Wear The Fox Hat

A project that was a long time coming, as it was a suggestion made by an acquaintance for years in idle conversation over beverages. I get that a lot: "You should draw a ____" and it usually goes in one ear and out the other (aside from the 1% of the time it sticks and gets shoveled into the mental mulch-pile). But eventually with enough persistence and pulling out a wad of cash, I'll take anything more seriously, and a spot opened up on the studio schedule in between several other gigs for me to work up a design. The tshirt was commissioned on behalf of the Maclaren River Lodge via a mutual friend who essentially wanted to see his idea actually realized as a finished product.

Leaving off the requisite pile of pencil sketches, I did something a bit out of the ordinary in that, after the core concept was approved by all parties, I worked up most everything fully colored. That is of course the most expensive route to take as far as getting tshirts printed up, but on my end as the creator it was a crucial component to help in visualizing the end result, and simplify the process by reverse engineering it down until a decent-looking, balanced compromise is reached. That being said, the traditional rule of thumb for me is ensuring the design can still hold up and function as a black + white image.

The question at this stage was twofold: what style of lettering/particular font is appropriate, and also should it all be on one line wrapped around the top, or divided above & below? Symmetry + balance is important especially with these circular designs, and the contrast of the lettering should be taken into consideration with regards to it's line weight, and organic feel versus hard-edge etc. and not forgetting the basics like legibility. Another speed-bump was mulling over seemingly inconsequential details that actually had a very subtle but important impact as far as any initial impression: how to phrase the statement: "Wear The Fox Hat" vs "Wear The Fox Hat!" vs "Wear The Fox Hat?"

At this point the beard had undergone a bit of a trim, as I pulled it further back up inside the core circle area so as to be able to draw the bottom text further up against it, and make for an overall tighter, more unified composition.
Then it was assembling a buffet of possibilities with color, so some sample swatches help to illustrate variations using a 1-color (dark ink printed on top of a colored tshirt background), a 2-color (black + white ink printed on top of red tshirt background), a 1-color reversal (white ink printed on top of red tshirt background), and my personal aesthetic choice, a 1-color tone-on-tone option (darker red ink printed on top of a lighter red tshirt). This would be awesome on a 100% cotton pigment-dyed garment, and would age really well too as an organically distressed tshirt. It also has the advantage of combining the economic advantage of being only a 1-color print, but still incorporating the crucial element of red.

Along with accompanying emails, everything in the end gets printed out as hardcopy, backup CD's with all the image files (TIFs and vectored Illustrator) are burned, and some bonus signed prints included in the final package ready for delivery. It's a good sign for me to feel excited about wanting to wear one myself!

Opera Fairbanks: Run of the Valkyries 2016

That time of the season when I come up with something new and fun for a favorite repeat client: Opera Fairbanks' annual "Run of the Valkyries" fundraiser. This made the ninth consecutive year I've been honored to create a whimsical poster + tshirt design, and as usual, I turned to the previous body of work (culled from the "Commercial" works on-line portfolio) to start doodling up some concepts in that vein of material. The challenge is to keep it fresh but familiar, and I figured a bear needed to finally have its turn as the model.

When it rains it pours: I was deluged with freelance gigs right in the middle of a really busy time, so another challenge besides fighting off not just physical fatigue, but also "repetitive logo syndrome." Nine years is a long time to cultivate a cohesive, signature body of work, so a problem is how to keep coming up with something new, yet still keep it looking like it's yours. I started with the concept of having a salmon run ("RUN" HA!) but bailed on the inevitable complexity so it was mothballed until it could be potentially rolled over into next year's design (nothing like having work in the mental bank). The core idea was retained from the above-posted initial sketch.

Then the next stage was penciling in tentative details like the dates and such, to be proofed at this point before committing to inks. To be sure though, what with the digital phase at the end of the process there's always additional opportunity to edit and tweak components of the design. But I still much prefer having as much of the elements as possible out on the proverbial table when starting to experiment.

Imagine my dawning horror over realizing that I'd been essentially plagiarizing myself - maybe that assessment's bit harsh, more like just playing a broken record in my head and repeating myself artistically. More like falling into a predictable rut of my own making, or just simply creative laziness under pressure, which can happen when one is absolutely overwhelmed with stress. Mainly I was struck with the fact that there would be two races (see earlier Parkie-Pine post) within weeks of each other and both running equal marketing efforts that featured my work: stylistic similarities aside (which is an asset, since they are commissioning work that's recognizably mine) the designs were just too close for comfort. The solution was to push through and explore what for me is a new departure, specifically from my instinctual circular template. The above sequence of screen-grabs highlights the continual reworkings I go through, sometimes even after investing significant time to arrive at a variation on a theme that will ultimately be discarded. Not all that different from the original series that resulted from sitting down with blank sheets of paper and pencil, just with a different tool.

