cover art
- Thread starter TheJester
- Start date
David Hooper
New member
Good artwork definitely helps sell records because it is the only thing people have to go on other than opening up the package and listening to the album.
Don't skimp and definitely don't go for b/w unless you have something very artistic.
dave @ kathode ray
www.indiebiz.com
Click here for a free, 10-day music promotion course.
Don't skimp and definitely don't go for b/w unless you have something very artistic.
dave @ kathode ray
www.indiebiz.com
Click here for a free, 10-day music promotion course.
Cover art is important always, alway, always. Remember that ppl already a presumption of what the music sounds like when looking at the cover. If you see skulls you know its heavy, if you see flowers and girls you presume its love songs etc.
The cover art does not need to be extremely overdone but its most important function is to tell ppl that dont know anything about your product about the mood, type of music and atmosphere of your tunes.
The cover art does not need to be extremely overdone but its most important function is to tell ppl that dont know anything about your product about the mood, type of music and atmosphere of your tunes.
David Hooper
New member
Something I didn't add is that it is usually not a good idea to put your photo on the cover. People are going to judge a lot of things by that photo and its usually not something good.
If you're not what is in their limited idea of "attractive," you're screwed. If you're too attractive, they'll think you're only there because you look good.
You can't win with a picture of yourself on the cover.
dave @ kathode ray
www.indiebiz.com
Click here for a free, 10-day music promotion course.
If you're not what is in their limited idea of "attractive," you're screwed. If you're too attractive, they'll think you're only there because you look good.
You can't win with a picture of yourself on the cover.
dave @ kathode ray
www.indiebiz.com
Click here for a free, 10-day music promotion course.
I agree so much with David Hooper, a photo of oneself can only be used inconspicuously somewhere hidden where only ppl who are really interested will look.
http://www.mp3.com/spunkonnancy
http://www.mp3.com/spunkonnancy
I think spending hours of work penning out my cover/book art was worth it. It is b/w to help production costs, but i'd choose it over a colour photo any day.a VERY true statement i read was NOT putting pictures on the cover, in fact theres no band photos at all. I think it keeps a bit of mystery to the album and keeps a lot of judgement to a min . Hell if I saw the guy from the Cure on the cover, i probably would never have bought his album, but i love their music. Its kind of Radiohead/pumpkins stuff and theres pictures of like trees eating squirrels, and stickment skydiving and stuff....ANYWAY thanx for the input everyone
junkyardearl
New member
yes, usually a photo of you is bad for a cover, but if you look really friggin amazing on stage, go for it! I remember some friends and I were in a record store and we saw an album with this guy that had great clothing and hair and all jumping into the air with a mic and singing, we had to have that record! Also, the Clash, London calling how can you argue that? So cool. But yeah, like the new green day record with a picture of them walking down the road, lame. It seems that people are so interested in just getting records out so that they can make a quick buck on a one hit wonder that they don't worry about the cover anymore. The coolest new record cover I've seen is relationship of command by At the Drive-in. A trojan horse with a greek feel throughout the booklet. It's really cool.
Michael Jones
New member
Put a pencil or pen in my hand, and I have NO idea of whats going on!
Where can you get cover art done at? If its going to be duplicated, do these artists know about "Targets" for duplication?
Where can you get cover art done at? If its going to be duplicated, do these artists know about "Targets" for duplication?
I agree with David Hooper. B/W might cost you less to print, but, market research has proven that b/w ads, poster and even films have up to 60% less impact on a viewer than colour. Being a graphic designer myself I would advise using color rather than b/w. Remember the only reason b/w printing is cheaper is because a printer just does one ink run when printing. What that means is that one ink run can also be one colour like red for example or a duo tone which is 2 colours and with 2 colours not being that much more expensive one can also cleverly disguised as colour and can be made very striking on the eye.
http://scarecrowdesigns.com
http://www.mp3.com/spunkonnancy
http;//www.garageband.com/artist/spunkonnancy
http://scarecrowdesigns.com
http://www.mp3.com/spunkonnancy
http;//www.garageband.com/artist/spunkonnancy
David Hooper
New member
Another great statistic, at least as far as advertising goes, is that a color ad will generate as many responses as a b/w ad that is 2x the size.
bball jones
New member
Stats are amazing when it comes to color advertising . . .
