The Royal Hunt of the Sun

Forged in Ireland’s oldest city, The Royal Hunt of the Sun blends hard rock, blues with heft, driving rhythms, tasty guitar solos, powerful vocals, swagger and above all, energy. Introducing a brand new collaborative project led by guitarist and songwriter Andrew Ryan; The Royal Hunt of the Sun brings together seven of Waterford’s most prominent musicians. 

The challenge was to create a brand using illustration to visually capture the core lyrics with a hint of Viking/Irish folklore, energy and gore/something a little unsettling. Six singles were released over the summer of 2025 and the final Album was launched in August 2025.

The Royal Hunt of the Sun album is composed entirely of original music based on themes of love, desire, powerlessness, escapism, death and rebellion. I began researching each song drawing out visuals to build rough visual concepts. To eliminate any complex ideas I focused on developing no more than one/two characters per song, with each engaging in one action/theme. Once I was happy with my rough concept sketches I moved into Procreate to start illustrating. Without causing any legibility issues I playfully positioned the single names is spaces that supported the tone of voice of the artwork.

Incorporating the viking/Irish folklore hints was tricky to plan at first but this led to exploring the Celtic Runes alphabet which gives the main cover a strong visual direction. Each single is unique in layout and composition but has a similar illustration style, colour palette, sun reference and typeface. These elements kept the brand consistent. For socials only, I introduced some photography of the band to show a human connection and to elevate the brand.

The main cover is based on the leader of the musical tribe (Andrew). The seven musicians names are interwoven in Celtic Runes in the braids of the tribe leader. The cover binds all the enigmatic artwork/music under one strong, powerful visual. This underpins the mystery and energy this Waterford collective has to offer with original music that can transport you into a place not yet discovered.