100 Sleeves Challenge: Diamond Eyes

original cover design

  • Sleeve 042/100: Feathergun (2009)
  • Studio Album by Rishloo
  • Label: Self released by Rishloo
  • Genre: Progressive Rock
  • Original Cover by: unknown

This post is part of the 100 Sleeves: One hundred Album Covers Re-Designed project, a personal challenge I created for myself at the end of 2020. The goal is to create 100 album covers, a new one every week, inspired by the music I’m enjoying at the moment.

Spotify’s recommendation game has leveled up this year for me and thanks to that I discovered Rishloo last month (January 2022). I was captivated by Rishloo’s rock sound with harsh vocals and I listened to their full discography.

It was the song Diamond Eyes that stuck with me and led me to binge on their album Feathergun. Somewhere I read the meaning of the word “feather gun” is a reference to killing in the name of religion, so I created a heavenly character with a not-so-friendly face and diamond eyes.

Album Cover Redesign by franzmori. This is fan art, no copyright infringement intended.

I was inspired by book illustrations from the early 20th century in the Art Noveau style. That’s why I included peacocks feathers that were common in the illustrations of that time. But to the peacock feathers, I added eyes to reference to a state of continuous surveillance and judgment. I had a lot of fun drawing the diamonds, something that I hadn’t done before but was determined to get right.

I did some color tests but stuck to a limited palette in end.

animated GIF with part of the process

Would you like your own Album Cover design?
I’m available for commissions!

Listen to the art! I’ll be adding a new album each week to this Spotify playlist HERE
To know more about my personal project and see the rest of the cover designs in this series, go HERE.

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