Background
I felt like creating a vinyl cover for a song I enjoyed. The song is called "Merry Bad End" by Mafumafu. It is about a person being a victim of bullying, rumors, and cyberbullying.
Sketches
I tried to reference the music video and also hint at the meaning of the song.
Sketch 1: the character in the original music video is in a coffin with the text looking like rose thorns
Sketch 2: the character is lying down on the ground and sees crows watching her
Sketch 3: a wreath that looks like a noose, below the text is a skull
Sketch 1: the character in the original music video is in a coffin with the text looking like rose thorns
Sketch 2: the character is lying down on the ground and sees crows watching her
Sketch 3: a wreath that looks like a noose, below the text is a skull
I ended up choosing sketch 1 because I liked that it hints at the outcome of what happened to the character. Sketch 3 felt too similar from a shot in the original music video, so i wanted to avoid it.
Type Variations
The typography was difficult for me to nail. I tried to reference heavy metal logos, but it didn't turn out great. I came up with 3 options:
1. The type being visible in the negative space of vines
2. Inspired by illuminated manuscript, vines wrap around the letters
3. tree roots form the letters
1. The type being visible in the negative space of vines
2. Inspired by illuminated manuscript, vines wrap around the letters
3. tree roots form the letters
Final + Mockup
I ended choosing the third one because I felt it would fit the dark tone of the song. I chose the colors based on the original music video.