Redesign an Album Cover: Final

My final ACDC album cover remake:

 

I chose to redesign this album cover because I really like the original artwork, but I thought that I could do a lot of things with it to make it really unique. The original cover didn't really represent the title Black Ice in my opinion, so I wanted to create something that did. I did want to keep the format of my cover similiar to that of the original. When I think of 'black ice' I didn't think of the kind of ice you see on the road when the weather is really bad, but I thought of a really cool cave in the middle of Antarctica. I also overlayed it with a grunge background to give it some texture. Next, I found a sketch of ACDC, deleted the background and overlayed it onto my ice background. I used the pen tool in Illustrator to cut out the letters and the lightning bolt from the ACDC picture and then edited them in Photoshop. (On a side note, the pen tool is becoming easier to use with more practice). I used the Bevel and Emboss and Outer Glow tools to make the text stand out from the background. I just added 'Black Ice' in a simple font and used a Gradient overlay and Outer Glow effect. I added a grain filter and then I just played around with the Brightness/Contrast, Curves and Exposure tools to create the exact look that I wanted.

Original Album Cover:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Ice_%28album%29

Recreate Album Cover: Preliminary

For my album cover, I decided to recreate ACDC's Black Ice. I really like this album cover, but I think there are so many things that could be done to it to make it really stand out.

This is the original album cover. It looks cool, but it can definitely be taken to another level. When doing a Google search for this cover, I found some similar covers that gave me some more ideas for my design. I have some great ideas for this cover and I can't wait for everyone to see my finished product.

Recreate Using Illustrator

This project was my very first attempt at using Illustrator and I can already tell that I'm going to have a love-hate relationship with this program. I really struggled with the pen tool and trying to trace my object. No matter how many tutorials I watch, I just can't seem to grasp the concept of using the pen tool. I have learned how to work around using the pen tool in Photoshop and if I could do the same in Illustrator, I totally would. Regardless, I tried my best and I am posting what I made in Illustrator even though it is a little embarrassing (any advice about using the pen tool would be greatly appreciated).

Original (found on Google)

My Illustrator Version

My Photoshop Version

Artist Statement

I have had an interest in art for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory of my love for art is from when I was about 6 years old and I was forced to go to summer camp. All I wanted to do was draw or paint or make boondoggles while all of the other kids were playing games. I took art classes all throughout school and I loved them, but I never really felt like it was great at art. In high school, one of my art teachers pulled me aside and said she was mad at me. I was in shock, because I never got in trouble at school. She wasn’t really mad at me, but she was disappointed that I didn’t sign up for the art program in school and it was too late for me to do so at that point. She said I had talent, and it was at that moment that I realized I was good at art.

I used to enjoy drawing a lot, but now that I have more experience with Photoshop, I prefer to create digital artwork. When using Photoshop, there is really no limit to what I can do. There are so many tools that I can use to create whatever I want.

A lot of my inspiration comes from things that are a part of my daily life, like what I see on tv, the type of music I listen to, pictures I see when I’m blogging on Tumblr. I am a very visual person, and things that I see have an impact on me. The digital art that I create reflect things that appeal to me (mostly because I am a student working at Walgreens and the only art I create are for my classes).