Entering contests has never been my bag. Yet, when I was informed that Motionless In White motionlessinwhite.net , one of my favorite contemporary bands was holding a contest to create the cover for their upcoming fourth album Graveyard Shift, I jumped at the opportunity! The contest, hosted by Creative Allies creativeallies.com (contest - miw.creativeallies.com ) and judged by the band themselves, opens the doors for hundreds of artists and creative people looking to break into a very difficult industry.
The creative idea for my entry was to tell a story without words, that exemplified MIW's macabre, gothic metalcore style. As opposed to utilizing their logo in a standard format, I wanted to actually involve it within the artwork, making it part of the story itself. My concept happens upon a graveyard at midnight, where someone has intentionally unearthed something of terrifying nature from the fiery depths below. As with all of my work I enjoy homaging my subject in subtle ways, as shown upon the gravestone at top left appears the name Abigail - the fourth title off MIW's first album Creatures and the subject of the intentions of the would be gravedigger. Where the title Graveyard Shift can be taken literally, possibly a scorned cemetery keeper working the overnight or a non-literal shift - a change - that erupts from the graveyard itself.
Nearly a month of intense day to day work digitally illustrating and hand painting each and every nuance, blade of grass and detail has resulted in the above. I'm honored to be among a wide variety artists whose submissions are nothing short of incredible. I wish all who have entered the very best of luck!
Below is the link to my submission on Creative Allies:
- Russ
