indianlovecall's Fantasy Album Art

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

<p>Most of my Photo Manipulation projects usually revolve around line art, 3D/video game renders and a little bit of typography and textures, but not much else. I use a lot of it for decorating my posts for the characters I play in role play forums.<br />

 

<del>A GAIA USAH SINCE THA GRAMMAH SCHOOL ERAH</del><br />

<span><img alt="tumblr_mnc70wHIgP1r0ix14o1_500.gif" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/7fb8e564fad1ae0fba4e69c891e1b837/tumblr_mnc70wHIgP1r0ix14o1_500.gif" /></span>

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Be that as it may, I needed to spice things up and start making use of all the other ways to recreate and renovate art and photos.<br />

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I've done album art in previous years <del>but we're never going to talk about any of those. Ever</del><br />

 

Besides, all of the projects done before 2012 were lost when my old computer went kaput, and only one LDR project that I did in May of 2012 managed to get uploaded <del>somewhere</del>. I've done a few for other artists recently, but they are generic and haphazardly done.

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So in the midst of scrapping the old album covers for my LDR collection, I've been working on new ones, and this topic will serve as a showcase for my fantasy album art and/or albums for Lana Del Rey.<br />

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I will post WIPs in each album's "spoiler," along with the original copies of any of the photos used. This is how I keep track of how much progress I'm making, where I've improved and where I can use improvement on.<br />

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But this isn't just for me to keep my album art organized; I can talk about how I've improved from older projects I've done and how horrible they were, but I remain my hardest critic, and I can spend more time nagging myself for what I think I'm doing wrong than I spend just figuring out a compromise.<br />

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That's why I love hearing feedback from people, that's why I want feedback from all of you! Whether PhoMa's your element or you just have an eye for art, or even if you just have any suggestions/critiques, I want to hear it!<br />

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I am more of a writer, always have been, so when I take the time to work on other arts (especially PhoMa,) it means so much to me when I'm still trying to get my bearings and people are giving genuine feedback with the intent to help me and encourage me. And as far as that goes, I already got a lot of love and helpful tips already from all of you, and I appreciate it so much.</p>

<p><br />

And, of course, since the album art is up here, any and all of it is for you guys, as well. I'll be putting track lists up for any of the LDR albums that are of her unreleased demos/leaks/etc. The songs keep their normal title, but what's put after them will not always be "acoustic," "demo," "live," you get the point. I mostly do it just because too many "lives" and "demos" gets confusing for me, but I'll obviously put up what each one really is. Besides, it's not mandatory to follow the track lists since I didn't make CD booklets (I'll probably work on something like that when the actual album art for Lana is complete, all depends.)<br />

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BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT.<br />

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Still a little nervous, but... <img class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://lanaboards.com/public/style_emoticons/default/4.gif" title=":eek:" /><br />

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<strong>YOU & ME - <em>B&W Recolor </em>- Progress: <span><em>COMPLETE</em></span></strong><br />

 

<strong>"OFFICIAL" ALBUM COVER [LUNA MOTH]:</strong><br />

<span><img alt="8898297863_0c0180863f_o.jpg" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3816/8898297863_0c0180863f_o.jpg" /></span><br />

<strong><em>Luna Moth: </em></strong><em>Spiritual transformation, rebirth, psychic awareness; new beginnings, intuition, knowledge; vulnerability, determination, clarity, attraction and subtlety. </em>Their white bodies are said to embody the soul of a loved one; other tales claim that two moths flying around together are the souls of two lovers finally reuniting.<br />

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<strong>ALTERNATE COVER [FIREFLY VARIANT]:</strong><br />

<span><img alt="8898296501_71fe476df0_o.jpg" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5327/8898296501_71fe476df0_o.jpg" /></span><br />

<strong><em>Fireflies: </em></strong><em>Anomaly, internal beauty, inspiration; hope, guidance, energy; patience, new ideas, efficiency; creativity, attraction, awakening; aspiration, inspiration, illumination.</em> Often associated with the stars; also symbolizes persistence in ideals and embracing the value of living simply, relying on our inner voices for illumination. The messengers of creativity, fireflies are a reminder that our paths grow brighter the more beauty we let into our lives.<br />

