Yes, I like looking ahead ! This post will be dedicated to the graphic design for my "Crazy Like A Fox" Cd. Besides being a songwriter/musician I am also an artist. On my 2nd Cd release "Like The Freak You Are", I used images of my artwork in the graphic design. In a way, it's like using one hobby to promote the other hobby. The trick with artwork, like music, is making a particular piece as memorable as possible ... it just doesn't get any more memorable then being on the front cover of a Cd !!! It is still early, and I am way ahead of myself with this post. But ... my early prediction is that I will use my original handmade voodoo dolls for the front cover of the Cd. Yes, that's right ... voodoo dolls !!! I am going to keep the inside of the Cd sleeve simple and just list some of my online links. My home website www.foxmanmusic.com will contain all of the Cd's lyrics. I will also list this blogsite, My Space and ReverbNation. Well anyway, this is where I stand on June 1, 2010. As you know, I may change my mind in a snap.
6-20-10, I had a surge of artistic inspiration today and started designing the front cover for the Cd. I am going to use the voodoo dolls, but in order to present them in the right way I needed some kind of backdrop. So, tonight I created a 20" x 20" display case for them. I chose the 20" x 20" dimension, because the front cover sleeve is a square. At the top of the display case is my name "Foxman", at the bottom is the Cd title "Crazy Like A Fox". For both of these, I used stencils and turquoise colored construction paper (my name, at the top, is also shadowed in yellow). In between my name and the Cd title is a 13 1/2" x 20" recessed stage area (set back 5"), where the voodoo dolls will stand. The entire display case is done with hard cardboard (black colored). I am not sure what to put on the back of the recessed area (behind the voodoo dolls). There really needs to be a picture, or collage, with some depth to it. An old black and white picture of a dirt road surrounded by trees would work very well. The voodoo dolls are very colorful, so I definitely don't want something behind them that will be a distraction.
6-22-10, I went out last night, before it got too dark, and took some pictures. I ended up going to a cemetery down the road, which worked perfectly. I came up with 4 pictures which turned out pretty good. Today I went to Kinko's and made copies of all 4, done in black and white to a 13 1/2" x 20" dimension. I brought them home, tested each one in the backdrop, and then made my final decision. I opted for the photo with the dense woods in the background, a meadow in the foreground and 2 drooping trees on the left and right. Of all 4 of the photos this one had the best detail. An interesting aside, there was a coyote running around in the cemetery, once he saw me pull up he ran into the woods in the background of the photo. So anyway, this black and white photo is now going to be the background in the recessed area of my front cover sleeve. I put the voodoo dolls in the display and took a few photos. It is already starting to take form ! It still needs a little more detail, so I am thinking about hanging some of my homemade voodoo jewelry from the top of the recessed area. I think it would add a really cool element to the display. This whole approach is awesome because it give me an opportunity to showcase two of my other hobbies (voodoo dolls and jewelry). I am also thinking that I may even use another black and white photo for the back panel of the Cd. Turquoise lettering (with the Cd and song names) would look really good on top of it. It's kind of funny that all of this came about on a day when a wiley coyote and a sly Foxman crossed paths in a cemetery.
6-23-10 (2:00 a.m.), I put together a bunch of cool voodoo beads to hang in the recessed area of the front cover display (skull beads, African Christmas beads, bone spacers, small bone skulls, etc). They added the perfect amount of color, and mood, that I was aiming for. The front cover display is now complete ! The most challenging part will be to capture the perfect picture. I don't want to have any camera flashes showing up in the photo, so I will have to take the pictures outside. One of the local parks will serve as an excellent location for this endeavor. I think it is cool that the front cover for this Cd is going to be a picture of an actual artwork that is entirely handmade (rather than a bunch of computer generated graphics). The voodoo dolls, beads, background and stencil work all make for a very unique cover design. All together they present an artsy, freaky and nostalgic vibe which compliments the songs perfectly. (7:00 p.m.) Ooops ! I tried to take it too far and messed up. With many of my collages and paintings, I like to put a coat of clear gloss (or glaze) over them when they are finished. Well, I tried this on the lettering areas of my Cd cover display and it didn't go too well. It was way too hot outside and the gloss didn't set right. I ended having to redo both lettering sections (name and Cd title). On the brighter side, prior to this mishap, I did go out and take some more pictures. I think I have about 4-5 that turned out excellent. I will visit Kinko's tomorrow and have them printed out, in black and white, to a 20" x 20" dimension. There is a good chance that some of them will be used on this Cd.
