To Wonderful Opportunities...

In September of last year I answered a Craigslist ad after being on the job search for a few months. I enjoy freelancing, but was looking forward to the opportunity of working on larger projects and being part of a team again. I had sent my resumes everywhere and signed up with a few creative agencies...and yielded nothing. After what felt like an eternity of sending resumes out into a void in space somewhere, I got a response right away.

             "When do you want to come in?"

             "I want to be the first one in on Monday morning!"

Publications International, LTD. publishes everything from children's books to cooking books and brain games. I was an Associate Art Director in the largest department: Children's Electronics. We had several formats and all had sound components. We worked with several large licensors, such as Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, and countless others. 

They immediately threw me into the pool, so to speak, and I was assigned a project with the Eric Carle license (if it doesn't sound familiar, it's the Very Hungry Caterpillar guy.) It sounded easy when I would explain to friends what I did. You have a library of images drawn by the artists and you have to lay it out with the text. However, licenses all have very strict rules with what you can do. You can't flip Eric Carle images, or scale them too much, or change the color...but it is your job to make it look new and engaging.  It was totally a challenge, but I learnt so much in that project alone. 

My favorite part was when I got to add my own illustrations to projects. You need Mickey Mouse eating a pizza? Well, we don't have any pizza's in the database. More often than not, extensive photo-manipulation went into creating what you needed for the story but, obviously, it had to be seamless. And I was proud of the few items I produced because Disney, or Sesame Street, or whoever- had to ok it. In my free time, I learned to emulate some of my favorite styles. We were encouraged to decorate our cubes and every so often I would put up my newest attempt.

1 bat! Ach ach ach....

My job was two fold: the projects and the comp department. Comp's just refers to materials that we mock-up for Sales presentations, tradeshows, and photo shoots. It serves to give clients an idea of what upcoming books or formats will look like. Complexity ranged greatly- it could be just a spray mounted front cover, to creating entire books with diecuts, pop-ups, or flaps, or cutting and assembling new packaging. This was a large chunk of my workload but it was one of my favorite parts. I had always enjoyed making things and it gave me a chance to learn how to make actual books by hand. During my lunch period, I was often trying to figure out more efficient ways to go about my work and teach myself how to make more realistic looking books. Needless to say, I can wield an Exacto knife like no ones business! 

While it might just seem like menial work on surface, it showed me how important it is to physically hold something than just see a picture of it. It makes the difference with clients to show rather than to just tell them. Also, there is no better way to go about designing a box or a pop-up book without first building and/or tearing apart a few. 

A good example of this would my Little Sound Book: Disney Planes book, which was developed to coincide with the new movies' release. Originally I had made vignettes to go with the fading textures found in the original art. However, what looked good on screen didn't translate so well in the real thing.  Being able to put all the pieces together was a great way to troubleshoot issues before they got the print stage. This was especially true when dealing with the more complex formats.

Unfortunetly, this past week I was laid off due to company wide restructuring of departments. It is always a sad thing, I enjoyed learning from my coworkers and was looking forward to new projects. But I am leaving with a better perspective on what I am capable of. It was an environment with tight deadlines and high expectations which really refined my ability to work under pressure, maintain deadlines, work with a team, and prioritize my tasks. It was a wonderful opportunity and I couldn't have had a better experience. I look forward to put them to use!

Website: Under Construction

If you have found your way to my website I can only say that I apologize for the construction! For a while I was using a pre-made portfolio but I found it lacking and decided to undertake a new website for myself. So far, building new items like galleries and such has been a challenge but slowly and steadily I get it to do what I want. A new update is coming soon so I am hoping to speed up the loading time and add new content. I hope to be tweaking it often so that it is always looking and functioning it's best. Check back soon!

A Series of Surprisingly Surreal Sketchbooks Vol. 2

You know, not all sketchbooks are awesome. Personally, I have quite a few that show an artist uninspired- but I was told to keep working. Work through the block and something will come. These sketchbooks are hard to look through and I like to burn hide them.

Exactly. What in the world is that? I will never know. But- sometimes good things can come from it too. You might just end up drawing the best mermaid ever. EVER.

It's just a reminder, that without the failures there are no successes.

A Series of Surprisingly Surreal Sketchbooks Vol. 1

Vol. 1A few birthdays ago a friend gave me the book An Illustrated Life, which highlights the sketchbooks of a variety of artists. I look through it every so often and it's fascinating how different everyone is. It reminded me today that I really should start sharing some of mine- instead of them just collecting dust on my cramped bookshelf.

In that spirit, today's sketchbook is probably my favorite. It started as an assignment in college and just became part of me. It really allowed me to flesh out the style that was emerging in my work at the time. The first page of this particular book is where I got the elephant that is featured on my webpage. I felt that it was a good embodiment of my personal work- absurd, and a tad racy. But I will let you decide. Enjoy!

I like layering images, as seen above, to create something totally new. The drawing spreads out from a photograph of a dissected uterus whose internal texture had inspired me.

 I define my work by strong black and white line work. I enjoy creating images that teeter between minimalist and ornate.

 This illustration was later turned into a lithograph. I was thinking a lot about identity and consciousness in that time and this was born from that.

 

"Doctor, my liver has escaped me!"

A Quick Guide to Logo, Branding, and Identity

It's important as a client to distinguish between these three. Mind you , that is no easy task, but let's boil them down to the basics.

Logo: We all know what a logo is. The Nike swoosh or the Apple...apple. It is the visual shorthand for a companies name. Your logo doesn't have to tell people literally what you do, like if you are a plumber your logo does not have to show pipes and a wrench to be effective. What does a logo have to be then? Simple, clever, and memorable. On it's most basic level it should translate well across all mediums. Whether it's on the side of a building or on stationary- a simple design should translate well anywhere.

Branding: This is what separates your business from others. Through the use of logos, slogans, catchphrases, or even flavors, you create something that is recognizable as being unique to you. The shape of a Volkswagen Bug, for example, or the Coca Cola bears. Once people know they can trust your brand (brand loyalty) they are more willing to try new products.

Identity: In a sense this is the soul of your company. Identity uses logos and branding to establish the philosophy of your business and how you want others to see you. Take a restaurants- sure they all serve food- but their identity immediately lets you know what to expect. Are they a chic little place with an adventurous menu or are they a throwback to the family diner? By using a cohesive set of typefaces, page layouts, and color schemes, the company creates associations to itself that attract its' ideal customers. Maybe an emphasis on efficient service will attract your customers, or the idea of an environmentally friendly product?

Essentially, these three work together to create the look and feel of your business. Now, how important is this? Very. Even if your a small company, you benefit from having a cohesive look. It makes you look professional and sets you apart. Would you rather do business with the company that has a fuzzy logo and clipart on their brochure or the one that has sleek layouts and sharp photos?

The first step is to figure out what it is that makes your business stand out amongst the competition. Once you know that you can figure out what kind of customer "fits" that and how to market to them.

Having Yourself as a Client

The past few months have been largely spent finishing the embryology project. So far, it has been very gratifying. Now that it is near completion I need to turn inward again. The first thing I need to do is revamp my business. I am getting older and learning from my past mistakes. Slowly I have introduced contracts into my process, a more formal pricing guide...this is starting to look like a real business! And it needs to be to serve both my customers and I.

Currently I am revamping my website and entire identity. I have stalled on this for a little while. When you are an outsider it is easy to look at a company and immediately know what it needs, where it's strengths and weaknesses lay. When it's your own company it's harder to separate all those knots. However, it reminds me that a business is an evolving creature. Instead of being frozen in place seeking perfection- sometimes all you can do is just throw yourself into it. That alone is a great learning experience.

I am approaching my own identity by trying to narrow down what I do. I am interested in everything and have to constantly rope myself in from trying to be a jack of all trades.  This is both a strength and a weakness in one. By focusing my services to my strengths I hope to give my clients the best of me. Branding and illustration. I would say that those are the two things I am absolutely passionate about. Something about looking at a business and trying to distill it to it's absolutely core components is a challenge. Even more so is making sure that is conveyed to the consumer.

My personal challenge in having myself as a client is that my illustration has two very different sides. One is the surreal and cartoony. My newspaper clients expect this fun, stylized side. On the other is my medical work. I am not yet certified, but I try to produce work that is as accurate as it is pleasing to the eye. Do I make a clean, sleek and clinical identity for myself? Do I give in to the creative and fun? Ultimately, the answer is somewhere in the middle.

Outstanding Festival Poster Designs

Some great examples of festival fliers. Gorgeous stuff collected by a design blog worth checking out.

On the Subject of Jetpacks

Hello Ladies and Germs!

A much needed update! I have been working on other projects and really thinking about the direction I want this blog to go in. Right now it's been mainly highlighting projects I have done, but there is so much stuff I accumulate that I would love to share with everyone. Look, an informative website about good practices for creative resumes! Gee, golly, some super groovy animation over here! And my lucky stars, we also got a page on building jetpacks! Ok, I lied about the last one...but your over there and I'm over here and there's not much you can do about it.

P.S. If you do find a site on building jetpacks please forward it to me. Thanks.

Ode to Medical Illustration

I've been working now full time on the fetal development series that I am producing for CMSP. I know it would be a challenge, being my first professional medically oriented illustrations, but that challenge has proved to be even more enjoyable than I thought. I am truly excited by the process so far, and am continually surprising myself with the images I am creating. That is always my best work, the ones where you step back and say "Did I do this?"

The original sketches look almost nothing like my final product (which I hope to be able to post soon). Here they are: 

The final product is much more painterly, with rich color and heavy texture defining every cell and structure. I am using various references, but always trying to get the most complete image by combining elements from all- and thus really creating a image that may be unique from others already out there. I can't wait to share those, and I hope they open the door to other opportunities in the field. 

When it boils down to it, I love medical work because it poses the greatest challenge to me and allows me to do what I love best: learning and exploring, understanding my world. It forces you to try news things in order to solve constantly evolving problems, and I mean that. If I could be honest about one thing, it is that my greatest weakness can also be my greatest strength: curiosity. I love tackling new projects, no matter how complex, because it keeps me interested. Thus, my ideal job would expect a variety of tasks from me, versus just one on a constant basis. Hopefully there's a place out there that needs someone like me. 

The Joys of Tracing Paper

Working today on the children's book. It's been a process to develop the character that the author envisioned, but we have it down and I'm onto the next step. I'm finding that for more complex images, I work well with creating a series of initial sketches, and then using tracing paper to build up to a single polished piece. I then scan that in and can color it or clean up. It takes alot of the pressure off when drawing seperate components, that they can be shifted, resized, just more malleable. There's nothing more annoying than working on something for a long time, and then one slip of the hand....

Also, it's been on my mind that I need to brand myself.  Thankfully, I'm too busy to do it, but it's something I would like to start developing on my own time. Maybe in the future I'll post some ideas.

All engines GO!

These past months have suddenly livened up and that is always a great feeling. Waking up every morning to tackle new and challenging projects is perhaps one of my favorite things in life. Sure, it has it's stressful moments, but it's the kind of tickling feeling that makes you feel productive and useful. Your reminded of all the times that you've gone through that grueling process only to come out the other end with good,  polished work. It's also when you learn about your process, some new tricks, and ultimately- yourself.

So what do I got? Two pretty big projects. One is a children's book for Inkspill Publishing (www.inkspillbooks.com/) a rather new company looking to expand their book selection. The other is a medical stock company (www.cmsp.com) which has asked for step-by-step illustrations of fetal development. Could two projects be more different? But that's what makes life fun!

Also, I got a few small projects from the Tennessee Report, an on-line newspaper (www.tnreport.com). Did their intro animation (which I'll post later) and an illustration for a story on fiscal notes (below). 

Character Design: The Website!

I found a website that I would love to share. http://characterdesign.blogspot.com/ Some wonderful interviews with illustrators and animators that I found very inspiring and helpful. Check it out!

Restart

Sometimes no amount of explanation will better than just showing. It's action. I got some good advice this week and it has made me consider a lot about how I present myself and my work. Blogging should be second nature to me but somehow I stumble. That's okay. Failure is good. We need it to show us that we are learning.

A Tale of Sugar Buns

Deliciousness. I got asked to design a wedding cake. My friend over at Delicity Cakes makes some amazing examples of what cake can be. Not only are these babies pretty like most of the fondant cakes that are becoming stylish, but they are made from scratch so they are TASTY! Her fillings are made from real fruits and fresh ingredients, none of this canned stuff. So, you get a cake that makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about layered fluffy pastry structures. How do I come into this? Well, this couple wanted quite the cake. Everything but the kitchen sink...hot dogs and buildings and sushi and monkeys and clocks...oh, my! She figured that as an artist I might be able to make sense of it. I worked out a sturdy square base with a hexagonal tier to accommodate all the different objects on it's facets and then two more smaller tiers. The objects were quite complex, so I offered my help even though I had never worked with fondant before.

For those of you that have never seen the stuff...it's sugar, it's dough...it's a pain. It dries out, cracks, sags and sinks. However, after working for almost non-stop without sleep...she baked and I cut "relish" out of fondant and made hats for monkey grooms; we had a wedding cake at the nick of time. Here it is:

The shrimp sushi. I had lots of fun with the airbrushing.

Front of the cake. Lower tier airbrushed all around and Chicago skyline done in fondant.

Trees were done in back and some cherry blossoms as well.

Macy's clock and hotdog. I am fairly proud of this considering it was my first cake.

It was a challenge considering the design is not very cohesive considering the theme of the cake.

The Witch

Cyphan had it's first year and I got to be there with claws on. A catch all sci-fi/fantasy convention, it was small but fun. I got talked into dressing up like the Witch from the zombie videogame Left 4 Dead and I was intrigued by her long claws. I love dressing up and enjoy creative challenges most of all. Here are some pics of me with the finger extensions...these babies were made on the cheap with some shrink wrap and a hot glue gun (with wax to help with shaping and modelling.) It ended up being very successful since they were lightweight, I was able to fully articulate my fingers, they remained attached the full night, and they appeared pretty gruesome up close. Modeling wax and spirit gum was used blend in the edges to my hand, creating a seamless space of burnt, bubbly skin and cartilage.

Watch me in action on the World of the Weird Monster Shows

coverage of the Zombie Pin-Up contest!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wowms-test-1