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<strong>ORIGINAL IMAGE:</strong><br />

<span><img alt="8865980111_d5444311b0_o.jpg" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8539/8865980111_d5444311b0_o.jpg" /></span>

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<strong>SUMMER OF SAM - <em>Halftone/Retro</em> - Progress: <em>SCRAPPED</em></strong><br />

 

<strong>WONDER WHEEL CONCEPT [scrapped]</strong><span><img alt="8900745231_fc7e626921_o.jpg" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5444/8900745231_fc7e626921_o.jpg" /></span></p>

<p> </p>

<p><strong>SAVE CONEY ISLAND/RUBY'S CONCEPT [sCRAPPED]</strong><br />

<img alt="8962084172_e3305beb51_o.jpg" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5326/8962084172_e3305beb51_o.jpg" />

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<strong>CHELSEA HOTEL NO. 2</strong> - <strong><em>Retro Photo/Swaps</em> - PROGRESS: <em>COMPLETE</em></strong><br />

 

<img alt="9589516156_e02cc4a318_c.jpg" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7399/9589516156_e02cc4a318_c.jpg" />

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<p> </p>

<p><strong>Teenage Wasteland - <em>Swaps</em> - PROGRESS: <em>COMPLETE</em></strong></p>

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<img alt="16343287256_fae2d33812_o.jpg" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7392/16343287256_fae2d33812_o.jpg" />

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Edited May 8, 2016 by indianlovecall

[PrettyBaby 2,222]

Oh wow. From the point of view of someone who doesn't do recoloring, this is amazingly good. Maybe the black wood needs a less-yellow shine on it, but otherwise it looks great.

[Zombiducky 29]

That's pretty cool, the illusion is great !   

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

Oh wow. From the point of view of someone who doesn't do recoloring, this is amazingly good. Maybe the black wood needs a less-yellow shine on it, but otherwise it looks great.

 

That's pretty cool, the illusion is great !   

Thank you, both!

 

I took out the yellow tones, it made such a difference already! I'm so excited to continue working on this.

[James19709 638]

It looks great!

[Hello Heaven 1,579]

I can't wait to see more! This is amazing

[BLOODSHOT 3,029]

Wow, what layer effect did you use to make the colors look so realistic?

[YouMakeMeWild 167]

Looks good, you should definitely do more!

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

Oh my god, I love you guys.

I was initially using Multiply as a layer mode, but I shifted to Overlay and faffed around with the opacity and brightness/contrast a bit, some of the layers have masks over them to color each part of the photo separately. For any rough edges from the color layers, I used a smudging brush.

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

SECOND WIP COMPARISON

I took PrettyBaby's suggestion and scrapped the yellow shine from the black wood underneath the jar, which made a dramatic difference. I darkened the table, as well as Lana's hair, and put a little more color on the curtain backdrop.

I had initially wanted to keep the jar empty, but I figured I could play around with the negative space and see what I can do without covering/taking too much attention off Lana's face.

Beautiful, enigmatic and rare, the Luna Moth is said to symbolize spiritual transformation, rebirth, vulnerability, determination, clarity, attraction and subtlety. Their white bodies are said to embody the soul of a loved one; other tales claim that two moths flying around together are the souls of two lovers finally reuniting.

It was a little painful getting the moths to look like they were actually inside the jar; I had better luck with the top Luna moth, and am still playing around with the second one to keep the colors from being too bold, as it kinda has a clip-art look to it...and no me gusta. And I just realized I didn't add reflections to the wooden base...that might be the problem, too.

 

 

EDIT: WIP NUMBER THREE

I realized the reflection already on the wooden base is Lana's face, so I colored it to match her skin, and added a reflection for the moth closest to the base.

I had initially brushed fireflies in the jar as well, but I couldn't get a satisfying and realistic glow/look to them, so I scrapped those layers as well. I may include them, I may not.

I might mess around with a few borders or get some flowers framing the edges. One of the flowers I used to test it out, I will be saving for the next album cover. Trying to give the album cover a bit of an elegant and "simple but to the point" kind of feel makes adding other decor a little more challenging; I planned on using Lana's name-logo, but I think it might clash with the simplicity, so I'm also rummaging through different fonts.

