As a graphic designer, one of the things I’ve always wanted to work on was an album cover. Thankfully, I also happen to make music, which allowed me to work on my own album covers. This way, I can create the perfect visual representation of my music with ease. Today I would like to take you through the process behind the cover of my EP Le Duc.
Le Duc was an instrumental Hip-Hop EP that I released through Bandcamp in 2017. The beats on the release where the first ones I made using samples. This changed my way of making music for some time and still influences my process, depending on what I am working on.
Once I had the tracks and the tracklisting, I needed an artwork that would match my vibe and visual universe. I also wanted the artwork to reference the samples somehow, and one way to do that was to sample the artwork.
I sampled tracks from Miles Davis’ 1957 Miles Ahead album – released on Columbia records – and wanted to sample the original cover. Because my songs were a bit more rigid than the original material, I decided to create an illustrated version of the cover using solid colours and rectangles. However, that didn’t really work for the Miles Ahead artwork because of the lack of contrast and the minimal colour palette at my disposal.
(Miles Ahead)
I then decided to only reference Miles Davis and not the actual album I sampled. I went with E.S.P. My favourite Miles Davis album – released in 1965 on Columbia records. The photograph is more colourful and has a better composition, making the illustration a lot more interesting.
E.S.P (left) & Le Duc (right)
For this illustration, I worked in Photoshop and made sure that every colour was on a different layer. I then grouped all the colours to scale down the image in one go and add a background colour that fits well with the colour palette I have. Also, my canvas size is by default at 1600 px x 1600 px at 150 PPI. That way, I am sure that my artwork will look good on any device.
If you wish to listen to the whole thing, you can do so by clicking here and if you wish to see more posts like that one, let me know. I’ll be happy to share with you my process and how I’ve designed some of the covers I worked on.
The last time that I wrote about designing an album cover, I focused on photography. I intended to show how easy it is to design an album cover. Things are going to be a little bit more tricky this time, as I am going to ask you to do something that – perhaps – you haven’t done in a while: draw.
Drawing can seem a bit daunting even more when you haven’t drawn anything since you were a little kid. However, I am a firm believer that drawings don’t have to be perfect. Drawing can be therapeutic. It can also be meditative. It depends on what you wish to accomplish from drawing. But enough about what I think about drawing.
The first thing you want to do before drawing is choosing your tools. Do you want to use a rollerball pen, a pencil, markers, perhaps a fountain pen or chalk? You might want to consider the type of paper you want to work with too. Do you want to use the very basic, super affordable, crispy white printer paper? Or do you want to go with something that is a bit more pricey and has more texture like etching paper?
Asking yourself these questions will help you define the overall feel and aesthetic of your drawing. But these are optional and can be skipped if you don’t want to think about that and just want to get drawing.
If you are still too nervous about drawing perhaps asking someone else to draw might be your best bet. For instance, if you have kids, or have friends with kids, you can take a photograph of one of their drawings. This works particularly well if your music is intimate and DIY.
Gonna B Ok by MNDSGN
As you can see, the cover above isn’t perfect. The drawing is weirdly cropped with some weird shadowing happening in the bottom-right corner, and we can notice the wrinkles on the paper on the left-hand side. Regardless of that, the cover works as a whole and is very fitting for both the artist and his music.
The other option you have if you want to have a drawn album cover but can’t draw at all is to screengrab a scene from your favourite childhood cartoons. This technique is trendy within the Lofi HipHop scene.
Japanese Disco Edits by Yung Bae (left), What Made The Red Man Red by Frank Waln (middle), Memory Tape by Desired (right)
Now let’s get you drawing! The easiest kind of drawing you can do is abstract. It is the easiest way to draw because you do not have to think about it too much. You can, but you don’t have to. All you need to do is grab your favourite colour markers or pencils, some paper and get drawing. Obviously, if you want to use more tools – such as rulers and such – you can.
Gizèle by Lawani
Above is a cover I did for one of my songs, Gizèle. All I did was cut a piece of paper in a small square – 5cm x 5cm – and draw on it using colour pencils. I didn’t have any specific idea in mind. I just listened to my track on repeat and started drawing. Once finished, I snapped a picture with my phone and cropped the drawing. I found this to be the easiest and most immediate way of producing an album cover without any design skills.
Below is a more high-grade example of what a drawn cover might look like. Portland-based illustrator Theo Ellsworth drew a simple yet detailed portrait for the cover of Flying Lotus’ Pattern + Grid World EP – which I featured not long ago in the Loving Covers series.
In an interview for Redefine Mag regarding the process of making the illustration, Ellsworth explains that after a few phone calls, Fly Lo sent over links to some of Theo’s art “that reminded him of what he was picturing”. He then says that Warp Records sent him a copy of the unmastered EP that he played a lot while working, which gave him “the sense that the music was the atmosphere that dictated the imagery”.
If you wish to paint rather than draw, the principles explained above are similar. The main difference will be the materials as you will need a canvas, some brushes and paint. If you don’t have a canvas, you can use watercolour paper. You will also need to allow for some drying time before photographing the painting. But the results can be really cool with a lot of textures and washes.
Telefone by Noname (left) & Hoe Cakes by MF Doom (right)
Now you’re probably wondering how to get a super realistic drawing for your cover and are probably upset that I didn’t cover that. The fact of the matter is that you have two options here: either draw it yourself or request help from an artist. In any case, don’t worry about the standards and expectations that surround you. Just make what feels right for you and have fun with it.
