EP Cover Artwork - Input?
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Posted on Sep 15, 2004 04:48 pm
cocofromscotland
Hello!
Member Since: Jan 12, 2004
Hey Guys
Here's my EP cover...any opinions would be much appreciated.
I was gonny have an artist do it but then I thought to hell wi it, I'll dae it maself.
So, here tis.
A snap I took whilst drivin up the motorway during a snowy day here in Scotland - going for the aged look in the photo.
Inputs and opinons - greatfully received.
Coco.
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Sep 15, 2004 06:12 pm kinda cool. I think I would go with something that depics more of a void, such as the Grand Canyon, or a crater on the moon...or a black hole...but then the shot glass with a bottle next to it on your web site was a great metaphore for "filling a void" with a cheap shot at alcoholism...I think the shot glass and bottle is the best...
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Sep 15, 2004 06:14 pm i think its an empty looking scene as it is...nice one!
Sep 15, 2004 06:15 pm yeah, it is empty thus making it a void, but it's dull, no real imagination. The bottle and the glass is waaaaayyyyyy better.
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Sep 15, 2004 06:23 pm ahhhh, but the bottle and glass is also more american...not that thats a bad thing, but the scene is more scottish
mind you, ther musics more american...
Sep 15, 2004 06:42 pm Cheers guys...
I will be honest. I hunted, and hunted and then some more and I just couldnt find a (royalty free) good snap to use.
I hunted the web, mags etc - nowt. I even asked some artists and they were wayyyy to slow so I raked ma ain photos and wooooo..there yi go.
A nice plain dull old mountainside.
Hey Flame, that shot was taken on the way to Blackpool a few years ago - in Decemeber! Aye, mad I wis but I love that place. So, its an M6 Motorway service station somewhere past Carlisle!
mad eh!
Db, the bottle and glass is cool tae but I thinks, its a little bit much for the cover. Tho, its a great promo I agree.
I may still change it but I better deceide soon as Im planning on goin to the printer real soon for a good few covers...
Cheers for the input guys...appreciated.
Coco.
Sep 15, 2004 09:32 pm Coco,
I'm going to side with the purple football helmet on this one...I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the bottle and glass photo on your web site! I'd buy your EP just for that cover, not to mention the Duke Boys tune!
Jim
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Sep 15, 2004 10:27 pm I'm gonna step out on a limb here. I would see if you can somehow combine the two images. I am with dB and jim on the other being a splendid bit of cover art for sure.
Sep 16, 2004 06:27 am Cheers guys...
IM thinking another little mess in Photoshop is a good idea then..I'll mibbe take Noize's idea and try to blend em.
Thansk for the input guys...all good stuff.
Coco.
Sep 16, 2004 06:29 am I'm no expert Coco but I would like to show my support for what you're doing.
They say 'a picture paints a thousand words' and I agree with you over the cover.
I think the scene elicits (did I say that?) more of a connection on the emotional level. To me, the scene echoes the emotion of a void. Also, I think the image transports the viewer to a similar place in their own experience that they associate with contemplation when the stresses of life are better dealt with in a place you can better commune with nature.
Also, the music and the lyrics seem to endorse this.
I think the cover is very clever (but I'm nothing special :/)
But I think dB, Flame and Jim have a valid point also. Perhaps Flame is correct about the appeal of the Bad Martini home page visual for an American audience.
BM
Sep 16, 2004 06:34 am Thanks for that BM....much appreciated.
Yah, your comments are just what I need here. I think what you are taking from it is what I was hoping folks would get from it so thats good for me.
I do like the bottle scene...I have another similar one but I thinks, this is just the way it come oot! I didnt shoot for any one area tho maybe it is appealing to some more than others - truth is, I find this cover art thing harder than writing the damn songs :-( !!
Tho, I do enjoy messing in Photoshop. Im offski for a couple of days from tommorow but when Im back, I'll be sure to take a further look at it.
Thanks again and your input is much valued.
Cheers...
Coco.
