Best Animated Album Covers

‘Abbey Road’

Who knew? If you look closely at the animated Gif created for the classic Beatles album cover ‘Abbey Road,’ it appears they were the precursor to Monty Python’s “Silly Walks.”

In reality, the iconic album cover featuring the band crossing the street was the idea of a sketch created by Paul McCartney. The famous picture was taken on Aug. 8, 1969, and photographer Iain MacMillan had to work under the gun as he was given just 10 minutes to get the shot. MacMillan, up on a stepladder, shot the photo while police held traffic so that the band could cross the street uninterrupted.

‘Tattoo You’

The creator of this animated album cover took the Rolling Stones album title to heart. The artwork for the Peter Corriston-created album cover featured a heavily tattooed person with designs inked all over their face. It also earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Album Package.

But the updated animation reveals there’s still some work left to do. A hand appears in the screen to touch up some fresh ink on the shoulder of the cover model.

‘Electric Warrior’

‘Electric Warrior’ was the sixth album from the band known as T. Rex (and the second after changing their name from Tyrannosaurus Rex to their new and well-known short version).

The artwork for the disc was created by the design group Hipgnosis, who chose to outline singer/guitarist Marc Bolan with a golden glow as he rocks with his amps in the background. The animator for this GIF went with the look of the period, offering a more rainbow animation emanating from Bolan as he rocks.

‘A Hard Day’s Night’

The year was 1964, and by then everyone was gaga over the “Fab Four.” So what better way to build the buzz for the record than by getting their mugs all over the cover. The Beatles were also doing a movie called ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and having their photos splashed everywhere definitely didn’t hurt marketing.

The artwork featured four rows of five photos each of the band, and the animator for this creative GIF lets you take a look at it as though each photo were changing in each box, thus giving you the feel of a page-by-page animated piece.

‘Twist and Shout’

The cover art for the Beatles ‘Twist and Shout’ EP in 1963 featured the ‘Fab Four’ in varying states of unbalance on what looks like the peak of a rooftop.

Have you ever wondered if the guys fell? If so, the animator fulfills that answer. Not only did they fall, they did so with gusto. In the GIF created, each of the band members take a running leap, catapulting themselves to the ground below. We particularly dig Paul McCartney, who’s getting some serious air.