Here are some examples of sketchbook ideas that developed into finished products or designs. I’m not saying that they are worth looking at, it’s just that they are impersonal enough for me to post them.
FIRST FOLD RECORDS SAMPLER
Some of the initial ideas for the release of a sampler/compilation by First Fold Records. The idea of creating a strong logo was clear from very early on. The earth is in flames, it is now Armageddon, and from those flames First Fold Records rise. The reality is that the logo represents the ever decaying Midlands region of the United Kingdom.
The final product, a fold out double sided poster and CD that was a initial example of were the heads of those involved in creating the First Fold product were at the time. Limited to a rum of 100 CDs.
The poster included an Apocalyptic manifesto that involved the three current and rising superpowers, whomever they may be, in reality the text was just a comment on the loss of industry in the Midlands.
GENERIC ON-BODY ART FOR FIRST FOLD RECORDS
The really boring side of running a minute record label becomes evident when the mundane chores list takes up more space than the designs for the generic on-body art of the CDs.
Once I had drawn the big earth in flames and banner I prepared the text. Lots of problems using pen and paper for the dyslexic bit embarrassing really, thankfully when using the computer I have spellcheck.
The final design, Spunkle’s Autumn Tapes text could be replaced by any other release by First Fold. All the drawings were done in the sketchbook, one layer at a time then brought together in photoshop with minimal manipulation and no effects.
FIRST FOLD GENERIC DIGIPACK
Creating the generic packaging was a little intimidating in the sense that I was not the only person that was going to use the digipacks and not the only person putting up cash for them either. I filled half a sketchbook with ideas and checked with my colleagues every step of the process.
The final product, First Fold’s generic packaging, not pretty but it certainly achieves it’s aims of being strikingly unique, informative and providing First Fold Records with a brand identity.
PAPA NOVEMBER BOOK ONE - AZMAVETH
After creating a piece of text for the First Fold Records Sampler I was inspired to create a more intricate apocriphal story, this time to tie in to the album I was working for First Fold. The music and the art developed at the same time, both disciplines feeding of each other, the darker the story became the darker the music sounded and vice versa. Here some early ideas.
Once the story and music were relatively solid I decided to illustrate the story in a kind of Quay Brothers stile. A friend had created a tattooed doll, the remaining dolls were purchased in Kings Heath’s plentiful charity shops. I built a set out of plywood, found a Victorian window and used it to create a little ambiance. The camera was a bog standard digital fare. Images were converted to grayscale and photoshopped a little.
The manipulated images in order, here telling the story of Azmaveth visually for my reference. This was the second time I photographed the set, the initial pictures were a little to grainy for my aesthetic.
From sketchbook to poster, images were extended with sections of blackness, stretching them using photoshop made them look a little cheap and distorted. The poster is double sided and acts as an insert for the finished album.
PAPA NOVEMBER BOOK TWO - THE WELL
The danger of posting current material is that as the project progresses information is not updated, this is work in progress and these pages show early ideas for Book Two of the ongoing Azmaveth saga, in the last book we leave Azmaveth for dead as a locust that Azmaveth has vomited makes his way down a well. This book is all about the adventures and mis-adventures of that same locust. Will I ever update this?…
I am using a grid system to help me construct both the music and the dynamics of the narrative, in this instance I want the music to be even more tightly linked to the story than it was with Book One Azmaveth. Twenty four cells, twelve chapters, twelve audio tracks, four different moods in story and sound, two tempos, two formats that mirror each other and a grid to balance the possible combinations. That is the basic idea.