WHY? Album Cover – Making Of
The Artwork of WHY?
When the album came out a couple of months ago, we mentioned that the artwork was drawn by Lisa on her iPad and a software called “Procreate”. It took several days to complete but Lisa had her screen-recording turned on the whole time, so we could capture the process and show you a speed version later.
We had so many other ideas before we settled on the route of having Lisa draw the artwork! At one point we got into long-exposure photography because we wanted to potentially draw out the word WHY with some lights over water. Then there was the idea of having us float in a kiddie pool in the middle of the ocean. Or the minimal approach of white letters on a black background …
Well, we scrapped all of that and ended up with what you now know as the final artwork. We hope you enjoy watching its creation!
Stay groovy,
Mona & Lisa
O wow! Lisa, you are so talented and obviously have the patience of a saint to spend so long creating that haunting image. If you ever wanted to change career (please no) I’m sure that you could make a living as a designer of album covers – or anything else for that matter.
Also I saw lots of little details in the cover image that I hadn’t seen in the CD cover image.
So impressive
This music just never gets old! I’ve been listening to Why? for months now. The replay value – that’s what it’s all about 🙂 The album cover does deserve a video all of it’s own – this is a magnificent piece of artwork with so much intricate detail and symbolism! I know every detail need not be scrutinized, and we may all walk away with different ideas and interpretations. For me, the thought of 15 minute cities comes to mind, and everyone walking hypnotized like zombies, it’s such a powerful foreshadowing! These plans are already in the works, but let’s hope our world does not come to this!
I just got my copy of Why a few days ago. I spent some time looking at all the artwork on it. The lyric booklet has some cool designs too and with all your beautiful lyrics is a piece of art by itself. The fact that you write all the songs, play all the music, record it, design all the artwork, film and act all the videos too. Plus run this website is mind blowing. Who else does this? I suspect no one.
What I’m even more impressed by than the art work itself (which is mind blowing!), is the capture of the process in time lapse! Just wow!
This inspires me to do some artwork (though it won’t good!) All the work that goes in is very inspiring for me to do more. I love seeing the process.
I wonder if those are all clones of “Papa Rudi” heading down the road? I noticed how they are all just a little bit different.
Thank you!
The time lapse of the thoughts-provoking artwork _combined_ with the deep lyrics and the rest of the beautiful music creates an eerie mental state that I’m cherishing right now. Thank you for this, Lisa and Mona!
I keep going back to this video. I can’t say if it’s Lisa’s drawing or the incredible song that impresses me the most. I believe it’s a combination of the two. There is a great deal of thought and passion that went into this major production. This is some serious.. Hoping you took some time off to calm down after creating this. It needs a gazillion shares!
Brilliant Lisa! Saw the little green Alien you popped in there by the shipwreck at 3.14 in the video! LOL. Not sure if you left him there or not, as I can see a smaller image that looks like it?
Love the overall concept…right up my street!
Hello Everybody….I was watching MLT videos and Questionable came up with a dance group…have you seen it…..Rhumba Beginners Line Dance 4W / 1W 32ct+Tag 8ctx3 | Zaldy Lanas…check it out.
Yes, we saw it on YouTube when it came out! Things like that make our day, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqjm-2neL-o
Just watched this, It’s really cool seeing this exercise group Rhumba to the MLT’s!!!
Very interesting how you did it Lisa, you are very talented. One day you will paint. Un jour tu vas faire des peintures. Merci pour tout ton talent.
A feast for the eyes. Multiple viewings a must.
The ladies are multi-talented; it’s still the harmony vocals that register the most with me.
Incredible music, incredible lyrics, incredible artwork, incredibly savvy perception of societal trends leading to this song’s incredible message. Only the author could come up with the proper artwork to convey this and only an incredibly talented artist could bring it to life. WHY? is beautifully profound.
Thanks for putting this for putting this together, Lisa. I saw some details that I had missed. Then again I am due for an eye exam next month. You cease to amaze us. I really loved how the Raise Your Head video came out, too. Your editing skills baffle me.
JP
This is a fascinating look at what a talented graphic artist can do today with the right tools. The end result is perhaps the best album cover I have ever seen. Very impressive Lisa!
Lisa makes this look easy, but from the little I have done in this area, I know it isn’t easy. It took me hours to insert our dog Waldo’s head into an image one of the “Dogs Playing Poker” paintings. I’m sure Lisa could have done the job in a few minutes.
36,000,000 pixels is a lot of pixels. Remembering back to the early days of graphical images, we used to think images with 640 x 480 resolution (307,200 pixels) was pretty good.
Watching Lisa add things to the detail in the cover, I noticed a few things that I had missed, or at least hadn’t fully comprehended. There is a lot going on in there, and I’m betting I still don’t see the hidden meaning behind some of the things in the picture.
