What do Lil Yachty, Migos, Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid have in common? It may not be obvious, but San Diego State graphic design sophomore Chandler Brunelli has created album art for all of these acclaimed artists.
Brunelli has been creating graphics for various outlets since high school, and has had internships for Sony’s RED Music and Cinematic Music Group.
Each of Brunelli’s pieces has its own unique elements that depict the songs he makes cover art for.
Better known as @LerDraws to his clients, Brunelli creates graphics for other mediums beyond album art. He said he prefers writing music for rap and hip hop genres, but is open to writing for other genres.
“Unique is the best way to describe his art,” global composition sophomore Michael Gould said.
Brunelli created the album art for Gould’s single “Wait.”
Brunelli begins his creative process by getting the title of the work he is making art for or listening to the song.
He thinks of how the colors will work with the emotions of the different songs. He then uses that to make a memorable cover that can be associated with the music regardless of whether or not the title is there.
“I didn’t really have any inspiration, so I started making my own covers for my favorite albums and songs. I really enjoyed this so I reached out to various artists that I was listening to at the time, including Lil Yachty, and after doing my very first official cover ever for him, I just continued to grow my network of clients,” Brunelli said.
He created the artwork for singles such as “Dat Way” by Migos and “Bankroll” by Diplo. He has also created covers for Lil Yachty songs like “Oh Love” “Drippin ft. 21 Savage” and “22 Diamonds.”
Brunelli said his favorite album covers belong to Tyler the Creator — he admires how Tyler creates art and music without boundaries.
Brunelli said he draws his inspiration from movies like “Pulp Fiction” and “American Psycho.”
“I try my best to draw inspiration from anything except other graphic design work because I feel that the best work usually happens to be the most original,” Brunelli said.
Brunelli said some of his coolest memories are from the connections he made through his artwork while at the Day N’ Night Hip Hop Festival.
Prior to going, Brunelli said he did not have a ticket. However luckily for him, he crossed paths with Rich the Kid. The rapper came up to him and instantly said, “Wassup @LerDraws” while handing him his artist wristband.
“I got to enjoy the rest of the weekend with all of the artists’ amenities and made priceless connections backstage,” Brunelli said.
Album art creates a more in-depth association that ties an album’s music to visuals. To Brunelli, the cover of an album gives the audience a better understanding of the artist.
When Brunelli first met Lil Yachty’s manager, he said he was unaware of who Brunelli was. Brunelli pulled out his art Instagram and ironically, the background on his phone was a drawing Brunelli had done of Yachty.
The next day, Brunelli was asked to make the background art of Yachty’s next single.
Aside from album art, Brunelli also works on skateboard art for the world-renowned Supreme skate team, and creates jewelry for the Migos Official DJ and Rich the Kid.
Just as any creative individual, Brunelli said he sometimes experiences a “block” in his work. Brunelli said when this happens to him he likes to take advantage of the beauty of San Diego and go to Pacific Beach or Coronado to clear his head.
Brunelli said his future goals would be to work with a top label in the country and create the jerseys for a San Diego soccer team.
For Brunelli, the possibilities of what is to come seem endless — who knows what artists he might be making album art for in the future.
