3. Printing
• Presenting my product as a collection of albums will mean that I will need
to make the sleeves as physical items.
• This will be best achieved through a printing service rather than a college
printer or my own.
• I will be able to select a far greater range of paper or card for my images
to be printed upon.
• It will also mean that the nets for the sleeves can be printed as a whole,
rather than spread across multiple pages as only a smaller printer would
be able to provide.
• The cost of printing is something that I will have to be aware of.
• Time is also something that I must factor into my schedule as I am aware
that if it were to take longer than a week I could run out of production
time.
PROBLEM SOLVING
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Time
• With production only lasting 7 weeks I need to ensure that I will be able to
complete all my work before the deadline.
• Several pieces of art and photograph must be completed within the
allowed time for printing.
• In addition to this I will need to construct the sleeves in preparation for
the photography.
• The products will be laid out and photographed for the final effect.
4. Production Techniques
• For the album artwork I must recreate certain painting techniques, these
include graffiti artwork and oil painting.
PROBLEM SOLVING
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Work backup
• The Mac can be used to store the original copies of my work.
• Multiple versions will be saved so that creative decisions can be preserved
or used for evidence and development.
• As a backup I will use a memory stick, which I will also use to transfer
between college and home.
• As an extra precaution I will use OneDrive to store files. This means that if
the other backups fail my work will not be lost.
6. Using a mixture of LPs that I purchased from a charity shop I was able to take measurements from a physical object
rather than the internet. I was able to see exactly how the sleeves folded and were glued. I laid out the flat plans of
the sleeves which enabled me to see what sizes of paper I would need to print the designs on.
A3 – A single/EP sleeve will fit onto a sheet this size. This is normally constructed from a paper with a thin consistency
rather than card.
A1 – An LP sleeve will fit onto this sheet. This is usually on card, however a gloss or matte surface depends entirely on
the style and preference of the designer.
A0 – A gatefold LP sleeve will fit. This will allow the entire net to be printed and folded. If A0 printing is not available,
two sides of A1 can be printed and glue together.
SLEEVE CONSTRUCTION
NET MEASUREMENTS
If I were to use the college printers I would
only be able to print up to A3. This would
mean that my only option would be to
create singles, instead of an album.
For this reason I am taking my work to be
printed by an external source which will
also give me a wider range in paper/card
but also a higher quality.
My main option is a printing shop, however
I have discovered specialists that print
album covers which is something to
consider.
7. The screenshot below shows an experiment with the gridlines in Photoshop. Using
them I was able to mark out the precise size of the album cover so during production I
can work to the exact size and scale.
Accounted for are the page folds, where some of the image may be lost, and the tabs
which will be used to glue the sides in place so that it can contain a vinyl record. I also
noted that like the cover of a magazine, the front must be placed on the right side so
that it presents correctly when folded.
In the event that printing must resort back to college printers, I must plan for my work
to be printed at A3.
Taking the measurements of an A3 page, I created a Photoshop document that had
the same dimensions as three pages side by side. Using a random image from online I
placed this across the three pages. I was able to separate the photo back into the
three pages with the help of the ruler guidelines.
PRINTING
SPREADING ACROSS MULTIPLE PAGES
FRONT COVERBACK COVER
Page divide
Extra 2cm for tabs
To the right is the A3 sized portion of the mock-up album cover. An A3 page
covers a large section of the image but unfortunately three pages are
needed as it doesn’t quite fit onto two.
These three pages would be glued together or to give extra structure and
rigidity, they would be stuck upon an existing album cover. In addition to the
support it would give, the pages could then fit together with a much more
flush finish, something that may not entirely be achievable without it.
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ARTWORK
EXPERIMENTING WITH AN ART STYLE
In order to test the results of digital graffiti, I experimented in Photoshop with a number of brushes and their properties. I found an image of a concrete wall to begin drawing
on. I was using a graphics tablet which is something that I had not practiced with before. I started to copy existing graffiti works, selecting and trying several pieces before I came
to a new conclusion. It was easier to invent original work and I new that this would suit the experiment best. ‘Doodling’ upon the page would produce greater results as the
work would be entirely original but also a test of creativity as my production cannot be based upon existing works.
I started by laying a base layer of colours around the page, using the Hard Light option on the layer so as to show the concrete texture beneath. This preserved the cracks and
splits in the wall and also gave a level of graininess to the colours. I drew all the elements on the same layer as to add a level of authenticity but also because it would give me a
much different mind-set in that I could simply paint over errors.
Creating random shapes across the screen, I began to implement some features I had seen during my research. These included cartoon outlines on drawings and harsh lines
between different colours. I tried a variation between these. The tentacle can be seen with a black outline, however the paint does not blend between colours as it would with
oil or acrylic. These harsh lines are produced with the spray of the nozzle but the variation in colour refers to the usually limited supply of paint that the artist can carry.
