What you will make
One square cover that works as a large image and as a tiny thumbnail, exported to the size your distributor asks for.
Best for: Independent artists and label owners who need a distinctive cover without commissioning custom artwork for every release.
Before you start
- The release title, artist name and two or three words for the mood of the music.
- Your distributor’s current artwork requirements (open them now).
- An image model and an editor for text.
Steps
Write the mood in plain words
Describe the track in three adjectives and one physical scene (“cold, nocturnal, tender; an empty car park after rain”). The scene gives the image model something concrete, and the adjectives keep the palette honest.
Collect references that are not other covers
Use photography, film stills you have rights to, textures and colour swatches. Copying another release’s layout makes your cover look like a worse version of it and can cause rights problems.
Generate square variations
Ask for 1:1 images with a clear focal point and empty space where text can sit. Generate in batches, and shortlist three. Reject images with distorted faces, extra fingers, or fake lettering.
Tip. Generate without any text in the prompt. Models do not spell reliably, and your title should be set in a real typeface.
Set the type in an editor
Add the artist name and title yourself. Keep the type to one or two lines and use a weight that stays readable when small. Place it where the image is calm so contrast is high.
Run the thumbnail test
Shrink the cover to 64 × 64 pixels and look at it from arm’s length. If you cannot tell what it is or read the name, simplify: fewer elements, higher contrast, larger type. Then check it in grayscale.
Export to your distributor’s spec
Most distributors ask for a square image in the region of 3000 × 3000 pixels, RGB colour, JPEG or PNG. Some reject artwork with URLs, prices, social handles or other brands’ logos. Use the numbers in your distributor’s guide, not ours.
Plan the series
If you release often, fix a template: the same type position, the same grid, a different image. Fans recognise a series in a feed before they read the name.
Prompts
Replace anything in [square brackets]. Prompts are starting points: results vary between tools and versions, so review every output.
Mood brief
Use this with a text model to turn a track into a visual brief.
The track is [genre] and feels [three adjectives]. Suggest 5 single-image cover concepts. For each give a concrete scene, a colour palette of 3 colours, a focal point, and where empty space for text would go. Avoid clichés for this genre and do not reference any existing album cover.
Image prompt
Use this for each shortlisted concept.
[Scene]. Square 1:1 composition, single clear focal point in the [upper left / centre / lower third], large calm area for text on the [side], [palette], cinematic lighting, fine film grain, no text, no letters, no logos, no watermark.
Legibility review
Paste a description or screenshot summary of your cover.
Here is my cover: [describe layout, colours and type]. It will be seen at 64, 128 and 640 pixels. Tell me what will be lost at each size and give 3 specific changes that improve legibility without changing the mood.
Checklist before you publish
- Square, in the pixel size and colour mode your distributor requires.
- All type is set by you, spelled correctly and readable at 64 pixels.
- No other brands, logos, URLs, prices or social handles unless your distributor allows them.
- No real person’s likeness without permission.
- The cover looks intentional in grayscale.
- You checked the output rights of the tool you used.
Common mistakes
- Letting the model write the title.
- A busy image that turns to noise at thumbnail size.
- Placing type over the busiest part of the picture.
- Using a recognisable person’s face the model produced “in the style of” someone.