I actually started moving in this "squarish" direction last year and was pleased with the subtle break from tradition, and also really dug the stark contrast between the bold black against a more organic outline of the character. Adding the floating cascade of cartoon notes was the trademark touch, and the final draft got an enthusiastic approval. Then it was time to work up concurrent variations using the core design for both the full-color poster and the tshirt.

Above is an example of what the deign would look like as printed using a single-color and utilizing the color of the tshirt as an element, in this case white ink on a tan background. The process usually calls for something known in the industry as a "reversal," which is markedly different aesthetic than just simply using a light-coloed ink with the original line art (ie instead of printing as black, every line would print as white, which results in it looking more like a weird negative). This one-color option is often a more attractive and economical route to go as well, as each additional color requires another separate ink and thus screen, which will begin to add cost to the total, overall price per unit.

For the full-color poster I oscillated between two extremes: crazy color versus simple blocks of boldness, so I kept pushing out and then pulling back (think kneading mental bread), playing both ends against each other in hopes of eventually arriving at a happy medium. The subtle bas-relief of the raised lettering added a spiffy embossed effect that further enhanced the contrasting aesthetic of a computerized, mechanical flavor against the funky flat colors + robust rounding of the bear.

Parkie-Pine

   This commission was part of our local National Park Service headquarters to do some fun community events in recognition of the Centennial celebration, among them a 5k Family Fun Run. That's where I came in as someone tasked to create logo which would reflect all of those aspects: family-friendly, fun and in action.
   The first incarnation went through a dozen reworks with constant reviews from an ad hoc committee, meaning I held it up in front of random folks at the coffeeshop and asked them "what kind of animal is this?" The overwhelming majority of respondents answered "hedgehog?" followed by "... beaver?" and "feral rat?"  Boy was that ever humbling - and frustrating comsidering my assumption it would be relatively easy to knock out a simple porcupine - after all I'd done it before. After a few days it morphed into what I thought was the definitive variation, at least until I woke up the next morning after sending "the final" and realized with horror it looked even worse. Not to mention the aesthetic side-effect of incorporating the client's suggestion of including sneakers: adding an article of clothing to these sorts of cartoon critters quite often has the unintended result of making whatever animal it is look like IT'S NOT WEARING ANY PANTS. But with a rapid rework (sometimes the best solution is pure panic as a creative juice) and the knowledge that the end point design would have big words saying "Parkie-Pine" which would be of immeasurable help in identifying the creature in question. When in doubt, label it.

   As with all clients, there is considerable back-and-forth between myself and the designated point of contact - often there is a committee but I find it much saner and more effective to limit the working relationship with one person in charge. My process is also to present simple pencil sketches with the initial concept long before committing the time + energy to inking and digital tweaks. So the above image was a sample of both the agreed-upon line art + a bonus color test to help flesh out the character. Next was settling on the overall logo design, in particular the graphic elements, using a basic, nondescript font as a temporary placeholder until that particular phase of the project.

   My instinct, or personal preference is to work within the shape of a circle, but the idea was introduced to incorporate the National Park Service shield (arrowhead actually) as a part of the bounding shape. As it turned out this was a better solution as far as accommodating additional elements, but not without its own unique issues to consider. And since I'm afforded plenty of leeway when coming up with such logos I have no trouble whatsoever accepting outside suggestions - after all, that's the defining distinction between a commercial artist and a fine artist. I aim to serve the intentions of the client first & foremost, and part of my job is to execute their vision, not mine. It's only when the dreaded micromanagement occurs that it becomes tedious and counterproductive, which in such rare instances usually takes judicious setting of limits, even to the point of incurring additional fees.

   Now we round the bend and come into the home stretch as alternatives are in font selection are advanced for consideration. Again I find it appealing to my aesthetics to juxtapose an organic, hand-drawn element against the more mechanical, computer-set type. This phase goes hand-in-glove with constant shifting of the graphic elements so as to maintain a cohesive, unified look to the piece in its entirety. Balancing line weights and textual considerations for proper composition sometimes takes a lot of minute adjustments, as at this point everything is interconnected, and no part can be changed without it affecting the big picture as it were. Even in a comparatively simple layout it can give rise to a seemingly infinite amount of combinations which can be quite the artistic rabbit hole. This is also when it helps to remember the basics in maintaining a healthy, objective distance by taking breaks. A fresh look at the problem or even sleeping on it is more often than not the best solution - these things take time, and scheduling the calendar around such mental wrestling sessions is crucial.

