Popular Post Fedex Posted June 2, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted June 2, 2016 (edited) Hi guys, some time ago I contacted Ryan Corey (Chinese Democracy's art director) by email. I sent him several questions involved with his work on the album. He´s a cool dude because he replied the email and answered all the questions (he even ask for an opinion related to the finished work). I want to share it with you. There are some interesting facts. Here we go!1- When did you start working with the art of the album? We only started working on this project shortly before its release. We had a bit more time to focus on the cover, but once that was decided, the rest of the package had to be completed in a matter of days. (I was only allowed one long night to complete 99% of the work).2- Did you have a call from Axl or the management team? I mean, how did the relationship start? We had a lot of meetings with Axl's management, but no direct contact with him at all. He's pretty reclusive.3- About the work. Did you receive clear work instructions? Did you have freedom in the creative process? Axl had the bike photo to begin with. My understanding was that he had had it in mind for the cover for a couple of years prior to the album's release. So we had pretty clear instructions that that photo was going to be on the cover. We did many different cover options and eventually Axl settled on the one that was released. After that it was more about figuring out what the rest of the pieces should look like in accordance with the aesthetic of the cover and how to work in all the photos of the band members, lyrics, etc. within the pages allotted. Then there were some very specific instructions as to where some things should appear and the inclusion of the paintings that appear in the booklet etc.4- Maybe you're not a GNR fan, but this album was surrounded with mystery through the years. What did it mean for you to do this job? I mean this was Axl Rose's comeback. I was aware of the magnitude and the mystique surrounding this project, so I felt proud to be able to be a part of it; I knew that a lot of people would be anticipating this record. At one point the album art leaked to the internet before its release and that was almost a big fiasco. How has the art been received by GnR fans? Do they like it or no? (I like it, but I told him there are mixed opinions about the artwork)5- How about the alternative covers? There are plenty of them online, some of them are supposed to be fake, but the “red hand” cover is shown in the Smog site as an original piece of work. What is the story behind the different covers? Which is your favourite one? The bicycle or the hand? The only two covers I know about are the bicycle and the red hand, both of which were officially released by Geffen. After the bike package was out, Axl wanted to do a special "art edition" that featured art that he personally selected from various sources. That turned out into a completely alternate package and I think was only a very limited release. As far as the covers are concerned, it's hard to chose one or the other. Maybe it's because I had stared at the bicycle for so long that it was refreshing to look at something different. And I like the red hand because I think that artist does interesting work. But the bicycle has good traits as well. Edited June 2, 2016 by Fedex 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Archer Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 The red hand would have epic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gracii Guns Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Thank you for joining and posting that I've always wanted to hear more about the design of GN'R artwork (as I am a graphic designer myself). Can I ask, what prompted you to contact Ryan? Are you researching for a project, or thought you'd just try your luck? The Chinese Democracy artwork is by far the best GN'R album art there is. I checked out his website and am impressed by the work- I've never had the chance to create album artwork at a professional level before, so that was really cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedex Posted June 2, 2016 Author Share Posted June 2, 2016 12 minutes ago, Gracii Guns said: Thank you for joining and posting that I've always wanted to hear more about the design of GN'R artwork (as I am a graphic designer myself). Can I ask, what prompted you to contact Ryan? Are you researching for a project, or thought you'd just try your luck? The Chinese Democracy artwork is by far the best GN'R album art there is. I checked out his website and am impressed by the work- I've never had the chance to create album artwork at a professional level before, so that was really cool. You're welcome! As you say, I had just try my luck! I've always wanted to know more about this album. So, I contacted him and asked If I could send him the questions. I'm a content writer, so I do things like this all the time, haha! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Słash Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 (edited) This is really great, thanks for posting this and I have never sent any courier through you, but you did a great job in delivering this to us. Edited June 2, 2016 by Slash787 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicem Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Nice, does this basically prove a legit version of the hand grenade cover does not exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreakDown2014 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Thank you! It was a great read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Comstock Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Bicem said: Nice, does this basically prove a legit version of the hand grenade cover does not exist? The Grenade cover was supposedly only given to the band/management/etc. and only a few have gotten out, probably one of the 'options' Axl was considering but ultimately got scrapped. All the discs in