Graphic Design | Illustration | Branding
88rising (88⬆), formerly known as CXSHXNLY (pronounced "Cash Only"), is a thriving mass media company that celebrates the creative passions of multidisciplinary artists from around the world, particularly of Asian origin. Its founders, Sean Miyashiro and Jaeson Ma established an inclusive platform for musicians, film producers, and artists to create high quality content that transcends what industry leaders and members of society expect is achievable.
I was introduced to 88rising through former battle rapper and hip hop artist Jonathan Park aka Dumbfoundead. He was one of 88rising's inaugural members and played a vital role in helping discover new talent. He currently hosts "Fun With Dumb", a live show that discusses various aspects of entertainment and culture. 
In announcement of Sean Miyashiro appearing on Fun With Dumb, I was inspired to design something leading up to the episode's release. While digging through 88rising's online archive, I came across the 88rising neon dragon sign that's displayed in the company's New York headquarters. For context, the number 88 symbolizes double fortune in Chinese and other Asian cultures.
Using Adobe Illustrator, I recreated a photo of the sign using the pen tool. An important step was separating each component into separate layers. These were then individually imported into Adobe After Effects where the real cookin' begins. There, I added an inverted feathered mask to the brick background. Next, I added various styles and effects to one of the dragons which were then copied onto the other dragon and arrow. To create the flickering effect, I adjusted the opacity to some of the layers using incremental key frames. I then shifted the grouped key frames to insinuate an authentic neon sign. The animation only lasts 5 seconds, so to create the infinite loop the very beginning and end key frame opacity values needed to be the same. I'm really happy with the end result and want to thank YouTube user Dope Motions for providing the neon light animation tutorial.
To learn more about 88rising, I encourage you to check out the following links:
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