Tag Archives: kmfdm art

KMFDM – PARADISE: Sketches and final art.

Final artwork. Inked by hand and colored in Adobe Illustrator

For the their new album, Paradise, KMFDM supremo, Sasha Konietsko, wanted an artwork that would inspire hope in a world torn apart by tribal rivalries and hatred. As both of us are family men, it seemed appropriate to create an image that would illustrate our state of mind concerning the future of our children and immediately this post-apocalyptic scene popped into my head. Hold them close, teach them well and maybe their generation can accomplish that which we did not.

Sketch one based on an idea by Sascha Konietsko. I originally saw it as a Mad Max-meets-Social Realism propaganda piece but, as the backstory to the scenario grew in my mind, I could see it becoming something more meaningful.
Secondary sketch. Still with the message of hope I wished to create fresh in my mind, I replaced the corny heroism for a quieter dynamic and tried to capture the relationship between father and daughter.
Third sketch. I decided to use a reverse symmetrical angle of the father and daughter to indicate the connection between this scenario and my earlier artwork for KMFDM’s Salvation album in which a young warrior rescues an unconscious woman from the ruins of a destroyed city.
In this initial pencil sketch, the main character had a bow, a knife and a pistol. These were all subsequently removed when Sascha and I agreed that they should be entering the future without weapons.
One of a series of alternative colour and background combinations. The sky in this version was considered too busy and replaced in the final illustration by a huge sun.
This image from the album, Salvation, ties in with the one from the Paradise cover in that the woman the young warrior rescues from the ruined city is the mother of his daughter in the new illustration

Custom BRUTE! portraits now available.

There are a number of positive aspects to my work as a portrait artist. One, I don’t have to come up with a narrative or conceptual roughs for the illustration. Two, I work from an available media source (the photos). Three, there’s no management committee putting their ten-pennorth in and extending the job schedule with endless re-edits and Four, I get to reach an audience who might normally never get to own one of my more expensive pieces.

Prices for portraits start at 650 (655 USD) per face. For specific backgrounds and/ or props, an extra fee will be added.
Final file is delivered in vector format for maximum print size scalability.

For details on how to commission your own portrait, please contact me at bruteprop@gmail.com

Rare BRUTE! artworks discovered

A pic of me with one of the animation frames from ADAW
A pic of me with one of the animation frames from ADAW
During my long-postponed visit to the UK this month, I came across a number of original artworks.
Stored in air-tight folders and packed into a steel chest, items from the early to late 90’s (including a number of animation frames and storyboards from the two animations I did for KMFDM) came to light as well as a treasure trove of ink originals, sketch books, silkscreens and graphic porn – all in perfect condition.
P1040434Discovery of lost 9/11 series.

I will be auctioning many of these rare items on eBay in a month or so, so please keep watching this space.

Please contact us at bruteprop@gmail.com for samples and inventory or go here: http://www.theultraheavybeat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2995

KMFDM rough art from Tohuvabohu


Tohuvabohu Swordgirl rough 01


Tohuvabohu album cover concept rough sheet


Tohuvabohu swordgirl figure concept sheet

I‘m often asked how much preparatory work goes into each album cover I do and this series of rough conceptual work goes some way in illustrating how the final design comes about.
3 months before the final artwork was completed, I started outlining the various ideas I had for the sleeve and a slew of pictures emerged from the process which Sascha and I discussed before I began to build the final image.
Now, I am able to present these images for sale. Anyone interested, please leave your contact details in the comments box below or contact me via our Gmail account bruteprop@gmail.com and I’ll provide prices and size details.
All the above are rendered in black indian ink and signed.

Stay in touch for more KMFDM concept sketches

KMFDM Animation Frames Unearthed


A fan recently sent me two frames from the KMFDM animation ‘Drug Against War’ which I worked on with H-Gun Studios in Chicago, circa 1993. The top one is a three cel composite (additional inking by Pete Moriarty) while the one below is the basic illustration which was later coloured in Photoshop and animated in Director.

Special thanks to the Bert Bosman collection.

View the video here

New KMFDM cover


I recently submitted my final draft for the recently-released KMFDM album ‘Tohuvabohu’. However, when I saw the print version, the background was entirely different to my version. When I asked why it had been changed, I was informed by KMFDM that it had been ‘remixed’. I’m not a big fan of music and know even less of its workings but don’t artists usually have a say in how their music is remixed? It’s like discovering the babysitter has tattooed a rude name on your kid’s head.

Anyway, see which one you think rules and which one sucks.