Sep 16, 2004 07:00 am Thanks Coco.
I think the Bad Martini home page visual is excellent also. And if you did that as well, then you must have a natural talent for the cover art thing.
Watching you all put your websites together and compile your ep's is a great experience for us as well. We're learning a lot by everyones openness and willingness to share.
Cheers...
BM
Sep 16, 2004 07:09 am No problemo...aye for sure there is some good stuff to be picked up here.
Thats what its all aboot...learning what yi can from who you can and seeing what ya can do with it.
Coco.
tonyd1970The fat one always watches us.Member
Since: Nov 08, 2002
Sep 21, 2004 11:38 am If you put in a country kitchen table (complete with table cloth), with a bottle and a shot glass, and an ashtray with burning cig in that scene that would be great- ya know, a "totally out of place" kinda feeling
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Sep 21, 2004 12:26 pm I don't know. I actually really like the cover you posted. Even more so than the homepage image.
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Sep 21, 2004 12:27 pm 'sup cool
Sep 21, 2004 12:56 pm Nice one guys... Tony D - funny you should say that. I have a photo I took with a burning cig and a pint o lager...but, its no the image you conjured (which sounds cool) - its a blury (like when I took it) mess!!
Wish I'd been sober...then, if I was, I'd never have taken a photo of an ashtray and a pint of beer!!
Ach!
Coco.
Sep 21, 2004 01:02 pm Meant ti say - I stopped at the same motorway service station where I took this shot on my weekend away!!!
Aye, the whole scene looks a little different now in different weather - same vista but it looks so different with grass rather than snow when I took the shot.
A useless piece of info I thought Id share with yas!
Coco.
wrmach I'm Roscoooo P. ColtraneMember
Since: Apr 12, 2003
Sep 21, 2004 03:51 pm I like the photo you posted. I think it has a lonely traveler, "surrealism" type of look.
I think it's cool.
take it easy bro !
Sep 21, 2004 04:29 pm Cheers buddy.
Aye - I thinks, I will mibbe go with this one. It's the kind of image I was really wanting to use because of the big wide "void" which ties in with the title of the EP.
The promo shot with the bottle is gid tae I think but looking at it, I think I'll do something like that for the next EP....in aboot 8 months time the speed I work at!
Cheers
Coco.
WaltChief Cook and Bottle WasherMember
Since: May 10, 2002
Sep 21, 2004 06:40 pm Looks sharp Coco. Very desolate for sure. I really don't think 100% of folks can be influenced anyway. For example to me I see empty chairs, depapetated farms, torn rusted basketball hoops. Facilities present with no apparent use.
Sep 21, 2004 07:30 pm I was thinking of a martini glass with a dead mouse in it. Now that's a bad martini, but what you have there is fine too.
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Sep 22, 2004 03:02 pm I love it Coco. If you had just released it, without asking for critique, I will bet you that everyone - EVERYONE - would have said, "That's a very cool cover, Coco."
The bottle and glass motif is great too, but that's the website's thing. Unless you want a theme.......
Anyroadup....Very Scorteesh.
Ok, that's 2 cents worth.
Sep 22, 2004 03:12 pm Quote:
The bottle and glass motif is great too, but that's the website's thing. Unless you want a theme.......
Weeellllll, anyone who has worked in marketing will all say one thing, branding...it's al about branding. SO when you see a font you immediately associate it with the company (or band) who's logo uses that font, same with imagery, color schemes and everything. The underlying branding should transend medium and be included on web sites, CD covers, gig flyers, etc...
Actually, I kinda like Karyn's idea, only maybe have a pic of a guy hocking a lugee into a martini glass :-)
Seriously though, if I saw an album with the cover the Coco proposed earlier, I wouldn't be compeled to even look further because it's lifeless...not trying to be mean, I wouldn't ever be intentional mean to Coco, just being honest. There is nothing really compelling about it...
Sep 22, 2004 03:46 pm Aye...the point is a fair point dB. I can take that as you intended.