   Also it becomes time to ensure the design is thoroughly cleaned up, which means vectoring, adjusting the threshold etc. and chasing down stray pixels. But at long last there's a finished line art version which is the template for the final manifestation and end-point product(s).

   In this case it was usage for both a tshirt and a full-color poster for printing. The tshirt, like the black + white core logo should ideally function as a one-color, which incorporates the background color of the garment as part of the design. This in turn means generating a reversal, shown above in the first panel which looks like a negative: when burned onto a screen everything you see as black will be printed as a colored ink, say for example, white ink, which you can see in the next swatch on a tan background. This is also by far the most economical option for a limited budget, as each additional ink color will add to the price-per-unit of the tshirt, even as seen in the last panel with a black ink and white ink variation.
   But lastly, there's no such limitations in the full-color version which will be used in fliers, poster and web-based promotion. So included on the final CD of image files are 300 + 72 dpi JPEGS along with 11x17" PDF and TIF formats. All that's missing now is photographs of posted fliers... and racers wearing it!

Hell Yeah: Raw & Real

Congrats to Alex Rydlinski, artist & guitarist for Turbid North, for scoring one hell of a prize:

In celebration of Black Sabbath's long-awaited reunion tour and the European extension, Black Sabbath are inviting aspiring designers from around the world to submit their best graphic artwork as inspired by the catalogue of music from the original Black Sabbath lineup, including the provided "Loner" video. One artist, as selected by Black Sabbath, will have their artwork produced and featured on a t-shirt to be sold on the European leg of their tour. 

Alex's illustration "God Is Dead?" beat out an impressive roster of submissions and is another example of his awesome draftsmanship + design that stands alongside the outstanding work done for his band (see previous post here, and check out his website here).

"Inspired by the new album. Drawn with pen and ink on bristol. Raw and real, the way Sabbath has done it all along"

Here's to you Alex, can't wait for the new pelt.

"No Time Flatt"

From the recently exhumed archives: A favorite tshirt design made for an offshoot amalgamation of some outstanding musicians in Fairbanks who played some of the finest gigs I've ever had the pleasure to see in person.
Lots more new images uploaded here to the Commercial Work web-folio.

Overflow XXV: T-Shirt

Here's the design for the XXV Commemorative tshirt: it's printed on really spiffy pigment-dyed, gender-neutral (as is the beaver) grey short-sleeves, and they also sport the beaver-chop XXV logo as a tone-on-tone tag print on the back. Below is a more accurate 4-color proof from the shop:

The dynamic and expressive pose really captures the essence of the message. Even the ever-so-slightly dialed pupil is a carefully calculated aesthetic decision. A couple doodles trying to work out the concept:

Opening this 1st Friday: August 2nd @ the Fairbanks Community Museum. 

Overflow XXV: Pelts-In-Progress

Here's a couple work-in-progress pics from down at the shop: Hat-tip Tail-slap as always to the excellent craftsmanship + awesome expertise - again - by the fine folks down at Trademark Screenprinting!

Opening this 1st Friday: August 2nd @ the Fairbanks Community Museum.

KUAC 50th Anniversary

The folks at our public broadcasting station here in Fairbanks picked one of my panels "Public Broadcasting" to adorn their anniversary tshirts commemorating five decades of being on the air in Interior Alaska. This particular design was a runner-up submission to an annual poster competition years ago, and a copy of the version that ran in the newspaper got enshrined up on a corkboard in someone's cubicle. A few modifications and it was customized for the client, and now public radio pledgers throughout the community can sport a spiffy tshirt while proclaiming their support for local media.

Here's to the talents of all the awesome hosts who have turned me on to so much good tunage through their diverse programs, and have for years provided a soundtrack to many long nights in the cabin while working on my art. Also the best news and talk shows in the state (consider making a donation here).

"Celebrate 50 years of public broadcasting in Alaska during KUAC’s FM Fall Fundraiser, Saturday, Oct. 13th through Sunday, Oct. 21st. Make a gift online at kuac.org, or call 907-474-5822 or 800-474-5822!"

Tshirts: Hairy Potter, Bookworms + Gangly Moose

This design was drawn up after the fervor of the first book's publication, long before the mania expanded over the years and into the movies. SCAG is the Student Ceramic Art Guild, a student club at UAF that sponsors a semesterly pottery sale which in turn funds a visiting artist to come up and give workshops (they also participate in the Empty Bowls event for the Fairbanks Community Food Bank).

This tshirt was a private commission, supposedly based on an altercation between a birdwatching group's field-trip and an amusing (or horrifying, depending on your perspective) overlap with a falconer's group.

