This album artwork was created in close collaboration with the lead singer of Kid Ambient Arcade, translating the ideas and imagery behind the record into a single visual narrative.
The music draws from the genre-blending alternative sound of artists such as Twenty One Pilots and Judah & the Lion, combining indie, alternative, electronic, and folk influences. Just as importantly, there is a larger story running beneath the songs. Rather than illustrating one track literally, the goal was to create a world that felt as though it existed beyond the album cover—one filled with characters, locations, symbols, and unanswered questions that listeners could begin to connect as they experienced the record.
Working closely with the artist, I incorporated the specific narrative elements he wanted represented while developing the composition, environment, color palette, atmosphere, and visual hierarchy that would bring them together cohesively. The finished piece functions both as album artwork and as an extension of the storytelling within the music: some elements are immediately recognizable, while others only begin to make sense after hearing the songs.
The final artwork was created digitally, using layered illustration, textural painting, atmospheric depth, and a deliberately limited palette to give the world an eerie, dreamlike quality without losing the hand-drawn character of the piece.
Final Cover Version
Options considered for copy on the cover. In the end the band decided to leave the cover as an image only.