INTRO:
More than ten years ago, in a common elementary school in Nanchang, China, a boy sat in the classroom, looking at other boys playing in the hallway. With a colored pencil in his hand and eyes full of envy, he knew that he was different and isolated. So he lowered his head and continued drawing pictures that he thought would never be seen or praised by others. That boy is me, an ordinary yet unique homosexual who has witnessed hatred, discrimination, and warmth from a society where people have controversial opinions about the LGBTQ community.
More than ten years later since I graduated from elementary school, I decided to create an inspiring artwork, a fan-made album cover, that celebrates gay pride.
AUDIENCE/ PURPOSE:
Honestly, the range of my intended audience can be wider than I thought. Since the project is a fan-made album cover of a famous LGBTQ singer Lil Nas X, my work can generate attention among fans of pop music, especially those who admire Lil Nas X as I do. However, I still want to target a more specific audience group- people in the LGBTQ community who have been suffering from discrimination due to their identity and need more encouragement to be who they want to be. As a member of the LGBTQ community, I understand the pressure and inequality that my audiences might face. Classmates might isolate them at school because of their “unusual behavior” and differences in hobbies, or they might have been kicked out of home by their parents after they reveal their sexual orientation in the family. No matter what kind of hardship has hurt them, I do not want to see any of us defeated or ruined by the negativity from society and others’ opinions. With such considerations in mind, I created this project to celebrate the LGBTQ community and encourage more members in this community to embrace and love themselves and be proud of their identity. Also, I want my audience to understand that they are not alone, and we can pull together to create a better and more friendly environment for everyone like us.
IMAGES:
The project consists of two albumcovers, which echo each other in certain ways. I chose SPECTRUM as the album title because the spectrum includes every visible color we can see in reality, which also allegorize our wish for a world that embraces people with different sexual orientation. Besides, the spectrum reminds us of the rainbow, and the rainbow flag is an indispensable signal in the LGBTQ community.
The main character of the two covers, Lil Nas X, is an LGBTQ American singer famous for singles such as Old Town Road and Industry Baby. On social media networks such as Twitter and Instagram, he has no concern about how others judge him and is always willing to speak out about his sexual orientation to the public. As a fan of Lil Nas X, I select his pictures as the main visual element since I believe that his self-love and positivity can bring more energy to the work.
On the album cover of side A, Lil is surrounded by darkness, which symbolizes the hatred and discrimination he received due to his identity. On his face, we see rainbow color blood come from his wounds, which is a way that Lil shows the haters that his sexual orientation is an indispensable part of him. No matter how deeply he is hurt, he will always stand here and proudly claims that he is a homosexual. The background is decorated with several rays of light, which means a sense of hope for those suffering from negativity. Even though Lil is in pain in this album, the dimmed light in the background foreshadows that he will eventually step into the daylight and see the rainbow above the sky.
In the second album, side B of SPECTRUM, Lil finally overcomes the pain and sees the rainbow cross the sky. Compared with himself, who suffered from discrimination on the first album cover, Lil presents more power on the second album cover. He raises his head, with a rainbow shine on his face, and his clothes change from a formal but conservative suit to a fashionable dark blue suit.
The changes in visual elements of the two covers reflect the changes in Lil’s life. After a series of harm that tries to separate him from who he is, Lil is still determined to be who he wants to be. Eventually, his determination rewards him with warmth and happiness and makes him even more proud of who he is.
In addition to the visual elements in the covers, the tracklist also includes detailed information about LGBTQ culture. For example, track 5 of side A is 0628, when the world-renowned LGBTQ revolution Stonewall Riot started. Similarly, the fifth track of side B is 0703, which is the date when the riot ended. I decided to collect these two songs in the albums since I want to encourage my audiences to keep a rebellious spirit in their mind and always be brave to fight for themselves.
PROCESS:
The process of creating the covers is engaging. To create the first cover, I chose a photo of Lil Nas X, selected the character using the selection tool, and applied a gradient map to change its color. Then, I used a layer mask to give the title more visual effects. Finally, I added the label in the lower right corner and light rays in the background. To create the second cover, I repeated the process of making the first cover, but one additional effect I applied here is to blend a rainbow picture with the character.
LEARNING:
I have been interested in creating artwork since I was a kid, but I felt afraid of learning professional design software such as Photoshop. Fortunately, I gradually feel comfortable interacting with Photoshop after taking this class. I realized how convenient it is to use Photoshop to select the part of the image and how easy it is to add special effects to the picture. As I was creating this project, I also felt that I was presenting myself and communicating with my audience. Even though there are no texts that explain my insight, the visual itself is powerful in telling others what I think.
NEXT:
For the next project, I want to use photoshop to adjust the color and add effects to the illustration since it is highly efficient. Besides, since I have created several images for this project to tell a complete character transition, I want to continue applying storytelling in my next project by making connections between images.