Role: Visual, Artist
Tools: Rhinoceros, Flamingo

Gravitron EP

This commisioned 3D art composition was for a friends record release on the Drum & Bass label Dispatch Recordings.

Why do I make art?

Introspection and reflection mostly. Working in the abstract and with 3D tools, I find to be a calming and sort of meditative exercise. Creating something from nothing, trying to envision something which hasn't quite been seen before but in a way that it's almost believable and always surreal. I make art for myself, expression and the enjoyment of others.

For this project I was asked to use my own creative process. Interestingly enough I had also started writing a song by the same name, so I knew that my client and I were on the same wavelength. I found inspiration for the piece in exploring the premise of what a Gravitron is or looks like. In my science fiction driven imagination, that meant a machine that creates energy from nothing, and probably included channeling some childhood memories of an amusement park ride by the same name.

Deliverables for this project were high resolution art files for the sleeve and inner labels of the records.

Final sleeve artwork for the Gravitron EP

Final label artwork for both records

Web promo images

Digital art has been a long time passion for me. When I was a kid I used to draw Nintendo characters like Kirby and Yoshi, in Microsoft paint. In high school I took drafting, first learning to use a T-square, board and compass. Later I learned AutoCAD 12, Rhinoceros and tried to play with Maya.

I feel like this project could have turned out better had I been using more modern tools like Cinema 4D and Octane or another light modeling rendering package.

If I could go back and do something differently about this project, I'd want to think through more closely about how the label and sleeve art could feel more related.