.
Fig. 1, 2, 3 & 4 - The album front cover.
For the first stage of producing a digipak I created the front cover. I began by taking a photograph on my DSLR camera of my music video actress, Leann spilling blood from her mouth (Fig. 1). This was because it fit in perfectly with my music video concept and the conventions of alternative rock.
I then edited the photograph in Photoshop by using RGB Curves (a technique I used a lot during the production of my digipak), manipulating the red, green and blue levels of the photograph until I achieved a suitably dark and high contrasted tone, again to fit the conventions of alternative rock (Fig. 2).
Then I superimposed the artist's name atop the blood emerging directly from Leann's mouth. I used the font VTC Nue Tattoo Script which I downloaded from the free font website dafont.com and warped the words in Photoshop using the Warp transform tool to match the shape of Leann's bottom lip (Fig. 3).
Finally, I decided to give the album cover a sticker to promote the contents, a very common element of CD releases these days and much more common for digipak releases (Fig. 4). For this I added the artist logo (which will be discussed futher when I talk about the inside left design) and wrote a fake quote from Kerrang!, a promotional line and links to Cherry Red's official website and her record label's website and their logo (which I will discuss at the end of this post). I also added a drop shadow in Photoshop to make the sticker look more realistic and to show that it isn't inherently part of the design.
Fig. 5, 6, 7 & 8 - The back cover.
The next part of the digipak I designed was the back cover. I began by taking a photograph with my DSLR camera of fake blood (also used in my music video) puring into a sink with a cross necklace laid inside (Fig. 5). This was directly influenced by my music video concept and the use of blood and crosses are now motifs for my artist. It could also be inferred that the blood pouring from Leann's mouth on the front cover is the same blood pouring into the sink on the back cover.
I then cropped and edited the image using the same techinique applied for the front cover, the RGB Curves, making the blood look less bright, which would be a giveaway of fake blood (Fig. 6).
Then I added a tracklist for the band and a line detailing what extras the buyer will get with the included DVD (Fig. 7). For the tracklist I used the font News Goth, a font I had on my computer by default but one that I felt was interesting due to the everygrowing usage of Sans Serif fonts in album covers today, in fact, Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster used a font similar to this and although is a pop record rather than alternative rock, some of the themes she deals with in the album are very dark and religious-themed much like the song I used for my music promo, Zombie. The song names themselves are either derived from the original band who created Zombie, The Pretty Reckless, or from my own creation to fit in with the dark theme of the album.
Finally I added a barcode, copyright warnings and the record label's logo (Fig. 8), which are necessary and are conventional of all album releases.
Fig. 9, 10 & 11 - The inside cover.
Then I created the 'inside cover' image for which I decided to take a photograph of Leann which blood stains on her mouth and looking directly at the buyer (Fig. 9). I cropped the photo and edited it slightly using RGB Curves in Photoshop once again to add a dark tone to the image (Fig. 10). Finally I added a black gradient to the left side of the image as I didn't like the original green background (my living room wallpaper) and again, just to add the generally dark tone (Fig. 11).
Fig. 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16 - The inside left.
Now it was time to make the inside left design, which would be viewed alongside the CD and DVD designs when the digipak is opened fully. I had considered making an image spanning across all three panels but decided against it when I came up with concept for the CD and DVD covers (which will be discussed later). Firstly I took a photograph of balled up kitchen roll soaked in fake blood as I knew this would create an effective textured background to work on (Fig. 12).
I then edited the photograph in Photoshop using gradients and overlays to darken it but to keep the overall texture of the photo (Fig. 13).
Next I added some memorable lyrics from the song Zombie, which would hypothetically be the album's first released single so I thought it would be apt. I used the font News Goth again and created a design which used differing font sizes to cover the entire panel (Fig. 14).
Then I added a simple overlay of some vectors contained in some Photoshop paint brushes I downloaded from brusheezy.com (Fig. 15).
Finally I designed what would be an official artist logo by combining the fonts News Goth (used on the back cover) and VTC Nue Tattoo Script (used on the front cover) and placed it directly over the word '2000' in the lyrics (Fig. 16). This was because the word '2000' alone looked too large compared to the rest so the logo broke it up and with this logo being at the top, it allowed for a kind of symmetry as I planned for the CD and DVD titles being at the bottom of the discs.
Fig. 17, 18, 19, 20 & 21 - The CD cover.
For the CD and DVD covers I wanted the same effect which was blood (the recurring motif) swirling around in water to almost create a disc shape themselves. I created this effect (same for the DVD) by pouring water into a bowl, spinning the water and creating a current with a wooden spoon and then pouring the fake blood into the centre of the current (Fig. 17).
I then obtained a CD template from discwizards.com (also where I obtained the measurements for each panel of the digipak) (Fig. 18).
I then placed the photograph of blood on top of the template and darkened the edges of the photograph outside the CD to indicate what the image would look like underneath the CD itself (Fig. 19).
Next I added the artist logo created for the inside left panel onto the disc and defined it as 'CD' (I will define the DVD as DVD as well of course)(Fig. 20).
