Sueños ReAlizAdos 14

Q: What was your most enjoyable project and give details on what you liked?

A: I could talk about my Research, Analysis, and Process final for ages. I had to compile 10 photos for a couple of weeks and then make 2 new images based on the 10. My professor disclosed the final would result in us making 4 posters, album covers, etc. based on whatever concept we created. Now I don’t know how, but my brain automatically went “You are making a monster band, Alex” and I went “Okay.”

As I worked on it I began to sort of narrow the scope of the assignment. I began to reference album covers I liked, Drag makeup, gothic fashion, pop culture monster icons, metal, and rock band culture, so many things I loved to look into. I think things got really interesting once my professor made us go to the American Museum of Natural History to get scientific and cultural inspiration. It gave me the opportunity to look into Mesoamerican jewelry and symbolism and just opened the doors to adding a new layer of contextt to a fictional band that was lacking identity and a connection to our world.

And thus, Casket’s Paradise was born: A band of demons that come from the Mayan underworld, donned in skeletal clothing who have come to our world to spread tales from Xibalba. They break gender roles and sing awesome rock, punk, and alternative music. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of making. An excellent opportunity to practice my character design, illustration skills, and worldbuilding, all of it. And I enjoyed every moment of it.

Q: What kind of projects do you want to make in the future?

A: I’m super invested in learning how to be a more effective character designer because I love developing and writing plots for each and every character I make. I don’t think it’d be super unlikely that I will eventually make some sort of comic or even animation project with said characters, like with the band. I want to really realize them but I know I still have so much to learn! I’m also really interested in making things such as posters and just generally things that make me happy!