Tskinz - “23” | Single Artwork & Visual Identity
Direct artist commission for a milestone single that reached 1.2M+ streams. Built through an intensive iterative process, translating local culture into a major-label standard.
Official Cover Art: Tskinz - “23”
Working directly with an independent artist means turning a personal story into a marketable visual without a label’s support. We decided an authentic London Underground look for "23" would root the track in local culture, boost thumbnail visibility on streaming platforms, and give the release a high-production feel comparable to major labels.
Hypothesis
Art Director & Sole Designer
Creative direction, direct artist client management, visual exploration, photorealistic composite design, and final DSP packaging.
My Role
1.2M+ Streams: The single generated over 1.2 million streams across DSPs, proving that independent visual direction can hit major-label performance metrics.
Results
After a lot of brainstorming between myself and the client I was given creative freedom to explore the way I wanted to.
I create believable worlds. I aim to fully immerse the viewer and make scenes feel real even when they’re not. This image made that difficult, so we used a different approach.
The image on the right shows the early stages of development on this project.
I added pins in the “23” to emulate the feeling of it been hung up in a station.
This blueprint was added on the floor as an ‘Easter egg’ teaser at his upcoming mixtape.
Instead of a standard stamp in the corner, I decided to add to the realism of the scene by adding the Parental Advisory mark as a part of the floor.
Creating the scene
Lighting is crucial in this art style. Shadow and highlight control defines realism. I prefer exaggerated contrast for impact, though subtler tones yield realism. The images on the right demonstrate how highlights and shadows build immersion.
My creative process
We drafted various sketches and ideas before landing on the final one.
We aimed for clearly British cover art, so we chose a train station—not a specific one, but clearly a UK Underground station.
The video shows my whole process from sketching ideas to the final product.
The cover art is currently on all major music Digital Service Providers. It has garnered 1.2million streams on Spotify.
Myself and Tskinz have over 10 tracks working together that have 1 million+ streams. One of which was commissioned by Sony - Black Butter Records and another with 12 million+ streams on Spotify alone.