Trouble I have is, I was after a void scene. I guess it may be a little too lifeless...dunno.
I thinks, you do have a point aboot the branding tho. Ive used the same font throughout for the logo, cover etc but a diffenet image.
But, youre point aboot the main image on the front page and EP cover being different is fair enuff.
I think, It will have to be one or the other. Or...something new altogether.
Either way, I will need to get something real soon since I need to get to the printer over the next week or so for the first run of covers!!
My original photo was Route66 - a big plain old road but that could be seen as empty tae...ideas on how to make an empty "void" scene withoot it being dull are welcome!!
Coco.
Sep 22, 2004 03:49 pm What many bands do is change their web site each time a new album comes out, effective "rebranding" themselves with each release, though often the logo stays the same (Metallica being a good example of logo usage as I recall) so perhaps a new pic on your album would indicate time for a new style to your web site.
Still, the pic on the web site is just too friggin cool to get rid of already.
Sep 22, 2004 04:09 pm Good call dB.
I remember having (in the old days) most of those Metalica and GNR t-shirts...from Master Puppets and appetite right thru to Illusion and the Black Album...
Aye - now THAT was some cool cover art!!
Appetite (with the banned cover was cool). I use to be a big GNR fan for sure...Aerosmith another good example. I alwyas remember the album cover for PUMP...top!!!
Coco
Sep 23, 2004 05:34 am I'm going out on a limb with this one...and no offense intended...I wouldn't say anything offensive intentionally...
But, I saw a doc thing with Barbra Streisand and she talked about what George Bernard Shaw said about 'the power of thought'...ie the power of what is in you somehow becomes reflected into the world... What you think, others then think.
With regard to timing here is another saying, 'At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you.'
One of the great things about this site is that you are all doing your own thing in your own way and mostly outside mainstream...
Kind regards Coco,
BM
Sep 23, 2004 06:19 am OK Guys...lets spin this one around a little:
Check these oot:
www.powerpop.org/tfc/cdsingles.html
And look down the page at the singles "Teenage Fanclub Have Lost It" and "Aint That Enough" ,... now, that was what I was shooting for.
IDeas??
P.S. BM - no offense taken tho I am a wee bitty confused :-) .... ! Still, profound thoughtful sayings eywis do that !! heehhe
Coco.
Sep 23, 2004 06:35 am Lol...sorry about the confusion Coco. I'm still learning how to express maself...hehehe.
Just meant that your ideas are great and that this site...seems to me anyways...is about people going with their own ideas.
I see what dB is saying re not rushing out to buy an EP with that cover...but I get the EP cover when thought about in the context of the EPs title and with the songs.
What I think I'm trying to illustrate with the quotes is...if you think the picture conveys the EP's essence, then others will too.
Sorry 'bout the confusion,
BM
Sep 23, 2004 06:37 am Also, just my humble and inexperienced opinion...
Kind regards Coco,
BM
Sep 23, 2004 06:41 am Ahhh..now I see!! I was just a little confused so thanks again for those words...
Hey BM - where do you get all these great quotes!! You seem to have a good quote for many occassions...I must try reading up on these!!
Aye, and your "humble" opinion is as important as everyone else. You hit the nail right on the heid - this site is great cause everyone gives THEIR opinions which is just what you need when doing something like this....nobody is having a dig at anyone, just stating view which is great.
So, again, many thanks for your words on the subject - always much appreciated.
Cheers and all the best
Coco
P.S. Are you no up awfully early !! Its like 12:40 lunch time here!!!
Sep 23, 2004 06:58 am Thanks Coco...don't know if I have a quote for many occassions...but like I'm not creative like you...I just listen then copy...so quotes are a straightforward thing for me.
You know a really interesting thing? My son is really creative but at this time he doesn't seem to know many sayings or proverbs...Lol
Yeah...I think we are 11 hrs ahead of you...I know a few quotes but I'm also a bit thick...I'm supposed to go to work at 6am. hehehe?
Cheers...
