Panoramic illustration I made to serve as the front and back cover for the first full-length album of Hellburn, a heavy metal band from Paris.
They wanted a horror and sci-fi mix-themed album art, and they provided me with a clear idea and brief to work with.
My usual approach for these projects involves a combination of 3D and digital painting techniques. In this particular case, both the main character and the ships were designed and created in 3D. Below, you can find some screenshots taken during the process of designing and modeling the zombie astronaut's face.
To create the spaceship, I used the "Spaceships" kit by KitBash and came up with two different designs. The first design was relatively traditional, while the second option was more fantastic and featured a space station that resembled a dark and eerie fortress. The band chose the second concept.
One aspect of working in 3D that I really enjoy is the ability to quickly experiment with various compositions and camera angles once I've finished creating the main elements. I usually create a combination of 3D and 2D sketches by blending rapid renders with basic over-painting in Photoshop. I then present these sketches to the band, so they can choose their preferred direction.
In this case, the composition below was the chosen one:
From there, I progressed to a more advanced render and worked on it in Photoshop to achieve the final result.
In this case, when creating the final design, I had to consider that the band also required an adaptation for vinyl, which has slightly different dimensions and proportions than a digipak.
In addition to the final pieces for the cover and back cover, I supplied the band with individual assets that they could use to design the remaining parts of the album packaging, such as the booklet or interior panels. These assets are versatile and can be applied to different marketing materials as well.
Lastly, here's a video showcasing the final printed outcome:
