manus-skills/.kortix/opencode/skills/media/album-art-director/visual-styles.md

Visual Styles & References

Reference tables for album art visual direction.

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Photography Styles

Style	Effect	Use For
Editorial photography	Professional, magazine-quality	Documentary, true crime
Portrait photography	Subject-focused, intimate	Character studies
Street photography	Candid, urban, raw	Hip-hop, gritty rock
Fashion photography	Stylized, dramatic lighting	Pop, R&B, high-concept
Documentary photography	Authentic, journalistic	True stories, historical
Fine art photography	Artistic, intentional	Concept albums, experimental

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Illustration Styles

Style	Effect	Use For
Digital illustration	Clean, modern, versatile	Tech topics, contemporary
Vintage poster art	Retro, nostalgic	Historical, throwback
Comic book art	Bold, dramatic, action	Narrative, dynamic
Minimalist illustration	Simple, iconic	Abstract concepts
Surrealist painting	Dreamlike, symbolic	Experimental, avant-garde
Technical illustration	Precise, detailed	Tech, engineering topics

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Artistic Movements

Movement	Aesthetic	Use For
Film noir	High contrast, shadows, mystery	Crime, thriller themes
Cyberpunk	Neon, futuristic, gritty	Tech, dystopian
Art deco	Geometric, luxury, golden age	Sophisticated, classic
Brutalism	Raw, concrete, stark	Industrial, harsh
Vaporwave	Retro-futuristic, pastels, surreal	Electronic, ironic
Minimalism	Simple, essential, clean	Abstract, meditative

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Color Psychology

Emotional Color Palettes

Dark/Serious (True Crime, Heavy Topics):

• Black, charcoal, deep navy
• Desaturated colors
• Minimal bright accents
• High contrast

Energetic/Aggressive (Rock, Hip-Hop):

• Red, orange, electric blue
• High saturation
• Bold combinations
• Sharp contrasts

Calm/Introspective (Folk, Ambient):

• Earth tones (brown, tan, moss green)
• Pastels (soft pink, blue, cream)
• Low saturation
• Gentle gradients

Futuristic/Electronic (EDM, Synth):

• Neon (cyan, magenta, electric purple)
• Deep blacks for contrast
• Glowing effects
• Synthetic feel

Nostalgic/Vintage (Country, Classic):

• Faded colors (sepia, washed denim)
• Warm yellows and oranges
• Muted reds and greens
• Film grain texture

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Genre Visual Language

Hip-Hop/Rap

• Bold typography, street photography
• Gold, black, red color schemes
• Urban environments, luxury items
• High contrast, dramatic lighting

Electronic/EDM

• Geometric shapes, fractals
• Neon colors, glowing elements
• Abstract, futuristic
• Motion blur, energy

Rock/Alternative

• Raw, gritty textures
• Band photography (live or candid)
• Analog aesthetics (film grain, vintage)
• Muted or saturated colors

Folk/Acoustic

• Natural imagery, landscapes
• Warm earth tones
• Handmade aesthetics, organic
• Intimate, close-up details

Country

• Americana imagery (roads, fields, skylines)
• Vintage trucks, boots, guitars
• Sunset colors, dusty tones
• Nostalgic, authentic

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Platform Specifications

Size Requirements

Streaming platforms:

• Minimum: 3000 x 3000 px
• Recommended: 4000 x 4000 px
• Format: PNG or JPEG, RGB color space
• Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square)

SoundCloud:

• 800 x 800 px minimum
• Displays well at small sizes

distributor (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.):

• 3000 x 3000 px minimum
• 72 DPI minimum (300 DPI recommended)
• RGB color mode
• No blurriness or pixelation

Thumbnail Test

Critical: Art must work at 200x200px or smaller

Test:

1. Shrink art to thumbnail size
2. Can you still tell what it is?
3. Does it stand out in a grid?
4. Is text readable (if any)?

If no: Simplify. Reduce detail. Increase contrast.

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AI Art Platforms

Note: AI art platforms evolve rapidly. Capabilities change frequently.

Platform	Prompt Style	Strengths	Best For
Midjourney	Tag-based, comma-separated	Artistic composition, stylized results	Stylized album art, abstract concepts
Leonardo.ai	Natural language sentences	Photorealism, cinematic quality, fine control	Photorealistic covers, cinematic scenes
DALL-E	Conversational sentences	Ease of use, text rendering	Beginners, text-heavy designs
Stable Diffusion	Weighted tags + extensive negatives	Maximum control, local/free, LoRA support	Technical users, batch generation

Midjourney

• Discord-based, subscription required
• Prompt format: /imagine [prompt] --ar 1:1 --v 6
• Strong artistic interpretation — sometimes adds creative elements beyond the prompt
• --style raw for more literal, less stylized results

Leonardo.ai

• Web-based, free tier available
• Separate prompt and negative prompt fields — key differentiator from Midjourney
• Multiple models: Phoenix (versatile), Kino XL (cinematic), SDXL (stable diffusion based)
• Presets (Cinematic, Dynamic, Photography) significantly affect output
• Alchemy mode for higher quality at the cost of generation credits
• More predictable and controllable than Midjourney — natural language prompts iterate faster

DALL-E

• Integrated in ChatGPT, API available
• Conversational prompts — describe what you want in plain English
• No negative prompt support — state what you want, not what to avoid
• Better text rendering in images than most alternatives

Stable Diffusion

• Open source, local or cloud deployment (ComfyUI / Automatic1111)
• LoRA models for specific artistic styles
• Most control via CFG scale, samplers, schedulers
• Steeper learning curve but maximum flexibility

Choosing a Platform

• Midjourney: Maximum artistic quality, less control. Good default for stylized art.
• Leonardo.ai: Photorealistic/cinematic with precise include/exclude control. Natural language iteration.
• DALL-E: Lowest barrier to entry. Best text rendering.
• Stable Diffusion: Full control, local generation, model fine-tuning.