Michael Vinson | Illustration + Design

More Work for the U of M

2012-01-28T21:24:00.002-06:00

These are a couple pieces I did for the Tigers last week. The top one is an invite to their upcoming Junior Day, and the bottom one is a flyer they sent/will send out to those recruits that sign with them. I had a lot of fun creating both, especially the bottom piece. I tried a couple new techniques and effects on that piece just to see what would happen with them. I'm not calling it totally perfect, but I definitely like the result.

BBQ Bash Flyer: Before & After

2012-01-15T19:56:00.002-06:00

The top 2 images are before...

...and here it is after I got my hands on it.

It has been a little while since I have posted some work so here is a flyer I recently did for a BBQ contest. The top 2 images show their flyer from last year. It took several read-throughs to dissect it into my solution below. I tried to break up the "muddleness" (yeah, I made up a word) by creating a little more space for the contests and awards. I also wanted to clean up the backside and clearly show the title of the event and all the information that was need. I don't know what drew me to the S-curve design for the front, but in one of my sketches I just saw the page expanding out from a center circle. I never really wanted the center circle to be a grill, as I thought that would be too literal, but I thought the circular shape lent itself to an interesting design.

My Artwork on the Ice

2011-12-30T21:47:00.001-06:00

The logo hanging in the rafters...

...flanking center ice...

...ready to be skated over at the face off...

...and above the goal as well.

My fiancee and I attended our first Knoxville Ice Bears game last night and had a great time. She has decided hockey is her new favorite sport...not because of the game itself but because of how the fans are during the games. She gets an absolute kick out of their love of brutality and brash chants.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed watching some hockey and seeing my 10th Anniversary logo plastered all over the Knoxville Civic Coliseum as well! I knew it was going to be on the ice but had no idea it was hanging from the rafters as well. I must say I was pretty excited to see my artwork being used so much. I had a great time creating the logo and am loving all the use it is getting from the team. They also happened to move into sole possession of first place in the SPHL last night too, so I'm glad that my logo is part of such a strong season as well.

Skating by my logo

2011-12-17T17:16:00.001-06:00

Well, I should say attempting to skate by my logo. Anyway, I've spotted my Ice Bears 10th Anniversary logo again. This time it was on the boards at Holidays on Ice at Market Square. To all those who, like me, spend most of their "skating" time stumbling around, don't crash into it too hard. Thanks.

A Welcome to Coach Fuente

2011-12-10T16:19:00.001-06:00

Here is the introduction piece I did this weekend to introduce the recruits to new U of M football coach Justin Fuente. I had fun playing with some different techniques on his photo to give it that high contrast/lightly desaturated effect.

A couple new U of M pieces

2011-11-28T20:45:00.001-06:00

These are a couple pieces I did over the Thanksgiving holiday. The top one is for those recruits whose teams won their state title. The bottom piece is for all those who helped with the official visit weekend the U of M had a couple weeks ago. I'm currently working on the Potential Student Athlete Questionnaire as well as some other pieces. Working with the Tigers certainly keeps me busy, but I can't complain when it's for football.

U of M Postseason Good Luck Pieces

2011-11-13T20:17:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple good luck pieces to send out to recruits whose teams are fighting their way through the postseason. I had a lot of fun with both. The bottom piece is one of a series of three with a different going out after each playoff victory. I particularly like that one because the picture at center is one I took when I had the opportunity to watch the U of M take on MTSU from the sidelines. I was able to take my family to watch the Tigers play UAB this past Saturday as well. Although they didn't win, we had an awesome watching the game.

Several New U of M Pieces

2011-11-01T21:41:00.000-05:00

Tulane Game Review

20 Reasons #10-Internship Opportunities

It was a real challenge to create this piece as they wanted me to incorporate all the logos of the companies into the piece somehow. I was brainstorming for this one when I came up with the idea of making the logos shape the "M" in the Tigers logo. I thought it was an interesting solution with a fairly solid turnout

Coach Congratulations

Team Congratulations for Undefeated Season

(I know I'm partial to Lombardi quotes, but I'm a Packers fan. What do you expect?)

Tough Season

This piece was one of my favorites from this week. I really spent some extra time looking up inspiration before I got to work this past weekend and I think it helped a lot in adding some new flavor to the pieces like the one above. I went away from the grungy fonts and went for a crisper look on this one and I believe it turned out very well. I had three different versions of the background, this being the one they liked. All in all it is one of my favorite pieces of the season so far, which I am happy to say. As a designer, I always want to keep replacing what I think is my best piece with something newer. It helps you to know you are growing as an artist.

10th Anniversary Logo on Ice Bears Rink!

2011-10-25T17:49:00.002-05:00

A lot of artists want their artwork to be hung on a gallery wall...

...I prefer mine on the rink!

Check it out, the first glimpse of my 10th Anniversary logo on the ice at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum (lower right of the pic). I can't wait to go to a game to get a better look at it in person. It is still an insanely awesome feeling to see it like that. To give proper photo props, here is the link to this photo on the Ice Bears website. After I go to a game I will post photos of my own.

A Happy Halloween from the U of M...

2011-10-13T18:11:00.002-05:00

...and Good Luck piece that I really like how my typography turned out on. Why not?

New U of M Powerpoint Backgrounds

2011-10-08T21:17:00.000-05:00

New U of M Game Invite & Good Luck

2011-09-25T14:27:00.002-05:00

Good Luck #9

Good Luck #10

ECU Game Invite

I decided to change things up a bit this week with a couple pieces I've been doing pretty regularly for the Memphis Tigers. I was working on finding quotes for these two latest Good Luck pieces when I thought about just changing things up a bit to give the potential student athletes who are receiving them a change of piece. I decided to take the picture out of the background and put it to the side and separate it from the texture/quote area. I like the way they turned out and the team did too.

For the Game Invite we decided since that this game would mark the halfway point we would change things up just a little to once again give the potential student athletes something somewhat new to look at. I went with a straight on vertical layout but still kept the kind of movie poster quality to it. It was a bunch of subtle changes that ended up looking like pretty spiffy. I am now looking forward to meeting the team in Murfreesboro this next weekend and rooting them on against the Blue Raiders!

New U of M Work

2011-09-20T20:06:00.001-05:00

C-USA Bowl Tie-in Poster for U of M Recruiting Room

C-USA Player of the Week Template

Game Review of the Victory this week!

I had to throw in the game review I got to do Sunday after the Tiger victory on Saturday (which I listened to in its entirety via the interwebs while designing for the same team. Now that's what I call dedication). I'm also extremely excited to be headed to Murfreesboro next weekend to meet the team, coaches, etc. and see the Tigers take on the Blue Raiders of MTSU. Other than that the other two projects on here are a couple I did this weekend that I was really happy with how they turned out. I am also working on a logo for their "PAWS" (Preparing Athletes for Winning Success) right now that I will post once it is finalized. Lovin' the sports design more and more!

More work for the Memphis Tigers

2011-09-14T18:59:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday Mailout for Recruits

Business Card Back

Business Card Front

"Great to See You" - A mailout coach's will send to high school's after visiting them for a game.

Some new items for the U of M

2011-09-10T21:26:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple new pieces I created this past week for the Memphis Tigers. The top is an "On Our Radar" piece that will be sent out to current high school juniors that they have their eye one. The bottom one is to inform recruits of where to catch Tigers on TV each week. The one above is the first one I created. I'll be meeting the team in Murfreesboro to watch them take on the Blue Raiders of MTSU in October. I'm looking forward to meeting everybody then!