The endless talent doesn’t surprise me what these girls can do. Any Other Day is my stand out favourite and not being that good on guitar and 8 chords, thankfully not overly difficult I am slowly learning it, thanks for the YouTube clip and you for posting it.
And I thought Lisa was just a good guitar player! I was extremely impressed with the process necessary to have this cover come to fruition. While the software takes time to learn, the imagination has to bring forth the specific ideas that you want to present. Well, it appears Lisa is quite competent in the arts and much more than just a pretty guitarist. Also, I know she could have never done this without the assistance of Mona, her quite talented twin.
Wow, that was pretty cool. what an imaginative, creative mind you have!!
WOW! Lisa that was a LOT of work! I never would have guessed that much time and almost never ending editing went into the creation of the album cover. Moreover I had no idea such an app even existed so the technology is as impressive as the finished product. Congrats of a beautiful piece of artwork that will live forever. Great job Lisa!
Really spectacular drawing and the process to getting to the finish line…I can’t draw a straight line with the help of a ruler…you all are so creative…this is a perfect example of why…oops no pun intended😂…we MLT Club members are so happy when Friday arrives because we know something special is coming to our in box…I love what you do and Thank You for doing it ❤️🧡🌏
Very, very creative. Great to see the process! The detail is amazing and I admire your talent.
Thank you for showing this video. In addition to seeing the process from conception to finished product, I saw some things I missed from the CD (i.e. alien). Maybe you could make a poster of the montage of the first frame. I’m in for it. Man, the lyrics really penetrate. But the red balloon says to me “Love uber alles.” Peace be.
“Love über alles” – you got it! 🙂 We made 21 x 21 cm art prints out of the design but decided against posters this time.
https://test4.monalisa-twins.com/product/cover-art-print-why/
Posters would have been cool but they cost so much to ship, especially internationally, so we went for the prints instead because they fit nicely into an envelope!
What patience, what creativity! WHY? (ok perhaps it should be HOW?) can you all be such super talented individuals? Loved the music and loved the artwork.
I don’t think there is anything Lisa can’t do 100%. I’m sure Mona would be happy to remind us of a few, smiles, but that’s what makes them a team. When Lisa puts her mind to a project it’s total dedication and the results are always stunning.
As Lisa said at the end of the “I Want to Kiss You” Behind the Scenes video:
“There’s nothing I can’t do, there’s nothing I’m not good at, there’s nothing that I’m not the Pro”.
A better quote has never been said.
Well played, Lisa, well played.
Thanks Christopher, I guess I never watched it to the end. Lisa does impersonations while quoting someone else. I’m not sure but it could be Marlena Dietrich, maybe. You can hear Mona in the back say “that’s just crazy” lol
🙂 didn’t realize you were both talented visual as well as musical artists 🙂 Has kind of a modern ambiguity, but not quite so much as Neve’s painting.
It always is great to observe the process in which things are done…the ideas, the creation, and the like. A great deal of thought was put into the artwork. Those of us who have had the privilege of watching “WHY?” being put to life have an extra appreciation of the detail which makes this album cover unique.
The artwork puts together all the songs into one complete package. Each song is represented in one way or another. Thank you to Mona, Lisa, Michaela, and Papa Rudi for all their ideas and a special thank you to Lisa for putting it all together.
Kudos must be given both to Neve and the Space Alien for their special appearances!
Finally…Lisa, is was great watching you play your Telecaster on the “If You Raise Your Head” video. Telecasters are my favorite–nice sound and very playable. Have to ask, what factors make you decide to go with a Tele in the music-making process?
Very creative. Very interesting. Very well done.
Thanks for sharing that video.
Nice way to begin my day. And now I will have that song in my head all day long lol. That’s a good thing.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Take care,
Bobby S.
From someone like me who can’t even draw stick figures properly, this video looks like real magic. The talent on display here is otherworldly to me. I really don’t know how you do it. If this was the only skill you had would be remarkable, but we know it is just one aspect of your gifts.
Count me as one if your disciples.
Amazing what technology can do.
But you need a skilled person to make that technology sing !
Great job, Lisa !!
And this is how we did it…
Thank you for sharing with us the ideas you had and the insights into the process you used to create the artwork. Love the artwork of this wonderful album.
You recorded this with the foresight of creating a video just for us club members. We sure are spoiled! 🙂
Fantastic. I love watching how others create artwork. Its fun mixing traditional methods of using paper and paint with the digital process, splashing effects and then scanning or photographing to digitize and then the worlds your oyster. Only problem is when to stop, as its so easy to continue tweaking!! Up until recently I designed West African textile prints using Photoshop. This printed fabric is known as ‘Waxprints’ as they were uniquely printed similar to the ‘Batik’ process at our factory in Manchester before we transferred production to Ghana and Nigeria.
