Final album redesign plus CD

This is my final album cover redesign and I added the CD design.

For the cover, I continued in Photoshop to clean up edges of several elements, cropped in closer, added a bevel to the faces which added a highlight in keeping with the shadows, added an overlay and increased the saturation of the colors in the eyes.  I tried mesh gradient tool in Illustrator for the faces, but clearly this was not going to give me the look I wanted.

For the CD design, I used Illustrator for many of the elements including the text on path and live trace for the face.  In Photoshop, I masked off the bleed area so you can see the Amstore template below.

What a fun project this was!!

Redesign of Pink Floyd's Division Bell cover

Dark Side of the Moon

Probably one of the most iconic album covers ever, is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon which was designed by Storm Thorgerson.  He also designed their cover for The Division Bell.

Pink Floyd • The Division Bell

I decided to re-design the Division Bell cover keeping in mind that the Dark Side of the Moon cover has no moon imagery whatsoever.  Bringing the moon imagery into my remake of The Division Bell seemed poetic as a link to their other album.  On a side note, these sculptures are supposedly now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame according to Wikipedia.

I utilized Hubble photos of stars, NASA photos of the moon and Japan Aeronautics Administration Agency photos of the earth rising over the moon horizon for my project.  I complied these into one image along with the Division Bell metal face sculptures all in Photoshop.  Here is my first draft.  Among other planned changes, I need to work on some of the component edges.  I am going to try recreating the faces with the gradient mesh tool.  If I like them better, I will do a swap.  I would also like to design the CD label.  Stay tuned.  Here is my interim version.

Revised Illustrator project

I moved/flipped/resized components and reworked some shading and texture.  At Heather's suggestion, I have moved the logo and text together allowing for the right side to expand appropriately to serve as a website header/banner.  I agree that they belong together (thanks).  I think it works better.

Illustrator Rework Project

I imagined that I have a client (Sandhill Cottages) that needs a website and they want me to use the following low-res image to create their website logo.  It is from a Google search which turned up this Wikipedia image of a dusky dolphin. 

I used the warp and pen tools Illustrator to trace the dolphin, used an artistic brush for the water, recolored the brush strokes and then applied special effects to both the dolphin and water.  I kept them in separate layers for better control.  Below is my reworked image from Illustrator.

I imported this Illustrator file to Photoshop to add the text and frame and a background gradient.  Here is my initial "final" image. 

Artist's Statement

I am a multimedia artist. My works vary from theatrical masks to sculptures assembled from natural materials to photo-manipulated images. There are strong themes which connect my pieces including simple forms such as spheres and an overall sense of playfulness.  I consider it a shame to take art-making too seriously.  To me, the looseness and playfulness of the process is essential to the final success of each piece.  I feel my “audience” can join in the fun since my works are unintimidating and joyful.

Design is in my blood.  My early years were spent in Latin America where I was exposed to the fabulous pre-Columbian Incan and Mayan designs and the molas of the San Blas Indians of Panama.  I also had the pleasure of living 2 years in the Fiji Islands as a Peace Corps volunteer.  The Fijians make dramatic tapa cloth with stencil designs of black and brown.  Exposure to these strong design motifs continues to influence my art.

Even when I worked as a research scientist, I looked for opportunities to bring aesthetics and design into my work.  My graphs and tables of data were attractive and simple which also made the message easier to understand.  My slide presentations were laid out with straightforward supporting graphics, cohesive design and humor.

My current focus is design of elegantly functional websites.  Frank Lloyd Wright once said “Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.   I strive to make each website serve the specific needs of the client while maintaining a pleasing form through application of strong design principles and technical understanding.  I draw on a vast array of skills and design motifs I have been exposed to through my previous artwork and life experience.  I also strive for a sense of simplicity and playfulness to enhance the feel of accessibility of each website.


Anne Drexler
Norwich, NY