Life in Cartoon Motion by MIKA
Album design. 2018, Illustrator.
This classic album by MIKA is celebrated for its cohesive, creative, and most importantly, fun theme and style expressed through its artworks and music video. The challenge is to try and do one better. The album uses cheerful and naive motifs to convey dark and adult themes. I selected 3 songs and the album cover to convey a narrative about 3 characters described in the music.
Album cover and three single covers make up a rotating CD design. Album design includes 3 characters that are featured in the other single covers, living on a world together.
In Grace Kelly, Mika sings to talk about being whoever you want to be. Grace Kelly is classically known to be a queen of empowerment and fashion, as well as self expression and independence.
Any Other World is about “an invisible man” who controls the world and makes mishaps occur in people’s lives.I wanted to convey the messy and complicated nature of life, and a massive, omenous character pulling at them.
Billy Brown is about a married family man with questions about his sexuality. Besides the pink, I arranged the characters to emulate a feeling of question and mystery, using cigarette smoke to convey the title.
Development
I began with the three characters that would be featured in the covers. Each song describes a scenario or a
narrative filled with characters to convey the meanings. I researched into what each song meant to uncover these motifs.
narrative filled with characters to convey the meanings. I researched into what each song meant to uncover these motifs.