BM
WaltChief Cook and Bottle WasherMember
Since: May 10, 2002
Sep 23, 2004 07:40 pm Ya BM, I'm pretty sure Georgie has something going there. Problem is you never know if you are sending or receiving. Syncronicity is such a sixth sense kinda thing. And I concur with the "moment of commitement" blurb too. I guess I must be receiving a lot, as when I am ready to commit, well someone else already has. Oh well, I'll just hang back and tune in for a bit.
Sep 24, 2004 06:20 am Hey Walt...just want to thank you for your input back in April when we first hooked up with HRC!
Kind regards,
BM
Sep 24, 2004 06:22 am Hey Coco,
How ya doin?
Bein a lover of art, i couldnt help but read thru this. I read the posts first before looking at your pic, and i thought "hmmm....sounds good...i'm gonna suggest he goes for a tinted two-tone rendering of the pic though"... of course, only to find thats what you've done. I love it, have to say....
The bottle thing on your site is awesome too, but thats gotta be your brand logo. It symbolises your band name, not this particular EP. IMO.
You said this: "ideas on how to make an empty "void" scene withoot it being dull are welcome!!"
Well, i think the perfect way to achieve this is to take a void-filled image or setting (now *there's* a paradox if ever there was one!!!) and put something in it to accentuate the message, but thereby making it "less dull". You know, like putting a yellow tennis ball bang in the middle of an empty white-painted room only makes the room look even whiter. That sort of thing. It's something a bit like Tony mentioned above with the table. Looking at the pic, some ideas would be to take it again, but have someone (you or someone who was paramount to the songs on the CD) sit cross-legged just in front of that fence, even facing the other way. It really depends on what the void is and what you believe fills it. If the void cannot be filled, then the image needs to be more "desperate".... for this, i'd suggest something more sinister, like a person led out on the road. All very subtle, so you gotta look quite hard to see it. The harder you gotta look = the greater the effect = the less dull. Or a "reverse" chalk outline of a corpse, drawn in dark colour, on the snowy grass by the fence????? Hey, i did say sinister after all! :)
Another idea i just had..... you could paint one of the houses in the distance a different colour (on the photo i mean, not in real life, coz you might get into trouble for that and this isnt Ballamory after all ;)) and add a dripping paintbrush above it suspended from the sky. "Filling the Void", see.
Or you can ignore me for the crazy bloke that i truly am LOL
Sep 24, 2004 06:28 am I still think the ultimate imagery of a "void" is a black hole.
Sep 24, 2004 06:41 am Hey Neuaddsibly
Glad to hear from ya bud...some real good points you have there and thanks for the input.
Aye, I wish I'd taken a couple of snaps but I took that photo a few years back at a service station 60 miles ootside Blackpool...I live in Edinburgh so its a wee trek back to get another shot.
However, the ironic thing is - I stopped at the same place on Monday on ma way back from another trip doon to B/Pool!! Dammit..I shouldve minded and took more snaps.
Still, there's nae shortages of hills, and voids up here I guess!
Your ideas are cool...I also considered dB's black idea - then I minded Metallica done that on the Black album, Beatles done it on the White album and I kinda opted away from that. Tho, with using the templates from various printing firms I have and looking into bleed etc, I wish I hadny bothered!! What a pain...I had almost knocked a test together last night just to find...its too darn big!! Arrrghhh! :-(
Neuaddsibly, I like the idea of sticking something into this picture...do ya think a blended face or something would do it or just something, super imposed like a ghostly image of something or someone?? That could compromise as it kinda fades into the pic and would also give it something....
Cheers guys...all yer inputs on this thread have been most helpful.
Coco.
Sep 24, 2004 06:55 am Hey neuaddsibly...great ideas. really amazing advice.
And dB is right, the ultimate image of a void is a black hole.
Cheers,
BM
Sep 24, 2004 07:39 am Thanks BM ;)
No probs Coco, always enjoy throwing my mustard into the burger as ya know ;)
The blended face idea could work... yeah, heh, how about this for an idea: make it real subtle, a side profile, turn it on its side and have it so that the profile features (eyebrow, nose, lips) stick out just above the horizon - if ya do it pale enough, it would look like distant mountains at first, until taking a closer look. Maybe???
