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davescm
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 26, 2025
Question

Something for the Weekend - Part 250 - A picture for the album!

  • September 26, 2025
  • 34 replies
  • 4704 views

Thanks to all who took the time to participate in our last 'Poison Pen' challenge. There were some great ideas and images.

This week we have something different, thanks to an idea suggested a couple of weeks ago by @Trevor.Dennis . Growing up, I always liked buying record albums and I loved the cover art that contained the record, sometimes as much, and occasionaly more, than the record itself! There were iconic images such as Hipgnosis' graphical prism on Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon', or Richard Corben's fantastic graveyard bike on Meatloaf's 'Bat out of Hell', and who can forget Peter Blake and Jann Haworth's cover for the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

So the challenge for this week is to think of an album you liked and come up with your own cover design for it. There is no real starter image but I have attached a simple grey square 2500 x 2500 pixels in sRGB to use as a format.

When you post your response can you add just a few words on what the album is and how you went about it. It may help others see the potential of different approaches, software, and tools to such a challenge.

The “rules”:

  • Anything goes, as long as it meets the forum rules on decency, copyright, etc.
  • Anyone, and everyone, is welcome to have a go, whether you are a complete beginner or a Photoshop expert. This is not just for our forum “regulars”.
  • The challenge is not limited to Photoshop. Any Adobe software can be used. 
  • There are no prizes apart from the chance to practice, show off your skills, or bring a bit of humor and fun. Don't be shy, join in and have a go!


 

When posting back your image — please use the blue reply button in this first post and use the 'Insert Photos' icon at the top of the reply box. If posting a comment on someone else’s entry, then please use the grey reply button next to their image post.

 

Have fun!

 

Dave


 

34 replies

RosaPerry
Inspiring
September 26, 2025

A more serious piece, inspired by Pink Floyd’s The Wall, where the song speaks of barriers built to keep the world out. This artwork reflects on isolation and the walls shaped by pain and loss, created in Photoshop with layered pieces and textures to carry depth and emotion. 

Rosa
davescm
Community Expert
davescmCommunity ExpertAuthor
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

One of my favourite albums - very nicely done Rosa. I love the atmosphere in it.
Dave

RosaPerry
Inspiring
September 27, 2025

@davescm Thank you so much, Dave!

Rosa
Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

davescm
Community Expert
davescmCommunity ExpertAuthor
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

A very nice take on it Trevor, it is clever.
Dave

Ged_Traynor
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

Is this considered cheating if I did this for a previous challenge, done in Photoshop before AI was a thing 😉

Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

Ged Zeppelin!  LOL  I hadn't nopticed that last time Ged.

Ged_Traynor
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

Trevor, this is the one you would have seen in the SFTW part 144, I still had the original PSD so just modified it a bit

 

Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

Thanks for running with this Dave.  I think it will be nice to create stuff from scratch, and we get to see who likes what music.  I am going to start with an unfair advantage as I made this cover a couple of weeks ago, because I had nothing else to do, and like most of us here, I am always looking for an excuse to use Photoshop etc.

Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

BTW  I think we should get extra points if we can add a humours twist.

davescm
Community Expert
davescmCommunity ExpertAuthor
Community Expert
September 26, 2025

I agree about the humour, that always goes down well, and we are not asking people to re-create an existing cover this week, but to come up with an original design as an alternative cover for one of their favourite albums. 🙂
Dave