Album Art — Paint with my Colours | My work

My friend Marina recently recorded her first EP and asked me to provide album art. (She also asked if I would provide backup vocals, to which I happily obliged.) She knew in advance she wanted to call the album "Paint with my Colours", and we thought it would be fun to quite literally play with the paint theme, with splashes of paint exploding out of her.

Process

I photographed Marina against a dark background in my studio, then did some very minor touchups to the skin tone, before digitally applying the stroke of paint adorning her face. The brush prop we had didn't look right, so I replaced parts of it with a stock photo that better met the task. I desaturated her completely to emphasise the paint elements. Multicoloured paint splatters were placed around with attention paid to the illusion of depth and motion. I wanted it to leave viewers with the impression that the colours were literally erupting from her.

Alternative versions

Before we landed on what would become the final artwork, several alternatives were pitched, including artwork featuring a different base photo, a version on a white background, and an alternate title treatment comprised of paint strokes and splatters. While these didn't make the cut, I figured it would be worthwhile showing them here as part of the overall process.

Final album artwork

The outcome

Marina's album artwork is like her music. Energetic, playful, and rich with depth and intention. She used the final artwork and additional promo graphics I designed for her to literally make a splash on various streaming and social media platforms, collecting new fans in the process. Since her album has been released, I've been approached by a number of local musicians to produce album art for them.

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