Dear Dude,

I recently joined a metal band.  We are pretty talented, have had good feedback from people, and serious about our music.  In a few weeks we are going to record a demo and will be starting to play shows soon.  My question is how do you create things like a band logo and album art? We have a MySpace but we do not know what to use as our logo and we want a cover so we need art.  I don’t even know where to turn too for this.  Advice?

Thank you,

The Art of Choosing Art

Dear Art of Choosing Art,

Album art, MySpace / website art, band logos, T-Shirt art, and well all things concerning the visual impression of your band can be nothing less then a pain in the ass. As musicians we are not always artists mastered in the visual form. This sucks, especially because the overall first impression of your band is tied into the way your logo and album art looks. How bands operate regarding all things visual art related can be very different from band to band. There is no “one” way to handle the band-art necessity, but to get you started here are a few things I have learned along the way.

The “In Band” Artist: Although, I personally have no real visual art skills this is not true for all band members. In fact many bands that I have toured and worked with have one or two artistically inclined members. This scenario may be best. Why? Well, it’s free. Most good designers cost money and trying to find the cash to pay someone to layout your demo, website, or MySpace, as well as fund all the other things a starting band needs can really suck. So having an “In Band” designer or artist can really save money and move things a lot faster. Not to mention it may also help your band to develop a more distinguishable look. Converge, Baroness, and Isis are just a few of the many successful bands who have one member who designs most of look of their band. Finely, having a member involved with creation, design, and implementation means that there is a much more direct (and hopefully) clearer line of communication between band and designer. This is crucial in making sure the band gets what they want out of the artist. From T - shirts to websites, album covers to computer wallpaper having an artist in the fold that has a distinct visual direction (the other members like) is almost always helpful. The few bands I have played in that have had an “In Band” artist always have a much easier and rewarding time putting together ANYTHING visual.

Ok so what about the rest of us? You know the bands that have no one with an understanding of visual art. Well just because the “In Band” artist is cheaper and easier it doesn’t mean you will always get great art or art the whole band likes. Using an outside artist does give you a chance to think outside the box, see many different ideas for the same project, try different looks for different records, and adapt or change band looks much faster. 

But where do we find these artists? Well before the beautiful Internet we used to do a thing called credit hunting. Much like writing a record you have to know what your influences are. So “Credit Hunting” is when you look through the jackets of all your CDs and Records (preferable the ones that have a cover or layout that you like). Get out there and look at art, explore it, and find those records with art that you love. Now you have to use a little reason, I mean if your band is just starting out your not going to be able to afford the artist who did the last Metallica cover. But Artists much like musicians need work and trust me for every one band that’s out there trying to find a cover there are 15 artists trying to sell art. One of my favorite moves is to find album, website, or T-shirt art from a band I like and find a way to communicate with the artist who designed it.

Another avenue that has worked great for me over the years is to work with an artist that is local. Many of the artists who have done Darkest Hour record covers have been local. Hidden Hands and Mark of the Judas were done by good friend Shelby Cinca (Frodus / The Mind Control Design), So Sedated by good friend Matt Michael (Majority Rule, CloakDagger, Creative Panic), and Undoing Ruin by good friend Chris Taylor (Pg. 99). So really all we did was find the “In Band” designer/artist for another band and hired them. 

There are a few websites out there that artist use to silicate their work. The ones I have used were mainly for T-shirt designs but its a good chance that an artist who does shirt designs can or will do art for record covers. A good place to start is: http://www.emptees.com/ its worth a shot, but I have never found an artist through these means.

Working with an outside Artist:

A Good Idea Will Get You Far: I am always happiest with the overall art of a record when the band presents a cohesive idea to the artist. In other words, it’s all about communication. I think the more you can tell the artist about what you want, expect, envision, etc. the more you will be happier with the overall out come.  I suggest bringing a cohesive idea to the table that the artist can expand on in his or her own way. Artists like to do their own thing 99% of the time so allowing the artist to develop your idea into their idea works great. I believe all artists work best when you allow them to find and express a little piece of themselves in the art. So a good place to start when working with an outside artists is to say, “The album is really about this etc. etc., the songs focus on this etc. etc., the overall vibe of the record is this etc. etc., and what we are going for is a sound and look a lot like this etc. etc.” Giving an artist something to go on is really helpful and always gets the ball rolling in the right direction. Remember to not have a strict idea of what you want and try to let the artist develop your idea, after all it’s why you hired one from the outside.

A great logo, website design, T-shirt design, and album cover can really help build the image, persona, and overall vibe of a band. I have seen some of the biggest arguments bands can have over album art so I know its not that easy to settle on a visual interpretation of your music. A lot of that tension comes from the reality that although it’s your music and your vision you have to hire someone else to execute it. Shit, and to top if all of you have to like it! It’s an interesting infection with the only antidote being a healthy mixture of communication and flexibility. So good hunting!

The Dude