For the last month or so I have been collaborating with a wee delight of a man named Alex J Steed. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Alex in person; it turns out Wellington to Sydney is unfortunately a little too far to travel for an introductory pint. He makes music. And he is releasing an EP. I was lucky enough to be asked to create the cover art.
This is the story of how Lizard Brain was born.
We started off with the theme of transcendence and transformation in the continuation of Alex’s pseudonym Sayonara Earthling. You can get to know his self-titled “science fiction music” through his Sayonara Earthling Soundcloud page.
My initial thought was to depict a man struggling and twisting with an exaggeratedly awkward body, possibly drawing on my obsession with the works of Egon Schiele. Alex had the idea of a four frame sequence. This is the first concept sketch I came up with.
the first (rough) concept sketch
From here I started working on the individual illustrations from some source photography my boyfriend unwillingly posed for. These images were created using my staple pen, Letraset ProMarkers (in Blush), and held up to the light to produce the “glowing” effect.
frame one – development
frame three – development
After developing each figure until both Alex and I were happy with them, I started the pencil detailing – the most time consuming stage yet my favourite.
frame one – final pencil illustration
frame two – final pencil illustration
frame three – final pencil illustration
frame four – final pencil illustration
I then made a mock up of the four frames together in sequence.
the first mock up
There were several processes to the next stage I like to call “colouring in”. The first step was the base flesh tone created with several layers of Letraset ProMarkers in different shades (Blush and Ivory) and some highlighting around the tentacles (Coral). The next layers were a build up of watercolours – because I have a constant fear of over-working my illustrations and find it more beneficial for my sanity to slowly develop colour and decrease the risk of a breakdown. And also it’s more flawless for blending flesh, octopus and lizard skin tones.
frame one – the final
frame two – the final
frame three – the final
frame four – the final
I sent these through to Alex and left them in his skilled hands to compile the images into the final cover art. I’m so happy I got to be a part of this project and you should keep up to date with what Alex is up to and say hi at the Sayonara Earthling Facebook page.
The EP published by Love Hotel Records will be released soon and will be available for sale through iTunes, Amazon, Beatport to name but a few places. You should buy it and support original, hard working, talented individuals.
On ye go!
Sayonara Earthling – Lizard Brain EP
Lizard Brain EP on BeatPort.com
Lizard Brain EP on iTunes
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