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Cover art

 
Cover Art

 
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Cover art is the illustration
Illustration

An illustration is a Information graphic such as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that stresses subject more than form. The aim of an illustration is to elucidate or decorate textual information by providing a visual representation....
 or photograph
Photograph

A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
 on the outside of a published product such as a book
Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side....
, magazine
Magazine

for quarterly in Heraldry see Quartering Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of Article , generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscription, or all three....
, comic book
Comic book

A comic book is a magazine or book of narrative artwork and dialog and descriptive prose. The style was introduced in 1934. Despite the term, comic books do not necessarily feature humorous subject-matter; in fact, it is often serious and action-oriented....
, product package, video game, DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
, CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
, videotape
Videotape

Videotape is a means of recording images and sound onto magnetic tape as opposed to film stock.In most cases, a helical scan video head rotates against the moving tape to record the data in two dimensions, because video signals have a very high bandwidth, and static heads would require extremely high tape speeds....
, audio album, manual or brochure.

One type of cover art is that of CDs or DVDs. Most notable of this category would be album art
Album cover

An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially-released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LP records, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing panel of a compact disc Optical disc...
, referring specifically to artwork
Visual arts

The visual arts are Art#Art forms that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature, such as drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and filmmaking....
 created for a music album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
. Among the most noted are those by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd are an English Rock music band who initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock and space rock music, and later, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music....
, especially The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon is a concept album by the England progressive rock Musical ensemble Pink Floyd. It was released on 17 March 1973 in the United States and 24 March 1973 in the United Kingdom....
 and Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here (album)

Wish You Were Here is a concept album by Pink Floyd. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios between January and July 1975 and released on 15 September 1975 , the album would later be regarded as one of Pink Floyd's greatest albums and was ranked 209 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list....
, and The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the United Kingdom rock music band The Beatles. Recorded over a 129-day period beginning on 6 December 1966, the album was released on 1 June 1967 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States....
.

For comic books, the cover art has historically been considered a main selling point.






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Encyclopedia


Cover art is the illustration
Illustration

An illustration is a Information graphic such as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that stresses subject more than form. The aim of an illustration is to elucidate or decorate textual information by providing a visual representation....
 or photograph
Photograph

A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
 on the outside of a published product such as a book
Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side....
, magazine
Magazine

for quarterly in Heraldry see Quartering Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of Article , generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscription, or all three....
, comic book
Comic book

A comic book is a magazine or book of narrative artwork and dialog and descriptive prose. The style was introduced in 1934. Despite the term, comic books do not necessarily feature humorous subject-matter; in fact, it is often serious and action-oriented....
, product package, video game, DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
, CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
, videotape
Videotape

Videotape is a means of recording images and sound onto magnetic tape as opposed to film stock.In most cases, a helical scan video head rotates against the moving tape to record the data in two dimensions, because video signals have a very high bandwidth, and static heads would require extremely high tape speeds....
, audio album, manual or brochure.

One type of cover art is that of CDs or DVDs. Most notable of this category would be album art
Album cover

An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially-released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LP records, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing panel of a compact disc Optical disc...
, referring specifically to artwork
Visual arts

The visual arts are Art#Art forms that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature, such as drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and filmmaking....
 created for a music album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
. Among the most noted are those by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd are an English Rock music band who initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock and space rock music, and later, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music....
, especially The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon is a concept album by the England progressive rock Musical ensemble Pink Floyd. It was released on 17 March 1973 in the United States and 24 March 1973 in the United Kingdom....
 and Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here (album)

Wish You Were Here is a concept album by Pink Floyd. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios between January and July 1975 and released on 15 September 1975 , the album would later be regarded as one of Pink Floyd's greatest albums and was ranked 209 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list....
, and The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the United Kingdom rock music band The Beatles. Recorded over a 129-day period beginning on 6 December 1966, the album was released on 1 June 1967 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States....
.

For comic books, the cover art has historically been considered a main selling point. Great effort was put into the covers in order to attract readers. However, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics is an American comic book and related media company owned by Marvel Publishing, Inc., a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. Marvel counts among as its List of Marvel Comics characters such well-known properties as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk , Iron Man, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and many others....
 Executive Editor Tom Brevoort
Tom Brevoort

Tom Brevoort is an United States comic book editor. Since the 1980s, he has worked for Marvel Comics. Brevoort started as an intern and worked his way up to an assistant editor and later an editor in his own right....
 has commented that there has been a shift in the industry and the cover art is no longer the primary advertising tool.

See also

  • Album cover
    Album cover

    An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially-released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LP records, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing panel of a compact disc Optical disc...
  • Book cover
    Book cover

    A book cover is a protective covering used to bind together the pages of a book. Beyond the familiar distinction between hardcovers and paperbacks, there are further alternatives and additions, such as dust jackets, ring-binding, and out-dated forms such as the nineteenth-century "paper-boards" and the even more antiquated hand-binding....
  • History of controversial album art
    History of controversial album art

    The following is a list of notable albums with controversial album art, especially where that controversy resulted in the album being banned, Censorship or sold in packaging other than the original one....
  • Computer and video game packaging
    Computer and video game packaging

    Video game packaging refers to the physical storage of the contents of a computer game or video game, both for safekeeping and shop display. In the past, a number of materials and packaging designs were used, mostly paperboard or plastic....