Finally I added the record label logo and a line around the edge of the disc detailing the copyright information regarding the recording (which I copied directly from an existing CD).
Fig. 22, 23, 24, 25 & 26 - The DVD cover.
The process of creating the DVD was almost entirely the same as the CD, I took the photograph (Fig. 22), obtained the template (Fig. 23), darkened the edges of the photograph (Fig. 24) and added the title (Fig. 25), but when I added the record label logo and copyright, I also added a classification ('E' meaning exempt from classification as many music DVDs are) and a DVD Video symbol to make it look as realistic as possible (Fig. 26).
Fig. 27 - The spine
For the spine I chose to have a very simple black on white effect so that it would be easily recognisable and eye-catching in a shop while on it's side so I placed the logo I had previously created for the inside left directly onto the black background. I also included a CD production code which is a convention of album spines and mine is made up of the record label initials and a random 6-digit ID code (This code is also present on the back cover o the album in the copyright details).
Fig. 28, 29 & 30 - The single cover.
I also decided to create a cover for a single release for Zombie. And although this not required of me I did it anyway so I could also use in my website design. I began by using a photograph taken when I took the photograph for the back cover of my album, except it was when I first started pouring the fake blood so the cross was not fully submerged unlike the album cover (Fig. 1). This also means that my entire album and single cover have an in house style.
I then edited the image in Photoshop, simply increasing the contrast to make it stand out more andlight the contrast between the red, black and white of the image (Fig. 2).
Finally I added the Cherry Red logo I created and applied the same effect to the song title 'Zombie,' but made the title of the song larger which is conventional of single releases (Fig. 3).
Fig. 31, 32, 33, 34 & 35 - The record label logo.
For the record label logo I decided to create an image connotating the theme of blood/wine in a wine glass, and the theme of wild, rawness using the deer antlers as a container in place of a wine glass. I started by finding a stock image of wine being poured into a glass (Fig. 31), however it did not have a base so I lifted one from another stock image of a wine glass (Fig 32). I then superimposed a pair of deer antlers (Fig. 33) (again found in a stock image website) andded the record label name, SHICD Records, SHICD stands for So Happy I Could Die, a term conventional for an alternative rock record label name (Fig. 34).
However upon placement of the logo onto my digipak panels, it didn't look as effective as it did when it was larger so I refined the image by removing the pouring wine, turning the antlers and the text white and added a drop shadow so that it would be visible even when small and on a light background (Fig. 35).
Fig. 1, 2, 3 & 4 - The album front cover.
For the first stage of producing a digipak I created the front cover. I began by taking a photograph on my DSLR camera of my music video actress, Leann spilling blood from her mouth (Fig. 1). This was because it fit in perfectly with my music video concept and the conventions of alternative rock.
I then edited the photograph in Photoshop by using RGB Curves (a technique I used a lot during the production of my digipak), manipulating the red, green and blue levels of the photograph until I achieved a suitably dark and high contrasted tone, again to fit the conventions of alternative rock (Fig. 2).
Then I superimposed the artist's name atop the blood emerging directly from Leann's mouth. I used the font VTC Nue Tattoo Script which I downloaded from the free font website dafont.com and warped the words in Photoshop using the Warp transform tool to match the shape of Leann's bottom lip (Fig. 3).
Finally, I decided to give the album cover a sticker to promote the contents, a very common element of CD releases these days and much more common for digipak releases (Fig. 4). For this I added the artist logo (which will be discussed futher when I talk about the inside left design) and wrote a fake quote from Kerrang!, a promotional line and links to Cherry Red's official website and her record label's website and their logo (which I will discuss at the end of this post). I also added a drop shadow in Photoshop to make the sticker look more realistic and to show that it isn't inherently part of the design.
Fig. 5, 6, 7 & 8 - The back cover.
The next part of the digipak I designed was the back cover. I began by taking a photograph with my DSLR camera of fake blood (also used in my music video) puring into a sink with a cross necklace laid inside (Fig. 5). This was directly influenced by my music video concept and the use of blood and crosses are now motifs for my artist. It could also be inferred that the blood pouring from Leann's mouth on the front cover is the same blood pouring into the sink on the back cover.
I then cropped and edited the image using the same techinique applied for the front cover, the RGB Curves, making the blood look less bright, which would be a giveaway of fake blood (Fig. 6).
Then I added a tracklist for the band and a line detailing what extras the buyer will get with the included DVD (Fig. 7). For the tracklist I used the font News Goth, a font I had on my computer by default but one that I felt was interesting due to the everygrowing usage of Sans Serif fonts in album covers today, in fact, Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster used a font similar to this and although is a pop record rather than alternative rock, some of the themes she deals with in the album are very dark and religious-themed much like the song I used for my music promo, Zombie. The song names themselves are either derived from the original band who created Zombie, The Pretty Reckless, or from my own creation to fit in with the dark theme of the album.
