"Deixa Fluir" ("Let it Flow") is the upcoming funk album by the carioca musician Victor Elias.
Victor has been working as a bassist for almost a decade, releasing instrumental projects with several os his musician friends, as well as playing with renowned Brazilian artists, such as Sandra de Sá. He's currently working on his solo career, as well as playing with the band Dona Penha.
He kindly asked me to work on a cover for his solo project. Victor wanted to showcase the musicians as cartoon versions of themselves, playing their instruments and just having a good time.
Check out the develpoment of this project below.
Check out the develpoment of this project below.
For the moodboard: 1- Victor Wooten, acclaimed American bassist; 2- The cartoon cover for "The Mark, Tom and Travis Show", live album by blink-182; 3- Cover illustration for VocêRH magazine - "The new normal", by Brazilian artist Victor Beuren; 4- The Amazing Spider-Man, Elias' favorite superhero; 5- The Fearless Flyers' "III" album cover.
SKETCHES
First idea by Victor, pencil sketch for the full illustration and first digital sketch.
Sketches for the background characters: keyboardist, the drummers - portrayed as a drum monster, and the guitarists.
LINEART
The full lineart for the building was based on old school American buildings with huge billboards, as well as comic book cover lettering, considering that Victor is a huge fan of that style. I decided to draw him directly inspired by the Victor Wooten picture on the moodboard, to represent his bass virtuosity. I also kept the idea of the drum monster, with a lot of toms, cymbals and drum hardware. The keyboardist keeps his cool while hammering notes, being the calm energy in the super group. Finally, the guitarists, paying tribute to The Fearless Flyers, Cory Wong's instrumental group with Mark Lettieri and Joe Dart.
FINAL VERSIONS
The drum monster, the Carioca Flyers, the building with the night sky background, the keyboardist and Victor himself. We chose the night as the background because it's when everything happens.
The colors (tones of blue and red) were chosen as a tribute to Spider-Man.
THE ARTWORK
Full, final version of the artwork.
Below, a couple of vinyl mockups I came up with just for good fun.
"Deixa Fluir" is scheduled to be released on the second semester of 2023.
Stay tuned to Victor Elias' social pages to listen when it comes out:
Stay tuned to Victor Elias' social pages to listen when it comes out:
