TO BLOOM: WE CAN NEVER GO BACK TO ARIZONA
When I’m not animating or drawing, I’m usually making music with my friends. Music has always been my second creative outlet—it’s where I write, sing, and experiment with sound in the same way I do with visuals.
The process of building songs together, from drafting lyrics to shaping full arrangements, feeds back into my design work too; it sharpens my sense of rhythm,
pacing, and emotional storytelling. To Bloom is my passion project — a progressive rock band where I wear many hats. I sing, write lyrics, compose, illustrate,
animate, and handle PR. It’s a space where I blend my creative disciplines and push myself both artistically and collaboratively.
THE ASK
For To Bloom’s single “We Can Never Go Back to Arizona”, the goal was to
create an engaging audio visualizer paired with two distinct ad sets.
One for pre-release promotion and another for post-release traction. The challenge was to leverage the single’s artwork in a way that felt dynamic and attention-grabbing, translating a static illustration into motion that could live across social platforms. These assets needed to not only highlight the band’s visual identity but also amplify the emotion and energy of the track, helping drive listeners to streaming platforms and build momentum around the release.
PROCESS
For my band’s latest single, We Can Never Go Back to Arizona, I teamed up with my friend Priya Kakati
to create the cover artwork. Together, we crafted a visual that perfectly captures the song’s mood:
Bold, nostalgic, and a little mysterious.
Together, we crafted a design that captures the nostalgic yet adventurous spirit of the song.
The illustration features vivid colors that bring our story to life, reflecting the emotion behind the music.
I provided art direction for the final illustration, ensuring it captured the mood and themes of the track. Once the artwork was complete, I prepared it for animation by carefully breaking apart the file into layers and individual elements. This step was crucial—it allowed every piece of the illustration to be fully animatable, setting the stage for motion that could bring the static artwork to life.
Illustration by Priya Kakati
BEHIND THE SCENES
For this project, I started by taking Priya’s illustration into Procreate,
where I hand-drew every frame of the fire animation.
After completing the hand-drawn, frame-by-frame work, I carefully adjusted the line height to ensure the flames had enough breathing room,
enhancing their gritty texture and personality. Layering these textures added a tactile feel before I moved the sequences into After Effects for compositing.
To elevate the final look, I set up a 3D camera and arranged elements in z-space, creating depth and parallax that pushed the illustration
beyond its flat origin. This blend of hand-drawn animation with After Effects compositing, plus the textured layers and spatial elements,
gave the piece a grungy, cinematic vibe—dynamic in motion yet always true to the original design.
PR WINS
Through my efforts, I managed to get us featured in both Spin Magazine and MetalHammer’s
“Top Artists to Watch in 2022” lists. This recognition gave the band a major boost in visibility
This was a huge win for the band, generating major traction on YouTube and Spotify.
I achieved this through a combination of targeted social ad campaigns and strategic outreach,
which helped amplify visibility and connect the track with the right audiences.
