Cover for the latest EP by Twelve Foot Ninja.

I was given a virtually free hand with this since I have been working with the band for over a year now and I think they trust that I understand what they are trying to project. The only guideline was keep to the style of the TFN movie I made (which I still cannot show since its still not been released). That said I first created a set of roughs with my ideas and ran them by the band just to hammer out the details and make sure I was on the correct path. Fortunately I hit the nail right on the head with my initial ideas and was able to go forward feeling inspired and excited about work.

I listened to the ep first and then aimed at creating an image of the hero that gives some insight into his character. Basically he fights on the side of right but he shows no mercy to his enemies. He represents a call to the masses to release themselves from repression. He is our courage and our inspiration. He represents the true power of the silent majority. All they need do is step from the shadows and victory will be theirs. I wanted the image to draw the viewer in and make them want to see more, hear the music and of course buy the comic which I will be starting in the very near future.

The artwork was done at very high resolution and then converted to vector format so that it can be used for posters, t-shirts and any other merchandising that comes from this.

TFN Smoke Bomb EP Booklet inside spread

I wanted the design to work almost like a comic page with the lyrics fitting closely in with the illustration. I've posted both the final version with lyrics and the illustration without.

This image is inspired by the songs and the characters from the TFN story.

Left to right along the edge of the page you have:

The Emperor: He controls a world very similar to the feudalistic society of ancient Japan. HE represents oppression through fear.

The Sultan: His World is similar to the ancient ideas of Arabia. He control tool of choice is invalidation, keeping the people down by destroying their self esteem and making them feel powerless to change their own lives.

Number One: He controls a world of high technology where information is power. Secrets, lies and misinformation are used to oppress the public. Nobody feels they can trust anything they hear anymore and so the population feel desperately unhappy and powerless to change their world.

The Ice Queen: She controls a world much like our own though perhaps the technology is a little more advanced. She maintains control through manipulation of the mass consciousness using every media outlet available to her. She creates the false impression that a person is worthless to her unless they can fit in with a certain image. Of course they never really know what this image is so they constantly strtive to achieve it and constantly feel they are failing, They try to own certain things, the right clothes, the right cars, fit in the right social circles and so on but for some reason they can never feel happy. They can never seem to achieve that perfect balance of having all the right things. Of course the Ice Queen knows this is a false idea but it keeps her population distracted and easily controlled. As long as people are obsessed with the silly unimportant things in life she can commit atrocities, pass terrible laws and pretty much do as she likes, while nobody even notices.

Lumie: She is a banished God who strives to restore the balance of good and evil to the four worlds. She cannot interfere directly and so she must choose a person to be her tool. She chooses the next character in the illustration.

Kyoshi: Orphaned at a young age he is taken as Son by the leader of a powerful clan and trained as a Ninja to work in the service of the Emperor. As he reaches adulthood he realizes that the violence he performs in service of the Emperor is unjust and so is forced to flee. This is when accidentally discovers a pathway into the world of Lumie. Once in her domain he is given the ability to change into the Twelve Foot Ninja (who you can see in the center of the page), and the task of restoring balance and uniting the four worlds.

Finally on the extreme right is Lumie once more.

All these characters will appear in the comic and I am really looking forward to starting the writing and art. I will be working closely with Steve MacKay (known in the band as Stevic) who came up with the original concept, plot and characters of TFN. Fortunately we are a mutual admiration club so things generally go forward with good momentum and I really enjoy working with him.

TFN Smoke Bomb EP leaflet Back Cover.

I just wanted to make a nice calming illustration representing the peace that can be achieved with the victory of the TFN.

Here you see the image as it appears with all the text and below the illustration alone

TFN Smoke Bomb EP CD Back Cover.

Keeping to the theme of the smoke bomb, I designed images that are not too imposing.

TFN Smoke Bomb Disk image

This had to retain the feel of the last ep but be updated with the themes of the current EP.

TFN Smoke Bomb Tshirt

In keeping with the theme of the EP I was asked to design a tshirt,

Steve MacKay (known in the band as Stevic) came up with the original concept, plot and characters of TFN

I recommend you visit their website and check them out, you wont be sorry: [link]

You can also purchase the CD online by following the Merchandise link at the bottom of the page

All rights for these images are owned by Twelve Foot Ninja

©2010 Twelve Foot Ninja