Where it all began.
Back in 2014, I had the honor of being featured in Lürzer's Archive 200 Best Digital Artists Worldwide 2013/2014. Over the years, I’ve received several invitations to participate again, but for one reason or another, I wasn’t able to.
When the invitation came in February 2024, I set a clear goal: Create a visually stunning piece, challenge myself once again, and get published.
Behind
the concept.
For a long time, I had wanted to create something with tentacles overflowing in an unexpected situation, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
The concept had to be simple and speak for itself. I recalled a moment from years ago, when I was served a dish in an Asian restaurant with seaweed pieces that seemed to move. I didn’t realize at the time that it was the heat causing the motion, and all I could think was that it was too fresh, as if it were still alive. That’s when the idea of Extra Fresh really took shape.
Once the concept of Extra Fresh was set and I has a rough idea sketched out I began with the initial exploration, gathering references and drawing inspiration from traditional Asian takeout food and classic oriental cuisine.The tone, texture, and a touch of inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft played a key role in defining a cinematic mood, setting the ideal atmosphere for a high-impact piece.
Initial Sketch & References
The initial sketch was inspired by a short animation named "Takeout" from William Landgrem. I fell in love with the cinematic look of it and it got me thinking that was the perfect vessel for some traditional fresh food since market takeouts are known for having fresh ingredients, so initially it made sense.
Sketch #2: Big changes
while I was drafting my initial sketch I realized two things, the first one was that I needed something else to strengthen the concept and give it a twist. In a way, the freshness of the takeout experience is something you would expect. Obviously one is not to the point of some giant tentacles coming out of some takeaway noodles but it was not that funny for some reason. So I decided to a different setup with a different vessel in something that is know for being not so fresh: instant noodles this gave it a contrast on a conceptual level
another mayor change was that I switched from a landscape format on to a portrait one. simply because the last time I was featured by Lürzers My piece was in portrait mode and I felt it could have been so much better with a portrait orientation. This Time my ambition was high and I was determined to get a full page published.
Final Mood Board
First things first
Once the main direction was decided I started from the basics: composition. For this part getting the right camera angle was crucial and at first i thought it was going to be simple, however it ended up taking days and even on the final stages I kept tweaking the settings, as I wanted depth on the scene but also showcase the tentacles and all of their texture without them overshadowing the main concept itself.
Some of my initial concepts were in landscape ratio but I kept thinking of it as an editorial piece –– after all the intention was for it to be published on a book –– so I had to look at the bigger picture
For the label I used DALL-E- to create several variations taking elements from some of them so I could later finish a full label in Photoshop and Illustrator.
THE MAIN CHARACTER
FULL R&D
COMING SOON...
