Black Market of Paleen
Award of Excellence
This piece is a concept for the underground black market for my upcoming short film, Solarian. I am drawn to designing spaces that feel lived in, such as environments that suggest history, tension, and systems operating beyond what the viewer immediately sees. The black market acts as a hidden artery of the world, where restricted technology and survival goods circulate beneath official power structures.
I built this environment through a combination of 3D layout in Blender and digital refinement in Photoshop, using architecture and lighting to guide the narrative. The curved industrial supports and recessed vendor stalls were designed to feel permanent and carved into the world itself. Light shafts cut through dust-filled air to create contrast between secrecy and exposure, reinforcing the visual storytelling that this is a place both protected and dangerous.
Rather than focusing on a single character, I approached this piece as environmental storytelling, allowing posture, spacing, and atmosphere to imply social resonance and quiet negotiation. The goal was to create a cinematic frame that feels like a moment from a larger unfolding story.
SLCC Enrollment School
SLCC Student
Artist Statement
I am a concept artist and visual storyteller focused on building immersive worlds that feel ancient, industrial, and emotionally lived-in. My work blends cinematic science fiction with grounded realism, often exploring themes of power, survival, labor, and myth. Through digital painting, 3D modeling, and film production, I design environments, machines, and characters that showcase immersive realms beyond the frame.
I am particularly drawn to large-scale engineered forms such as; machines, brutalist architecture, desert ships, subterranean cities, etc. Each contrasted with intimate human presence. Scale is central to my practice; I use light, atmosphere, and texture to make environments feel tangible and inhabited. Weathering, rust, dust, and material decay are not aesthetic afterthoughts but narrative tools that imply time, conflict, and use.
My background in film informs how I compose images. I approach each piece as a frame from a larger story, considering camera angle, movement, and emotional presentation. Whether designing for original universes or reinterpretations of existing worlds, my goal is to create visual experiences that feel monumental yet personal.