As with real spray painting, a more feathered edge can be given to lines, such as with the worm-like creature also in pink.
I then began to add text in a bubble-writing style font. This looked authentic. I did not colour these letters, but left the background showing through; I did, however, experiment
with a cartoon-like shine on the characters, as seen on the ‘sample’ text.
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ARTWORK
EXPERIMENTING WITH AN ART STYLE
This experiment was very successful as it proved that I can replicate graffiti artwork digitally. This was something that I was sceptical of at first, however as the work developed it
became much more apparent that this would be a method that I could later use. The first pieces of art, the blended mass of colour as seen in the centre, lead me to believe that
the experiment would not prosper as well as it had. I still think that this part of the work is a little unrealistic as I am unsure of how much the paint would blend. This is very
reminiscent of the Mylo Xyloto artwork, so it remains.
The rest of the artwork came as I almost absent-mindedly doodled on the page. I did not take reference from any other images but drew whatever came to mind, hence ‘Ford
Fiesta.’ This worked well enough and produced a tapestry of varied images. In some cases, such as the worm, I adapted patterns into things.
I tested specific patterns such as the water ripples in the pool below the ‘sample’ text. As this was an experiment I was not afraid to try new things, many of which succeeded,
and so the collage was extended much further with a much wider variety of images. In several places I drew paint drips, in real life the result of a liberal application of the liquid
paint. I did this three times with varying results. The green slime of the snail trail is not visible sitting above the white paint, however the blue and purple streaks are perfectly
clear.
Visually, the experiment meets my expectations. I believe this to be because of the style of drawings and the way that it is presented. I found in my research that I personally
prefer visually interesting album covers, images that are busy and lively. This fits this definition. This is partially because of the way that I drew: on a single layer, without using
the eraser tool. This meant that anything that I didn’t like I could paint over, creating more artwork. This replicates the way that graffiti artists work: decisive and with
conviction.
The artwork can be seen when not
‘shone’ onto the concrete wall
background. To get this effect I used the
‘Hard Light’ option on the layer’s settings.
I am used to using ‘Multiply’ or ‘Overlay’
but these either made the paint layer too
dark or too light.
The paint layer seen without the concrete
texture looks very basic. The colours can
be seen as they truly are and it is a fair
statement to say that the texture from
the wall is the base on which this artwork
sits. Without it the artwork would look
nowhere near as good.
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ARTWORK
PHOTOGRAPHING PHYSICAL ART
As I want to able to produce my album covers from both digital and conventional artwork I needed to find a way to transfer the latter into a digital format. This will not only
allow me to print it onto sleeve nets but make adjustments to colours, textures or the content.
My thought was to photograph the works, as had been done with a number of Coldplay and Stone Roses album covers. This worked well for them but I was afraid of any
external marks upon the artwork, light glares or camera flashes.
This did not occur and the results are better than I expected. I used a phone camera (I will use a DSLR during production) and took photos of the two artworks.
The left picture is an oil pastel sketch and the right, acrylic paint on canvas. Despite the harsh lights shone onto the work there is little interference. The canvas work shows a
slight glare from a light source at the top centre portion of the work. This could be avoided with sufficient lighting, rather than that of a normal bulb.
Despite this small error both of the artworks appear clear with strong colours, something that I thought I would loose by photographing.
To improve this method I could use a better camera, one which produces a higher quality image. This would preserve more of the detail and colours. In addition to this the
lighting can be improved so that the occasional glare is eradicated. This can easily be done in the studio.
It is important to note that some of the image is removed when the canvas is photographed. It will be important to note this during production as not all of my work will be
included, especially those details around the edges.
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PRINTING
RESULTS
Having put two separate experiments into Photoshop, I used the template I had previously created to sort covers for printing. I
placed the graffiti experiment and the photography experiment into the file to represent the front and back covers of an album.
I chose a font which resembled the Mylo Xyloto characters and added a stroke. I repeated this for a random collection of words
which represented the individual songs. I added lorem ipsum and a barcode for authenticity.
I printed the page and cut around the edges. I left the tabs on the front cover and temporarily, the back. This soon presented itself
as an issue and it became apparent that only one set of tabs was needed.
I originally intended to print the page in A3 so that the single vinyl record would fit inside, but by mistake the page was printed in
A4. However, by happy coincidence this meant that a CD would fit inside instead. This then gave me the inspiration to fit it inside
the CD case.
On the whole the printing results were good. A few of the colours suffered and were reproduced a little different from their true
colours. The purples became bright, candy pinks and the neon blues become duller versions of themselves. The photographed
artwork also lost some colour but the resolution did not suffer as I thought it would. I believe this to be a fruitful experiment and is
something that I will use for production.
