Anatomy of a Cover - Part III

Anatomy of a Album Cover - Part III

>>>>Please Magnify here to full page, then Left Click to
see all the details .

Well, now we talk Concepts for the Cover.
It seems to revolve around the "Icon" to convey the idea
of Inner Chaos, dealing with War, World Empires etc.

A. This was the 1st concept for the Icon and Cover done
Roughly again with a Ballpoint Pen (its fun to use for this
type of sketching).
I had a pretty elaborate idea of having Leonardo DaVinci
Illustrations, the Cover would be this strange schematic
of all the sences of turmoil, I was to put a German WWII
"Stuka" War Plane between the Brain and Guitar Neck
section.
There would be the Vinci influenced drawings within the
CD lay-out and everything would be on Parchment. I also
wanted to do a cool group/bust Portrait of the guys in the
Band . . .
NOPE, the band don't like it .
B. This is when I had to think for more than a Day, on the
road or sitting in front of my drawings and trying to get my
Brain throbbing for some ideas.
I thought I'd like to do an illustration, at an angle, of a City
rising partly ravaged by war with derilect Skyscrappers
from the "shape" of the Icon. But that would take alot of
time.

There is a Track called "Face of War", so that got my mind
going. So I came up with using the Embossing Tool in the
Layers, so searching for many WWII War Photos for
different elements, I then gathered many Bombing Raid
POV's, so I used this particular one to Emboss the Icon
into it, as if the City was made within it.
Manipulated the Blomb Blast Smoke and Voila!
. . . Nope.

C. I asked Kragen (Guitarist) to "Endulge me" for another
elaborate idea. To take advantage of the Facist Look to the
Icon and create the environment of Regimes, Empires, the
ravages of War and so-on.
At first it was to be like a Stencil sprayed upon a Concrete
Wall or Tank Hull with oversprayed Paint, but the more I
added elements, it became some sort of water damaged
"Journal" which fit the idea too, the "Music was the
writings in the Book".
The Plane was just emphasizing the Bombings, even
though its a Fighter (A WWII Italian Fiat G-55) with "Icon"
added.
Underneath was to go the Band Line-up where I had the
idea of each member Screaming with such intensity-their
limbs would contort as they looked away from the Camera.
I would cut them in Half Vertically to intensify the Anger.
D. The Back where Titles of Tracks would go and any other
Text, but I didn't get the Titles at the time.
Binding Text was ready to go though. And I found the cool
Italian Propaganda Poster, very powerful and had to put it
somewhere, and I added the "Banner" with the Icon.
E. So I ended up using the Bomb POV for the Tray, and put
"The Faces of War", from the Glory and Adulation to the
Reality, Tragedy and Atrocities.
I was to write the Chorus to Face of War underneath the
Photos on the right side/blank field in plain script like the
left, but didn't get the Lyrics unfortunately.

Well I was real proud of this

But the Band unanimously turned it down . . .
They deemed it too much for a Demo. Oh well, I will show
the Final Cover soon

Listen to "Psychosis":
[link]

And the Mighty "Prototype":
[link]

(ALL Art is Copyrighted by MAVARTWORX 2009)