How to Make Professional Mixtape Covers
The high level of connectivity in contemporary arts, culture and entertainment has inspired new degrees of business and artistic tact on the aspiring performer. For hip-hop and rap musicians, producing mix tapes allows audience members to connect with a performer without requiring the large budgets and financial resources of professional album productions. Producing an attractive, professional mix tape cover will help catch the eye of interested music lovers and establish the reputation and credibility of the performing artist.
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Instructions
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Decide which media formats you will use to distribute your mix tape and measure the dimensions of any physical formats such as CD jewel or slip cases.
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Obtain a photo editing software program such as Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop or GIMP. Each of these programs includes design and layout tools in addition to text and visual utilities. Unlike Corel Draw or Adobe Photoshop, GIMP is available for free through the program's official website.
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Create a new image file that matches the dimensions of the physical media you will be utilizing. If you are using the Internet exclusively for distribution, check the requirements on the service you are using to find more information on compatible file types and image resolutions.
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Create the image and background design you wish to include on your mix tape cover. If you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable creating your own images, websites such as iStock, Big Stock Photo and Stock Vault offer a wide variety of images for purchase. Essentially, users are buying the rights to use their preferred images in personal and commercial pursuits without the possibility of copyright violation. After downloading your preferred image, use the "import" or similarly worded tool within your photo editing program to incorporate this new image into your mix tape design.
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Use the text tools within your editing program to create the a title for your mix tape as well as other essential information such as your artist moniker, featured guest artists, track listings and copyright information. Due to the small amount of available design space, only include what you feel is absolutely necessary to create your desired aesthetic. After typing the text, change the font and style of the words using text editing features such as letter spacing, vertical height adjustment and character thickness.
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Save your mix tape cover as a popular image file type such as .JPEG or .TIFF in order to ensure that online music services will be able to read and utilize the image file. Although certain file types may require more physical memory, this usage of space often implies a higher quality result.
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Tips & Warnings
Research the attributes of specific image file types before converting your image for online use. The maximum quality level differs greatly between popular file formats. In addition, certain file formats, such as .JPEG, may not be able to handle advanced imaging effects such as transparency.
Always check to make sure that images, text or backgrounds you are using on your mix tape cover are not protected under copyright. Copyright infringement can result in serious monetary fines.
