Okay, this was probably the hardest part of the mini-art crusade for me. I love bold colors, and lots of images, but tend to shy away from it when I make things myself, which is reflected in my art work here. As stated before, I think it's easier to sit back and critique someone else's work but when it comes to making your own ... much different story!!
I decided to go with the CD cover because it's small, and when I was in seventh grade my friends and I created a band called Dr. Seuss' Nuclear Angels. Obviously there are a whole bunch of copyright hoops we would have to jump through in order to get that name sanctioned, but for the sake of this project I borrow a few images, namely a clip art of the infamous Cat in the Hat's hat. I edited the logo, added a halo, and a few props as well as wings. I wanted it to be the main focus of the cover with a simple background ... somewhat reminiscent of the Cat in the Hat book cover (it's blue). Usually warm red on cool blue = no, no, but the light blue lets the image pop.
The font I chose is one that I downloaded called Sketchy, which I have always found to be a throwback to childhood, and that's what this art is all about: childhood, silliness, fun, and a shout-out to when my friends and I created this band in middle school!! I did five mock-ups, my favorites being the first and last designs. The whole time my goal was to make sure that there was one focal point and that the font did not war with it too much. As much as I love image #3, I think the logo and the font are fighting with each other too much. In image #2, I realize there are conflicting lines/angles with the vertical guitar and the slanted microphone, so I made the microphone parallel to the halo so that there some consistency (still not sure if it's too much juxtaposition).
Image #1 and #5 are my favorite because of their simplicity. All of these are simplistic, but the way the logo pops in image #5 looks better than the others -- not as busy. Image #1 is like what I did below (I'm a serial designer), and I decided to add an album title to emphasize the design technique of highlighting a central image.
Johanna,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think you need to have a seventh grade band reunion because Dr. Seuss' Nuclear Angels maybe be the best band name of all time. I love it! All of the album art you created is very appropriate for the band. While I like the layout of Image #1, I'm really obsessed with the color scheme of the other four images. The blue and red work so well together (and it doesn't look at all patriotic). It is sweet yet menacing. Even though it has the beloved hat of that famous cat, I just get this feeling that Dr. Seuss' Nuclear Angels is not going to be featured on LiteFM. I also like the setup of Image #3 where the hat has angel wings. I see what you are saying about the text being in an uncomfortable placement, but I the use of the wings and halo look good. In all honestly, the guitar could probably go. But I think the wings give the halo a little extra punch. Finally, as far as my favorite goes, I'm deciding between #4 and #5. I really like the fact that the hat breaks up the DS and the NA. It just makes it more interesting. But, again, I love those angel wings so I think I'd rather see that than the lettering. #5 is also great. The placement of the hat in relation to the text is very pleasing to the eye. It does not mislead the audience. I think #5 would be my favorite if the hat was a little bigger. I like the impact of the giant striped hat. You did a wonderful job! Do you have any recordings?