[Kathlib the Prop...]

Programs: Adobe Photoshop is the most professional and often used program. Jasc Paint Shop Pro is another frequently used program, and is inexpensive and easy to use for those of you who have had little or no image editing experience. A third program, and one that is not commonly used to make cover art but should be mentioned (creativity is a key to great artwork), is Corel Bryce, a 3D rendering program, and Draw, which is a program closer to Adobe Photoshop.

Sizes: Front covers should be 600x600 pixels; back covers should be 600x461 (aka 546 width with a 27 pixel sidebar on each side, thus totalling 600). Note that the text on each sidebar should have the bottom of the letters facing the inside of the cover, if that's confusing look at an actual CD cover. CD stickers are not required when making cover art, but some people like to make them anyway. They should be either 550x550 or 600x600 pixels. Cover inlays (the part of the back cover that is facing the inside of the CD case) are not required either but their dimensions are the same as that of a back cover, 600x461. Front covers that have a back (as on the CD booklets) should be 1200x600 pixels. DVD covers should be 1075x720 at 100 resolution. The following image is also useful in determining the sizes for DVD cover artwork:
(IMG:http://www.metcoverart.com/v2/media/images/dvd_cover_size.gif)

The exact sizes for covers are as follows:
Front/Inside: 472x472 pixels @ 100 resolution
Booklet: 944x472 pixels @ 100 resolution
CD/DVD: 475x475 pixels @ 100 resolution
Inlay/Back: 583x465 pixels @ 100 resolution (spines are 24 pixels wide each)
DVD cover: 1075x720 pixels @ 100 resolution (spine is 55 pixels wide)
Be sure to use Save As and NOT Save For Web.

For 300 DPI cover artwork, this site has downloads of PSD templates which I highly recommend using if you're into making high resolution covers. The only drawback of these 300 DPI covers is that they're huge and it's extremely difficult to find high resolution photos and artwork to use. I recommend trying this only for special projects and otherwise using one of the methods mentioned above. Be sure to use Save As and NOT Save For Web.


Pictures/Artwork: Most people prefer to use covers that have pics from that particular show, especially if they were at the show. Being at a live MetallicA concert is an awesome experience and people like to feel that in the cover adorning their bootlegs. However, the greatest cover art is that which utilizes live pics with art in harmony. It is both powerful and artistic.
As far as finding photos to use for artwork here's what I can tell you:

For pics for VCD / DVD covers I recommend checking:
http://metallicavideoarchive.metpage.org/
http://users.pandora.be/metallipriest/
http://mastah666.republika.pl
http://www.telefonica.net/web2/mlolo/trading_page/
http://www.prodigyweb.net.mx/elmoz/main.html

A really good site to get pics and logos off of is metallicaworld Thay have over 1,100 pics and they're good quality, decent sized pics as well...

For 1996-7 shows, the best place is MetallicA's Byte the Lightning CD-ROM, because it has pics from most of those shows.
You could also try Encyclopedia Metallica, though their pics are usually small and low resolution, so I wouldn't recommend them unless for small pics to fill space.
You can also go to the MetPage's gallery and The Four Horsemen's gallery to get miscellaneous pics for covers from certain eras.
You can obviously find other pics from other MetallicA sites' photo galleries. For newer shows (2003-4), pics can usually be found on local radio stations' sites and you can find some links to news stories with pics and stuff in the News section of some sites. Of course, Met On Tour is also a good source for new tour pics.

Text: Text should be legible. That's actually a problem when a cover is printed, as most people do not have high resolution printers. Text should be of a contrasting color of the background, or have a shadow effect directly behind it to make it stand out (more information on this can be found in this forum's other sticky). Text should also be large enough to read, keeping in mind that most covers get resized to a certain degree when printed so your already small text may end up even smaller, and then how is one supposed to read it if it doesn't stand out from the background like I previously mentioned?

Tracklists: What's the difference between a tracklist and a setlist you ask? A setlist is a list of all the songs and jams that were played at a show. A tracklist is a list of tracks according to the bootleg and how it's split. This point is often confused. When making a cover you should always check the tracklist and write it according to what it is on the bootleg, not the setlist (this may mean you'll have to hunt it down in the Metpage FTP servers or forum (IMG:http://www.metcoverart.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/17.gif) ). If a cover displays the setlist, but the bootleg's tracks are listed differently, you will not be able to look up what number is what song and then the entire reason for making cover art is contradicted.

File Formats & Sizes: It is best that you save your final draft of cover art in JPG format, as this is a compressed format that is easily downloadable and compatable with older computers and slower internet connections. It is also a good idea to limit the file's size to around 350 KB, both because of slow internet connections and to conserve our bandwidth. To save your file while you're still working on it without any loss of quality I would recommend saving it in PSD format, as this format can be interchanged between Adobe, Jasc, and Corel software and allowes the use of layers.

Credit: I would not recommend filling half your cover with a logo or text crediting you, the creator. Logos are perfectly acceptable, and should be on a cover to give you credit (unless you don't particularly care), but no one wants to use a cover that is ruined by a distracting or annoying logo, I know I don't. Try to use a small pic or text at the bottom or other edge of the back cover, just like on a CD cover released by a record company. People don't mind these and your cover is then less likely to be edited by someone who doesn't care whether you receive credit or not.