Interesting video. Back in the 60’s we said Far-Out Man! You guys never cease to amaze me. Just covered in talent. Is there anything you guys cannot do? Do you guys take turns mowing the lawn?….Ha 🙂
Thank You for sharing. I’m Groov’in
Lisa and Mona both have such creative minds. Both in their art and their music. I think it is the key to their success. It’s so interesting and enjoyable to see what free thinking, curious minds can create.
Facinating video. Thank you so much for this insight to the process used to create the cover of Why? Can’t wait for next week!!
Just in Utter Creativity Awe at what /how Lisa’s Vivid Gifted Creative Conceptive/Innovative Imagination in conjunction with her drawing skills/-gift and the intertwining inputs from Team MLT all came together to bring about this final effort which captures the “WHY ” perfectly. As I enjoy drawing, I love /find this App ‘s capabilities and Lisa’s inspiration
all fascinating. The iPad/software certainly adds open doors to endless creative Odysseys . Kudos to Lisa & Team MLT for sharing this timelasped BTS of how the Album Cover Artwork was created, I thoroughly enjoyed this as equal to the ” DUO SESSIONS ” time-lapse Album Cover Creation video. Also, the cracked stones surface here reminds me of a Styx album Cover photo ( I think it was was a STTX one) where a bunch of children are on rocks & similar cracked stones ground. Love this, Thankyou for sharing 💜😊🤘
A great job of many hours and creativity.
Congratulations.
Beautiful Job Lisa! My goodness such talent, geez I can only draw stick people and not very good at that! LOL..but a great way to kick into the weekend with a great video and song. What I love about this song is the movement and changes of the music, and to end it on a great note reminds me of Day in the LIfe from the Beatles with the note ringing in the end of the song. Needless to say Why? Is another masterpiece and from track 1 to the last track is put together perfectly and the song writing is so strong and the voices are prefection to me. So thank you for another Friday video and hope you both and Pa Rudi and Michalea have a great weekend.
God Bless
Bill and Maddie Isenberg Huge fans from Pittsburgh PA USA
Wow! You are a genius Lisa. While software tools enable amazing creations, the creativity and imagination comes from the heart and soul, and yours is absolutely impressive and inspiring. I love this, seeing your creative process, and all to the background sound of WHY? that has become one of my all time favourite songs now!
The artwork really expresses a feeling and mood of eeriness, awe, and wonder, as well as some really fond and meaningful references to precious moments like Neve, red balloon, etc…just like the music of the album. And there is even the famous green alien, we saw in Nothing Is In Vain, and again here. It looks like the line of people are wearing MLT hoodies.
Love how when the final image of the album artwork takes shape, it pops on the screen with the striking chord of the song at the end! There are so many visual thematic references in the album artwork to your music, the past, these interesting times etc. Like how nothing is by accident with recurring theme throughout. It’s all so brilliant and inspiring to see you do everything, creating on so many levels. Thanks for doing this, just love it!
The alien gets around. I hadn’t realized the figure in “Nothing Is In Vain” was the alien. It was also in “I Bought Myself a Politician” and perhaps other videos???
My favorite special effect from “Nothing Is In Vain” is Mona getting eaten by the fish. Poor Mona has had a tough life. She also has had her head cut off by Lisa on Halloween. Life has been tough for the younger twin.
Hi Dennis. Yeah that little green alien does get around, almost as much as Lampi Bampi. He even appeared in the recent Make Show making of video. I guess when your twin sister is a video/photo editing pro, life can be tough on the screen. Mona and Lisa mix things up on who does what in the music and videos, so perhaps we will see Mona at the helm of video editing at some point to equal things out.
Very cool! I can barely draw stick figures so I really appreciate the hard work that went into this amazing cover!
Hello Ladies,
First off, great to see / hear from you again. Not the same without you in our lives.
What an interesting concept today. I absolutely love today’s club short.
Lisa is a brilliant artist with what she can do. As In Time Of The Season. (Where she decapitate poor Mona.) No slight to Mona at all. Who is a beautiful artist in her own right.
As in Duo Sessions I pick out Most of the Song Titles on the cover of Why?
Why? (Of course)
Pretty Little Thing (HONK!)
Jump Ship
Songbird
Janitor Joe
I Bought Myself A Politician
Questionable
Destination Sunrise
Summer Rain (appears to be)
Make Show
Any Other Day
If You Raise Your Head
Well, I found them all, at least what I believe them to be.
