These fake cd singles were made for a fan made Silent Hillcontest.
The premise of the contest
was to pick a song from the Silent Hill 4: The Room soundtrack and design a cd single cover
for that song using images from Silent Hill 4 or images inspired by the game. We were allowed
two entries so I designed the packaging and cds for two songs from the soundtrack, "Waiting
for You" and "Tender Sugar."
After listening to the lyrics of both "Tender Sugar" and "Waiting for You" I was reminded of
Cynthia (Tender Sugar) and Eileen (Waiting for You) and pictured Mary Elizabeth McGlynn singing as
them about their situations in Silent Hill 4.
While she was alive and trapped in the alternate version of the subway Cynthia thought
she was in some sort of dream and could wake up at any moment. Unfortunately Cynthia’s dream
soon became a nightmare and while dying in Henry’s arms Cynthia believed she would be alright
because it was after all "just a dream." The lyrics in "Tender Sugar" talked a lot about being
trapped in a nightmare, not knowing if the experience was real and being unable to wake up. Since
Cynthia’s situation connected with this song I used her character as the primary subject and basis
of my cover design. I used colors that were reminiscent of her outfit and I incorporated images of
Cynthia, the people she came in contact with and the subway which were all part of her never ending
nightmare as the main imagery for the design.
The lyrics in "Waiting For You" talks about waiting for a love and wondering where they are and
when/if they will return. Even though the connection can be made between Walter and his mother
I could not help but think of Eileen whenever I listened to the song. During the second half the
game she is dependent on Henry to protect her from becoming Walter’s 20th victim. She can not
travel between worlds like Henry and is often left alone waiting for Henry to come back to her
while he travels to and from his apartment or after he leaves her (due to her injuries) to find
an alternate route through a level. Besides being left alone a lot there are also hints that
Henry and Eileen could have a romantic relationship. Since I connected that Eileen is
"waiting for [Henry]" I used her character as the primary subject and basis of my cover
design. I used a number of objects that tie to both Eileen and Henry (the shabby doll and
deathtrap wheel) and made sure to keep Eileen in the foreground and Henry in the background
to help symbolize her constant wait for his return. It has been said that a person’s eyes are
the window into their soul or feelings. With this and the belief that the song was expressing
Eileen’s feeling toward Henry and her situation I gave everything a green hue, the color of
Eileen’s eyes.
THE CONTEST RESULTS
My "Waiting For You" design was one of the
winners!
[The Waiting For You design by Whitney] knocked the panel on their collective backsides. The choice
of imagery on the front/back cover really made this artwork stand out more than anything. Even
before reading her explanation to the artwork, I was able to piece together the storyline and
the soul of the song through the symbols used.
Oh, and the art manipulation wasn't bad either. Not bad at all. (understatement)
Ed. Note: Comment overheard while grading this entry: "It's OVER, like Vince Carter at a dunk contest!"