6-24-10 (4:00 a.m.) After a good workout, I finished redoing the lettering parts for the Cd display. They are pretty much identical to the first ones I did. Lesson learned .... keep it simple ! (3:00 p.m.)I just got back from Kinko's. 2 of the prints turned out excellent. I will now cut out the pictures and paste them to poster board. After that I will take pictures of them. With these photo's and my front cover display, the trick is to get the best pictures possible. Once I have all these pieces worked out, I will hit the park and photograph them. With the 2 new photo's, one will be used on the back cover and the other will be used somewhere inside the Cd. All together there are 7 spaces that need to be filled (4 for the front cover sleeve, one for the back cover and side slot, one under the Cd tray and the actual top of the Cd disc). So far, I have 3 of them worked out. (8:30 p.m.) I ended up taking a ton of pictures (inside the apartment) of the new photos and the cover display. The results were awesome. I am positive that I have captured the right pictures for the front cover, and the back panel. How about that ... no need to go to the park. After looking over my last Cd "Like The Freak You Are", I realized that there are only 6 spaces that need to be filled (there wasn't an open space under the actual Cd). I need to contact the business that replicated my previous releases, to see if they have a template that I can download. It will make things that much more easy when I go in to have the new Cd replicated.
6-28-10 (3:00 a.m.), I have spent the last few days experimenting with different front covers. I have opted to use the computer for the lettering, instead of the stencil work I did on the display case. I am still using photographs of the voodoo dolls with the black and white cemetery picture in the background. The computer generated lettering is much more professional. (11:00 p.m.) I have almost completed the back panel for the Cd (except for the lettering on the side flaps). The black and white photo I used is actually taken from the back side of the one used on the front cover (behind the trees that the coyote ran into). Basically, I photographed the same wooded area from exact opposite vantage points. For the back panel, I used the same "chiller" lettering that I used on the front cover with a turquoise color (for the front cover I used an off yellow color). The song titles, on the back, are done with a light gray silvery color. When put on top of the black and white photo they have a bit of a ghostly effect. The turquoise color represents the nostalgic vibe of "Best Days Of Your Life" The cemetery approach ties into the songs "Sweet Adelaide", "Doppelganger Blues" and "Simple Minded" (one of lyrics is "and to all our dear departed .."). The black and white effect used in the photos goes along with "Where's The Sun", "Horrible End" and even "Wilderness Of Mirrors". The voodoo dolls represent "Same Old Troubles". "Downtown" and "Hard Times" are kind of cop and robber tunes (not sure how to tie them into the graphic design yet). "Under The Weather", "Coming For You" and "Nothin" are songs about relationships (not sure what to do with them either). I have another black and white photo that I am probably going to use on the back of the front cover sleeve. The photo was also taken from the same vantage point as the one used on the back panel, just a bit farther up the path. For the actual top of the Cd, I am contemplating using an old vintage record approach. This would also tie into the nostalgia of "Best Days Of Your Life". Maybe I will even take it step farther and make it look like a gold record.
6-30-10, I pretty much have the entire graphic design worked out, except for the actual disc. Being the perfectionist that I am I will probably end up tweaking a few things, but for the most part the general layout is worked out. On the inside of the front cover sleeve I kept things very simple. I wrote down the address for this blog, my home website, my art studio (where the copies will be sold from), ReverbNation, MySpace, You Tube and Twitter. I also included a picture of me giving the thumbs up. This is the first time that I have included I picture of myself in a Cd. An interesting aside, I hid 5 small "Foxman" insignia's within the forest pictures. In black coloring they blended in very well with the tree branches. It will make for an interesting trivia question some day.
