If the musician happens to be an artist, too, or has a close friend who is, this is an ideal situation. To get the art quickly, the musician needs to have a clear and simple concept in mind that illustrates the vision of his music and can be executed in a limited amount of time. If a friend is going to be the artist, the musician must be able to communicate his vision to her, as well as the deadline. The musician/artist will need frank feedback himself before he chooses to use his own artwork on his album cover.
Finding a piece of original art locally or online is quick and easy to do. Once a piece is selected, the musician should contact the artist and ask if she can use the art for his album cover in return for credit on the album cover. The same kind of negotiations can take place if the art is found in a local gallery. The musician simply makes the same kind of deal with the artist and takes a photo of the art, downloads it onto her computer.
Just about anyone can point a digital camera, shoot and come up with a decent photo--or find a friend who can. The musician can take a photo that illustrates his concept for his album cover. A photo can easily portray the concept of the album as an artistic rendering. For example, a mist rising on top of a river would be perfect for an album entitled "Misty River."
Making a collage is a one of the fastest ways to create an album cover. You can use public-domain art, or art that is no longer under an individual's copyright and free for anyone to use. Print out the artwork and glue it to a piece of cardboard the same size as the CD insert. Overlap the artwork with photos or torn pictures or words from magazines. To make a collage online, use a paint program or a free image editor like Gimp to manipulate gathered art into a collage-style cover.