Artist of the Day: Arik Roper

New York City-based artist Arik Moonhawk Roper illustrates fantasy art in full washes of color or in limited colors for black light posters, books, and shirts. He has illustrated a handful of covers and articles for Arthur magazine, and he also frequently gets commissions from musicians that find his art to evoke exactly the right visual mood for their music.

Below is a motion graphics exercise that Roper created in After Effects using his own artwork and music by Steve Moore. It’s the opening credit sequence of a fictional film, A Maze of Death. In the opening seconds, you get the sense of how Roper’s atmospheric, dark artwork could work perfectly in an animated setting. Just seeing it slide around a little set to music clearly establishes a specific tone, and although it runs a bit long for something that doesn’t have a pay off, it remains an interesting experiment. Maybe there is hope for the film being produced so we can watch it; after all, Hollywood studios have built films off of flimsier concepts before.

See more work from Roper on his website and blog.