 

 

How does a script/handwritten font sound to you peeps? Whaddya' think so far?

Always open for suggestions/critiques! Thanks so much for the love, guys.

Edited May 27, 2013 by Vinny Vidi Vici

[Sitar 22,226]

I was cool until you added moths

 

Nah, the recoloring is good, I just have a deep, deep fear of moths. Do you plan on making this just a blank picture or adding text?

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

I was cool until you added moths

 

Nah, the recoloring is good, I just have a deep, deep fear of moths. Do you plan on making this just a blank picture or adding text?

  No, I understand the feels, yo. I get'chu. Sometimes I get the chills when I think of how their legs feel when they walk on my hands.

 

I'm leaning towards adding texts; I have a few retro fonts that I want to experiment with that are very 50s, which I think might suit the simplicity of the photo fairly well.

 

I was also thinking of doing one or two alternative covers, just to see what different angles I can make the picture stand out from should I use the same photo.

 

OH DA POSSIBILITIEZ

[MrRJM1999 10]

Absolutely amazing, well done!   

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

Absolutely amazing, well done!   

You guys are so sweet!

 

 

 

Here's one of the last WIP shots for the album cover, temporarily called You & Me for the sake of the faffing-around-with-font-because-idwtftd stage

 

 

The font used for Lana's name naturally splits itself in half, so my intention was to stretch the space and add a banner for the album title to fill what the album title didn't.

 

I used a lace-patterned banner, which looked nice until I intuitively started going all gold-tone on the font, and then the You & Me was looking a bit illegible, so I scrapped it. I then spaced out all the letters in the album title, and it was just very "meh," so I instead messed around with some retro brushes to try to fill the negative space after going back to the original spacing, but it made everything look squeezed in.

 

I'm conflicted with the result. Needless to say, while I love how You & Me came out in the font, I don't think it will be the album title.

 

For brighter news, I will also be doing an extra cover for this; I figured out a way to make decent fireflies, so for the second cover, there will be fireflies, no moths. I will also probably change up the curtain backdrop's color as well as the color of Lana's lace-top.

 

I have to fix the outlining of the font, as it's a bit jagged in appearance. I should probably make Lana's name smaller, and most likely just use a relevant title that's simple but long enough to fill in the space on its own.

 

I'm definitely going to have to start figuring out a more concrete track-list so that way everything blends thematically...sonically...visually...mathematically...

 

 

EDIT: NEVER MIND MY PESSIMISM ALMOST TWO HOURS AGO, I THINK I AM ONTO SOMETHING.

 

I THINK I HAVE FINISHED THE FIRST COVER.

 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

WHAT. DO YOU. ALL. THINK? Vinyl-jacket material? DO. YOU. FEEL. IT?

 

 

[ExoticFlower 894]

I love it! SO many talented people on this forum 

[PrettyBaby 2,222]

I don't know about the top moth. The lower one looks more delicate, and especially with the reflection, it works better. (That's really cool that you figured out it's her face in the reflection... I never noticed before!) The base looks mirrored now, which makes sense. Unless you're envisioning her reflection in a wooden base. (In which case, the colors in the reflection ought to be more muted.) Otherwise it's a great effect.

 

Also, I don't think I care for the "Coney Island Queen" splitting her name in addition to "You and Me." I'd go with one title or the other.

 

Very beautiful overall!

[LastWordsNTime 259]

I love them! They're both really good 

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

I love them! They're both really good 

 

 

I love it! SO many talented people on this forum 

 

 

I don't know about the top moth. The lower one looks more delicate, and especially with the reflection, it works better. (That's really cool that you figured out it's her face in the reflection... I never noticed before!) The base looks mirrored now, which makes sense. Unless you're envisioning her reflection in a wooden base. (In which case, the colors in the reflection ought to be more muted.) Otherwise it's a great effect.

 

Also, I don't think I care for the "Coney Island Queen" splitting her name in addition to "You and Me." I'd go with one title or the other.

 

Very beautiful overall!

Thank you guys so much!

 

I totally see what you mean, PrettyBaby! I have removed the top moth, and from the looks of it, the cover looks a lot better without it.

