, 'cos i know my music better than anyone else. i also feel it's my baby, my responsibility, and i should change the diapers !

George Lucas thought it was a good idea to write the screenplay and direct all three prequels even though he's obviously not good at dialogue or superb at direction. I'm saying having too much control on your project can kill it. Sometimes bringing in someone else can strengthen your work instead of hinder it. This is also why lots of recording artists bring in people they respect to give them constant feedback. Some might call them "producers."

I'm not implying you don't know what you're doing, simply saying that your kind of thinking can be dangerous for your art.

When I make my own cover art, I usually have a vision of the whole project. I thought all my full length releases through on the artwork (oblique formation, feeling sorry for inanimate objects, and my latest the treehouse symposium). I never made it a secret that tDR are like gods to me. On oblique formation, I originally had the artwork look like the "we are ten" warp series. I had the lights orange on it. but I thought better of it and just left it as is with no replacing something with some color.

I do my own for the reasons already stated; it's part of the creative process, and I want to be in charge of the whole process.