Evaluation

Everything about this brief made me love it, i love music and i love illustration so i had to choose it. It took me a while to pick a rtist because i was contemplating what style i want to do, should i do Jimi Hendrix and do a psychedlic vibe, a trance beat so i could incorporate lights, night and dance or should i do reggae or motown or rnb, i ended going for the reggae vibe because a song i had recently gotten into "Turn your lights down low". When i knew the artist i would use - Bob Marley, i started on the research, i knew the reggae style quite a bit but i went deep into the styling so that i could take little bits out of each one to create a great design. During researching i found an Image of Bob which was painted (i thought it was water colour but it wasnt), i immediatly wanted to try this as an outcome, i thought because of the chilled nature of the genre that the water colour would look good. I started experimenting with the water colours and quickly got an idea and started the design, i got to a certain point before getting designers block, this was a huge problem for me because this experimental design had to be done within a time limit and i didnt plan for something like this and so i started the 2nd illustration.
     The Sun is shining illustration was me in my comfort zone - Illustrator, therefor i quickly found and made a design for my song prior to this i had been struggling to decide what the outcome would be, it was originally going to be a motion illustration but i changed my mind to a vinyl. The vinyl idea gave me the oppurtunty to push my design much further and because i loved the idea so much the design ideas started flowing out, i quickly finished Sun is shinign and moved back to Turn your lights down low where i found an idea straight away and finished that off.
    This project was the first project i got a full on designers block, i couldnt think of anything for days but i found doing something else then coming back to it really helped. Im very pleased with my outcomes and i am also happy that i tried another type of media to create an illustration, i believe when made up into a proper vinyl it will show the full potential rather than just being printed out. If i was to do the project again, i would plan for such things as designers block but apart from that i felt i researched as much as i needed to, i learned how to wrap text in illustrator very well, i learned more about illustration and most importantly i improved my abilities and opened up my mind to different types of mediums such as painting.

COMPLETE

So i finally did everything i wanted to do, i have answered the brief by; 1. creating an illustration for 2 songs and 2. instrumenting a way for the fans to access it.

These are the final design presentations..

Im not sure about the one above or this one...

This one shows the full design where as the other one cuts a bit out but the other one shows you how the design would go. Undecided... i could just put a small line half way through the design to show it folds. 

Turn your lights down low development 4

THE CD
The CD had to be part of the continuos vibe going throughout the vinyl. When designing the CD i took elements from the front and back of the vinyl and combined them on the CD, this ensures it will have a continuos look throughout. I didnt know what type of style to have so i looked back at the sun is shining CD i made and to get inspiration but i didnt want todo the same thing twice plus i wanted the legal information on this one, so i searched about for what the legal information looks like on other CD's and from this image..

I found inspiration and realised i wanted the record company logo on the CD aswell as the compact disc logo. This is the finished design...

I used the same technique for the circle border as i did for the heart on the back of the vinyl, i reused the vectors of the artist just like i did on the sun is shining.

THE PULLOUT
This is what hold the CD, i basically reused the layout of the Sun is shining pullout but gave it the same vibe as the rest of this vinyl...

The CD will be on that scale to the vinyl.
I didnt want the pullout to be anything fancy because i didnt want it to steal the limelight from the vinyl and/or the cd. The opposite side of this will be the same texture.

Turn your lights down low development 3

THE BACK
With the back i wasnt too sure what i wanted therefor i started playing around with some design and sketching a few, i wanted the same vibe as the front and middle but this had to have a close out value to it like the front has a cover/open up value.

This is what i got to first...

I continued the storybook edges and i also warped the same style around a heart, it doesnt look that good especially with a white background but i carried on with this concept and got this...

I took away the solid heart and realised it looked better, i added the rasta colours throughout the design which is used on the front as well, i added the tracklist in the middle of the cd and i took away the horrible white background and gave it a peachy look.

I continued playing around with it and developing it more and i got this...

I added the paper texture so its now throughout the CD vinyl and i really like this design, it worked well for the front and middle but on the back with the art noveua style heart it looks amazing. I never thought from the 1st design of this it would look so good, i was going to stop there but i felt like it looked hanging and needed the bottom corners doing to make it look like the rest.

