Now Let's Settle Down and Consider the Cover

[They Bow Defeated]

Hater's gonna hate. Just licking their chops and warming up for the single and album release.

 

Actually, I do agree that the interior artwork we've seen seems a lot cooler than the cover. Almost a repeat of S&A where the cover image was my least favorite for the album. Speaking of which, no way this their worst cover with S&A and HYF in the running.

 

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (They Bow Defeated @ Apr 16 2012, 05:03 PM)

Hater's gonna hate. Just licking their chops and warming up for the single and album release. Actually, I do agree that the interior artwork we've seen seems a lot cooler than the cover. Almost a repeat of S&A where the cover image was my least favorite for the album. Speaking of which, no way this their worst cover with S&A and HYF in the running.

I'd say maybe the only covers in contention for possibly being worse than CA are HYF and their debut... that and possibly CP which while somewhat effective, was pretty simplistic. S&A wasn't fantastic, but it was marginally better.

[They Bow Defeated]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 16 2012, 07:08 PM)

I'd say maybe the only covers in contention for possibly being worse than CA are HYF and their debut... that and possibly CP which while somewhat effective, was pretty simplistic. S&A wasn't fantastic, but it was marginally better.

Eh, I would disagree on that. I would buy a CA (red clouds) shirt, but I wouldn't buy a S&A (Leela) shirt.

 

 

[eshine]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 16 2012, 06:49 PM)

QUOTE (eshine @ Apr 16 2012, 04:10 PM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 16 2012, 05:41 PM) Can we all just agree that the cover is pretty lame, that clearly Hugh Syme was underachieving with this cover and leave it at that? No why not? do you actually like the cover? Yes

[CrossedSignals]

This thread is hilarious.

[They Bow Defeated]

QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ Apr 16 2012, 07:27 PM)

This thread is hilarious.

Just wait till the single and album are released.

 

It's going to be a freaking bloodbath around here.

 

 

[drbirdsong]

From the looks of some of the interior art that has surfaced I consider the red cover to be like that of a book. I have several large format art books and they all have rather bland covers, but inside are masterpieces.

[danielmclark]

QUOTE (They Bow Defeated @ Apr 16 2012, 06:29 PM)

QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ Apr 16 2012, 07:27 PM) This thread is hilarious. Just wait till the single and album are released.   It's going to be a freaking bloodbath around here. http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxk8elTG8H1qdcgp6o1_r1_400.gif I'm looking forward to killin' a few guys with a trident!   Ron Burgundy: Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast. Champ Kind: It jumped up a notch. Ron Burgundy: It did, didn't it? Brick Tamland: Yeah, I stabbed a man in the heart. Ron Burgundy: I saw that. Brick killed a guy! Did you throw a trident? Brick Tamland: Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.

[eshine]

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 16 2012, 07:49 PM)

QUOTE (They Bow Defeated @ Apr 16 2012, 06:29 PM) QUOTE (CrossedSignals @ Apr 16 2012, 07:27 PM) This thread is hilarious. Just wait till the single and album are released.   It's going to be a freaking bloodbath around here. http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxk8elTG8H1qdcgp6o1_r1_400.gif I'm looking forward to killin' a few guys with a trident!   Ron Burgundy: Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast. Champ Kind: It jumped up a notch. Ron Burgundy: It did, didn't it? Brick Tamland: Yeah, I stabbed a man in the heart. Ron Burgundy: I saw that. Brick killed a guy! Did you throw a trident? Brick Tamland: Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident. LOL

[Chicken hawk]

To many chices...cant decide on voting. The design is something to be expected.

 

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (drbirdsong @ Apr 16 2012, 05:30 PM)

From the looks of some of the interior art that has surfaced I consider the red cover to be like that of a book. I have several large format art books and they all have rather bland covers, but inside are masterpieces.

And is that a good thing?