the Grenade version are just blank silver, I guess 'advance copies' is the term? The artwork is still cool either way. Would've been great if the red hand were version released on vinyl, that artwork in high-res would be sweet. Edited June 3, 2016 by Gordon Comstock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Broue Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 (edited) Quote Axl had the bike photo to begin with. My understanding was that he had had it in mind for the cover for a couple of years prior to the album's release. So we had pretty clear instructions that that photo was going to be on the cover. We did many different cover options and eventually Axl settled on the one that was released. After that it was more about figuring out what the rest of the pieces should look like in accordance with the aesthetic of the cover and how to work in all the photos of the band members, lyrics, etc. within the pages allotted. Then there were some very specific instructions as to where some things should appear and the inclusion of the paintings that appear in the booklet etc. So, the "label fucked up the cover" excuse was bullshit all along.... Anyway, thx for the interview and yeah, the red hand and the grenade cover is 100 times better than the cycle cover... one long night with specific instructions, lol Axl and his "perfectionsim" Edited June 3, 2016 by Strange Broue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modano09 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I'd love to know the story behind CD's release. It sounds like it was taken out of Axl's hands and rushed out ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Jay Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Red hand and How Are You? are cool but don't fit the music. The bicycle was the right choice, I think it has a lot of meanings and the colour is perfect. Grey green. I like the artworks too, don't care much about all the arts, here we can see all the members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dude Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 57 minutes ago, Strange Broue said: So, the "label fucked up the cover" excuse was bullshit all along.... Anyway, thx for the interview and yeah, the red hand and the grenade cover is 100 times better than the cycle cover... one long night with specific instructions, lol Axl and his "perfectionsim" I don't know of anyone saying "the label fucked up the cover." I've heard that in regards to the errors in the lyrics in the booklet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedex Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 14 hours ago, Slash787 said: This is really great, thanks for posting this and I have never sent any courier through you, but you did a great job in delivering this to us. I'm glad you like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedex Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 11 hours ago, BreakDown2014 said: Thank you! It was a great read You're welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 (edited) The album was in the works for 10+ years but the booklet was put together in a matter of days. Typical GN'R. Thanks for sharing. Edited June 3, 2016 by Sisyphus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6lake sa66ath Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Amazing insight. It's kind of scandalous really. Watch some rock blog make a headline out of this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ugly_Kid_Jose Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I was very disappointed with the cover of the bicycle. I had seen that cover in a bootleg in 2002 if I remember well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Jay Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 6 minutes ago, Ugly_Kid_Jose said: I was very disappointed with the cover of the bicycle. I had seen that cover in a bootleg in 2002 if I remember well. I would love to see images from that gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young_Gun Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Very cool! Also shows just how reclusive Axl was/is and how much he replied on others to get tasks done. No wonder the record took so long to come out. Would love a Red hand copy but they go for over $300US lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvH Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 There's no "cover fuckup". My really, really major gripe with the art of ChiDem is the placedholder flower on the page with the lyrics from Prostitute. Otherwise, whil I think that the red hand cover is way better than the bike, I find most of the booklet we got really beautiful. The golden reflections are a nice touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SidneyWish Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 I prefer the picture in sepia of the two chinese woman doing a theater piece, that was included with one of the leaks. I think the booklet and artwork of CD really sucks. It looks amateur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Jay Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 On 5/6/2016 at 10:00 AM, SidneyWish said: I prefer the picture in sepia of the two chinese woman doing a theater piece, that was included with one of the leaks. I think the booklet and artwork of CD really sucks. It looks amateur. http://www.idolator.com/400695/the-curious-case-of-the-disappearing-shacklers-revenge-artwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom2112 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 On 03/06/2016 at 9:01 PM, Sisyphus said: The album was in the works for 10+ years but the booklet was put together in a matter of days. Typical GN'R. Thanks for sharing. The record was under the labels control for just under a year before it's release. I think there was a lot if negotiation and disagreement that ultimately led to the artwork / lyrics getting botched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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