More Work for the U of M

2011-08-29T21:08:00.000-05:00

Good Luck Mailout #2

Good Luck #3

Powerpoint Background 1

Powerpoint Background 2

Powerpoint Background 3

Powerpoint Background 4

Powerpoint 5

Intro Mailout for "20 Reasons to Choose Memphis".

I will be doing one of these every week until Signing Day, detailing another reason why recruits should choose the U of M. The Powerpoint background's are for coaches to use when they give presentations in potential student athlete's homes later on in the recruiting process. I am also working on revamping the Football Department's business cards. More work to come! They are certainly keeping me busy!

Several New U of M Pieces

2011-08-26T23:32:00.000-05:00

Boys on the Bluff Info Sheet

Coach Spotlight (Larry Porter)

Congratulations to Recruits

Good Luck for Recruits

It has been getting pretty busy for me with stuff for the U of M. Here are a bunch of projects I worked on for them last week. They especially liked the Good Luck to be sent to recruits before their big games, as well as the Boys on the Bluff info sheet. It was nice to start putting that logo into action. There will be plenty more U of M stuff soon!

Boys on the Bluff Logo

2011-08-19T20:19:00.000-05:00

Here is my latest project for the U of M. The task was to create a logo designed specifically for local recruits who decide to stay in Memphis and play for the Tigers. Coach Porter had coined the group as the "Boys on the Bluff" and so I brainstormed off of that. Of course, as I continued to sketch on the idea of "the bluff" the Hernando DeSoto bridge kept popping into my head. Therefore, it is featured in the center of the stylized football shape. By adding the tiger stripes to the bottom of the logo I was attempting to connect university to city like the idea of the group. It was a challenge to create, but I am glad that the guys at the university ended up liking it!

U of M Season Invite

2011-08-12T21:38:00.000-05:00

Gotta love when the head coach gives your work the thumbs up...maybe it's because I included him in the invite. Or maybe he just thought it was overall awesome. Either way, here is a season invite I created for the U of M to send out to recruits. While I was doodling ideas for this one the phrase "Come feel the roar" popped into my head because of the the tiger mascot. So then I had a little fun with the font to echo the phrase. I once again had a lot of fun creating this one. I mean, it's designing for football. Does it get any better?

U of M Name Tag

2011-08-07T17:41:00.001-05:00

It has been a couple weeks since I have posted any new work, but I recently just got a part time gig working for the University of Memphis Athletics Department. I'll be designing flyers, mailers, and other things mainly for recruiting purposes. Here is the outcome of my first project. I had to design a name tag to be used for when potential student athletes come for tours, games, etc. It was a fun little project and the guys at U of M loved the turn out. I'd have to say I am satisfied as well. I can't wait to post future projects from this season up here. I am currently working on a season invite to be sent out to potential recruits. Keep a look out!

Some fun with my favorite superhero

2011-07-17T00:25:00.000-05:00

What do you do when your fiancee is on a two week trip out West and you are home with your crazy cat? Well, if you're me, you watch a lot of old Batman: The Animated Series episodes and decide to doodle on the most awesome superhero ever. Here is my best batman face and wall logo below that. Gotta occupy myself somehow!

Ad Design

2011-07-14T20:57:00.000-05:00

At work we do a monthly mailer coupon and here is a taste of the first one I got to design. Stickin' with the summer theme!

Some new stuff

2011-07-14T20:51:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I've posted, but I thought I'd take a moment to share some work from my time in Knoxville so far. This is a business card I designed at work a few weeks ago. I am a fan of a nice glossy black. I think they turned out pretty nice.

I have also recently been working with a friend in North Carolina reworking a logo for Project Connect out there and just starting to work on another logo for the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness. I hope to have some of that work up here soon as well.

Knoxville Ice Bears 10th Anniversary Logo Development (Part 2)

2011-06-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

I ended the last post with my initial five designs I sent to the Ice Bears. After we discussed them, we decided to go with a more circular logo, as it would work well as an ice logo and a jersey patch. I then took bits and pieces of my previous designs to make the ones below:

After I sent these, we decided to try a the next series of edits with the ribbon to the bottom and make it a little more flowly rather than highly stylized. Thus came these versions:

After I sent these in they were extremely happy with where it was going...we just had one small change left to make. We took the bottom version from above and dropped a "10" in instead of the "X." And thus, you have your official 10th Anniversary Logo for the Knoxville Ice Bears:

It was a long process, but it all came to a very outstanding ending. I am definitely happy with the logo that came out of all the work and I can't wait to see it in use this season. I hope all you Ice Bears fans like it as well! I am glad to be in town to root for the team this season!

Knoxville Ice Bears 10th Anniversary Logo Development (Part 1)

2011-06-05T20:25:00.000-05:00

I thought I would take a moment and describe the lengthy and extremely fruitful process that went into making the Ice Bears 10th Anniversary logo. It was quite an extensive project with many edits along the way, but the end result was one of my favorite pieces I've made yet, and one the team was extremely happy with.

I started by thumb-nailing out several options for the logo based on the team's official logo and other 10th anniversary logos I'd seen. Here are those original ideas:

Out of these original 26 I then dwindled it down to four concepts I thought worked best to both harken back to the team's official logo as well as left room to be their own iconic brand. So I then went to sketching those out full-size:

It was then to the magic of Illustrator to turn these into finished concepts (along with a 5th one I developed while completing these):

I then sent these to the GM and Asst. GM of the Ice Bears. We had a conference call about them and decided to take bits and pieces of these designs to head towards a new approach. One that was more circular in nature, so it could work well as a center ice logo and as a jersey patch. That process will be documented in Part 2 of the Knoxville Ice Bears 10th Anniversary Logo Development.

The UTC Schedule Poster is Printed...

2011-06-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

...and hanging in my office, right next to my Mayan stone calendar and the state flag of Ohio. I was so happy when I received a couple of these full-size posters in the mail this past Friday. It was one of the coolest projects I've ever worked on, and it is nice to have the finished piece hanging above where I work. I'm also glad there were so many positive reviews for it on the Mocs Facebook page, and thank you all for loving the poster so much. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of tweaking, but I believe this poster is one of the best works I've made and I am extremely happy with how it turned out.

2011 UTC Football Media Guide Final

2011-05-31T20:33:00.000-05:00

Here are the final covers for the 2011 UTC Football Media Guide. It was a long process finishing these up, mainly because there was a move to Knoxville thrown into the mix in the middle of May. My fiancee and I are settled down now and I am ready to start working as a full-time graphic designer at Image Matters here in town. From top to bottom these are the front cover, front inside cover, back inside cover, and back cover. I hope these are greeted with as good a reception as the poster has had so far.

2011 UTC Football Media Guide Progress

2011-05-16T01:53:00.000-05:00

Here are some screen shots of my current progress on the 2011 UTC Football Media Guide covers. The top image is the back cover which is basically finished at this point. The second image is the front cover, which still needs some tweaking. I might be moving the players and coach down further to shrink the black space at the bottom. The last image is the front inside cover. It is the color half of a collage of Chattanooga football. It spreads to the first page of the book, but that part will be in black and white. The only think I have not started on yet is back inside cover, but I should be working on that soon.

Final 2011 UTC Schedule Poster

2011-05-04T20:27:00.000-05:00

It has been a long process, but here is the final poster for the 2011 UTC Fottball season. It has been a blast creating this poster and I can't wait to post pics of the printed version. I will hopefully have a couple detail shots posted up here soon.

Mailable Object Packaged

2011-04-21T01:46:00.000-05:00

Here is the mailable object ready to be sent off! I added the blue "ribbon" around the holder to keep the postcard in place on the back (due to official mailing sizes it had to be a .5" wider than the notecards). It also is a nice color compliment to the front of the holder. Here's wishing these guys the best of luck on their missions!

Mailable Object Notecards

2011-04-19T22:11:00.000-05:00

Here are the note card sets that are the sweet present inside my mailable objects. As you can see, the last picture in this bunch is the trash associated with such an endeavor. Also, each note card has a light grey reverse side with my web address centered in white. Gotta promote my work!

Mailable Object Mock-Up

2011-04-12T21:42:00.001-05:00

Here is how the mailable object is coming along for my illustration class. The index cards are acting as my note cards right now until I test print those. They have the exact same dimensions as my note cards so they help me make sure my holder works in terms of length and depth. As you can see, the actual "holder" of the cards with the image on it slides out of the dark blue "case" with my name and website.

Here are the pictures of some of the cards in progress:

A Couple More Schedule Poster Sketches

2011-04-11T11:19:00.000-05:00

We're getting down to the nitty-gritty for the 2011 schedule poster. I had a good talk to today about a few tweaks to make with the design of the poster and it looks the final poster is about to go into production. I've been having a lot of fun with this project and am ready to start putting it all together.

BFA Project Final

2011-03-31T22:44:00.000-05:00

Here are some quick shots I took of my BFA piece printed out. Better ones will be coming in the next week.

2011 Chattanooga Football Billboard Sketches

2011-03-29T13:32:00.000-05:00

Here are a bundle of sketches I've been working with for my next project with the UTC Mocs. Some of these designs will hopefully be coming to a Chattanooga billboard near you some time in the near future! Since these are still in process, feedback is appreciated!

UTC Kids Club Comic Online

2011-03-21T22:23:00.001-05:00

Check it out! I created this comic for them last month and it is now up and running on the kids' club section of GoMocs.com.

Process of Mocs Caravan Logo

2011-03-18T12:22:00.001-05:00

It's been a lengthy process making this logo, but as I near completion I thought I would take a moment to show the process in coming up with the final design. Above are the original sketches in my first go-round of ideas for the logo. Some early idea discussion came about of using a bus for the whole caravan theme; however, in my sketches the idea of the train seemed to fit better both with UTC as well as Chattanooga's history. Next, came the inclusion of the coaches, which I tried in two versions, with bodies and without. Through my discussions with the folks at the UTC Athletic Department we decided that showing their full body would work best as I had included some little hints in there as to which sports they coached. From there we then decided to try a version of the new train logo UTC just recently had developed and thus came this next round of sketches:

After this batch was done, it was decided pretty quickly that the 3/4 view was the winner, as it was instantly recognizable as a train whereas the front on view felt a little weird. We also decided to take the text out of the train and move it below (as well as move the coaches down there to) to come up with a 3rd and hopefully final design. With this in mind, I then went in and began work on the final version, and also began to work with the different city names, as "Birmingham" and "Atlanta" present different challenges. And now, I am here:

Here are a couple versions of the final logo. As you can see there is a 5th member in the caricature crew, that being the chancellor of the UTC who we decided to add during the last sketch phase. It has been a fun project, and I am pretty happy with the results. It was fun to delve into caricature work on this one, as well as combining my graphic and cartoon styles into one piece.

BFA Progress (Page 2)

2011-03-10T21:06:00.000-06:00

BFA Progress (Page 4)

2011-03-10T20:59:00.000-06:00

Here is the top and bottom that make up the last page of my BFA piece. I enjoyed the night time backlit color scheme. All it needs is a little cleaning up

Mocs Caravan Logo Sketches

2011-03-10T02:40:00.000-06:00

Yep, I sketched with the help of the mighty fine people at Crayola and their wonderful 64-pack of wonderfully colored wax sticks...or crayons as we like to call them. These are part of a little revising I'm doing as I create a logo for the UTC Mocs Caravan logo. They are looking for a logo to promote their coaches travels around the South for their respective programs. I have some caricatures already developed and a couple early concepts I haven't posted. These sketches incorporate the new train that is in the UTC logo package. They wanted me to try the sideways version you see at the bottom. I think it looks really cool, but have left it without Scrappy at the wheel or any coach caricatures because that seems to be the best way that concept works. The top concept will have Scrappy leaning out the conductor's spot and the coaches atop the smokestack.

A BFA in Process Shot

2011-03-08T21:52:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd take a moment to show a sort of before and after shot of how my BFA piece is coming together. To the left you see how I start out a panel, dropping in huge splotches of color with a much larger than need brush. Then, after lots of refining with smaller brushes, you get a panel that looks like something to the right. Also, this is a nice sneak preview of page 4 of my piece :)

BFA Progress

2011-03-04T00:57:00.000-06:00

The top image is the first two sets of panels for page 2. The bottom two images are the top and bottom of page 3 respectively.

2011 UTC Football Schedule Poster (Sketches)

2011-03-02T00:23:00.001-06:00

I'm currently having a lot of fun with this project. How could I not? I am designing for my favorite sport: football. These are my current digital sketches for the Chattanooga Mocs 2011 Schedule Poster. I am looking forward to starting on the final version soon. Right now we are working out the finer details of players to use, wording, etc. It's been a blast so far and I can't wait to post the final product!

My Artwork...in Billboard Format!

2011-03-02T00:14:00.000-06:00

Yep folks, my artwork was plastered across Chattanooga a couple weekends ago. The UTC Basketball team had a "Blackout" game against Furman on the 21st of February and I was part of a massive promotional campaign that was thrown together in 5 days. I learned about the project on a Wednesday and had about a 24-hour turnaround. The top image was the design I liked best of the three I created for them to choose from. Once I sent it to the people at UTC they made a few tweaks per the billboard companies guidelines to give you the 2nd image you see. My gradient date and fading outlined figure were lost, but it is still cool to see my work on a billboard! This particular picture is courtesy of my fiancee, who grabbed a shot of it off Brainerd Road on her way to work.

UTC Newspaper Ad

2011-02-12T03:16:00.000-06:00

As you can see, the folks at UT-Chat used one of my newspaper ad templates in the Chattanooga Times Free Press a couple weekends ago! It was a really challenging project, as the space for the add is only about 3.5" x 4". It was just awesome to see my work in a newspaper! The top image is my Photoshop file from which the ad was taken. Of course some things got lost in the newspaper printing, but overall this project was a great experience. The folks of Chattanooga should be on the lookout for more ads during the season!

BFA Preface Piece Final

2011-02-10T22:23:00.000-06:00

Scrappy Kids Club February Comic (Sketch)

2011-02-03T01:40:00.000-06:00

Here is the sketch of my comic for the Scrappy Kids Club page at GoMocs.com. Our theme/core value for this month is success in the classroom/dedicated student. Part of the Mocs mantra is to not only be a successful athlete, but a successful student as well, thereby creating the well-rounded student-athlete.

For this comic I went with a story line of Scrappy wanting to go to a very important game but he has to do well on a test to go. I also took Scrappy and morphed him into a kid version of himself (tentatively called "Scrappy, Jr.") so that the kids who read the comic will be able to connect more to him as they read.

It is still in its working stages and we will be discussing if any tweaks need to be made on Monday before I go on to the next phase of making this look all spiffy, sharp, and colorful. Look for more updates in the future!

Some Scrappy Sketchin'

2011-02-01T02:44:00.000-06:00

For those of you wondering what I've been up to with my internship with UT-Chattanooga Athletics I just recently wrapped up some newspaper ad templates for them to use for the rest of this basketball season and am tweaking the format for the upcoming football season. I had one of my ads appear in the Chattanooga Times Free Press this past Saturday (hopefully a picture will follow soon).

Anyway, now I am on to my next challenge, which is creating a little one page comic for the Scrappy Kids Club. After tossing the idea around over the phone today, we decided on promoting success in the classroom with this first run. I am in the process of refining the story line, but below you will see some preliminary sketching I did just to get in the feel of drawing a humanoid-mockingbird.

BFA Preface Piece Development

2011-02-01T02:36:00.001-06:00

Thumbnails

Initial Sketch after Thumbnails

Revised Final Sketch

This Video is Amazing...

2011-01-28T12:30:00.000-06:00

Ryan who I've been working with at UT-Chat this semester just sent me this video today from Old Hat Creative (a really, really, really, really, REALLY awesome sports design firm based out of Norman, OK). It is a time-lapse of one designers development of Standford's 2011 Women's Lacrosse poster. It's amazing. Watch it. Then watch it again. Then be in awe of the creative process.

UTC Tennis Media Guide Covers

2011-01-26T00:51:00.000-06:00

Here are the cover designs I did for the Mocs 2011 Tennis Media Guide. The front and back are sitting next to each other above, with the front inside to the left of this little blurb. The front was quite a design challenge, since I had to fit 6 seniors' photos with their info on there. I tried to establish a little unity of the front and back with the use of the bird and carrying over the "Chattanooga" wordmark from the front. I also tied the cover to the overall branding from this season with the yellow bar on the back, which was used in their billboard designs for football. The front inside was a play off of part of the design from their cover last year, using the yellow zig-zag to guid you through the page. It's a fun internship so far and I will keep posting all the work I do along the way!

My logo for Skates and Skirts is up on the Ice Bears website!

2011-01-14T22:29:00.000-06:00

Hello all!

Head over to the Knoxville Ice Bears website and you can check out my Skates and Skirts logo running for the "Ladies Night Out" article. Awesome!

Core Portfolio: Illustrations

2010-12-10T01:07:00.000-06:00

Core Portfolio: Design & Children's Books

2010-12-10T01:05:00.000-06:00

25 Packets, 1 Mission: Promotion

2010-12-09T00:59:00.000-06:00

Here they are. My promotions packets, ready to make their journeys throughout the country. They have all been briefed on their mission goals. Now it is only a matter of time to see how these soldiers do. Good luck boys. Good luck.

Visual Essay 2 Reworks

2010-12-03T00:34:00.000-06:00

Quick screenshot of Skates and Skirts logo near completion

2010-12-01T02:55:00.000-06:00

Here is a screenshot of the logo I created for the Ice Bears Skates and Skirts women's club. It is very near completion. I just need to incorporate the team logo into the design and then make a black and white version and such to cover all bases. I had a lot of fun with this project, as I enjoyed the challenge of creating a logo for a women's group geared towards a very male-dominated sport.

NPDA Front and Back

2010-11-22T22:15:00.001-06:00

Here is a screenshot of the front and back of our NPDA poster, at least the illustration side of things.

Early Promo Package Mock-Up

2010-11-21T02:04:00.001-06:00

Here are some photos of some early mock-ups for my illustrator promo mailer. I was looking up ways to fold an earlier design I'd come up with when I stumbled upon this folding technique which I don't remember the name of at the moment. I saw it and realized it worked well with my Ice Bears mountain illustration, so I basically got to morph one of my illustrations into a folded piece of art work/card holder.

As you can see from this shot the 2 mountains in the front are actually printed on the other side and folded over to create a pocket for my response card and other images. The colors on my postcard design are nowhere near correct, and I think I am going to change the color scheme of the mountain image to match the color of the response card (which I so brilliantly printed the reverse side upside down on my mockup).

Chattanooga Mocs Billboard Design 1

2010-11-19T02:05:00.000-06:00

This was my first concept for a billboard (yep, a billboard) for the UT-Chattanooga 2010-11 basketball season. I really enjoyed designing this one and hope to get around to my 2nd concept too. For this one I used the image of the crowd in the background as a directional lead for the eye to land on the tagline "Tradition Lives Here."

One of the challenges posed with designing for their basketball program is that both the men's and women's teams need to be portrayed on the same billboard. However, Ryan, the marketing director at UTC, was very pleased with this design. His critique of it was also very thorough which I appreciated. We started with this billboard design as a test project to see how my remote internship next semester would work. We are still working out the kinks, but doing this project and getting such positive feedback has me very excited about my internship in the spring.

New NPDA Poster Front

2010-11-19T01:59:00.000-06:00

This is a new concept for the front of our NPDA poster. It is still in the theme of playing cards and based off of one of my newer thumbnails in a previous post. It is a stylized version of a king's/queen's robe, right at the frill. The Roman numerals are the upoming years for the event (2011-12) and I left the 2 spots open in the middle to allow for dates, with the spot at left open for the NPDA official logo.

"Everyone Deserves A Habitat" HFH poster

2010-11-17T02:57:00.000-06:00

This is a poster I created a few weeks back for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga's chapter of Habitat for Humanity. I only recently posted it because I just received the official information listed at the bottom of the poster. I had a lot of fun making this poster and thought it turned out pretty well.

1st Colored Spread from Book Dummy

2010-11-17T02:54:00.001-06:00

Here is the first spread from my final Children's Book project tenatively titled "Flying Isn't Falling." Timmy is once again the main character and he conquers his fear of flying with the help of a magical hot air balloon ride one afternoon in the park. This spread is pretty near completion and consists of pages 4 and 5 in the book, the early section where I explain his fear of flying. I'm liking how this is looking and am excited to work on the other 2 color spreads.

Early Sketches for Skates and Skirts Logo

2010-11-15T02:41:00.001-06:00

These are two concepts I have come up with for a logo for the Knoxville Ice Bears Skates and Skirts club. It is a women's club recently created by the Ice Bears and I really wanted to take on the challenge of creating a logo for hockey that women would like. The top image is a stylized version of a female grizzly bear who's whispy outline morphs into a hockey stick at the bottom. I thought it would be cool to have the "Skates and Skirts" text start in the gap between the hockey stick and the bottom of the grizzly's mouth. The 2nd one was one I came up with after looking at a bunch of women's hockey logos. It's my adaptation of the stylized outline again, as it seems to work well for this line of logo design. And yes, those are colored pencils you see used there. I just wanted to get a quick feel of how the Ice Bears color scheme could work with these ideas. Again, it is early in the process, and next I will be seeing if these logos work well with text intertwined with them.

Visual Essay 2 Progress

2010-11-11T23:43:00.001-06:00

Here are 4 images from my 2nd Visual Essay. This essay deals with the current scandals surrounding amateurism in the NCAA. The top image is one basically defining amateurism visually as a process by which the players for these colleges generate tons of revenue for them but don't get to reap any of the benefits. The 2nd image is one commenting on one way schools are combating agents trying to attract players in college by banning them practices. Therefore I turned the gym into a club scene and the agent isn't on the list. The third image centers around the idea of "runners" or "freelancers" as they are called shopping players around to agents. Therefore, I turned the players into product, and a runner into a salesman. The 4th comments on the dilemma most star athletes are faced with in college. Surrounded by piles of debt (an average of $2,591 a year, and that's with a full scholarship) the temptation to take money from an agent is very provacative. Feedback is welcome on these images, and in light of the recent (as in the last week) developments of the Cam Newton case, and seeing as he is the front-runner for the Heisman right now, I think I would like to do a 5th piece on that story.

New NPDA Sketches

2010-11-11T00:05:00.005-06:00

So I went to the public library, grabbed a couple books on the history of playing cards, checked 'em out, took 'em home, plopped myself down, and looked at design after design. Here are a few sketches I came up with after perusing these fine pieces of literature (chock full of really nice images as well).

The top left one has Roman numerals for the "2011-12" part that has to be in it. I got that idea from an 1848 deck from Vienna. I flipped the NPDA logo halfway to mimic how a card is reflected, and all is incased inside a close up of a king's robe with suit designs as pattern on the frilly stuff. The hard-edged suit signs were spawned from a Russian deck I looked at.

The top right one is modeled after 15th century French design of showing a full version of a jack, king or queen standing to the side of the card with pattern all over the frill.

The third one is based off a modern design I looked at. I decided to make it king and queen just to cover both genders. I think the way the title reads could use some work, but I liked using the little twirls and simple wavy lines as hair.

And to be truly honest, I have no idea where the 4th design came from. I just started drawing and that's what happened.

Any feedback and stuff that is working/isn't would be great.

NPDA Sketches

2010-11-05T02:07:00.000-05:00

Group Flyer for Ice Bears

2010-11-04T01:27:00.001-05:00

This is a flyer I recently completed promoting Knoxville Ice Bears Group Nights. The space left in the top right corner of the image is for seperate company names and branding or places they would send this flyer to. I played with the idea of making the flyer look like a ticket to a game, using the low opacity image as that light image that usually appears behind the event on sports tickets. I also played with letting the hockey player guide your eye over to the rates bar at the right.

Birthday Flyer for the Ice Bears

2010-11-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Here is the flyer I created for the Ice Bears. I had a lot of fun creating it and enjoyed incorporationg the mountains from the logo into the design of the poster. I love when I can combine illustration with design to create a final image.

Some Sketches

2010-10-29T21:11:00.000-05:00

These are some sketches I did for a flyer I'm working on for the Knoxville Ice Bears, a hockey team up in Vol country. These sketches are of their mascot Chilly as I am working on redoing their birthday party package flyer. It's been a fun process so far. We shall see how the final turns out!

Revised Visual Essay Pieces

2010-10-21T00:53:00.000-05:00

Here are my reworked pieces from my first visual essay. The one at top is a combination of my original Redskins piece with the piece depicting the family leaving a Braves game. It is an attempt to show both the disgruntled Native American and family bonding that come through the team. The rest of the images have more compositional and color changes as mentioned in our class critique.

The Rest of First Visual Essay Images

2010-10-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

Here are the rest of the images from my first visual essay. The top image comments upon how these teams and their nicknames (however wrong they may be) have helped connect families by giving them a common interest. The middle image is one commenting on both sides of the argument. The proud fan at center is showing how fans "take pride" in their team, and will try and emmulate the mascot. The man at the bottom right is obviously disgruntled because he sees it as a demonizing of his cultural heritage. The third image was created after I read several quotes regarding Native Americans only being able to see the cartoon figures of themselves (as portrayed by logos like Chief Wahoo and such) because of how prevelant they are around them. I think I like that one the most because of its visual metaphor. I will also say that the middle illustration is the most daunting I have ever attempted. It is the heaviest crowd of figures I've ever dealt with.

Visual Essay Logo Manipulations

2010-10-14T00:47:00.000-05:00

These are two logo manipulations I did for my visual essay project on Native American mascots in sports. The top one is a twist on the Redskins logo trying to show that the reason these mascots are still in use is because of the revenue they bring in for those franchises.

The bottom image is one showing how these mascots portray Native Americans as clown-like, cartoony figures and basically degrade them to the level of a circus act. It is based off the Braves logo of the 1980's.

I will be posting the images of my other illustrations for this visual essay soon.

My Board Book (near completion)

2010-10-11T21:24:00.002-05:00

As you can see Timmy is coming along. Today I tried to finish coloring and laying text for the first time. I believe it is working in most spots but I want to play around with it some more. I know there are some places where it can probably work better. However for now, I hope you enjoy reading about Timmy's wonderful attempt at getting dressed.

Some Board Book Progress

2010-10-05T01:28:00.001-05:00

Here is page one of my board book for my Children's Book class. The book has a working title of "Timmy Gets Dressed." It is about a little child who is trying to dress himself for the first time...and not doing so well. This page is very near completion. I just wanted to give a preview of the whole book. More images to come!

Big Band/Jazz Nightwing

2010-10-03T01:01:00.000-05:00

This was my first redesign for Superhero Cocoa. He is slightly Batman related, and once I heard it had a musical theme, I figured I'd give it a shot. Be sure to check out the rest of the musically themed redesigns as wellat the Superhero Cocoa blog!!!

Finished Hedgehog Concept Logo

2010-09-26T22:10:00.000-05:00

Isn't he cute...and slightly aggressive? Anyway, I think I am going to now work on a text logo to go along with this guy. I don't know how his color scheme went on to reflect that of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but those colors do make him look like a hockey logo. I guess I will try something like "Ice Hogs" or some name along those lines for a text one.

Working on a new logo

2010-09-26T01:46:00.001-05:00

So I had an idea for a sort of warhawk, military bird logo this afternoon. However, as I started sketching ideas, the bird suddenly morphed into...a hedgehog. I found that pretty cool, so I rolled with it and this was the sketch and inking that came out of it.

Here's the little guy after I pumped him through illustrator. Now to color him and post the finished one soon!

Visual Essay Comps

2010-09-25T21:22:00.000-05:00

Here are the 3 images I am currently working with for my first visual essay. They are comments on the use of Native American mascots/nicknames in sports, specifically the Braves, Redskins and Indians (Chief Wahoo) for these three.

UTK Concept Logo

2010-09-21T01:13:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to get into a lot more logo design recently and decided to do a concept logo for good ol' UT-Knox. I got the idea because it is one of the school's my fiancee is looking at for going to get her Master's, and I decided to take a stab at a logo for them. I know the "K" doesn't really show up in anything associated with the University of Tennessee, but I figured it would help me make the shape I was trying to for this logo concept.

Cricket Illustrations

2010-09-20T14:37:00.000-05:00

Where my Fightin' Hyenas at?

2010-09-18T00:08:00.001-05:00

Well here is my logo for the MCA Fightin' Hyenas. Yes, I know...we don't have a mascot nor probably ever will, but I wanted to do a logo design and I figure why not start with the mascot I think we should have. It's the Fightin' Hyenas for cryin' out loud. Hope you enjoy!

The New Sheriffs in Town (Rework)

2010-09-15T23:10:00.000-05:00

Cricket Project Progress

2010-09-15T01:32:00.000-05:00

First Piece for Illustration 5

2010-09-08T13:23:00.001-05:00

"The New Sheriffs in Town"

Here is my early work on my "What's Missing" piece for Illustration 5. Since I would really like to get into sports illustration, I decided to do one heavily loaded with it. I got the idea for this piece one morning while listening to ESPN Radio. They were talking about the Rays, Reds, and Rangers taking charge over the perennial powerhouses of their respective divisions (Yankees, Cardinals, and Angels). Therefore I decided to draw it as a saloon scene with their mascots getting ready to throw the regulars out of the bar and taking their places.

Sketches for Sky Ship Illustrations

2010-09-08T13:16:00.000-05:00

The State of the Union, Post 6

2010-09-01T23:37:00.001-05:00

So to tie it all together...

What sort of an illustrator are you?
I'm an illustrator that has been all over the place in trying to find himself, but I think I have settled into a few areas. I'm a traditional drawer and digital colorer. I am also very stylistic rather than representational, and I lean more on a combination of my imagination and a little reality to create exaggeration and humor. I enjoy working in small to medium-sized formats. I'm open to subject matter when it comes to my illustrations, but I would love to have my art focused around my 2 other passions, sports and music. I am also mildly into the idea of doing comics and comic strips, as I enjoy working with Foo Foo. I guess to sum it up, I'm a little bit of a cartoonist, a little bit of an editorial illustrator, and a bit of a sports geek who wants that world to cross over into art.

What sort of career do you want to have?
I don't know if this is getting too specific, but I would love to have a full-time job as a sports illustrator, or an illustrator/designer for a sports team. I've done a lot of thinking on what got me into art in the first place and it was sports logos that had me hooked all those years ago. After thinking about it over this summer I realized that I still love those things and that a job in sports illustration is what I want to do. It just keeps coming back into my head. I would enjoy the subject matter and still be able to get stylistic in my work. I could be involved in a lot of design work as well, which I would really enjoy; and also, it could be a second-hand version of fulfilling almost every young boy's dream of being in professional sports.

Does your present body of work reflect your aspirations? Could it do so more strongly?
I wish I could answer yes to the first of these questions but I know I can't. The minute I realized that sports illustration is just that thing that I want to do, I also realized that my portfolio doesn't have a lot of that subject matter in it; so my portfolio could definitely represent those aspirations better.

10 images/themes/techniques/subjects/formats my portfolio needs to become more in-line with my aspirations:
1. Sports action shots (great baseball plays, touchdowns, etc.)
2. Logo experimentation (like when people manipulation the Rep. and Dem. party mascots)
3. People
4. Ad design
5. Illustration and article integration
6. Newsprint format
7. Gestural drawings
8. Stadiums
9. Mascots
10. Graphic Illustration (I'm thinking Michael Schwab-esque here)

The State of the Union, Part 5

2010-08-30T21:31:00.001-05:00

If I had to illustrate one book for the rest of my life:
It would have to be The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. For one thing, it’s so long it would probably take the rest of my life to illustrate the entire thing, but besides that, the plot is extremely riveting and had me sucked in from the very beginning. I also think it would be a great challenge to illustrate Dantes’ years in prison, his change in personality and growth of skills. I can see the scenes of revenge in my head, especially the sword fighting finale, so full of dynamic movement that if executed right it would look to be ripped out of the catalog of N.C. Wyeth. It is such a powerful tale of betrayal, love, and revenge and I would love to attempt to capture all of those themes in picture. Overall, I would pick this book because there is just so much to choose from in terms of plot points, personalities, and relationships that it would leave me busy for a lifetime.

If I could apprentice with any two artists in the history of the world:
Number one on my list would have to be Walt Kelly. Why—because I bow to that man’s line work. It is absolutely stunning the versatility he was able to get out of a brush and a little black liquid. In one panel he could make ten different textures happen so smoothly that pointing out the hierarchy of objects within the panel would become elementary. I would also love to pick his brain on how he came up with his satire, how he created so much wit and response to it with just a possum. I also am interested in the difference between creating comics shorts vs. full 24 or 32 page comics. I would learn from him how to pick the precise moments in the scene to make the comic flow like 8 pages worth of action.

Second would probably be Chuck Jones. Just looking at how many iconic characters he created—Michigan J. Frog, Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote, Marvin Martian, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny—makes me want to meet him. I would love to learn more about stylization from him and how to make absurdity work as comedy. Bugs and the gang are still relevant some 50 and 60 years later! I would love to have that kind of a character, and I believe he would be the perfect man to learn how to accomplish that. I mean, who wouldn’t want to storyboard an episode of the Looney Tunes?

If I was banned from the art world and could have any other job:
I would do stand-up comedy. Why? No dress code. Period. And that means I still get to wear my hats. Actually, I seem to do a pretty good job of making people laugh, and well, it makes extremely happy when I do. I love putting smiles on peoples faces, so why not take that act on the road? I’d get to see all of this country and maybe several others throughout my career all while making sure people have a good time. Also, stand-up is another outlet where, when done well, one can express one’s observations of what’s wrong in the world and hopefully drive people to do something about it. Plus, my work schedule would be one hour a day. How cool is that!? (I know I’m exaggerating the last part, but why not throw in a tiny little joke with a comedy paragraph?)
Design an art project with the following parameters:

1. One month, one-thousand dollars:
I'll admit, when I first saw these questions, it was tough for me to come up with any answers. I don't know how logical they all will be, but I'm going to give it my best. With this set of limitations I would probably do a large scale painting. There is a part of me that has always wanted to do a life-size portrait of one of my favorite musicians. I don't know who I would pick to do it, but the canvas and really nice paints and brushes would certainly take up a lot of the costs. Also, after the piece was completed, I would hang in my house so when you entered it would be in your periphery and when you turn to the left it will come into full view. I don't know why, I just think that scenario sounds cool.

2. Six months and ten thousand dollars:
My first thought on this one was a large scale mural. It would probably be on the side of a building and the subject would definitely not be LeBron James (sorry, Cleveland, but it was too easy). I also thought it would be funny to make it a comic mural, however I don't know how funny it would be after the tenth time you drive by it, so it would probably be a single scene of something. I do want you to be able to drive by it, chuckle, and move on with your day with a smile on your face. I just had the thought that since we are in Memphis I could do Elvis at that poker table full of dogs and call the thing "The Original Hound Dog." I know, it's a little weak, but I never said these ideas were brilliant.

3. One year and one hundred thousand dollars:
You know the MetLife blimp? With Snoopy on it? Well, I want to make a Foo Foo blimp. I realize how random this idea is, but I think it would be cool. Foo Foo painted on the side of a blimp with a pilot helmet on and Stevie waving at everyone below. I guess I would design it digitally and then how to transfer the image onto an actual blimp is where I get stuck. However, presentations seems pretty cut and dry here...we fly this sucker! I certainly think it might take that long if I did it some old fashioned way. But I could tour the world in a blimp, which sounds pretty cool to me.

The State of the Union, Post 4

2010-08-30T20:54:00.003-05:00

Illustrators Whose Work I Admire:

1. Jeff Smith (Graphix, DC Comics, Cartoon Books)
http://www.boneville.com/

2. Walt Kelly (Disney Studios, Dell Comics, Hall Syndicate)
http://www.pogopossum.com/index.htm

3. Pablo Lobato (Rolling Stone, Time, NY Daily News, TV Guide, etc.)
http://www.illustrationmundo.com/audio/artist/44/

4. Michael Schwab (Nike, MLB, U.S. National Parks, Amtrak, TCM)
http://www.michaelschwab.com/

5. Patrick Arrasmith (Random House, Scholastic, Forbes, Reader’s Digest, NY Times, Boston Globe)
http://www.patrickarrasmith.com/

6. Stephen Bliss (Rockstar Games, MTV, Sony, Pepsi)
http://www.stephenbliss.com/

7. Stan Gorman (Nissan, Dow Chemicals, Mattel, Virgin Interactive, Disneyland)
http://www.stangorman.com/index.html

8. Jay Stephens (Exclaim! Magazine, Nickelodeon Magazine, Scholastic, Animated Series for NBC and Cartoon Network)
http://www.jaystephens.com/

9. John Royle (Marvel, DC Comics, ESPN, GQ, Reader’s Digest)
http://www.johnroyleart.com/

10. Ian Marsden (MAD Magazine, The New Yorker, Coca-Cola, Universal Music Group, Google)
http://www.marsdencartoons.com/

10 Magazines I Would Like to Work For:
1. The Progressive (Nick Jehlen, Phuoung Luu)
2. Under the Radar (Wendy Redfern)
3. Baseball America (Sara McDaniel)
4. Sports Illustrated (Dominic Aratari)
5. MAD (Sam Viviano)
6. Oxford American (Tom Martin)
7. Esquire (Darhil Cooks, Stravinski Pierce, Soni Khatri, Steve Fusco)
8. Skeptic (Pat Linse)
9. Psychology Today (Katherine Bigelow)
10. The Believer (Heidi Julavits, Ed Park, Vendela Vida)

If I started my own magazine:
This is certainly a tough question. I believe as far as subject matter, it would have to revolve around music. I know that is a broad topic, so I will narrow it down my saying my magazine would focus on delving into music theory, song structures, and the history of songwriting. It is a vast topic that I believe could keep me occupied into eternity. I would love to be a better songwriter, and what better way than to make myself work on it for my entire life?

As far as writers, I wouldn't go for the "edgy" Rolling Stone of Spin type of journalist, but rather approach it from a more scholastic side. I would definitely use songwriting professors and try to get interviews with songwriters who have certainly made a name for themselves in the industry.

As far as appearance, I would probably like it to resemble the look of American Songwriter in terms of color palette. It has what I would call a rustic-modern look to it, sleek yet paying homage to tradition. Therefore, I would probably look for artists who approach their work the same way, combining pristine linework with worn textures. I would of course include some comic strips poking fun at songwriting because it's fun to pull out a corny music joke every once and a while (Don't be flat, be natural! Is this thing on?).

American Songwriter website
10 Non-magazine clients I would like to work for (in no particular order):
Major League Baseball
Green Bay Packers
Nashville Predators
Montgomery Biscuits
Scholastic Books
Whitney English
Crane & Co.
General Mills
Kellogg's

Each little group of clients has a different reason for why I chose them. The sports related ones (#1-4) are obviously from my love of sports. The Packers are my favorite sports team, so why wouldn't I want to work for them? As far as the Predators and Biscuits, I chose them because I love their logos and would love to work with manipulations of them as well as designing around them (pics below). I chose Scholastic Books because I believe working on children's books would be a really fun experience. I'll be honest. I enjoy putting a warm, fuzzy feeling into a reader and what better place to do that than in a children's book? Whitney English and Crane & Co. are 2 of the biggest stationery tycoons in the country. I had an internship at a paperie last spring and really loved the chance to combine illustration and graphic design in a single project. I would love to be able to do that for a nationally known company. I then chose General Mills and Kellogg's because their cereal boxes and such are littered with illustrations, usually geared towards children. That area would be another outlet for me to work with childish, humorous illustrations and I think I would enjoy it.

The State of the Union, Post 3

2010-08-29T21:40:00.001-05:00

My Typical Creative Process:
When I first get an assignment, I immediately start trying to brainstorm compositions. I usually come up with a quick 3 or 4 and jot them down as a thumbnail. After the long process of dumping every idea into a thumb I can think of is over, I usually have 2 or 3 standouts. From there I get feedback from my peers and then sort of take the consensus and draw up the picture full size. If there are any objects in the piece I am not very familiar with drawing, I usually go and grab a couple images of them off the Internet or take some photos myself to have by my side as I draw the final piece.

Most of the time now I ink over my line art once it is finished and then scan the image into Photoshop, where all the coloring and additional values are added. I will usually drop in flat colors first, then if I want to use any textures, those go in second. After that I add value either in a painterly way with low opacity brushes, or in a more traditional comics style way with darker tones of the flat colors involved. The last touch is a few highlights and then voila! The piece is finished.

What Creative Process Should Be Like:
I think the main thing my creative process should contain is some more experimenting. I should probably get a little more feedback as I am coloring the piece and even advice on new methods of coloring to try. I also think I should experiment more with some textures than I do. I also get very monotonous in the thumbnail process, so I should probably try to search my mind for my ideas during that part. I tend to get stuck on a composition or theme and run with it for like 10-15 of the thumbs. Basically, I think I should take a few more calculated risks with the coloring, maybe do a little more written brainstorming before I thumbnail, and look for a little more feedback from fresh eyes in the sketch process.

A Professional Creator’s Creative Process:
The one whose process immediately comes to mind for me would be Bob Dylan, and that is because I recently finished reading about it. For him, creativity always starts in writing. He will sit in front of a notebook or computer and just type/write away, rambling on for pages and pages (for example, “Like A Rolling Stone” was originally 40 verses long). Then after a while he will go away and come back and see what he wrote. At this point, he probably has a melody in his head he wants to use and he will see if any of the words fit that melody. If they do, he proceeds to write the song. If they don’t, he will try and make long lines fit short musical phrasings until it won’t work and then he may just start the process over.

Also, another process that came to mind was Chris Gall's. I interviewed him a year ago on how he created his book Dinotrux. He said he started by basically being inspired by a traffic jam one day and going "Hey, what if dinosaurs were trucks?". Then he went home and wrote a story based around that subject (His process usually starts as "I wanna write a story about (black)" and from their the brainstorming begins). It took him a few months to narrow the story down to its format (somewhere around 250-500 words). From there he went to sketching all the characters and then the scenes to be depicted in the book. He drew and drew and drew until they were ready to be scanned in and colored in Photoshop. Then the book was laid out and long story short he's got his book in the works to be made by Pixar. Quite a nice deal if I do say so.

Great Site about the Book

The State of the Union, Post 2

2010-08-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

My favorite piece is this Foo Foo strip I created over this past summer. My main reason? Because it still makes me laugh. Besides that, I think in this piece I actually start to have a grasp on the traditional comics digital coloring style that I have been trying to get into recently. I think the colors work well together, the gradations and textures are subtle yet present; and that the humor, as it should be, is the star of the show. In short, I think it’s my most successful Foo Foo.

The piece that I believe others like most is this photo collage I created in Illustration 4 depicting a scene from the myth of Heracles. I have to say it is one of my favorites as well. I believe they like it because for once I got a lot of different textures to show through in this piece and the values work pretty seamlessly. Also, the composition is very powerful with the Heracles looking into the distance at his former home.

