How do I get a painting on a cd cover?

A

auburncatfish

New member
I'm close enough to finishing my cd that I'm starting to think about cover art, distribution, copying etc.

I haven't chose any duplication service yet. What I want to do is get a painting that my aunt did of my father on the back of the cd case. She's allowed me to use it, but I don't know how to get it in digital format. Do you scan it in? Do you take a picture? Do you get a photoshop to do it?

And will this affect the price of duplication since it's multiple colors?

If anybody has done something similar or has suggestions, I love to hear how you did it.

Andrew
 
auburncatfish said:
She's allowed me to use it, but I don't know how to get it in digital format. Do you scan it in? Do you take a picture? Do you get a photoshop to do it?
Click to expand...


You would be hard pressed to find a scanner that is the size of most paintings. How big is it? You can take a picture, or you take it to a printshop and have them shoot film. You could Alphagraphix, but if they could do that they will charge you more than it should cost...they rip people off. Just call around a couple places and see what the concenses is.



auburncatfish said:
And will this affect the price of duplication since it's multiple colors?
Click to expand...


Depends on how you do it.


auburncatfish said:
If anybody has done something similar or has suggestions, I love to hear how you did it.
Click to expand...


How much are you willing to spend? What is the media it will be printed on when all is said and done?
 
If you or someone you know has a digital camera (at least 3 mega pixel, if possible) and a tripod, its pretty easy.

Get every lamp and light you can muster and set the painting and tripod up so that you are taking a completly flat shot.

Move the lights around until you get what you think looks good then take a few shots. Move the lights a little every few shots or change the exposure settings on the camera each time.

The move all the lights around a lot to vary the lighting and try it again. Somewhere in there you'll get a good enough shot.

I also find that indirect outdoor light on a sunny day works *great* for shots like this. Depends on the weather where you are, though.

You can also take a film shot of it, then head to Kinkos and scan that picture in. Scan at HIGH resolution. (600-1200 dpi, if you can.)

At least, these are a few of the ways I've done it.

Take care,
Chris
 
Just make sure you don't use a flash on your camera. They almost always mess up pictures like this.

Save as at least 300dpi CMKY (4 colour) TIF file.
 
Re: Re: How do I get a painting on a cd cover?

Outlaws said:
How big is it?

How much are you willing to spend?

What is the media it will be printed on when all is said and done?
Click to expand...

The original painting is about 15'' by 20''.

I want to go with a package deal company right now like cd baby but not them for sure.

I'm aiming at spending $1500 for 1000 copies, but that's flexible. So whatever media they give me for one of those deals will be what I go with.

As for taking a picture. I like that idea alot, because I can do it myself. I'd never done that, so wasn't sure if that worked. Can you skate by with 2.1 megapixel? I suppose I could borrow a bigtime megapixel camera for a day though.

Thanks for the input fellas. Worth a million bucks as always.

Andrew.
 
I don't think you'll have to resort to a transparancy, the 4-C standard for ages. Depends on the finished quality you want.

I doubt you can sneak by with a 2.1 meg - unless you have a program that will re-edit into a higher resolution without smearing the copy.

Even so, my first caution is manufacturing without industry standard anti-counterfeiting codes. Each copy is a first generation master, and if you got something that works the counterfeiters (where you pressed the product) will clean you long before you can negotiate a deal.

Your call though.

Best of Luck!


TDA
 
If you take the photographs yourself, watch out for perspective problems caused by the lens not being perpendicular to the flat plane of the painting. This usually happens when the artwork is leaning against a wall rather than hanging. Make sure the lens in centered on the painting and not pointed slighly upward or downward. If you have a small level, place it on top of the camera as a final check. Also avoid distortions caused by wide angle lenses (or zoom settings) where the camera is too close to the subject matter. Fine art photographers normally use view cameras with independent lens and film back controls to address such issues, but you can achieve decent results with a liitle care during setup.

You should also use a tripod and, if possible, a cable release or built-in timer to avoid camera shake. With a tripod, you can lower your shutter speed and use smaller apertures to maintain good depth of field and focus. As stated before, avoid flash unless you have some type of elaborate off camera system. Instead, use indoor lighting or sunlight. Remember, however, to adjust you camera's light balance setting (if it's digital) or use daylight balanced film outdoors or tungsten balanced inside. You can also do some color balancing in photoshop, although it's easier to fix in advance.
 
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