There are several ways of designing an album cover. I am no expert at designing them, but as a graphic designer and electronic musician, I do have some experience designing a few. In this series of articles, I will show you how you can design an album cover.
The first thing that you need to figure out is what kind of album cover you want. Obviously, depending on the type of music you create, you will have a few aesthetics and styles in mind all ready. However, if not a designer, the task can be daunting. That will be the case if you try too hard to copy or be heavily inspired by something you have seen.
The best options for you, if not familiar with design software, are to go old school and analogue. There is nothing simpler than doing stuff with your hands. Plus, it is another creative outlet that is great to try out.
The easiest way to create an album cover is to take the photography route. Perhaps in the ’90s that was hard. Even in the early 2000s. However, nowadays, it is effortless. You can either use that pretty decent camera that’s in your pocket, or you can download an awesome image from a free stock photo library like Unsplash.
Let’s start with the latter. We love to browse and stock photo libraries are a great visual browsing tool. Plus, they are designed in a way that makes it easy to find the kind of photos you are looking for by typing in keywords.
Let’s say for a minute, that you are a post-punk band – like IDLES – and you are looking for a photo of raw material like concrete. All you have to do is type in the search bar “concrete” and loads of images will appear, ranging from close up textures to abstract architecture photographs in both colour and black and white (see the screenshot below).
Sure they are not square. But not to worry. You can either browse through the search results and try to find a square photo, or you can grab your favourite one and crop it. The easiest way for cropping an image would be to send it to your phone unless you have installed the Unsplash app on it and downloaded the photo directly from the app. All you are left with is to open your photo, tap on the edit icon, and then crop. You can send your cropped photo to your inbox, download it on your computer, and upload it with your music. Easy peasy! To give you an idea, here are two album covers that were made using abstract photography.
Cranelian by Kill the Vultures (left) & How Deep Is Our Love by Mondkopf (right)
The results are great, plus you get a unique album cover without any effort. If you want, you can even share your cover on your socials and tag the original photographer. They will always appreciate it, and might even check out your music and become fans.
Now if you want to take the photo yourself, that is perfectly fine. Suppose you have a dedicated camera, perfect. You already take photographs and know how to deal with importing your photos and stuff. Hell, you might even know a few basics in photo processing. Assuming you’re not a professional photographer or enthusiast. If not, that’s cool. Just use the one resting in your pocket or bag. Yes, your phone.
You can take any photo. Landscape, still life, selfie, abstract. All that matters is that you are happy with the results. You probably take a lot of photos with your phone anyway. So editing and processing it on your phone is easy. If you want to use filters, that’s cool too. I would recommend using apps like VSCO, 1967, even Instagram. If you use other apps, that’s fine. Just make sure to download or send yourself the image when you’re done.
To show what this could look like, here are two examples by two British electronic artists, in two very different settings.
Kingdom by Gold Panda (left) & Etive by Etive (right)
Once again, the results are brilliant. Now sure, you might be able to tell which one was taken professionally and which one wasn’t, but that is not the point. The point is that each cover represents the artist’s vision and music and, in my opinion, both photographs work. The colours and the composition are both great in each photo, and that is all you need really. Perhaps some good contrast too.
If you are releasing music while being locked in because of the pandemic, you can take a photograph of an object, a piece of paper or a photo. As redundant as it may seem, taking a photo of an existing image is kind of cool.
Overgrown Interludes by Wu-Lu (left) & 18 by Nugat (right)
Now, you can also design your album cover with a photo of yourself. With a portrait or autoportrait – if you fancy it. However, if you’re going the autoportrait route and that you are using your phone as a camera, I recommend using the rear camera and not the selfie one. The rear one is always better than the front-facing one. However, autoportraits are tricky and challenging. They take multiple attempts before obtaining the right results and require lots of effort and patience. This is why I will mainly focus on portraits – which are taken by another person than you.
To achieve that, you will need a trusted buddy or relative to help you. The photo can be taken anywhere, but I highly recommend doing it outside. Your best option is to be in front of a plain background early in the morning, around sunrise, or before nightfall, when the sun is setting. Ideally, you are facing the light and not your photographer. That way, you will avoid any backlight while getting the most beautiful lights of the day. Meaning that – normally – you won’t need to retouch your photos, which makes things even easier.
If you are taking your photos on your phone, you can check the result instantly in between each shot. That way, you can adjust your posture and position for better results. At the end of the shoot, if you want to add filters, you can too. Nothing is against it. It’s just that I would avoid changing the colours too much as you already benefitted from the naturally coloured lights from the Sun.
Also, if you don’t want to go through a photoshoot, just look through your old photos. Maybe there’s already a portrait laying around that best represents you for that awesome album you’re putting out.
Jack Ruby Tracks by DJ Zinc (top left), Underwater by Fatima (top right), King Country by Rodi Kirk (bottom left) & Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun by Ben Lamar Gay (bottom right)
The takeaway:
As you can see, every single album cover that we have looked at today were not difficult to create. Meaning that even if you know nothing about typography, layout or design in general, you can still manage to have a good looking album cover. Remember as well to not be too hard on yourself because this can really turn your mood down and make you feel worse than anything. So focus on creating art that you love. And if you don’t love what you’ve done, it’s ok too. All you need to do is not hate it, and you’ll get better with practice.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading this post because I sure did love writing it and sharing my thoughts on how to design an album cover when you are not a designer using photography. I am planning on writing the other parts in the future. So don’t worry, you’ll discover other ways to design an album cover, without actually designing.
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