$ki Mask the Slump God the Book of Eli Cover Art

Dylan "HereComesTheArt" Arocha

Dylan "HereComesTheArt" Arocha was living every young graphic designer's dream when Florida rapper Ski Mask The Slump God slid into his DMs—on Arocha'south birthday no less—to allow him know that he was planning on using 1 of Arocha's pieces as the cover for his upcoming project, Beware the Book of Eli.

In an interview with DJBooth, Arocha, who exterior of a few high school classes is YouTube-taught and does a bulk of his piece of work on a Wacom tablet, says he first tweeted his artwork at The Slump God on December 13, in hopes that his George Condo-inspired fashion would take hold of his eye—and it did, sort of.

"I tweeted a few pieces to him and that was December 13. From there, he messaged me and said, 'Hey, I do demand some artwork.' I message him, and I didn't get a response back and idea he found another artist… I still fabricated [the embrace] in case he checks it out. And then he was tweeting on my altogether yesterday, January 15, so I try to get his attention one more fourth dimension, and I just defenseless him at the right fourth dimension. He messaged me and said, 'Happy Birthday,' which was dope, and he said he was gonna use it as the cover."

As for their discussion about compensation for his work, Arocha reveals that there was never a give-and-take—he didn't ask to be paid and Ski Mask didn't offer to pay him. "Honestly, his name is bigger, and this is a business," he says, explaining why he chose to not pursue payment for his art. "The style I'm trying to move is to understand my place and where I'm at. Really, no one knows who I am."

While Arocha, 25, is planning on using his art placement with Ski Mask as leverage for future work—as he should—he says his real business concern is in futures, working with artists in the early on stages of their careers and being sensitive to their pricing needs.

"Most of my business is from artists on the come-upwards," he admits. "I understand the place that they're at, [information technology'south] the same identify I am in, trying to get my name out there. And so I feel like my pricing is off-white. A lot of the time, I call myself an art dealer. I'm a dealer for the people. I really try to piece of work with everybody. It is a business, but I'thousand down to earth."

His approach is beauteous, perhaps to a error. In that location is a fine line betwixt remaining humble and existence charitable, and not recognizing the true value of your difficult work.

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Dylan recognizes he's toeing that line, but he remains optimistic. "These are the little moments to the bigger pic," he says. "If somebody says they tin't make a payment, I attempt to give them advice similar, 'If we remove this, we can bring the price down, or if nosotros change this…' and things similar that."

Different many of his clients, Ski Mask is far from a starving artist. In 2016, the 21-twelvemonth-old signed a record deal with Commonwealth Records, the characterization that will be releasing his for-profit forthcoming project. Still, Dylan understands that the artistic business is built on a foundation of strong relationships.

Arocha's art manner is lively and cartoonish while carrying a sinister energy. For his piece of work with Ski Mask, the Austin, Texas native took inspiration from the encompass of Kanye Due west's My Beautiful Nighttime Twisted Fantasy, crafting a similarly grotesque edge. The final production also contains a comedic element, which he says gives his work staying power. "I try to keep my art really fun and funny at times," he explains.

In addition to being amusing, his designs are also well-researched.

"In the analogy, what I like the most is I kinda have him doing the shoulder shrug from the 'Catch Me Outside' music video," he says, breaking down the encompass. "The skull and the candle is kind of similar the game, like no one'due south touching him. I paid some homage to George Condo with the oral fissure. If y'all could see inside the mouth, information technology'due south like a prism, which yous could see a lot in his work. I besides incorporated the Nike Sock Darts from when he went shopping with Circuitous." Of notation, the eyes bugging out of Ski Mask'southward head and his cross teardrop is a nod to the editing work of Chicago director Cole Bennett.

Despite choosing to forgo current earning potential for hereafter opportunity, Arocha believes he has a long journey ahead of him—ane he's eager to take. "As fourth dimension passes by, I feel like every new piece that I make is better than my concluding," he says. "With that mentality, I just need more than skill, more than fourth dimension and more work. With the money I get paid, I invest in new equipment and amend quality tools."

Every bit far as his next dream placement, Arocha is open. "I'm fix for anything," he says, before hanging up to the phone to begin piece of work on his next piece.

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Source: https://djbooth.net/features/2018-01-16-ski-mask-slump-god-artwork

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