For those that don’t know where they are, you’ll have to search them out. EXCEPT
Janitor Joe (space ship 🚀)
Songbird (red balloon)
Jump Ship ( ship in lower rt. Corner)
Have fun!
I can not tell you the Brilliance behind this Cover.
Ladies and Team MLT are the stuff LEGENDS are made of.
Thanks guys, and as always All The Best
Rick Ross
Last week it was the talk box; this week it’s digital artwork. One thing I never expected when I joined this club was what an education in entertainment technology I would get!
Thanks to this video, we now have literally hundreds of alternate versions of the cover art to peruse. I for one would like to have a poster of the view at 2:49, with the giant foreground goose.
What a hell of a job you must have had Lisa, but all the work resulted in a magnificent artwork, Its so good to experience the creativity of you twins, please go on !!!
This is so creative. A stunning thought provoking visual image that accompanies the very powerful message of this song. The best art is when you look at something and see something more each time, and the ‘Why?’ album cover certainly does this. Quite superb work. Thank you. Steve
I’m in total agreement with you there, Steve. Incidentally, from 1967-1992 a disc jockey with your moniker hosted the morning broadcasts on WING in Dayton, Ohio. He would always begin with “Hi-ya, gang! Kirkie here!” I saw him in an Italian restaurant once. 🥱
Thank you John. It wasn’t me! 😀 Best wishes to you in the US
Great work of art. Lisa, you are a great artist. Thanks for showing us how you work.
Well done Lisa. Not only are you a very talented singer and guitarist, your graphic artwork in amazing too. Loved watching the video.
I am amazed with the number of new things I saw in the art this time around, it had to be tedious sitting there for hours and hours trying to come up with something that would fit, then when you get to, I think I am done you have another idea. Mona you are so creative, and it came out great! Stay Groovy!!!!
Hallo Lisa! 🙂
Ich bin glücklich es geht mir gut.
Wow! I toally missed the meaing of the “QR Code” (Hello). There is so much going on in this album cover.
Haha. At least you noticed! I’m glad somebody else saw this.
LOL.
It took a while to figure it out and there’s only a subliminal 7 millisecond flash of the full QR code appearing at the 2m:37s mark I think it was in this video.
Also of note, I’ve picked up on the flying saucer being the C57D from the classic sci-fi movie, Forbidden Planet, and not Klattu from The Day the Earth Stood Still. Both movies are great and they sure don’t make them like that any more. As you know, the MLTs are some sneaky, funny, and happy people and I like the way they built this album cover also in how much they have going on in it.
Great to hear from you, and have a wonderful day.
Mike
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” is one of my favorite old movies. I don’t remember “Forbidden Planet” – I will have to look for it.
I used to be the same way. The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of the finest movies ever.
However, when I saw it, MGM’s Forbidden Planet simply captivated. It was sci-fi taken to the next level with storytelling elements extrapolated from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
They don’t make movies like that any more. One day, old Hollywood will return to its former glory.
Here’s a short documentary for you. Have a great day Dennis, and you’ll see the flying saucer from the Why? album cover in it. The MLTs tried to fool us with Klaatu’s flying saucer. LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owxqZoIXEmM
VERY ATTENTIVE! That did not at all catch my eye!
Thank you for giving us this glimpse into the creative process behind your artwork, Lisa. Never having tried to create any digital art myself, I was fascinated to see the process unfold in your hands and from your creative mind. Interestingly, it helped give me new insights into your album – things I hadn’t noticed or thought of before. It is like being given two,(actually 3) powerful points of access to the meaning you wish to share with us -visual, musical, and through your lyrics!
The evocative simplicity of the red Songbird balloon is always fascinating.
There is some incredible talent and vision being shown here by Lisa. I love how many little ideas get added and then removed later on as they are maybe a little too detailed or fussy for an image that will mostly be used in a small size on CD covers (of course great for LP covers and the lovely glossy art card). Fantastic work and I think the final image used was the ideal solution. Can’t wait for the promised explanations from you into the ideas behind some of the imagery in the picture. Of course the music is also so timely given the announcement of the 50th Anniversary release of Dark Side of the Moon coming in March!!
WOW!! Love when you share these amazing glimpses into your creative talents.Absolutely love the cover artwork for this album.Now you need to add a jigsaw puzzle(I hope) of it ,for all of us to do.Haven’t stopped listening to the album since I recieved it.You ladies just keep Getting Better All the Time!
Love & Hugs
Tom
The Pink Floyd influence is showing!!!! And, yet it is still uniquely you.
Why is very Us and Them like.
And from the lyrics……sometimes it is just “us”.
It’s fun to watch the process, to see how the ideas develop into the final piece. Thank you!
Very interesting to see the process that Lisa followed. Must have taken a lot of patience and imagination to get the final result. Your talents are never ending.