Ink and Paint

Snowville Run!!!

2012-01-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

In November, right around Thanksgiving, my girlfriend Kym Dahl and I decided we'd like to make our friends and family something special. We wanted to create something that would be fun and different and, fingers crossed, memorable.

Eventually, we decided we would create a board game. A Christmas-themed board game. We also thought it would be great if the game pieces were paper craft figures. Together, we designed a trivia game based on our favorite Christmas movies, books, TV specials, etc.

I think, after a good deal of self-induced amnesia, the game met all our expectations and was liked by everyone. Of course, I specifically told the recipients to lie if they didn't like it. In all, we made only eight of these. Eight game boards, over 30 paper craft figures cut and assembled by hand, and 800 trivia questions.

And lo, we called our Christmas creation "Snowville Run". And now we are tired. Tired and happy.

Cheers.

Baseball Illustrations

2012-01-01T15:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Just under a week ago now I was asked by "Lindy's Sports Annual" (baseball edition) if I'd be interested in producing a couple of illustrations for the upcoming issue. I'll end the suspense and just tell you: I said "yes".

The illustrations are slated to accompany two stories: the first about Red Sox fans and their proclivity for complaining regardless of their team's success and the second about the terms of Albert Pujol's new contract with the Angels (specifically, the fact that he'll be 42 by the time that contract expires and possibly past his prime).

I'm pretty happy with the way both turned out, particularly given the relatively short turnaround time. Of the two, I had quite a bit more fun with the Red Sox fans illustration. The Pujols piece was fun, for sure. Adding details that (hopefully) help to inform the narrative slant and exaggerate the caricature is always great. In this case, I drew Pujols with his pants worn far above his waistline and with Velcro shoes (on top of the gray hair and lined face). But whether or not people will recognize the face as that of an aged Albert Pujols remains to be seen.

The reason I enjoyed the Sox fans illustration was that I wasn't actually modelling the characters' faces on anyone in particular. I set out to represent a number of demographics (I figure any MLB team probably has every single kind of human being among their fan base) which meant I could draw four completely different faces, expressions, sets of clothes, bodies, etc. And since variety is the spice of life, and since the spice must flow, there was a whole mess of fun details to draw.

Other items: I tried to keep the composition relatively interesting. I chose green for the background not only because "Lindy's" typically requests free-standing illustrations (without a formal background), but also because green seemed like a good fit and not too distracting. I figured green (the color many associate with jealousy or envy) hits close enough to the mark in terms of the sentiment being portrayed here.

Ok, I think that about wraps 'er all up.

Cheers.

Technical Illustrations

2011-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Art Auction Final!

2011-12-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

Remember the poster for the Prichard Art Gallery's 25th Annual Art Auction? No? Well, I was commissioned to create the poster for said event. The concepts were posted not too long ago and you'll find them below if you're interested. At any rate, I had hoped they would choose a particular concept (though I would have been happy finalizing any of the concepts) and so they did. It was, however, the least finished of the set.

Initially, I had intended on leaving the piece relatively loose and painterly to try and capture the fun, free spirit of the gallery. Aside: Not too long ago, I worked pretty much exclusively in water color. At the time, I wanted water color to be capable of bold, rich, opaque colors and I was always dissatisfied with the result (gouache was too flaky and inconsistent and oil took too long to dry). Of course, now that I paint digitally, I'm looking to recapture the feel of watercolor. Oh, the irony.

Well, capturing the fun, free spirit of the gallery proved more complicated than I figured. It turns out I'm neither fun nor free-spirited. Here's what the conversation in my head sounded like:

My Intention: "Hey, I was thinking we could do this one...you know, kind of loose."
My Militant OCD: "No."
My Intention: "But, it might be nice...kind of different."
MMOCD: "No."
My Intention: "But-"
MMOCD: "No."
My Intention: "Oh...ok."

Truth be told, one of the reasons I'm not a little more loose is that I love drawing detail. I love drawing wood grain, the shine on a metal surface, individual hairs, dirt, etc. For me, those details make an illustration. And, when that's the case, what you get in the end looks something like this.

Cheers.

Art Installation Concept

2011-12-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

I was contacted recently by a local artist submitting a proposal for a juried exhibition. Gerri Sayler is a phenomenal artist who creates installation pieces that are both visually and intellectually interesting. Gerri asked if I could draw up a sketch for her proposal.

The result is relatively different than anything I've produced up until this point, which made it pretty interesting. It was a quick turnover, but I'm still happy with the result.

Thank You Cards

2011-12-16T09:15:00.000-08:00

So, two sets of thank you cards. The first was for Decagon Devices, Inc. The initial project was for three different cards, which accounts for the number of concepts here (as much as I like Decagon, it's unlikely I would do twelve different concepts for a single card). However, in the end we moved ahead with only one of them (top row, second from the left). The set after is (as you could probably have surmised without the color commentary) variations on the design they picked.