The percentage of people who will look at an ad that comes in the mail if it is
b&w - 5-10%
black text on colored paper - 20-30%
color - 80%
The percentage of people who will look at an ad that comes in the mail if it is
b&w - 5-10%
black text on colored paper - 20-30%
color - 80%
Aaron Cheney
Favorite Chord: C 6/9
I am a graphic designer and I have done many CD covers for different types of bands, and I have a few ideas I can offer.
First, I have to agree that putting your picture on the cover is as big a cop-out as ending a song with a fade-out. With that in mind, I find it interesting that if you flip through a DiscMakers catalogue, or some other duplication catalogue, at least 75% of the CD's have the artists picture on the cover. What's up with that?! THere are very, VERY few times this ever works effectively. A couple of examples would be Axis: Bold as Love or maybe Meet the Beatles.
I think the Great Cover Cop-Out started w/ the advent of the cassette tape. Prior to that, the artist had a great big LP-sized canvas to work on. Think of all those cool album covers from the '60's! Suddenly there was only a tiny cassette sized picture, and all the detail went out the window. You had to do a very simple picture that could be easily understood at a glance. Now we have sort of a nice medium w/ the CD.
Strive for somthing that represents the sound of you music. THis might sound silly, but what color does you CD sound like? What 3 colors? Use them, and be consistent throughout the entire packaging (booklet, tray insert, and CD itself). And above all MAKE IT EASY TO READ YOUR BAND'S NAME!!!!!
I have seen so many home-made album covers (particularly metal and rap acts) where the band name is buried or hidden, or written in some weird, pointy, barbed, ivy-covered, dripping, comic-book style lettering, and it's just too hard to read. I have even seen a few where I simply could not make it out. Even if someone just picks up your CD, looks at it, and then sits it back in the bin, you want them to SEE YOUR NAME!!!
Lastly, album covers (like songs) are sometimes better not for what you put in, but what you leave out. Credit everyone who contributed, for sure. Lyrics? Maybe. I find that documenting every lyric can sometimes ruin the mystique. However if your words are a significant part of the package perhaps you want to list them. (they often aren't. A good way to tell is by checking to see if they contain body parts, sexual descriptions, or cliches of any kind. It they do, people have heard them before and can figure them out w/o a lyric sheet.) Thank-you's? Keep them short, and don't be patronizing. THat's just gross. THe only thing you must include is contact info and web address!
Just my $.02.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
First, I have to agree that putting your picture on the cover is as big a cop-out as ending a song with a fade-out. With that in mind, I find it interesting that if you flip through a DiscMakers catalogue, or some other duplication catalogue, at least 75% of the CD's have the artists picture on the cover. What's up with that?! THere are very, VERY few times this ever works effectively. A couple of examples would be Axis: Bold as Love or maybe Meet the Beatles.
I think the Great Cover Cop-Out started w/ the advent of the cassette tape. Prior to that, the artist had a great big LP-sized canvas to work on. Think of all those cool album covers from the '60's! Suddenly there was only a tiny cassette sized picture, and all the detail went out the window. You had to do a very simple picture that could be easily understood at a glance. Now we have sort of a nice medium w/ the CD.
Strive for somthing that represents the sound of you music. THis might sound silly, but what color does you CD sound like? What 3 colors? Use them, and be consistent throughout the entire packaging (booklet, tray insert, and CD itself). And above all MAKE IT EASY TO READ YOUR BAND'S NAME!!!!!
I have seen so many home-made album covers (particularly metal and rap acts) where the band name is buried or hidden, or written in some weird, pointy, barbed, ivy-covered, dripping, comic-book style lettering, and it's just too hard to read. I have even seen a few where I simply could not make it out. Even if someone just picks up your CD, looks at it, and then sits it back in the bin, you want them to SEE YOUR NAME!!!
Lastly, album covers (like songs) are sometimes better not for what you put in, but what you leave out. Credit everyone who contributed, for sure. Lyrics? Maybe. I find that documenting every lyric can sometimes ruin the mystique. However if your words are a significant part of the package perhaps you want to list them. (they often aren't. A good way to tell is by checking to see if they contain body parts, sexual descriptions, or cliches of any kind. It they do, people have heard them before and can figure them out w/o a lyric sheet.) Thank-you's? Keep them short, and don't be patronizing. THat's just gross. THe only thing you must include is contact info and web address!
Just my $.02.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com