Behind The Artworks: Rei Code Zero - Chronicles (2026)

One thing I was always sure about the cover was that it had to be anime-style, to immediately suggest a certain type of artistic direction. The album cover went through quite a few changes. At first, I wanted a mascot inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog, but the more I worked on it with a graphic designer, the less convinced I was that it fit the project.

In the end, mostly because of budget limitations, I decided to create the character myself. I sketched the original design of Rei, a young cyborg, and then refined the artwork using AI, together with a lot of manual editing.

 

Since AI played a big part in the final image, I didn't feel it was right to credit myself as the cover artist. Instead, I'd like to thank Luca Mingolla, a professional graphic designer who helped with the booklet layout and gave me great advice on how to present everything.

 

Rei's story is something I'd like to develop further in the future. In a not-so-distant future, the world is ruled by military corporations. Rei is a cyborg built as a weapon, but after gaining a small sense of self-awareness, he escapes the laboratory where he was created. He's badly damaged during his escape and is rescued by a scientist who rebuilds him. Together with her and other allies, he joins the resistance against the corporations. As the story unfolds, Rei slowly becomes more human, learning what it means to choose his own path instead of simply following the purpose he was built for.

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