The challenge with this cover was creating a visual of a canonical figure in the band’s songs: Skeleton Dan. This was their debut album, so I was given some freedom to define the band’s iconography.

The band’s music is like the devil’s country music, so I went with bolo ties, nudie suits, horse and cow skulls, and a background hinting at a strange candlelit ritual.

This is the fourth album cover I did for Chad Daniels. I was given the original photograph below, which was used as the art for the live filmed special. Chad wanted an illustrated version as a companion—not too different, but distinct. My goals were to draw out the color scheme and give Chad lots of rich detail to stand out in the sparser background.

My art was used for Chad’s signature beer at Revelation Ale Works.

I don’t know how it tastes, but if I stare at my own artwork long enough I can imagine it.

Dean’s comedy recounts a shocking family history of mental illness, something which he wanted to convey in the art. Among the inspiration he provided, he sent a lab work photo of his blood cells, which I stylized and used as the background texture.