Currently playing with some other fonts for her name, then I will put the official Y&M up as complete before I play with the firefly variant and start my next project.

 

I will probably also start including the track-list for each one as well...eventually...

 

Thank you guys so much for all the love and help thus far! You guys are awesome, seriously.

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

Okay, everyone! YOU & ME is complete! I may come back to it in the future depending on the feedback, but for now, I think it's time to move on to the next project.

I revamped the first post in the topic and included the "OFFICIAL" album cover (LUNA MOTH) and then posted the alternate I made (FIREFLY) for YOU & ME. Feel free to just open the Y&M project's spoiler in the first post and take a look, let me know what you guys think!

Thank you guys so much, it has been a while since I have been genuinely pumped to do something like this, and all of you really boost my confidence with it, too. Really, it means a lot.

The next project is SUMMER OF SAM!

DOUBLE EDIT - SUMMER OF SAM UPDATE: Okay, I can't hold it in. Summer of Sam is going to hopefully involve halftone influences, involve some bold colors, really capture a summer kind of theme (at least that's the game-plan.) I'm conflicted between a few shots I found of Lana, so I might make the alternate cover a different photo/structure but similar theme.

The WIP for SUMMER OF SAM has also been posted in the first post. It is not a definite; I was honestly going for something more beach-fiend in style, which I did have going with one of the photos from the third Nicole Nodland photoshoot. However, I had a hard time figuring out the textures and tricks that would have worked best for what I was aiming for. I gave it a few tries, but I didn't make it too far.

Then I came across the older picture of Lana with her blonde hair which just struck me a little more than some of the other shots I put aside for this project. But as much as I loved the photo, it meant the beach idea should probably get scrapped; I just couldn't see this Lana being at the beach. But she made me think of a carnival. So I went and found some good shots of Wonder Wheel and played around with it a bit because, well, it's Coney Island, how can I not?

[Wryta Thinkpiece 3,345]

QUICK SUMMER OF SAM WIP EVALUATION:
Still working on the Coney Island/Wonder Wheel style, I might just make the alternate cover the more beach-like one, because I'm still getting into the swing of making more brighter, bolder styles of album art, and I keep getting drawn to this idea even if I'm still totally unsure of what I'm really going for.

I have layered a hand holding a cigarette and did similar halftone effects; I figured that there needed to be more going on with Lana. Might replace it with a blunt...might also replace the arm with a different one; might totally scrap the arm.

I also had the idea to find a some Greaser-esque hunk to throw in the mix. Tried to find a good picture of John Leguizamo from 1999 when he played Vinny in the Summer of Sam film and throw him with Lana, but there weren't too many good pictures.

But then I thought of Rob Lowe when he played Sodapop in The Outsiders. Which works because the Greaser culture was hot in the 50s and early 60s, and hit quite the revival around the early 70s, and LANA BE ALL OVER THAT. And it was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who Lana quoted once in an ad for KEDS. And it's fucking Rob Lowe. I found a few shots, trying to find large enough resolutions to work with.

I also might also brush a few hickies on her neck and then do the halftones on her again.
But until then, here's what I've got.

 

What's been bothering me with the background mostly is that I feel like there isn't enough depth-perception between the background and Lana, and Lana still kind of has that "clip-art" look, which I guess is expected because each layer has been touched with halftone effects. I'm not sure whether or not to do a little defocus on the merry-go-round, and I need to play with shadows or something to give Lana a little more depth and make her look as close to the "camera" as her placement indicates. I have a motion-blur layer following Lana which I am unsure about; I may halftone it to see the difference, or I may just go with shadows instead.

I'm still not too sure with what to do with the album title and her name, still trying to figure that out. There's a lot of empty space at the top. I would have moved Lana higher, but there wasn't enough of the original photo, and I wasn't sure how confident I would be in using other images to make her torso (unless by some miracle someone knows if the original photo was part of a shoot or had a full-body shot.)

She might look less out of place and the rest of the cover might look less empty if I throw Sodapop in. I might also just find a different photo Coney Island/Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement park, maybe a daytime one, not sure.

What do you guys think? Would a daytime shot look better? Maybe a hybrid of both day and night? Do we like the idea of a Greaser hunk? How do we feel about this concept design?