When Dr. Dunk of Chicago-based Ruby Weapon approached me about creating neon pizza-based art for their hip-hop comedy album, I knew I had no choice but to accept the challenge. Pizza Beats: Volume 2 was a recipe for magic.
I knew we had made something iconic when NPR's All Songs Considered featured my art as their "Most 'Intriguing' Album Art Du Jour."
How Pizza Art is Born
It starts with thumbnails. And dreams of sparkles. I approached the concept of incorporating something musical into the agreed upon concept of pizza pie, and tried several different sign styles till I found the right one. Apparently I also took a couple breaks to translate a bizarre Japanese pop song into English to keep my mind limber (see the small writing on the first image?). After that came larger thumbnails, and finally some semblance of progress with a more refined sketch.
Refining
It was time to try (and fail, at least a few times) the initial lighting effects for the neon using the quick hand drawing I had done in the third stage. After I learned me some proper Photoshoppin', I went back into Illustrator to create a line image, then back into PS to bring it to life.
It starts with thumbnails. And dreams of sparkles. I approached the concept of incorporating something musical into the agreed upon concept of pizza pie, and tried several different sign styles till I found the right one. Apparently I also took a couple breaks to translate a bizarre Japanese pop song into English to keep my mind limber (see the small writing on the first image?). After that came larger thumbnails, and finally some semblance of progress with a more refined sketch.
It was time to try (and fail, at least a few times) the initial lighting effects for the neon using the quick hand drawing I had done in the third stage. After I learned me some proper Photoshoppin', I went back into Illustrator to create a line image, then back into PS to bring it to life. 