Filenames: You could call your cover metshit.jpg, however it would make it easier if people would name their files in this format. This method of filenaming is most helpful to the staff when maintaining the gallery. You see, the search function for cover art is dependent upon the filename having the date in YYYY-MM-DD format (for example: 2003-06-11) and if the cover is not a .jpg file the gallery can't create thumbnails for it.


Hopefully this sticky has been of some use to you. I will update it with new information and links as I run across them. It takes patience, practice, and creativity to make great artwork of any kind. ^_^ Any questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome.

This post has been edited by frantik2k3: May 31 2006, 08:53 PM

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[Harmony Havoc]

Tutorial Websites

Check out MetCoverArt's Photoshop Tutorial Subforums to find links to tutorials for just about anything you might need to know to make cover art. If you dont find it, PM me, Harmony Havoc or leave a message in the Tutorial Requests pinned to the top of the subforum. Check out the MetCoverArt Tutorails Here:

MetCoverArt Photoshop Tutorial Subforum

Other Tutorial Websites:

Photoshop Tutorials with good beginner Tutorials
http://www.sketchpad.net/photoshp.htm (Adobe PS - Good Basics tutorials + more)
http://graphicdesign.about.com/cs/photoshoptips/ (Adobe PS - Good Basics tutorials + more)
http://www.2ginc.com/tutorials/ps.html (Adobe PS - Good Basics tutorials + more)
http://www.photoshopgurus.com/ (Adobe PS - Good Basics tutorials + more)

Photoshop Tutorials (various techniques and special effects)
http://www.good-tutorials.com (Lots of good Adobe PS tutorials)
http://www.artofgregmartin.com (space tutorials for Adobe PS)
http://www.somethingleet.com (Adobe PS and 3D rendering tutorials, forum)
http://www.photoshopcafe.com (Adobe PS tutorials, lots of effects)
http://www.voidix.com/tutorialsphotoshop.php (Adobe PS tutorials)
http://phong.com/tutorials/ (Adobe PS tutorials, lots of effects + flash)
http://www.shadowness.com/tutorial.php (Adobe PS tutorials, comprehensive + flash)
http://www.cxdesign.dyns.cx (Adobe PS tutorials)
http://www.reality9.com/tutorials.html (Adobe PS tutorials, special effects)
http://www.spoono.com/photoshop/tutorials/ (Adobe PS tutorials)
http://tutorials.yaxay.com/showsect...ion=browse&id=6 (Adobe PS)
http://www.masboy.com/ (Adobe PS tutorials)
http://www.teamphotoshop.com (Adobe PS, flash, 3-D graphics)
http://www.planetphotoshop.com/ (Adobe PS tutorials, lots of effects)
http://www.eyeball-design.com (Adobe PS tutorials, lots of effects)
http://www.wastedyouth.org/ (Adobe PS tutorials, lots of effects)
http://janeecake.home.att.net/tutorials.htm (Adobe PS tutorials, lots of effects)
http://www.davrodigital.co.uk/tutorials/howtoo.htm (Adobe PS tutorials, lots of effects)
http://www.metboard.com/index.php?showforum=16 (Adobe PS tutorials)
http://forum.weborum.com/index.php?showtop...st=0&#entry2284 (Adobe PS tutorials easy image blending)

Photoshop & Image Ready
http://www.webclass.ru/top.php?top=2 (Adobe PS tutorials, comprehensive + Image Ready)

Paintshop Pro Tutorials
http://www.pinoy7.com (Jasc PSP tutorials and a helpful forum)
http://www.photoshopcafe.com (Adobe PS and Jasc PSP tutorials)
http://www.nansons-place.com (Jasc PSP tutorials and forum)
http://www.absolutecross.com/tutorials/ (Adobe PS, Flash, and Jasc PSP tutorials)

Website Design, CAD, 3-D, Etc.
http://www.guistuff.com (Adobe PS tutorials, Web Design and more)
http://www.3dcafe.com (Adobe PS, CAD, Web Design and more)
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/ (Adobe PS + so much more)
http://www.tutorialfind.com (portal to tutorials for many different kinds of graphic designs)
http://www.3dtotal.com (3-D Design)
http://www.designsbymark.com (AD PS, Illustrator and web design)
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials (Adobe PS tutorials, Web Design and more)
http://computerarts.co.uk/tutorials/ (Adobe PS tutorials, Jasc PSP, Web Design and more)
http://apps5.oingo.com/apps/domainpark/dom...reeflashfun.com (flash & website design)

Artwork, brands etc.
Brands of the World (Vector logos for brand names, such as MTV or Metallica)
http://www.deaddreamer.com (PS and 3D artwork that is very inspirational)
http://www.epilogue.net (inspirational artwork)
http://www.digital-arsenal.com/ (brands & artwork)
http://www.dubtastic.com (cool artwork and a portal to lost of diff types of tutorials)
http://www.stridingstudio.com/index.php(inspirational artwork)