Preliminary Work

What I Decided to Create?

For my preliminary work, I decided to create an album cover. Music is a major part of my everyday life, and I have always been curious about how album covers are designed: what they represent, how visual identity is constructed, and what process artists follow to create them. This smaller-scale task allows me to practice visual composition, digital editing, typography, and overall creative planning before starting my final AS coursework.

Research

What I Looked At for Inspiration

Before developing my own ideas, I looked at several well-known album covers, especially from the hip-hop and trap genre. These covers all use strong colors, symbolism, and clear visual identity. My main inspirations were:

• Lil Uzi Vert – Eternal Atake– sci-fi themes, cosmic backgrounds, surreal atmosphere

• Lil Uzi Vert & Future – Pluto x Baby Pluto – space visuals, neon colors, planets, astronauts

• Kanye West – Graduation– colorful, stylized illustrations, symbolic character drifting through space

• Metro Boomin – Not All Heroes Wear Capes– dramatic lighting, strong visual storytelling, cinematic tone

I studied how each cover uses:

• space themes

• bold, vibrant colors

• symbolic characters

• text placement and branding

• layering and composition

These examples helped me to understand the conventions of the genre and inspired me to create a cover that represents my personal style.

Initial Ideas

My initial concept was to create a cover that illustrates the idea of having “my own world” or “my own space,” which is where the title My Space comes from. I wanted the artwork to feel:

• futuristic

• dreamy and atmospheric

• symbolic (floating away from stress, isolation, creativity)

• visually linked to the hip-hop aesthetic

I decided to use an astronaut as the main subject, floating in a colorful galaxy, with planets, stars, and nebula textures surrounding him.

How Research Helped Me

Researching these album covers helped me to:

• understand how artists communicate emotion through color

• explore different ways of placing text, logos, and branding

• learn how to combine illustration, photography, and digital effects

• identify common conventions in the genre (Parental Advisory label, bold colours, cosmic themes)

• develop my confidence in using digital editing software

By analyzing professional examples, I was able to design a cover that matches the style of the genre while still feeling unique and personal.

Planning

Model

For this preliminary task, I chose to use a digitally created astronaut instead of photographing a real model. Many hip-hop covers use symbolic characters, so this choice fits the inspiration and helps create a surreal, space-themed look.

Location

The “location” is a fully digital environment made from:

• a galaxy background

• a large planet

• colourful nebula effects

• stars and light glows

This reflects the idea of being in my own creative universe.

Costume / Props

There were no physical props. The astronaut suit is part of the digital artwork and stands as a metaphor for:

• exploration

• individuality

• isolation

• creativity in my own world

Organizational Aspects

• Software: Adobe Photoshop and Canva

• Process:

  1. Collected inspiration images and analysed design styles

  2. Cut out and layered the astronaut over the galaxy background

  3. Added nebula textures and color gradients

  4. Adjusted lighting, shadows, and highlights

  5. Chose fonts and placed my artist name and album title

  6. Added the Parental Advisory logo

  7. Completed final colour grading and balancing

• Timeline: Created over several editing sessions

Final Result

Below is the album cover I created, titled My Space: