Project — 2025
UFCExplorations
Overview
Eight directions.
One fighter.
No brief.
A self-initiated exploration into what world-class UFC graphics could look like using AI as a creative tool. The subject: Max "Blessed" Holloway — UFC Featherweight Champion, BMF title holder, one of the sport's most visually compelling athletes.
Each direction starts from the same source photography and pushes into a completely different aesthetic territory — from cinematic portraiture to 3D infographic systems to Hawaiian heritage illustration to watercolour and oil painting.
Direction 01
Cinematic
Silhouette
Fighter as icon. A lone silhouette stands before a monumental close-up of his own eyes — scale, focus, and implied power. Clean, typographic, prestige broadcast energy.
Direction 02
Double
Exposure
Cinematic composite — the fighter's face blends with a lone figure walking toward the light on a bridge. Embers, shattered glass, firelight. Dark, brooding, prestige drama.
Direction 03
3D
Infographic
The fighter deconstructed as a living data system. Bold 3D sculptural heads surrounded by championship stats and belt iconography. Explored across multiple colour schemes — yellow/blue, red/purple, black/gold.
Direction 03 — Colour Variants
3D System
Iterations
The 3D direction pushed across radically different colour palettes — red/purple, black/gold, and a full-body blocky sculpture. Each shifts the emotional register while holding the same visual system.
Direction 04
Hawaiian
Heritage
Rooted in Polynesian woodblock print tradition — tapa patterns, volcanic coastline, and ocean waves. The octagon becomes a sacred frame around the island warrior. Cultural identity as visual identity.
Direction 05
Neon
Energy
Electric neon light trails, liquid drips, and UV intensity. The fighter at maximum voltage — part athlete, part force of nature. BLESSED glowing in neon script.
Direction 05 — Portrait Variant
Neon
Portrait
Pushed to portrait scale — glowing UV eyes, green paint running down the face, Polynesian tattoos illuminated in electric blue. Intense, otherworldly, impossible to ignore.
Direction 06
Editorial
Identity
Luxury editorial meets cultural pride. From distressed black/gold with championship belt and Polynesian motifs, to green streetwear energy with the Hawaii flag jersey. "Blessed 1991."
Direction 07
Minimalist
Studio
A warm golden void. The fighter isolated on a pristine UFC canvas — no clutter, no noise. Product-shoot discipline applied to an athlete. Let the subject speak entirely for itself.
Direction 08
Watercolour
& Painted
Hand-crafted artistic directions — loose watercolour washes with kinetic energy and bold oil-paint strokes that feel like a stadium mural. Sport meets fine art. Dynamic, expressive, deeply human.
Direction 09
The
Octagon
Further explorations — tighter watercolour with BLESSED/HAWAII/CHAMPION text integrated into the composition, and looser gestural strokes that blur the line between action photography and illustration.
Source Reference Photography
The Blessed Journey — career infographic
Source — aerial punch
Source — aerial kick
Source — ground level
Source — backfist
Source — BW portrait
Process
How the
work happened
Each direction was developed iteratively — starting from reference photography and pushing through multiple AI-assisted generation passes, with art direction at every step.
Reference & Territory
Established source photography and identified 8 distinct aesthetic territories to explore.
AI-Assisted Generation
Precise prompting and iterative refinement — controlling style, composition, lighting, and palette at each pass.
Art Direction & Iteration
Adjusted colour schemes, removed artifacts, altered camera angles, and dialled in fighter likeness for each direction.
Systems Thinking
Each direction considered as a design system — capable of scaling across broadcast formats, digital, OOH, and print.
Curation & Presentation
Selected the strongest frames from each direction and organised them into a coherent visual narrative.
