I was commissioned by David Day to make a cover for his funk/R&B/pop song about Mardi Gras Parade in Spanish Town, Baton Rouge, LA. The client's concept was as follows:
"A bright pink flamingo, scaled larger than life, walking down a street in Spanish Town and stepping over throngs of partiers and floats, plus the crowd with beads flying. Looking for a distinct abstract style showing the iconic architecture of this neighborhood. Maybe the houses on the sides are viewed through a fisheye lens."
Mardi Gras is a holiday celebrated in Louisiana, USA, since 1699. Baton Rouge is the state capital and Spanish Town is a historic district in it, known for the largest parades in the city.
The pink flamingo is an iconic festive decoration for place and season, as well as the beads thrown around from the floats parading through the town. Purple, green, and gold colors are the official colors of the carnival.
The pink flamingo is an iconic festive decoration for place and season, as well as the beads thrown around from the floats parading through the town. Purple, green, and gold colors are the official colors of the carnival.
After reading the client's brief and a quick research of Mardi Gras, I made a rough colored sketch, this one.
The client's response was the mood approval, plus a rough sketch of his own to give me more understanding of the composition he had in mind. That was very helpful and I made a new color sketch.
For a better representation of the mix of the perspectives and angles, I made some rough 3D models in Blender and used them as references.
Long story short, after a few iterations we arrived at this final version.
The song is released on all major streaming platforms.
And here's is the client's feedback:
