Opalescent Album & Promo Art
3D ARTIST | Collaboration with The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet | UE4, Premiere | Print & Social Media
2022 COLLAB
In early 2022, I collaborated with the Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and graphic design team to create the album art and promotional materials for the album "Opalescent" - described by Guitar Salon International as "reflect[ing] the intermingling of sound and light." The opal theme is drawn from the movements by Australian synesthetic composer Phillip Houghton - each is named for and inspired by an opal whose presence he captures in his music.
My role on this project was a combination of designer, 3D artist, and promo content creator.
I was part of the team that developed the album's aesthetics early on, and assisted LAGQ in the review of deliverables provided by the graphic design team.
Most of my time on this project was dedicated to creating the models and materials for each of the 3 opals that are featured both on the physical album, as well as the digital media promo content.
Each mesh was modeled in Maya, taking inspiration from the opals as described by Houghton, a reference photograph of the blue opal that he used as inspiration, and the music as described and played by the LAGQ. I had some in-person creation sessions with my father (the LAGQ member spearheading this project), quickly iterating on the shader, lighting, etc in realtime.
These are the renders from Unreal:
I also capture a blurred, flat image of the white opal's material, for use in the title typography.
The renders above were used by the graphic design team on the cover and interior packaging of the album, shown below - they handled the text, layout, and compositing of the opal render into sand.
Once the album art was set, I moved onto the promo side of the project. I designed, recorded, and edited the promotional video that announced the album on social media. This included working with the camera tools in Unreal, and editing in Premiere Rush.
I also designed a poster that the LAGQ brought to performances, featuring the album art and a custom QR code for audience members to access the record's online purchase options.
Although I didn't have a part in any of the live recording or editing of these videos, I've included this video of the music being played simply for enjoyment and context.
