INTRODUCTION

I figured I would give a bit of an introduction before delving into the actual content and intended purpose of the blog. 

I started making my own album covers nearly three years ago as of the time of this writing. I originally got started after downloading a series of audio files on the Internet containing rare demos and tracks by The Smiths. Disappointed by the depressing, blank photograph which stared back at me as I looked at the tracks after importing them onto Spotify, I decided to make my own collection (or album) for these songs and assign it a cover created by me (E. Riff). Of course, that first cover was incredibly rudimentary—I had practically zero idea of how to work or manage any image manipulation software and it certainly showed. Yet, after a day of tribulation, I finally managed to create something which I thought was a (mostly) respectable attempt at replicating The Smiths' aesthetic in cover format, finally netting me a lovely little image to glare at me as I listened to the songs. 

Eventually, as I downloaded more and more demos and rarities and tracks and live performances by The Smiths (and eventually other bands too), I started to create more covers, and my skill grew - or at least I like to believe it did. Typically when creating an album cover, I try to mimic the style and aesthetic of the band/artist to the best of my ability. I try to stay true to the artist's art direction and the era/years in which the tracks originate from. I look to the artist's previous covers from those years— including albums, EPs, singles, promos, etc.—for inspiration when creating any given cover. I use era-appropriate fonts which the artist used, variants of images from official releases, styles that mimic original covers, and a whole host of other things. I like to make my album covers feel like they could have been actual cover art from an official release. I'm sure it's rather dull that I choose not to inject too much of my own flavor and style into these covers, but this is just how I've always done it I suppose. I have a great respect & appreciation for clever album art, and I like to try to honor such art when creating my own covers (perhaps I take myself a bit too seriously).  

Regardless, it quickly turned into an actual hobby for me to assemble my own little albums filled with rare tracks, demos, or concert recordings, and draw up my very own cover for said albums. My artistic process developed throughout the years, going from extremely unsophisticated to ... slightly more sophisticated. Many of my covers are quite mediocre, and many are actually decently alright (merely my opinion—feel free to disagree). Despite that, I do think I have genuinely improved in the matter, even if by just a miniscule amount (again, feel free to disagree!). 

So, the purpose of this blog is just to share some of my album covers and delve into my thought process, inspiration, and creation of the actual covers. Truly, this is mostly intended for me and me only. It serves as a method in which I can compile my thoughts on a project and put said thoughts onto a physical medium, allowing me a bit of reflection. I decided to make it public because, honestly, why not? As you can tell, I have no concept of shame. It's all (mostly) anonymous anyway, so I figured I would put all this out there as a sort of digital portfolio for myself. If other people see it—great! If they don't—that's probably even better ... 

Anyway, I won't bore you anymore with the backstory or the nagging little details. I hope you enjoy this reflection on my work (if you could even call it that). 

- E. Riff