Finished for the back just need a barcode on this new one.

Turn your lights down low development 2

THE FRONT

Because the main illustration is in the middle i dont want this to be too detailed plus i wanted it to have features from the main illustration on it, after a couple of (unsaved) experiments i got to this..

My new vision for this which i said in my last post was to have a fairytale style and i wanted this to look like a fairytale book cover with an influence of the reggae style. Im really happy with this because it does look like a book cover and the flows between each coner vector an the text goes nicely.

What im doing!

Im doing a vinyl for both songs, the first song Sun is shining is a default vinyl, front and back BUT the second song Turn your lights down low isnt. Because of it being a large painting i did im having a front cover you then open it up like you'd turn a page. The picture helps you imagine it more..

This is just for the 2nd song Turn your lights down low.

Turn your lights down low development 1

My main objective this brief was to use a different form of media especially as the songs i chose have a real flavour to them, not a computer/mechanical made look.

I chose todo water colour because of this picture..

This is so good that i had to try water colour, i realise it isnt water colour but when i first saw it i did and then i looked at other waer colours and i had to do a design with them.

I did some rough sketch first but they arent scanning very well (if your the tutor reading this they are in my folder i gave in with this).

The start of my creation..

The shape of the design is linked with how to song fades in and then fades out, the design fades in, gets bigger then fades out.

The thoughts so far is that because Bob starts he should be on the left then Lauryn kicks in so shes on the right. The middle part with the people is something i found when looking at love designs.

In my mind i wanted parts of the song in image form e.g. " This potion might, (Uh)this ocean might (Uh) carry me (Uh)" would be a picture of a potion bottle and waves. to fade in and out thoughout the design but i just couldnt get what i wanted on paper, you can see where i tried and i will be keeping them in. The speakers where an experiment but im not keeping them due to them not being in the mellow love vibe i want.

I got to this and then i got designers block, i couldnt think of anything to do next, nothing looked right and so i left it and did the Sun is shining design.
I uploaded it and i think i went wrong with the water colour i wasnt happy with it at all, it was really bright but with some tweaking i got to this..

The colour theme looks much better, the background is a paper texture i found and because of the mellow vibe i wanted i love it. The tribal/art noveau style vector on the edges i came up with when i was thinking something was missing, i then looked back at my research (http://www.jessemillerart.com/graphic%20page.html) i combined that with my new vision of a storybook and fairytale love therefor i looked at a few of them and ended up with this. I stretched the design to fit the 24"x12" design but i may change this back to normal size.

Sun is shining development 4

Next is the CD. The CD will be a vinyl but in CD form, before i designed these i looked back at my research on the vinyl middles. I took great inspiration from this image..

This is my first attempt..

Even though i do want a consist ant look i want it to look different as well. The problem i faced on this was i can't copy all the vinyl factors e.g. the text on the top image which gives you info about the vinyl and therefor i didnt know what todo however i developed it more and got this..

Im really pleased with how this has turned out, i feel it gives off  great reggae vibe and it looks like a vinyl design he would use (not being big headed).

THE PULLOUT
This is what the CD will be in, it will be one sheet of card with a slit in to hold the CD in. I didnt want the middle holders where the CD snaps right in because i dont want any plastic anywho the pullout is nothing special, it must be something ascetically pleasing but i dont want much design on it. This is the pullout for Sun is shining..

The opposite side of this will be the same gradient of the rasta flag.

Sun is shining development 3

The front is finished so now i have to create the back of the vinyl, before i create the vinyl i looked at some of Bob's other vinyl backs..

They aren't filled with a huge design, they all seem to have a main picture/design of Bob then the track listings. I like the top one best and the vector style/threshold effect looks great and especially as i already have this style of Bob on the front i could put it on the back as well.

My first attempt..

I tried to do a scroll look for the tracklist, its not supposed to be a scroll but a banner at the top and at the bottom that have moved apart to reveal the tracklist. I added the artist on the right above the huge picture of Bob and the small rasta lion at the bottom.

