The Cycle of Souls

"The Cycle of Souls"

Concept Art for the student short film "Deified" (2023-2024)

What we could call the "Human experience" is made up of the various interpretations we have of Life and Death and how they shape the way we live our lives and take on the challenges and opportunities along the way. They can be perceived through various lenses that are molded by cultural and personal beliefs, but ultimately, Life and Death are intertwined and exist because of the other. 

In the student short film I have had the pleasure of working on in the last year and a half, we have created an interpretation of our own, where Life and Death are two divine entities who fill up their complementary roles in a sort of cosmic cycle, an eternal loop. 

Following this vision along with the screenplay and artistic choices made for "Deified", I have created this Concept piece, "the Cycle of Souls". 

In this project, I represented each entity on a Tarot card of their own.

The cards are decorated with ornaments and embellishments that can be found in the sacred chamber that the two characters have access to, a sacred space only accessible to them and shaped around a monumental hourglass. 

Those elements portray the spiritual and beatific aspect of Life and Death and the roles that they fulfill, roles that constitute the balance and unwinding of humanity. 

They are also duplicated on each card, facing a different direction with an emanating glow in the colors of the opposing entity, in order to show the complimentary aspect of their existence and part in the cycle. 

The Tarot cards have been placed on a cosmic background where the expanse of space is an echo to the eternity of their cycle. 

They are also framed by designs like the writings found in astronomy studies and documents. I worked on the placements and shapes in order to bring more movement to the overall design and slightly break the symmetry. 

Some indications of the intended movements and the ornaments without the background.

"Life" and "Death"

They are facing down to enhance the movement lines created by the ornaments they have in their character designs and bring more dynamic to the composition. 

Earlier stages and the original sketch that brought forth the idea of Tarot cards. 

Merging of the two cards, a metaphorical representation of the breaking of this cycle