7-3-10, Yesterday I went to a local park and took some more pictures of the front cover display, and the black and white background photos. A couple of the pictures turned out real well. I spent most of today working on the pictures using the same general layout approach I used on the other pictures. They turned out excellent ! I am positive that I came up with some keepers. I am still going to experiment with front cover some more. The design I am going to use on the actual disc is that of an old vinyl record. I have the perfect picture for it. I just don't know how to cut out circles with my editing tools. More than likely, I will work that out when I go into Total Media to have the Cd's replicated.
*** Just to make things a bit more fun. I intentionally hid 7 small "Foxman" logos within the Cd's graphic design. With all the limbs and branches in the pictures, it was an easy thing to do. I am not going to give away any clues, so you'll have to see if you can find them on your own.
7-4-10 (7:00 p.m.) Well, I might ass well make it official ... on the 4th of July ! I am positive that the graphic design is complete. I experimented with some different cover ideas, but I keep going back to an original one I did about 1 week ago. All of the new panels I worked out 2 days ago are perfect ! All that is left is the top of the actual disc, which I will do when I get the Cd replicated. I thought this whole process was going to take a while, but it all came together rather quickly (less than 2 weeks). Luck is still on my side. Hopefully it will stay that way throughout the mastering and replication process.
8-21-10, I have been rethinking my approach for the graphic design on top of the actual disc. I was going to use an image of an old vinyl record, to capture the old school vibe. Instead, I am thinking of using an image from one of my art works. The art work is actually a collage that features a whole bunch of American coins, dating from the founding of our country to current times. The new approach should add a "pot of gold" vibe to the release. Hopefully, it will also make my fans feel as if they have found something rare and collectible. When I get a chance I will take some photo's and go from there.
8-29-10 (5:00 a.m.) I have spent the last 3 hours putting the finishing touches on the graphic design. For the actual disc, I am going to use a format similar to the Cd's back sleeve. I don't have the actual dimensions, or a usable template, for the actual disc. As a remedy I cut a disc sized circle in paper and put that over the image on my PC. When I get to Total Media, I am sure that Dan will help me cut out the image so it fits on the disc properly. I do, also, have 2 alternate versions for the disc. One is the vinyl record, and the other is a photo of the voodoo dolls with the lettering in yellow chiller text (same text on the forest version). I am almost positive that I will go with the forest version because of financial reasons. The printing on top of the disc can get very expensive if too many colors are used. The forest version is mostly black and white with yellow in the text. The voodoo dolls have just about every color imaginable. I saved all these images down to a memory stick so that I am ready roll when the time comes. Later today, when I wake up, I am going to record 6-7 "master" Cd copies.
9-14-10, the lesson I have learned with this release is to make sure that my digital camera is set to the JPEG format, for the best resolution. I found out that I had inadvertently set the camera to a lower resolution for all the pictures used on this Cd. They all ended up being alright and the slight blurriness ended up adding a perfect mystique to the graphic design so no harm is done. On future projects I will make sure to have the camera set to the JPEG format.
9-16-10, The Cd was sent out for replication today, so I am officially finished with this post !
UPDATE (2-16-14): All song from my "Crazy Like A Fox" Cd can be heard in their entirety through the tune player below. Please make sure to also check out my home website at: www.foxmanmusic.com
About Me
- Foxman Music
- Tampa Bay, Florida, United States
- My name is Brian Fox (aka Foxman) I am an Independent artist, songwriter, photographer and actor from Tampa Bay. In 2001, I founded Foxman Music and began writing/releasing my own albums. I currently have 7 albums to my credit. I am best known for being a creative writer who employs a bit of a Hollywood approach, which means that I don't always write through my own eyes. I am the primary musician (bass, guitars, keys and percussion) and vocalist on all of my releases. Outside of the music, I am an accomplished artist and I have also had background acting roles in 2 Netflix movies (Bloodline and The Last Thing He Wanted) and 1 Independent film (Killer Grannies). Foxman Music Videos are where all the magic comes alive ..... the perfect blend of music, art & theatre. I am currently in the process of writing/recording my next album.