Added the text..

I added the text and using the same technique i used for the text on the front cover i distorted the overall shape of the text tso it looks like its actually on this revealing scroll. I didnt use the rasta lion or "& THE WAILERS" but i think i might add "THE WAILERS" back on later, i also added green strokes around the revealing scroll part.

3rd Attempt

I just experimented with the positioning and sizes here and i found this one better than the one above.

4th Attempt

Striping away at the design i got to this which i really like and im torn between this and the one above, im still undecided and will continue to try and choose.

Experiment

Im not too sure about this, its a black horse for me but i love the weed coming from the sides, im going to develop this and combine it with my 3rd attempt and maybe i will get the look im wanting.

Sun is shining cover touch up

I reviewed the front cover and there were a few problems with it; the wavey text was too close to the edge and the suns going around bob got cut off near the bottom. I edited the design and made it right, im not going to go for the rough used look that i was experimenting with.

This is the updated cover..

Sun is shining development 2

I added the text and using the envelope tool in Illustrator i wrapped it around the design, i then coloured it in the rasta flag and added a stroke around it. Im really pleased with this because i think it flows nicely just like the song, it also could be seen as a waving flag and it came out much better than i expected. The font is a art nouveau font and i will do a font post next to show how i chose.

I added the song title and the artist name, i also deleted the white box around the imags so i could get a better look and i added suns around Bob in the middle. Im not too sure on the bright yellow because it stands out way too much and not in a good way.

I changed the colours around as before i wasnt happy with them, i added a wave in the middle because i felt it was empty in the middle and it needed something subtle. I originally wasnt going to do all vector but i got carried away and i really like how it has come out, i could still do the water colour but i will just focus that on the other song. The images are all my own vector now and this is a finished version.  I added the ganja leaves as an experiment and they go with the design so i left them on.

I asked a classmate his opinion and he responded with it could do without the text, i really like the text so i wasnt too keen on the idea but this is what it would look without the text. Im not too sure i think it looks good but it doesnt answer the brief as much so i think i will need the text in.

Experimental design giving it a used look, still deciding on this.

Sun is shining development 1

 

 The start of the illustration!

This is the basic layout, title of the song at the top and then lyrics round it, bob in the middle, his name at the bottom and a sun shining behind. I have got images of the net to show where stuff would go but by the end i will have drawn these in vector.

Explaination of images used:

I put the palm trees in because they normally represent relaxing and in my reggae illustrations post i looked at a design with palm trees and really liked the effect it gives.

The boombox image was originally going to be speakers but i didnt think that suited this design, i then saw boxed speakers which looked better, this led me onto this idea of a old school/simple/not much technology to get in the way of the music style.

The rasta lion was a must have and it filled the circle at the top perfectly.

Stylee

I came across this website and this has gave me great insight into where im going with brief.
http://www.jessemillerart.com/graphic%20page.html

 

Her art is amazing and i lobve how it flows into each other, its a very psychedelic look but used in the right context i think it can represent reggae and it already does in the top image. I will definatly use this style of font on my illustration (at this point ive already started "Turn your lights down low" so i will do this style for "Sun is shining"). The 4th image is set out with the face in the middle then text below it and im not thinking of doing that and then having the lyrics built around it.

Bob Marley + Lauryn Hill Vinyl Covers

I forgot to look at Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill covers. Working so hard i forget the obvious, im looking at these just so i can see their old style, it may not come in useful as my design maybe EXCITING AND NEW..

This image basically allows me to put cannabis onto my design, i was worried that people would think "he wasnt all about weed" but this massive spliff shows he loved the herb and therefor i can use it.

Bob Marleys covers normally just have a picture apart from uprising which is an incredible design, i like the sun shining and as im doing a song about that i could do something like that. I think im not going to stick to his convential design and create something more arty and for Lauryn there wasnt many covers but her style is basically reggae mixed with soul therefor its on the same lines as Bob.

Vinyl design

Im not going to write about these as there wont be much to write about instead im just keeping a collection of the best so i can come back to these when designing.