Designing My Griot & Artist Persona: Monihymn

This post originally appeared on my newsletter, [Muse Module], where I discuss the work I’ve done, what I’ve learned and things that I want to share with you.

At the foundation of my work, lies a creature that serves as both an artist's persona and the studio’s namesake. Monihymn maintains one foot in fantasy and the other in reality. On that fantastical level, they embody creation and craftsmanship. A Monihymn is a patron of discarded ideas and stewards over the things they create. One of their brush strokes would beget an entire timeline.

In reality, artist personas are so cool. Mononyms like “Solange” and “Prince” are excellent examples. Even with them, their lives, discographies, and pop culture build into this modern-day folklore. Monihymn’s design balances with music, hyper-organic shapes, and craftsmanship.

Strings felt like a strong visual element to bridge the gap between sound and physical creation. My vision gravitated towards how root-like nervous systems are. It felt like a direct visual metaphor for life and vivaciousness. Further emphasis on Monihymn's sonic nature could fall on the instruments used and the strings that make up their body.  The floating hands became hand-wings to emphasize an otherworldly nature while carrying an overt symbol for craftsmanship. Pulling all of these elements together, Monihymn is supposed to balance something otherworldly and familiar— something human and manufactured. 

l experimented with a "hyper-organic" character design using Blender & HeavyPaint (with a dash of CSP). I started Blender to sculpt with the character's head. A "hyper-organic" look was my focus and I wanted to have fun textures to paint over. Then I had some fun building out the bust and branching nerve structures in HeavyPaint. HP has the most unique brush engine and I love how it blends with the model. Near the end I composted the images in Clip Studio Paint bc my computer couldn't handle the sheer beauty (ha!) But I love this lil turnaround ref sheet

The strings felt like a strong visual element to bridge sound and organic forms. Strings are the primary components for many instruments from lyres and koras to harpsichords to guitars. Strings also speak to plant roots and how our nervous systems branch throughout our bodies. The botanical works of Valerie Hammond felt like a good way of explaining what I was looking for. Her work along with the horror VFX you'd see in movies like Annihilation (2018) would be strong references for where I want to push Monihymn. 

Craftsmanship was the second metaphor to build into Monihymn. Hands felt like an obvious visual choice that speaks to human creation.

Creation. Self-Destruction. Craftsmanship. 

Pulling these elements together allows Monihymn to have both a human and an otherworldly edge. I think I’m getting closer to something final and honest to my vision.

Designing Chris Globin

When the Patron commissioned me, they requested that I build a character based on them. Being that they are a writer who holds a considerable amount of medical knowledge, I thought designing a medic would be fitting.

This character's name is Chris Globin. He is a doctor who, without warning and with limitless benevolence, would mend a stranger bleeding out in an alley and then buy them pizza, afterwards. And no, he would not settle for a mere dollar pizza, at that. This all falls under his oath. As the doctor of a social worker syndicate, he endeavors to heal all physical, emotional, and more often, supernatural wounds. Every laboratory module strapped to his person is fine-tuned to handle multiple emergencies. Aside from that, he works as a freelance writer.

Building a Visual Library

I immediately began to build a visual library for medical motifs. As a social worker, it would also make sense for his design to also contain some inviting elements. Lastly, based on my lore’s reading order, this character lives in a futuristic setting. I decided to build on the idea of a "friendly neighborhood plague doctor" with my sketches.

Plague doctors are creepy and a common source for character designs. The challenge then was to produce something original, inviting and futuristic. I figured an "anti-plague doctor" communicates friendliness with brighter colors and smoother shapes. The Patron is also a fan of techwear fashion which helped add to that sleek futuristic look.

Exploring with Sketches

Furthermore, a more futuristic medic could build on those sleek shapes with details and decal. Their equipment must also infer a function. Globin has an array of modules built into their suit which can be swapped for various situations. With each iteration, I added a more distinct mask to the character. An anti-plague doctor needs something more functional than a k95 or a simple beak. The visual at the start of this article showcases the latest mask— one that is functional and not harrowing.

This character's place in my universe is heavily inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. The final illustration had to incorporate some chaotic pop art textures. This was expressed through Globin’s hat which doubles as a holographic shroud and a medical tent.

Deciding on the Composition

1. Share a Pint - The character shares a drink with a recent patient; 2. Comic Cover - Simple comic pose to show off the character silhouette in a brick alley; 3. Creepy Turn - The character turns to greet you while cleaning up after an operation;  4. Combat Ready - The character lunges into action to heal a comrade.

For the commissioned illustration, my patron decided on the "Creepy Turn" composition. It is set up like a sequential splash page to a comic book.  You can view a bit of the process, the color/texture test and the final illustration below.

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed my work please consider following the studio on Instagram and possibly donating to our Ko-Fi. Have a good one!

Process: Designing the Duality of Cast

These graphics were made to accompany this interview with the rapper/producer Joshua Castillo aka Cast.

While preparing to interview Cast, my focus creating the article visuals were centered around the idea of “duality.” I wanted to visually represent an emerging artist whose work and creative process held a complex degree of depth. There are stark differences that I wanted to capture between who he is on and off stage, between his hypnotic bravado and his an introspective calm.

Being that we are both Frank Ocean fans, the cover art for Ocean’s solo track “Chanel” felt apropos as a visual anchor. My initial sketches also drew from the experimental imagery in other music publications like Raygun Magazine. After our interview, I photographed Cast with some of Lomography’s Color Negative 400 35mm film along with a few RAW shots too. I asked Cast to emote the two extremes we discussed in the article.   

At the time, due to the low light, my images came with a welcomed degree of grain and noise. I used Snapseed to edit some of the RAW photos to match the 35mm ones. This way I had more control over where I wanted the visual dissonance. Obviously, film and digital shots will never be the same,but I hoped that their minute differences would assist the final composition.

The plan was then to juxtapose images that contrasted emotionally and procedurally i.e. analogue versus digital techniques. I used Clip Studio Paint and Affinity Designer to layer the images and create collages. 

I hoped that experimentation and physical techniques would cause my work to feel genuine. One of my favorite pieces embodied this intention. I printed an image on a polaroid using the Polaroid Lab. Then I had my own eureka moment when I was able to properly derive “Cast” from “Joshua Castillo” with scotch tape. 

This project compelled me to learn more about digital and analogue processing techniques. In the future, I want to develop my skills so that I can be both intentional with my images while also leaving room for play. 

Thank you for reading.