To be honest, the piece above is also the one that surprised me the most. Well, it and the other photo piece I did with it (seen below). This is because I never expected to have so much fun with either of them. I had never worked with photos before in a project, and it was just a real joy to get these results. The thing that shocked me the most was just how easy it was to manipulate them and make them do what I wanted to create some very wonderful affects.

5 Sketches I like as much as my finished pieces:

The State of the Union, Post 1

2010-08-27T22:29:00.000-05:00

Media I like to work in:
Pencil, Ink, Digital (Both Coloring and Inking) and scratchboard the one time I tried it

Media I hate working in:
Acrylics because I can never get the exact colors I want, and textures are hard for me to achieve. I also do not like working in ink wash. I can just never get the values to flow seamlessly into each other.

Media I would like to try:
I think I’d have to go out on a limb and say I’d love to try a 3-D illustration. I had an idea to do a papercraft one that never came to fruition over the summer, but I’d love to try something with models and such and then photograph it to become my illustration. I just think some really cool stuff could come from it.

Three non-Illustration classes that have influenced me postively:
1. 2-D Design. I know it’s a class from a time that seems long ago now, but that was my first taste of really digging into how to layout a powerful composition. My professor Elvis pushed me all semester long to get better and go bolder, and it paid off. The concepts I learned in that class have been paying dividends ever since in hundreds and hundreds of thumbnails all the way to final compositions
2. Sound Acquisition and Editing. You’re probably wondering what sound has to do with drawing. Well, I was the illustrator with a side hobby of writing music that snuck into a class more geared towards animators. Therefore, as a bonus, I got to see a lot of animations while in that class and picked up on a lot of their styles of work. This drove me to try and be a little more stylistic and graphical with my work.
3. Intro to Computer Graphics. It was my first taste of the digital art world and I absolutely fell in love with Photoshop and Illustrator in this class. It allowed me to stumble out of the starting blocks and then catch my balance in Design Systems 1 & 2 before really starting to hone in my skills today.

Influence of my peers:
I think the biggest influence my peers have had on me is to push me to get really good at digital work. I saw what everyone in my class was doing digitally and I just wanted to do it. I wanted to know “How do you make that texture do that?” and “What brush do you use to make it look so painterly?”. I was really impressed by what everyone else could do on that digital box of wonder and since then I’ve been striving to get that good.

Subject matter I like to create work about:
The subject I have been most interested in recently has been my cartoon, Foo Foo. I’ve been experimenting with developing him and his Nephew Stevie and their interactions with the world and each other over the summer. Outside of that, I would love to be able to do some more work based around sports. Sports logos were the first thing to spark my interest in art. I

Subject matter I like to read about:
I love dystopia novels. I’m also a huge music geek, so I equally love biographies of my favorite artists. I also like a humor books by my favorite comedians based on a satirical view of the way we live. I have also recently been delving into some graphic novels that deal with interesting twists on the kid adventure theme.

The kind of music I like:
When it comes to music, I’m a lot more all over the place that most people think. However, my four favorites would have to be, in no particular order: Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. The main reason, after the fact that their songs are flat-out amazing, is that they represent this “cool factor” for me. They can dress, act, and talk in a way I won’t ever be able to. As far as trying to just name genres I’d have to go with classic rock (60’s-80’s), singer/songwriters, and I have a big soft spot in my heart for ballads of all genres. Where my guitar driven rock lets me just sort of unleash adrenaline, my softer stuff allows me to kind of escape reality and pretty much enter a meditative state. But as I said I am all over the place, so a few bands from my odds n’ ends would include the Commodores, They Might Be Giants, Lou Reed, the Gin Blossoms, Roy Orbison, Hall & Oates, and the Spin Doctors.

Non-art related hobbies/interests/skills:
I am an avid songwriter and I play the guitar and piano. I also enjoy hiking, biking, and swimming. My big interest is obviously sports, particularly football, baseball, hockey, and college basketball. I mean, I can tell you what ESPN stands for goodness sake. I’m also big into bowling, with my highest game ever being a 284 this April.

Something I Like that Nobody Else Likes:
I’m probably the only heterosexual male on the planet that thinks Extreme’s “More than Words” is absolutely beautiful, but as a more serious answer I would have to say broccoli. I think that stuff is great.

If I had the run of the world’s museums, the three original works of art I would like to own are:
1. The Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault
2. Untitled (1969) brass boxes by Donald Judd
3. Any original Pogo strip (by Walt Kelly, of course)

Very Early Rough Concepts for Senior Project

2010-06-12T22:18:00.000-05:00

Posted above are some very early sketches of ideas for my senior project. These couple center around my character Foo Foo, as I have been working on developing him a lot recently. The top sketch is a 6 panel strip poking fun at art having to have meaning. It would hang as 6 panels in the gallery as would any regular art work. I just think it would be fun to hang a comic up on a gallery wall like a master painting, just to give the audience a sort of jolt.

The bottom sketch is a 6/9 (undecided) panel strip where Foo Foo tells the audience that the "real" art is hangin' all around him. This is poking fun at how still many people don't think of comics as "real art" or "fine art."

I like the idea of hanging a comic on the wall. I may develop a comic based around Foo Foo for my senior project. I also may try to work with his mallet smashing some controversial theme or something like that. Or I may not use him at all. These are just the early ideas I have.

A Foo Foo Comic for the Web!

2010-05-21T21:55:00.000-05:00

So I've decided to work on Foo Foo over the summer basically because I love drawing him. Here is my first Foo Foo of the summer. Hopefully there will be many more over these few months. I'm even thinking of giving Foo Foo his own blog! Stay tuned and enjoy some Foo Foo cynicism!

Some Final Shots of Demon Deck

2010-05-08T12:34:00.000-05:00

The Demon Deck (near completion)

2010-05-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

So you wanna make a Foo Foo Paper Craft...

2010-04-28T13:35:00.000-05:00

Well here's how you can! Below you will find the pages to click on and print out to make your very own Foo Foo paper craft! Isn't that exciting!?

I recommend printing the 2 pages for his body on card stock or some other heavyweight paper. Print the directions on regular copy paper as it will keep the ears lightweight.

Have fun!

The Foo Foo Paper Craft (And the Process)

2010-04-25T01:09:00.000-05:00

"So Mike, how'd ya make your paper craft?" Well, here's your answer in photgraphic evidence. I decided to sort of record the process of putting Foo Foo together. The 3rd time was a charm. I like the way he came out this time and I think the change in head size helped to make him more like his drawn self. Well Foo Foo, welcom to paper craft world! Maybe it will be the first thing in your life to put a smile on your face. Then again...maybe not.

Some Accents from my Internship

2010-04-23T16:42:00.000-05:00

Today I've been designing some calligraphic accents at the Paperie. It's been pretty fun. I love the combination of illustration and graphic design into one art form. Here is what I've come up with.

It's a Foo Foo Papercraft! (Almost...)

2010-04-18T01:40:00.001-05:00

This is attempt number 2 at assembling a Foo Foo papercraft. Let's just say that attempt number 1 ended in a lot of crumpled paper and steam rising from the top of my head. Anyway, this go around went much smoother and there are now much less kinks to work out. I forgot to completely readjust his head so I had to tape it together because of a few extra pieces. It's actually a quick fix. Also, I think his ears will need to be printed on a different stock than his body in order for it to not tip him over. I'm glad that the mallet did exactly what it was supposed to do, and that's keep him upright, because last time he toppled over so, so many times. I hope the 3rd time is the charm and no more revisions will be needed after that. We shall see.