Design done for a fundraising effort to benefit the John Trigg Ester Library which is partially funded through their annual LiBerry Music Festival and Berry Pie Throwdown at the Golden Eagle Saloon.

And here's one of the many designs created for the best band from the 'Banks back in the day, Gangly Moose (see Moosezilla and Yup'ik Haze. Best concert I was ever at for these guys was one where I had a table to sell some poster art, and saw many folks out in the audience wearing tshirts that I had designed. Short of sitting in someone's outhouse or office and seeing one of your cartoons stuck up on the wall, there isn't any better feeling than catching your art being worn on somebody's sweaty, dancing body. Too often 2D art just hangs on a wall, like a dead trophy.
This'll be the last edition of the recent archive tshirt posts - some of the better samples are crossposted in this gallery - but new ones are in the works.

Tshirts: Wildlife

Client: Denali Education Center. In a lot of these older designs one can see the strong influence of all those years using Zip-a-Tone/Letraset halftone gradient sheets on my cartoons. Translated into screenprinting it allows for some creative fudging by getting away with using another value range without technically paying for an additional screen or color. Thus the above 6-color print utilizes some dot to create the illusion of two extra colors or tints (ex: antlers + pants).

Client: The Wildlife Society/UAF Student Chapter. Same effect used to create a range of grayscales - this is only a 1-color print but with careful use of the screen and squeegee, a full range of values can be achieved. It's an economic solution that comes in handy when dealing with non-profits on a tight budget.

Client: Some dude running for office in the FNSB. I'll vote for anyone who supports the arts and has an equally stupid sense of humor as I do.

Client: NAEC. Another aspect of the older tshirt designs that I really enjoyed and miss doing was the meticulous hand-lettering in cartoony/balloon-style. As a result of youthful indiscretions I picked up a useful habit of being able to knock out large areas of lettering relatively quickly.

Tshirts: AlaskaToon

For years my website was alaskatoon.com, before it imploded under my lax management after being nurtured and shepherded by a long-suffering friend & fan. After a recent refresher crash-course in Dreamweaver I aim to set about relaunching an new, improved website, probably right around about the time I coincidentally max out on server storage on the Blogger platform. Damn high-res hiking pictures.
Here's a link to a Flash animation by my former boss and talented friend Rick Redick that made for a spiffy welcome page to the website. Backside to the tshirt is posted below.

In 1989 my first editorial panel that appeared in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner was turned into a tshirt: my first fledgling effort to donate to a cause. In retrospect, getting in line with a lot of residents trying to capitalize off a tragedy was about as slick as an oil executive, but the experience did foment later benefit tshirts that were very successful.
That said, support PWSRCAC and learn about EVOSTC.

One of the last food-industry gigs I had was working at Home Port, a locally-owned deli where my my artistic talents were employed almost as much as my phenomenal sandwich-making skills. Namely drawing pictures of the insanely huge kosher dills we sold on the side.

Tshirts: BiPolar Bears

Here's a buncha bears: In 2001 I participated in a simultaneous opening for an exhibition held in both MAAG Antarctica and Ester, Alaska.

This was an anniversary design for the Fairbanks Fire Department - who still sports this particular logo all over the place on their website. I'm pretty proud of it, as many folks on one side of the family are firefighters in New York.

Here's a commemorative design that was done to herald the first performance in Fairbanks by one of my favorite musicians, Ani DiFranco - a pun on her label Righteous Babe Records. Still remains one of the top three all-time-best live shows I've ever caught.

For a couple years I was a graphic artist at UAF's Wood center Student Activities, and the Residence Hall Association commissioned this reboot of the traditional Nanook logo.

There also used to be an annual music festival series at UAF called Polarpalooza, before getting confused with a science-based event with the same name. Only one had dancing bears.

Tshirts: Pinhole Wizard

This design was an in-joke for the screenprinting shop I was employed at: before becoming a graphic artist I spent a couple years in production department, pulling squeegees and hanging out in the darkroom. One of the final steps in burning screens was to carefully go over them with a tiny paintbrush + liquid emulsion and "pinhole" out any stray holes that might have accidentally occurred while exposing the negatives. Yeah, I was good at that.

Another gig I briefly had in 2000 was volunteering as Special Events Coordinator for an ad-hoc group of printmakers in the Interior community and the UAF Art Department called (wait for it) Printmakers North. This was a design I showcased for a field-trip to Trademark so as to demonstrate the screenprinting process on a commercial level.

That in turn dovetailed with an exhibition I had in 1999 that featured fine art serigraphs, which along with being editioned onto printmaking paper, also obviously translated very well onto garments.