Making the Same Mistake Again: Album Artwork, Round Three

In this entry into the Corpse Diary, I explain how I managed to repeat the exact same mistake, even after knowing better.

After the book cover idea went exactly as expected, I finally did what I should’ve done from the start and hired a proper death metal artist. Naturally, this was on Fiverr, because at this point Fiverr had become my entire life. His portfolio showed solid old-school death metal artwork, so I sent him a message and, somewhat reluctantly, my mock-up. Given my previous experiences, he kindly offered to do a sketch before taking any payment.

A few days later, the sketch arrived — and it was close. Close enough that I got carried away, approved it immediately, and agreed to £110 for a finished, full-colour piece. Two weeks later, the final artwork came through and, honestly, I really liked it. The colours were right, the old-school feel was there, and everything I wanted was included.

For about two months, I considered the artwork finished. Then one day I noticed a small detail I couldn’t unsee, decided it looked like a Nancy Drew book cover, and scrapped the whole thing.

Still, it wasn’t a total loss. The piece was about 95% there, giving me an expensive reference for the next redraw.

Running total so far: £134.58 — and counting.

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