Recently I came across a fascinating concept — Glitch Art
Glitch art is the practice of using digital or analog errors for aesthetic purposes by either corrupting digital data or physically manipulating electronic devices. (Wikipedia)
Soon after reading a bit more, I was applying concepts to my images. The one I’m basing this how-to on is called databending.
Databending (or data bending) is the process of manipulating a media file of a certain format, using software designed to edit files of another format. (Wikipedia)
For instance, opening an image as if it were a song with audio software (I’m using Audacity, a free option), then applying an effect like Reverb, and finally exporting it back as an image — is databending.
That was the genesis for the main idea behind what I’m writing.
What if I started with an actual song in Audacity and exported it as an image…?
The result of that experiment was 6 black and white images with different patterns (one image for each track).
Posteriorly I colored and framed each image, with just one color, in Photoshop.
Guide
To follow the guide you must have
- Audacity
- An audio file, if it’s yours, even cooler
- An image editor that can open RAW files, like Photoshop
Then
- Open Audacity.
- Import the audio file into Audacity. Drag and drop also works.
- Choose File > Export > Export Audio
Save with options
- File type: Other uncompressed files
- Header: RAW (header-less)
- Encoding: U-Law
(You can just press Ok in the second pop-up, leave it as it is)
Navigate to the image you just saved, and open it with an image editor. (I’m using Photoshop)
Upon opening, I’ll get asked the dimensions of the picture. I think any size should work. I use 1080x1080. Press OK on the warning about sizes.
You’re now looking at the visual representation of your (a) song. Let’s export it as a .png or .jpg
Choose File > Export > Quick Export as PNG for an easy export
You’re done.
Now you can get creative. I liked doing a simple paint job on my tracks, to give each some personality and vibrance; then putting a background beneath the image, and adding some drop shadow.
See more examples:
If you’re interested in the songs behind the images, check out my Website | Spotify | Youtube | Apple Music
I post art and updates @romesrf in Instagram
You might also be interested in my in-depth article about the album — How I Recorded an Album On My Own, In My Room
Thanks, Romes.
