Cool album cover art ideas
It's interesting:"You know, I’ve been to lots of great weddings, but today may have been the best. The small, ornate chapel – the beautiful music – the sincere words that Paul and Linda wrote themselves. Ladies and gentlemen, we all witnessed something very special."
So you've made your first album. Congratulations! Liner notes, song lyrics, photos, and copyright information: check. All that's left to do is decide what to put on the cover. This is an important decision.
Some album covers have become the stuff of legend and are famous in their own right, such as Pink Floyd's 1973 Dark Side of the Moon cover, depicting light passing through a prism- Bruce Springsteen's 1984 Born In the USA cover, featuring a shot of Springsteen's jeans-clad rear in front of the American flag- and Nirvana's 1991 Nevermind cover, featuring a nude baby swimming toward a one-dollar bill on a fishhook. And, of course, there's The Beatles' Abbey Road, the cover of which, according to Wikipedia, "has since become one of the most famous and most imitated album covers in recording history." Impressive, no? With such potential importance in mind, choose your album cover carefully.
As these examples demonstrate, you can use whatever you like, anything from to glaciers to guitars---but something that's always a safe choice is a picture of you or your band. This is a good option, especially if this is your first album, because it lets fans immediately see and get to know you. Historically, many well-known musicians liked to go this route: the Temptations, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, and Elvis often put themselves on their covers. And the trend continues today: rapper Eminem, country princess Taylor Swift, R&B powerhouse Beyoncé-, and pop diva Lady GaGa all had best-selling albums in 2009, and all used pictures of themselves for their album covers. Eminem's Relapse features a mosaic-effect of his brooding face. Swift's Fearless shows her in all her young-girl glory, eyes innocently downcast, facing off to one side, curly hair blowing in the wind. On Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce, she faces the camera almost defiantly, holding her hair back and looking ready to burst into emotional song. GaGa's The Fame features her face, shrouded in a black hood and shielded by diamond-encrusted sunglasses. Like these artists, you can use your cover image as a representation of your persona.
Planning to show more than just your face? The full-body shot also requires planning. Consider your outfit carefully, for while clothes may not make the man, one's look is important. On Michael Jackson's 1987 album Bad, he wears a black leather outfit covered in silver zippers and buckles, conveying the tough personality evoked by the album's title. The Beatles' aforementioned Abbey Road album cover shows the band walking across an intersection, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in snappy suits, George Harrison in jeans. John Mayer's 2009 Battle Studies features him in a chic black coat. Madonna often dresses according to theme: on 1984's Like A Virgin she wears a wedding dress- on 2000's Music she wears a cowboy hat and Western gear- and on 2008's Hard Candy she wears a provocative dominatrix outfit. Finally, for those adventurous enough to go au naturel, a word of warning: it's been done (see Prince's 1988 Lovesexy, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 1988 The Abbey Road Extended Play, John Lennon's 1968 Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins, etc.), but full nudity is always controversial, even if certain---ahem---areas are strategically covered. Undress at your own risk.
So remember. If you cannot decide what to put on your album, a picture of yourself or your band works well. It can introduce you to your public, portray a persona, underscore a theme---or become an iconic and lasting symbol. Good luck!
Tags: album cover, Abbey Road, album covers, album cover ideas, Cool album, Cool album cover, cover featuringSource: www.ehow.com