[eshine]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Apr 16 2012, 09:11 PM)

QUOTE (drbirdsong @ Apr 16 2012, 05:30 PM) From the looks of some of the interior art that has surfaced I consider the red cover to be like that of a book.  I have several large format art books and they all have rather bland covers, but inside are masterpieces. And is that a good thing? Well, you know what they say - you can't judge a book by it's oil or acrylic on canvas, mixed media, photoshopped in 6 minutes, Istockphoto stolen, lazy ass, Hugh Syme is phoning it in cover

[Merely Space]

[JohnnyBlaze]

QUOTE (treeduck @ Apr 17 2012, 03:45 AM)

QUOTE (Hatchetaxe&saw @ Apr 16 2012, 09:23 AM) QUOTE (treeduck @ Apr 16 2012, 09:37 AM) QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 16 2012, 03:52 AM) QUOTE (lerxt1990 @ Apr 16 2012, 10:18 AM) QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 15 2012, 01:29 PM) QUOTE (Tony R @ Apr 15 2012, 12:15 PM) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/reedlover/CP%20Pics/92172b0a.jpg Found this on a Brazilian site. It purports to be album art for the new Rush album. That looks like real effort and time went into it, unlike the real cover, but that looks more like art for a specific song, not a cover. But to your point... why couldnt we have art somewhat like this for the cover This looks like a Jethro Tull album cover. Not that that's one bit bad. Just sayin'. Maybe Alex can whip out his flute on this tour? We can only dream of such moments. Neil could be the flute boy, he's got more of an Ian Anderson vibe about him when I think about it... Snot is running down his nose?

[danielmclark]

25 minutes. I was bored.

 

http://qaqn.com/images/outbound/rush-swirl2.png

 

Clearly I comped in the clock and the title, I'm not enough of a masochist that I'd try to do those using original elements. About 15-20 minutes of the process was comping those bits, and you can see where I cut corners (no pun intended) around the lettering. Lots of halos there.

 

It's better than the last one, but again, I'm not a trained professional. This is 25 minutes of intermediate-level non-professional work.

 

Anyone want to guess how it was done?

[Silas Lang]

QUOTE (TheAccountant @ Apr 15 2012, 05:28 PM)

Too many choices and none of them exactly fit my answer (although several come close). I really like the simple design.  Reminds me of 2112 crossed with HYF (2 of my favorite albums and I like both covers a lot). The clock showing 9:12 is a very interesting allusion as well.  Like that.  It's interesting, originally we were hearing that the album was an updated By-Tor.  Turns out it may be more of an updated 2112.  Given that Neil has become so much better at writing lyrics over the years (don't take me wrong,  2112 was so great - both lyrics and music) the album and cover have all kinds of symbolism / hints / messages / potential.  An updated 2112, references to 9:12 (9/11? and all that has gone on since plus the causes of 9/11) being released in 2012.  A lot to wrap ones mind around.  Wow!! Add in the groups dislike of certain kinds of authority and Neil's religious, um, views (don't know how else to put it) and we have an album and cover that is potentially loaded with messages which will have folks talking, thinking and arguing for a long time.  Esp. if this turns out to be a farewell album (which I am afraid it may be) I like the thought & creativity that went into it.  I like the color (a lot). Could help make some great shirt designs. Two thumbs up.  I am definitely      in response to it.

I share many of these feelings on the cover. Went with 'simple but effective'. The image has a dark, ominous, vaguely apocalyptic feeling to it. A good cover should reflect the general mood of the music and if it does in this case the album should be pretty metal. I would have been happy with the cover for the single as well.

[eshine]

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 17 2012, 12:48 AM)

Anyone want to guess how it was done?

oil on canvas?

[treeduck]

QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 17 2012, 12:32 AM)

QUOTE (treeduck @ Apr 17 2012, 03:45 AM) QUOTE (Hatchetaxe&saw @ Apr 16 2012, 09:23 AM) QUOTE (treeduck @ Apr 16 2012, 09:37 AM) QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 16 2012, 03:52 AM) QUOTE (lerxt1990 @ Apr 16 2012, 10:18 AM) QUOTE (trenken @ Apr 15 2012, 01:29 PM) QUOTE (Tony R @ Apr 15 2012, 12:15 PM) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/reedlover/CP%20Pics/92172b0a.jpg Found this on a Brazilian site. It purports to be album art for the new Rush album. That looks like real effort and time went into it, unlike the real cover, but that looks more like art for a specific song, not a cover. But to your point... why couldnt we have art somewhat like this for the cover This looks like a Jethro Tull album cover. Not that that's one bit bad. Just sayin'. Maybe Alex can whip out his flute on this tour? We can only dream of such moments. Neil could be the flute boy, he's got more of an Ian Anderson vibe about him when I think about it... Snot is running down his nose? Well they're both sweaty looking bastards who used to work on a farm, and have had flamboyant facial hair, plus both have used long shiny cylindrical musical instruments...

