DJ MDUBULO: GOD’S LOVE MIXTAPE II

1. HOLDING ON, FALLING, CLIMBING (2020).
   
2. GOD’S LOVE MIXTAPE II COVER ART
3. DJ MDUBULO GAME CONCEPT ART.
   
4. TELEVISION.TELEPORTING (2021).

When I was approached by the artist to create the album artwork and promotional illustrations for their EP project, I was excited to collaborate with someone I had worked closely with for several years. The artist had a specific vision in mind and provided me with reference images to guide the design process.

For the album artwork, the artist wanted an image of a fossilized SD card encased in a jagged crystal. This was a unique concept that required me to create a material that resembled a crystal in Blender, a 3D modeling software. Initially, I thought I could achieve the effect by emulating glass, but it turned out to be more complex than anticipated. Thankfully, I found helpful tutorials and resources within the Blender community on YouTube, which guided me in creating the crystal texture.

I designed the crystal in two distinct colors. The first color was a dirty gem tone with light hints of purple. This choice was inspired by the artist's Zimbabwean background, where crystals of this color are readily found. By incorporating this color palette, I aimed to create a connection between the artwork and the artist's personal background. In accordance with the artist's vision, I also created an icey blue gem.

Since the EP revolves around the story of a time traveler, I framed the moments of the time traveler entering and leaving different worlds. In one of the illustrations, I portrayed two frustrated time travelers standing and sitting on a floating rug, seemingly lost and searching for direction. In This scene I wanted to convey a sense of confusion and disorientation to emphasize the challenges faced by the characters during their time-traveling journeys.

The second scene I designed was simpler, featuring three floating figures of the time traveler. Each figure was depicted in a different pose: falling, holding on, and climbing. The figures floated in space against a black background, expertly lit by an HDRI sky dome and a sun lamp set to mid-afternoon intensity. With this design, I wanted to capture the character's feelings of haste and panic during moments of action. By positioning them in dynamic movements, I aimed to convey a sense of urgency.
For the third and final scene, I envisioned a techinal glitch that has the time traveler cloned into four figures. Three of the clones mirroring each other while running, and the fourth clone sits nonchalantly on a car, scrolling through a phone. This glitch  heightens the sense of tension and suggests that the character may be attempting to escape from a time they had traveled to. The clone sitting on the car has the potential to raise questions.

By collaborating with the artist, experimenting, and focusing on key details from the EP's universe, my goal was to create visually compelling and thought-provoking artwork that would captivate the audience and enhance their connection to the music and its visual representation.

︎︎︎ Album Art
︎︎︎ Illustration
︎︎︎ Music
︎︎︎ Storytelling