Need Help Creating Album Cover

SixStringSurfer

Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1416
Memphis, TN
United States

Posted on Feb 23 2025 09:48 PM

Hi guys, I just completed my original debut EP Louder Than Life. I would like to create a digital album cover for it. I was wondering what you guys used, or if you hired a professional to do it. I have tried Google, and sites like Canva and Piscard come up. Are either of those sites any good? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

—

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website.

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revmike

Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3820
North Atlantic
Canada

Posted on Feb 24 2025 06:41 AM

We always use a professional for our album covers. Not sure about the sites you mentioned, but I am sure others will chime in.

Rev

—

Canadian Surf

http://www.urbansurfkings.com/

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Samurai

Joined: Mar 14, 2006
Posts: 2264
Kiev, Ukraine
Ukraine

Posted on Feb 24 2025 10:42 AM

I have used some AI gen sites but wasn’t really happy with the results. Then one of my daughters made a couple of cover arts and I like em)

—

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

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MartinB

Joined: Feb 06, 2018
Posts: 61
Birmingham
United Kingdom

Posted on Feb 24 2025 01:53 PM

Putting to one side the various ethical problems with using AI-generated art, at a practical level it almost always looks... off.

If you've got an idea of what you want but you don't know how to create it, ideally you'd pay an artist. But if it's just a case of needing something for digitial distribution, here are a couple of DIY ideas that you may find approachable:

Find a suitable public domain photo, and just add some text
Make a simple image that looks like the label on a 45 - a lot of people do this for digital single releases. Example from Hi-Tide:

—

The Miramars (2017-2022) https://www.facebook.com/themiramars / https://soundcloud.com/themiramars

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SixStringSurfer

Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1416
Memphis, TN
United States

Posted on Feb 24 2025 03:07 PM

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice.

—

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website.

Top

weird_oh84

Joined: May 24, 2023
Posts: 201

Posted on Feb 24 2025 04:05 PM

Yes, please avoid using AI , at any cost…

Not to sound preachy , but as tempting as it is because it is so cheap and fast , it is posed and intended to replace literally tens of thousands of artists jobs …

I’ve noticed some bands using AI for gig flyers and promo materials and you can almost always spot it as there is always something “off” in terms of style and execution…I can’t help but automatically dislike the bands that do use AI lol

From a personal perspective,as a professional artist of 20 plus years myself I find the advent of AI “art” both amazing and wholly depressing…
I never thought I’d see the day where artists would be 100% replaced , but that’s exactly what we are witnessing….and that’s not hyperbole …Not just for art , but writing , programming, office work, etc…

Just some food for thought!

Last edited: Feb 24, 2025 16:07:07

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SixStringSurfer

Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1416
Memphis, TN
United States

Posted on Feb 24 2025 04:15 PM

I’ll avoid AI, but may use a pre-made templet or photo if that makes sense. I appreciate the response, wierd_oh84. Big shout out to Samurai, as he played bass on 3/4 songs on this EP!

—

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website.

Top

weird_oh84

Joined: May 24, 2023
Posts: 201

Posted on Feb 24 2025 04:43 PM

SixStringSurfer wrote:

I’ll avoid AI, but may use a pre-made templet or photo if that makes sense. I appreciate the response, wierd_oh84. Big shout out to Samurai, as he played bass on 3/4 songs on this EP!

Cool!

I too use pre existing images as reference/ inspiration…. But when the time comes to actually create, 100% human made!lol

And congrats on the album! Can’t wait to check it out !

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edwardsand

Joined: Jun 29, 2018
Posts: 783

Posted on Feb 24 2025 06:00 PM

As I'm something of an artist (though not professional by any means), I'm always in favor of supporting creative people by hiring them and paying them properly. But if you want to tackle it yourself, a program like Powerpoint is easy to use as far as inserting a background image and adding in text and moving it around. Just set the slide size to 12x12 (or other square size), insert image for background, then insert text boxes that can easily be moved around, resize, twirled, stapled, rinsed, and repeated...

Top

ArtS

Joined: May 09, 2008
Posts: 1377
Isle of Kent, MD
United States

Posted on Feb 24 2025 07:43 PM

We've done a mixture of images, bandshots, AI, etc.
We typically do the layout ourselves using Xara and other software. I'm not an artist, but come from a family of artists. Unfortunately none are layout artists so I'm self taught.

Our last 2 releases pulled graphics from AI as an experiment. It was fun, but gets kind of looking similar. I did like the images and laid out the rest myself, but still feel we fall short of the bands who use professionals. We try to avoid the traditional layout rehashed from the 50s, 60s and 70s. There are a lot of those in the surf community. Some are great, others are just uninspired copies.

It would be easier to use a good graphic artist if we had some solid recommendations. Trying to go online or look locally is a crap shoot, and finding a true creative layout person is hard. Choosing wrong is expensive and trying to get the rights to the artwork purchased, would be costly.

So maybe SG101ers could give some referrals.

Regarding AI, it's taking over my accounting industry too. The younger generations and some older folks are not as concerned with quality or long term consequences.

So go into programming and IT maintenance before we are all just being controlled by droids...

—

Surf.The most dangerous of genres...

Surfcat

MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus
Wake up Jimmy! It's Christmastime! (2024) - Agent Octopus (Single)
YOUTUBE - Agent Octopus Surf

SG101 Festival 2025 Click Here!

Last edited: Feb 24, 2025 19:50:17

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chiba

Joined: Sep 02, 2022
Posts: 525
Central VA
United States

Posted on Feb 25 2025 02:35 PM

Fiverr.

—

--
Project: MAYHEM by Hypersonic Secret now available!