Finally I added a barcode, copyright warnings and the record label's logo (Fig. 8), which are necessary and are conventional of all album releases.
Fig. 9, 10 & 11 - The inside cover.
Then I created the 'inside cover' image for which I decided to take a photograph of Leann which blood stains on her mouth and looking directly at the buyer (Fig. 9). I cropped the photo and edited it slightly using RGB Curves in Photoshop once again to add a dark tone to the image (Fig. 10). Finally I added a black gradient to the left side of the image as I didn't like the original green background (my living room wallpaper) and again, just to add the generally dark tone (Fig. 11).
Fig. 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16 - The inside left.
Now it was time to make the inside left design, which would be viewed alongside the CD and DVD designs when the digipak is opened fully. I had considered making an image spanning across all three panels but decided against it when I came up with concept for the CD and DVD covers (which will be discussed later). Firstly I took a photograph of balled up kitchen roll soaked in fake blood as I knew this would create an effective textured background to work on (Fig. 12).
I then edited the photograph in Photoshop using gradients and overlays to darken it but to keep the overall texture of the photo (Fig. 13).
Next I added some memorable lyrics from the song Zombie, which would hypothetically be the album's first released single so I thought it would be apt. I used the font News Goth again and created a design which used differing font sizes to cover the entire panel (Fig. 14).
Then I added a simple overlay of some vectors contained in some Photoshop paint brushes I downloaded from brusheezy.com (Fig. 15).
Finally I designed what would be an official artist logo by combining the fonts News Goth (used on the back cover) and VTC Nue Tattoo Script (used on the front cover) and placed it directly over the word '2000' in the lyrics (Fig. 16). This was because the word '2000' alone looked too large compared to the rest so the logo broke it up and with this logo being at the top, it allowed for a kind of symmetry as I planned for the CD and DVD titles being at the bottom of the discs.
Fig. 17, 18, 19, 20 & 21 - The CD cover.
For the CD and DVD covers I wanted the same effect which was blood (the recurring motif) swirling around in water to almost create a disc shape themselves. I created this effect (same for the DVD) by pouring water into a bowl, spinning the water and creating a current with a wooden spoon and then pouring the fake blood into the centre of the current (Fig. 17).
I then obtained a CD template from discwizards.com (also where I obtained the measurements for each panel of the digipak) (Fig. 18).
I then placed the photograph of blood on top of the template and darkened the edges of the photograph outside the CD to indicate what the image would look like underneath the CD itself (Fig. 19).
Next I added the artist logo created for the inside left panel onto the disc and defined it as 'CD' (I will define the DVD as DVD as well of course)(Fig. 20).
Finally I added the record label logo and a line around the edge of the disc detailing the copyright information regarding the recording (which I copied directly from an existing CD).
Fig. 22, 23, 24, 25 & 26 - The DVD cover.
The process of creating the DVD was almost entirely the same as the CD, I took the photograph (Fig. 22), obtained the template (Fig. 23), darkened the edges of the photograph (Fig. 24) and added the title (Fig. 25), but when I added the record label logo and copyright, I also added a classification ('E' meaning exempt from classification as many music DVDs are) and a DVD Video symbol to make it look as realistic as possible (Fig. 26).
Fig. 27 - The spine
For the spine I chose to have a very simple black on white effect so that it would be easily recognisable and eye-catching in a shop while on it's side so I placed the logo I had previously created for the inside left directly onto the black background. I also included a CD production code which is a convention of album spines and mine is made up of the record label initials and a random 6-digit ID code (This code is also present on the back cover o the album in the copyright details).
Fig. 28, 29 & 30 - The single cover.
I also decided to create a cover for a single release for Zombie. And although this not required of me I did it anyway so I could also use in my website design. I began by using a photograph taken when I took the photograph for the back cover of my album, except it was when I first started pouring the fake blood so the cross was not fully submerged unlike the album cover (Fig. 1). This also means that my entire album and single cover have an in house style.
I then edited the image in Photoshop, simply increasing the contrast to make it stand out more andlight the contrast between the red, black and white of the image (Fig. 2).
Finally I added the Cherry Red logo I created and applied the same effect to the song title 'Zombie,' but made the title of the song larger which is conventional of single releases (Fig. 3).
Fig. 31, 32, 33, 34 & 35 - The record label logo.
For the record label logo I decided to create an image connotating the theme of blood/wine in a wine glass, and the theme of wild, rawness using the deer antlers as a container in place of a wine glass. I started by finding a stock image of wine being poured into a glass (Fig. 31), however it did not have a base so I lifted one from another stock image of a wine glass (Fig 32). I then superimposed a pair of deer antlers (Fig. 33) (again found in a stock image website) andded the record label name, SHICD Records, SHICD stands for So Happy I Could Die, a term conventional for an alternative rock record label name (Fig. 34).
However upon placement of the logo onto my digipak panels, it didn't look as effective as it did when it was larger so I refined the image by removing the pouring wine, turning the antlers and the text white and added a drop shadow so that it would be visible even when small and on a light background (Fig. 35).