Catatoneya – “Growth” Album Artwork

In 2018, I was commissioned by a friend to design the artwork for the debut LP of his alternative rock band, Catatoneya.  The concept was to have a sapling growing into a full tree both in times of prosperity and darkness. 

First, they asked me to make a simple black and white sticker with the growth design concept. The album cover was built from up from that work.

I also incorporated the design from the sticker into the show flyer, lyric booklet, and inside of the CD case. The portraits of the band members inside of the CD case were drawn by my sister, Candrika Rice, who also did live art at the release show.

“Obsidian” Comic Preview

In 2016 and 2017, I wrote and illustrated a short supernatural comic book. For an assignment in 2018, I used panels from it to create an abridged picture book of the first chapter.

I’ve been developing the story in my head for years and hope to make it into a real webcomic one day soon. At some point I renamed it to Hot Metal, referencing the main character’s powers and the Hot Metal Bridge in Pittsburgh. Every character is named after a place near my city.

Then in 2019 for my Packaging & Retail Design course, I decided to design boxes for what a series of Hot Metal actions figures might look like. 

The character on the left, Pitt Braizo, is named after Pittsburgh. He’s the same character from the Obsidian booklet, though this is his appearance after fighting many battles. His original hairstyle and hair color. The play feature for these action figures is to swap out their hair and hands to reflect their different appearances and powers throughout the series. The character on the right, Latrobe Washington, can manipulate light energy and is named after both Latrobe and Mt. Washington. The lines behind their portrait on the front and surrounding the text on the back reflect their individual powers. 

I also included icons along the side of the box for other potential figures in the series: Preston Brooks (named after Presto and Brookline), Shadow Pitt Braizo, Luis Amistad (named after the Spanish translation of Friendship), and Clair Marui (Named after Upper St. Clair). The back of the boxes features a summary of the story and a brief bio of the characters.

Anton Ego – “Sick Set!” Album Artwork

Much like Catatoneya, Anton Ego is another prominent band in Pittsburgh’s DIY music scene. They’re an instrumental math rock band, meaning their songs switch back and forth between different time signatures and each part is super complex to play. The multiple arms of the drummer and extra, electrifying fingers on the guitarists is meant to represent the insane talent of the band.

The first time I saw Anton Ego was at a show where a canvas and sharpies were being passed around for people to draw whatever they want on. I made a crude sketch of the guitarist’s hands which he loved. This was the basis for the album artwork and why they commissioned me to design it in 2020. The color scheme was inspired by the movie poster for Bladerunner 2049.

Additionally, I designed a button and sticker for the band. Both were based on the canvas sketch.

Additional Illustrations

Spooken Rider (2016)

Electric Pylon (2016)

Les Claypool: Bass Legend (2018)

Rampage in the Park flyer (2019)

View More: Branding | Graphic Design | Photography/Videography