My logo sketch is my name, which is what I’m using for the artist name in this project. It consists of two drum sticks forming the “T” with the rest of the letters spelled out to either side and the “C” behind the drumsticks.
Illustrator Tutorials
Below are my Adobe Illustrator tutorial images.
Graphic Design Project Final Image
This image is the cover art for an E.P. called the Beyond the Sky by Taylor C. Wright. I created this image because my project is based around the idea of creating a new song and album art is essential to the process. Album art is an essential exchange between the artist and fan and can set the tone for the experience you are providing as an artist.
My main design influences are the same as the draft. The albums that I thought of when creating this artwork were Pain’s 2016 release Coming Home and The Contortionist’s 2010 release Exoplanet. Coming Home features a picture of an astronaut while Exoplanet has a picture of Earth from a similar vantage point. The satellite in the image is a nod to the song “Black Knight Satellite” on Coming Home. As far as research, I am drawing from personal experience. I have worked in the music industry for close to two decades and in that time have done an extensive amount of research about albums, album art, and seen the artwork on thousands of albums.
Design influences from the readings that inspired me are those of the book covers and movie posters. I maintained intellectual unity by making sure everything that is in the image is thematically correct. According to the feedback I received, visual unity has also been created by the image, so I maintained the core of the image to ensure this did not change. I used the visuals of an astronaut floating in space above Earth with a satellite in the background to create a sense of visual storytelling that speaks to the theme of the album, which is Beyond the Sky.
The design process started by using an image of the Milky Way as a background to create the initial impression that the story is taking place in space. Next, I added the Earth with the Sun shining slightly over the planet to create a sense of distance. The image of the astronaut was added next, placing him in the top corner, a change from the original design, to fill out the image and present the idea that there is something human beyond the sky, which is congruent with the theme of the album. The image of the satellite was added next and placed in the top corner to fill out the image on the left side, create another layer of distance, and it is in the shape of a “t” which is the first letter of my name. Finally, I added the text which is my name and the name of the album.
To create some of the visual effects, I had to manipulate all the images. Setting the mood for the image, I first decreased the brightness and increased the contrast of the Milky Way image used for the background. Next, I had to split out the image of Earth and the astronaut by creating a new layer after using the magic wand to highlight the section of the original image that was the astronaut. Using the eraser, I removed the portion of the Earth image I did not need which allowed the stars in the background to show through. Adding a layer of hue/saturation, I changed the shade of the satellite from a brighter white to a cooler blue to try and stay in concordance with the shade/darkness of space as seen on the astronaut. Finally, the text was created by taking another image of the stars and using that as a clipping mask for the text. Doing so allowed me to create a darker color that can be seen that also features stars to stay thematically correct to the image.
I did not face any technical challenges while creating the image. I did find a tutorial on YouTube to explain to me how the use an image for text. The process was mainly trial and error, trying to capture the feeling for which I was looking.
The feedback I received was very positive overall. The main suggestions I received were to move the text to a more central location. The text was originally two blocks in the upper corners and the critiques I received suggested that they felt out of place. It was also suggested I change the color from red to either grey or using an image of stars to make it more thematically cohesive. The other main suggestion I received was to move the astronaut and satellite to the upper corners which made sense once the text had been moved.
All the images used are free to use, without attribution, and found on Pixabay.com. The images can be found via the below links:
Satellite: https://pixabay.com/en/satellite-spacex-aeronautics-nasa-693191/
Astronaut: https://pixabay.com/en/astronaut-astronomy-satellite-moon-1849401/
Milky Way: https://pixabay.com/en/milky-way-starry-sky-night-sky-star-2695569/
Sky Space Galaxy – https://pixabay.com/en/sky-space-galaxy-cosmos-1697359/
Draft Graphic Design Project
For this project, I created album art for a single release track. My project revolves around the idea of going through all the release steps for a song which includes creating album art for the release.
Designs that inspired me for this piece of album art are the album covers from Pain’s 2016 release Coming Home and The Contortionist’s 2010 release Exoplanet. The design of the album art is meant to reflect the imagery conjured up by the title of the song, “Beyond the Sky.” I used the palette from movie posters that indicate action, thrillers and sci-fi since being beyond the sky implies the idea of space.
My design process started with started with embedding an image of the Milky Way that I used for the background. After that, I imbedded the image of the of an astronaut and Earth to create the foreground image. I then outlined the astronaut with the magnetic lasso and created a new layer via copy to isolate his image. Next, I changed the color balance for the astronaut and Earth, filled in the layer in white and painted the two objects to which I wanted to have the layer applied. Once I was done with that step, I moved on to the satellite, artist name and title.
The artist name and title went on next using the horizontal type tool after choosing red as because it was another primary color that was analogous to the blue hue of the Milky Way. Following the text, I added in the satellite and erased the top part of the image which removed the docking arm, leaving only the satellite. I changed the hue/saturation and lowered the opacity of the satellite to make it feel less dramatic and make it look like it was farther away. Finally, I changed the highlights in the color balance to make the Sun look brighter to make it reflect a more natural experience.
I collected all the elements for this project from Pixabay. The process was to add in elements that are thematically correct and then adjust the elements as I went to create the mood I wanted to create. The tools I used were the horizontal type tool, the erase tool, the paint bucket tool, the magnetic lasso, the brush tool and the rectangular marquee tool. The only technical difficulty I had was not knowing how to resize a layer which was quickly solved with a Bing search (Ctrl + T).
The materials I used were all listed with Creative Commons licenses, all stated they are free for commercial use and with no attribution required.
Satellite: https://pixabay.com/en/satellite-spacex-aeronautics-nasa-693191/
Astronaut: https://pixabay.com/en/astronaut-astronomy-satellite-moon-1849401/
Milky Way: https://pixabay.com/en/milky-way-starry-sky-night-sky-star-2695569/
Image Collection
My idea for this project is to create cover art that would be paired with a song.
These images all came from Pixabay and are free for commercial use and have no attribution required.
https://pixabay.com/en/country-lane-gravel-road-tuscany-428039/
https://pixabay.com/en/guitar-classical-guitar-756326/
https://pixabay.com/en/drums-musical-instrument-music-246840/
Photoshop Tutorials
Here are my completed tutorials.
Opening Track
Hello everybody and welcome to the show.
I’ve written these words for all, even those I do not know.
Let’s start this blog off right, with a verse or two.
This one’s for COM 210, and, of course, for you.
Welcome to Wright Songs, a place where you will see the more artistic side of me. This blog will be about my journey as a musician today after 15 years of performing and writing. In this blog, I want to explore what an album would be like from me after an extended break from writing. I’m excited to create a new logo, write some songs, and play some tunes.
To collect the original materials, I will use the video and photo capture capability on my phone and Adobe products to do the recordings. I plan on creating album art for a new record, making a new project logo, recording a new song, and interviewing people I have worked with in the entertainment industry over the years. Most importantly, I’m going to start warming up my voice now.
Three things that inspire me:
- Metal Injection – Metal Injection has news, podcasts, reviews, videos and more that is always inspiring. They provide a plethora of ideas coming from all around the metal community.
- Beartooth – Beartooth is an American post-hardcore band (the same genre I started in many years ago) that has a developed a true to form sound. Coming out with their third studio L.P., they have a new logo, new lyrics, and new songs. They have long been a source of great music and I’m excited to hear the new album.
- Alternative Press – A legendary magazine in the music industry. First started in 1985, they have been turning out articles on the bands no one else would cover from day one. The Alternative Press Music Awards, started in 2014, has been a wonderful addition to their long record of shining the spotlight on underground music.
I look forward to taking this journey with you.
Wright Songs 