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SixStringSurfer Joined: Sep 23, 2014 Posts: 1416 Memphis, TN	Posted on Feb 23 2025 09:48 PM Hi guys, I just completed my original debut EP Louder Than Life. I would like to create a digital album cover for it. I was wondering what you guys used, or if you hired a professional to do it. I have tried Google, and sites like Canva and Piscard come up. Are either of those sites any good? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. — MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website. Top
revmike Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 3820 North Atlantic	Posted on Feb 24 2025 06:41 AM We always use a professional for our album covers. Not sure about the sites you mentioned, but I am sure others will chime in. Rev — Canadian Surf http://www.urbansurfkings.com/ Top
Samurai Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 2264 Kiev, Ukraine	Posted on Feb 24 2025 10:42 AM I have used some AI gen sites but wasn’t really happy with the results. Then one of my daughters made a couple of cover arts and I like em) — Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki Lost Diver https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin Top
MartinB Joined: Feb 06, 2018 Posts: 61 Birmingham	Posted on Feb 24 2025 01:53 PM Putting to one side the various ethical problems with using AI-generated art, at a practical level it almost always looks... off. If you've got an idea of what you want but you don't know how to create it, ideally you'd pay an artist. But if it's just a case of needing something for digitial distribution, here are a couple of DIY ideas that you may find approachable: Find a suitable public domain photo, and just add some text Make a simple image that looks like the label on a 45 - a lot of people do this for digital single releases. Example from Hi-Tide: — The Miramars (2017-2022) https://www.facebook.com/themiramars / https://soundcloud.com/themiramars Top
SixStringSurfer Joined: Sep 23, 2014 Posts: 1416 Memphis, TN	Posted on Feb 24 2025 03:07 PM Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. — MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website. Top
weird_oh84 Joined: May 24, 2023 Posts: 201	Posted on Feb 24 2025 04:05 PM Yes, please avoid using AI , at any cost… Not to sound preachy , but as tempting as it is because it is so cheap and fast , it is posed and intended to replace literally tens of thousands of artists jobs … I’ve noticed some bands using AI for gig flyers and promo materials and you can almost always spot it as there is always something “off” in terms of style and execution…I can’t help but automatically dislike the bands that do use AI lol From a personal perspective,as a professional artist of 20 plus years myself I find the advent of AI “art” both amazing and wholly depressing… I never thought I’d see the day where artists would be 100% replaced , but that’s exactly what we are witnessing….and that’s not hyperbole …Not just for art , but writing , programming, office work, etc… Just some food for thought! Last edited: Feb 24, 2025 16:07:07 Top
SixStringSurfer Joined: Sep 23, 2014 Posts: 1416 Memphis, TN	Posted on Feb 24 2025 04:15 PM I’ll avoid AI, but may use a pre-made templet or photo if that makes sense. I appreciate the response, wierd_oh84. Big shout out to Samurai, as he played bass on 3/4 songs on this EP! — MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New EP Louder Than Life available on bandcamp and website. Top
weird_oh84 Joined: May 24, 2023 Posts: 201	Posted on Feb 24 2025 04:43 PM SixStringSurfer wrote: I’ll avoid AI, but may use a pre-made templet or photo if that makes sense. I appreciate the response, wierd_oh84. Big shout out to Samurai, as he played bass on 3/4 songs on this EP! Cool! I too use pre existing images as reference/ inspiration…. But when the time comes to actually create, 100% human made!lol And congrats on the album! Can’t wait to check it out ! Top
edwardsand Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 783	Posted on Feb 24 2025 06:00 PM As I'm something of an artist (though not professional by any means), I'm always in favor of supporting creative people by hiring them and paying them properly. But if you want to tackle it yourself, a program like Powerpoint is easy to use as far as inserting a background image and adding in text and moving it around. Just set the slide size to 12x12 (or other square size), insert image for background, then insert text boxes that can easily be moved around, resize, twirled, stapled, rinsed, and repeated... Top
ArtS Joined: May 09, 2008 Posts: 1377 Isle of Kent, MD	Posted on Feb 24 2025 07:43 PM We've done a mixture of images, bandshots, AI, etc. We typically do the layout ourselves using Xara and other software. I'm not an artist, but come from a family of artists. Unfortunately none are layout artists so I'm self taught. Our last 2 releases pulled graphics from AI as an experiment. It was fun, but gets kind of looking similar. I did like the images and laid out the rest myself, but still feel we fall short of the bands who use professionals. We try to avoid the traditional layout rehashed from the 50s, 60s and 70s. There are a lot of those in the surf community. Some are great, others are just uninspired copies. It would be easier to use a good graphic artist if we had some solid recommendations. Trying to go online or look locally is a crap shoot, and finding a true creative layout person is hard. Choosing wrong is expensive and trying to get the rights to the artwork purchased, would be costly. So maybe SG101ers could give some referrals. Regarding AI, it's taking over my accounting industry too. The younger generations and some older folks are not as concerned with quality or long term consequences. So go into programming and IT maintenance before we are all just being controlled by droids... — Surf.The most dangerous of genres... Surfcat MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS! (2024) - Agent Octopus Wake up Jimmy! It's Christmastime! (2024) - Agent Octopus (Single) YOUTUBE - Agent Octopus Surf SG101 Festival 2025 Click Here! Last edited: Feb 24, 2025 19:50:17 Top
chiba Joined: Sep 02, 2022 Posts: 525 Central VA	Posted on Feb 25 2025 02:35 PM Fiverr. — -- Project: MAYHEM by Hypersonic Secret now available! Top

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Need Help Creating Album Cover