Nick Ortiz, Saxophonist
Spotify Canvas - DIY

By Nick Ortiz

 

In my latest substack post, I shared my desk job orienting me with new softwares and opportunities to design. Part of my design practice has included using Adobe Firefly to create some spotify Canvases for my first album. While I didn't need it to be anything too complex, I wanted to play with seeing how easy it was to create. You can check out the canvases here. I used a combination of Firefly stock footage (open licensed, not AI-generated slop), color grading, and text shapes to make these canvases. I'm hoping with some time, I can come up with a more complex product for my upcoming album. While I'm no pro at design, I'm proud I was able to DIY something that looks good and fits my aesthetic for that album.

 

A couple quick answers for those wanting to create their own:

Do I have to have the canvas ready at upload?

No! My first album came out a couple of years ago, and as long as you have access to your Spotify Artist account, you can upload or edit those whenever you choose (this is especially beneficial to artists want to plug tour schedules into their music.

Are ther any technical things to keep in mind?

If you check out the specs from Spotify for Aritsts, your canvas has to have a 9:16 Vertical Aspect Ratio, ideally be 720x1080 or 1080x1920 resolution. With those in mind, you have 3-8 seconds to create something that visually accompanies your music. I've seen a variety of content "policies" about what can and can't be on canvases, but some of the artists I follow clearly are not adhering to those rules, so have fun with it!

Is it hard to create?

That's up to you! Most modern video editing applications allow templates that are perfect for Spotify Canvas creation. Some great free options are Clipchamp, iMovie, Canva, Adobe Firefly. How much control you want is what will define the effort/learning curve. If you want something really out there with lots of moving parts, this might be best left in the hands of a pro (hire your designer friends, its cool). 

This post was made to show you that someone with a fair amount of video editing experience (with no academic background in film) was able to make something in a few hours. 

Bio

 

 

 Nick Ortiz shares his love for music through the saxophone. He explores all avenues in which he can use his saxophone, serenading audiences through classical, jazz, and contemporary music.

Nick has shared his music at the North American Saxophone Alliance (regional and biennial conferences) and through local communities across the midwestern United States. He has appeared with the Chicago Wind Symphony, DuPage Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonic, UW-Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the UW-Milwaukee Saxophone Ensemble.

As a jazz musician, Nick has appeared on Darius Rucker’s 2022 Tour stop in Milwaukee and at Summer Camp Music festival with the New Orleans style 6th Street Brass Band after winning a main stage set in the Summer Camp on the Road Tour in Champaign. He also has performed with the All Star Big Band of Milwaukee and the Fantasy Masters Smooth Jazz Band.

Nick has commissioned and premiered new works by Spencer Arias, Benjamin Damann, Mofan (Amber) Dai, Morgan Easterday, Elsie Bae Han, P.R. Martin, Emily McPherson, and Jenni Watson. Nick is also an advocate for free-improvised music, performing acoustic and electro-acoustic improvisation in solo and multidisciplinary collaborations with fellow musicians, visual artists and dancers.

He holds degrees in saxophone performance and music education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Illinois respectively. Nick has been a member of the UWM Wind Ensemble, Elmhurst College Saxophone Choir, UIUC Wind Symphony, UIUC Wind Orchestra, Illinois Modern Ensemble, Illinois Improvisers Exchange, and UWM Jazz Ensemble. His primary teachers include Dr. Nicki Roman, Debra Richtmeyer, Roger Birkeland and Michael Hudson Casanova.

When not performing, Nick can be found working with his private studio, serving on the Professional Development committee of the North American Saxophone Alliance, or serving as a clinician for concert band, marching band, jazz band, or improvisation. If you are searching for Nick outside of the realms of music, he can be found reading, baking brownies, or exploring his new home of Starkville, Mississippi!