[Stormtron]

I Googled "dark forest" and got this:

 

http://i.imgur.com/ZP2tL.jpg

 

It's the exact same forest used for the old man pulling the wagon picture. The sad truth is Hugh just phoned it in with some of this artwork.

[Lerxster]

QUOTE (danielmclark @ Apr 17 2012, 12:48 AM)

25 minutes. I was bored. http://qaqn.com/images/outbound/rush-swirl2.png Clearly I comped in the clock and the title, I'm not enough of a masochist that I'd try to do those using original elements. About 15-20 minutes of the process was comping those bits, and you can see where I cut corners (no pun intended) around the lettering. Lots of halos there. It's better than the last one, but again, I'm not a trained professional. This is 25 minutes of intermediate-level non-professional work. Anyone want to guess how it was done?

I would have guessed you would have stopped making crappy album covers

No hard feelings, let me buy you a beer http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w295/deppobsessive/gif%20images/beer.gif

[Tick]

You nailed my exact thoughts! Its beautiful.

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Storm Shadow @ Apr 17 2012, 01:46 AM)

I Googled "dark forest" and got this: http://i.imgur.com/ZP2tL.jpg It's the exact same forest used for the old man pulling the wagon picture. The sad truth is Hugh just phoned it in with some of this artwork.

Yikes!

 

So far in the voting we have

 

It's decent, simple in design but effective - 35%

It's pretty bland, very slap dash, disappointing for Hugh Syme - 11%

I'm still hoping that it won't be the final, actual cover art - 10%

 

That's well over 50% who say it's decent at best. At least 10-15% more also gave it uncomplimentary remarks.

 

All I'm saying is, if it was the image with the two outstretched arms and the watch in the middle OR the one with the sundial and steampunk ships OR the one with the Signals dog, the response would be FAR more overwhelmingly positive.

 

 

 

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/rushgoober6/Detonator8.jpg

 

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/rushgoober6/clockwork-angels-tourbook.jpg

 

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e85/rushgoober6/CaravanSong1.jpg

 

 

Does anyone really think THIS is better than those 3? :

 

http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Rush-Clockwork-Angels-e1334152796555.jpg

 

 

Mind you, it's not a BAD or horrible cover by any means, but man we sure got teased with so much better...

 

 

[rushgoober]

I didn't even mention THIS image, which is also far superior to the red swirly cloud image:

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-4%2BIRUSiL._SS500_.jpg

[Snaked]

I havent kept up with this entire thread but in case anybody is interested the 'old man pulling the wagon' image is titled "The.Pedlar"

 

 

Just wait till the weekend when I show everybody what I've been using for my desktop

 

 

[ghostworks]

QUOTE (Storm Shadow @ Apr 17 2012, 03:46 AM)

I Googled "dark forest" and got this: http://i.imgur.com/ZP2tL.jpg It's the exact same forest used for the old man pulling the wagon picture. The sad truth is Hugh just phoned it in with some of this artwork.

^ I couldn't find the stock photography site for that image, but it was posted as far back as 2010

 

again:

there's absolutely nothing wrong with using stock photography, fonts and digital tools to create album covers (I, myself, get paid to do that very thing)

 

but there is a creative process to finalizing your work, and that process can either be revealed or obscured (I favor the latter)

 

every single image, font or element I use for my album cover designs is modified, personalized or manipulated in a way that makes it my own (or in my clients' cases, their own)

 

it's not necessarily 'bad design' to paste up elements over a digitally manipulated photo/illustration background - but many people (most of them non-designers) now know how the sausage is made, so to speak

 

in my opinion, as an artist, you've got to instill some mystery back into the process, now that your source material is often searchable

 

what I've seen of Hugh's artwork for CA at this point looks like down and dirty 'quick paycheck' work - simple mock-ups over stock elements

 

and if the band is happy with that, great... I don't have to be