WaltChief Cook and Bottle WasherMember
Since: May 10, 2002
Sep 24, 2004 05:33 pm No thanks necessary BM, but a humble you're welcome per you gesture. This board is just great and as a friend mentioned "The only to keep it is to give it away"
Oct 05, 2004 11:33 am OK Guys...
So many thanks to all of you - I could not get a better image in the end so I went for the same vista as I had... which is here (cleaned up in photoshop)
And here's the inside
Yep, thats me looking moody (as moody as you can when the wifes takin the snaps with the kids running mad!!).
You can see it on the cover but there is a blended face on there (very very faint) - its far more noticeable on the back cover - a famous face which you cant see and it looks like clouds but if you squinty yer eyes..it becomes clear!!
OK...pritner let me down (ejits) so I will still need to get these printed but thats the final offering.,,thanks again. If I had just come here first, I could have incorporated some great ideas I found here...I'll know for next time.
Cheers guys
Coco.
Oct 06, 2004 04:18 am Looking good mate!!!!!!
Bet ya can't wait to hold one in your hand eh....
Oct 06, 2004 04:46 am Hey Coco! Ditto on what neuaddsibly said!! Good luck.
Cheers,
BM
Oct 06, 2004 06:28 am Thanks Neuaddsibly and BoysMum - I appreciate that.
Aye - it will indeed be good to hold. When I do it !! Printers are awful and had no excuse other than - sorry, we didnt get round to it - AYE - CHEERS!! I trip into the toon, on a busy Saturday afternoon (anyone whos ever visited Edinburgh (Princess St) will know the score here).
Still...it will be done then I'll be happy!
Cheers guys
Coco.
SirrusPrince of Cat EarsMember
Since: Jun 17, 2004
Oct 06, 2004 10:19 am I'm not terribly familiar with your music as yet, but I'll offer another opinion if it changes after listening. It really sounds like the bottle and glass image really sticks with your project. Ever consider simply having a series of albums wherein that's the common image thread? Similar to Warren Zevon's skull with sunglasses and cigarette or Vic Rattlehead for Megadeth. Having an image associated with your band that grabs attention would be very beneficial.
The image you have now is really cool, but I like the idea presented (I think it was dB) of putting a table with the bottle and glass in the middle of it. Now what would be even cooler is if the image were to be expanded to be a guy with his back to the camera sitting at this table looking out on different scenes. It could make for some really funny images as well as really stark and meaningful ones.
Best of luck!
Oct 06, 2004 12:44 pm Cheers for looking Sirrus...
These are all good ideas and I'll sure as hell be taking some of em on board when I next mess with graphics.
I'm gonny take a wee rest from the artwork and see if I can hammer down some tunes - Im gonna smash thru some ideas I have and see what images I can conjure from that.
Thanks for gettin in on this one tho - this thread is full of good stuff - much appreciated.
Cheers
Coco.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Oct 09, 2004 02:29 pm Tuna thinks the face is Al Pacino! I cant see it in the jpg's but I'll keep trying.
Anyway, It looks great and with the back cover done as well it does look good. I still think I like the other better, but ay, tis not my EP.
I do agree with a table out in that baron landscape as well with a sole bottle and glass on it. That twould truly be kool as it gives several ideas of how to fill the void and yet gets the Bad Martini idea across as well. Ya know like the Bad Martini has been banished to the desolate void of the valley in the picture.
Oct 11, 2004 04:05 pm The face is in fact...my all time hero....John Lennon.
So faint yi canny see it. But, I assure y'all - tis there. Pacino is also cool. Wouldve been gid.
I think I'd like a montage of all ma heroes actors, musicians, etc etc - then I think of Sgt Pepper (for my next EP this is) and thats the end of that!!
Ah well, good idea - pitty it wisny mine first!
he
Coco