The second card is one I put together for personal use. My girlfriend threw me a surprise party for my 30th birthday, inviting pretty much all of my friends. It was western themed and absolutely spectacular. I decided to continue that them, both in the thank you card and throughout the rest of my life.

Choral Society Winter Ad

2011-12-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

The title pretty much says it all. This is just the info and a few of the graphic elements from the Palouse Choral Society's winter concert poster in a format for newspaper advertising.

Art Auction

2011-11-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

The Prichard Art Auction is an annual event that raises much needed funds for a very fine art gallery. As an undergraduate, I helped out in the Prichard as a show installer. I helped put together quite a few shows, including one by Andrew Goldsworthy.

It's SO COOL to be able to work on these posters. 1.) It's an organization I love, not only because of the history I have with them, but also because of the phenomenal work they continue to do. 2.) It's staffed by phenomenal people I genuinely like. 3.) It's a great cause. It literally makes our town a better place to live. 4.) There are no constraints on the posters. That stands to reason, given that they're artists and are used to advocating for creative expression. But even with conditions like that, it's easy to get prescriptive about an important event. They don't, though. They seem to enjoy the surprise and the variety (remember last year's caveman poster?).

So, here's what I presented to them.

The first is based on art as represented by mediums (not the Dionne Warwick variety). I've always loved the tactile elements of art (even more so now that I work digitally). I love the smell of oil clay and paint and wood shavings. This concept is an ode to those mediums. I also forgot to mention that this year is the 25th anniversary of the gallery, which is the "Silver Anniversary". So the text is also a reference to that. It's also an homage to "Madame X", a famous painting by one of my favorite artists of all time, John Singer Sargent.

Concept two: Stemming from one of the Prichard's missions, which is to champion artists, I drafted up this idea. In this scenario, though, the auction acts as the arena in which people can be champions for the gallery itself. Kind of like being a champion for a champion. The background of the banner is based on some of the Prichard's design schemes. Ultimately, though I like the concept, I think it's a little dark for an event where people are supposed to be having a nice evening.

Concept three: My goal here was just to be irreverent (in spite of my reverence for the gallery). I suppose I wanted to shake off the visual expectations of a poster for an elegant event (self-imposed expectations, I should note). Art is many things to many people. For me it's fun. It represents the lust for life I try constantly to maintain (and seldom do). The gallery is a great embodiment of this outlook.

The quote on this one is by a poet named Mary Oliver, who wrote my favorite poem ("Wild Geese").

One of these concepts has been chosen, but I won't tell which until later.

Cheers.

CCI

2011-11-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

This was a pretty quick, fun little project. It's the label design for a box of seasonal ammunition for a local company. Concepts first, then the final.

Keep the change, ya filthy animal.

Fall Posters

2011-11-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why, but when beginning the concepts, I began with Winter. Maybe because the visual elements were more visually appealing to me. But, having hammered out the Winter poster, I realized that this year Fall came before Winter. I was stunned when I found out. Particularly because it meant I had put up the Christmas tree way too early. It also meant the Fall concert (and subsequently the Fall concert poster) would be coming before the Winter concert and poster. In spite of my request to make an exception this year and have Winter before Fall, traditional order was kept and I was forced to come up with the Fall concepts.

And here they are. The second is the poster that was eventually chosen after a few minor changes.

Irreduceable Complexity

2011-11-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

And from the flesh of that last concept were borne these two thingies:

"What gets put into the frame, then, if it isn't the composer?" I asks myself. Well, the concert's selections are essentially Christmas incarnate. Many of these songs, even if you don't recognize the titles, would be instantly familiar to you. Probably familiar to you in the way the smell of cinnamon is familiar, which is to say that, like music, the physical presence/reality of the thing is greatly augmented by the emotional memories it contains.

Along with symbols, pictograms and silhouettes, I've also been experimenting some with composite images comprised of those visuals. It irks me a bit to see oversimplification (this, he says, after touting the beautiful simplicity of symbols). Seriously, though, most things are way too complex to sum up with a single visual element. So...why not use multiple images? That was the genesis of this first derivation.

Two thoughts about it: One, the candle under the hat makes me nervous. It's a symbol of a candle and a symbol of a hat. These things don't exist except as 2-dimensional representations of objects. But still, that's an unsafe place to put a symbol of a candle. It could start a symbolic representation of a fire and ruin the holidays for us all. Second, the cassette tape is my favorite element. My favorite Christmas music was a mix entitled "A Very Special Christmas" (on cassette tape, of course), which was a mix including the likes of Sting, Run-DMC, Bryan Adams and Stevie Nicks. Boo yeah.

Concept two is a wreath made of frost. Few things are as beautiful and graceful to me as frost. The correlation between frost and choral music seemed perfect in my head, even though it deviates from the more simplistic silhouette-type images. Ultimately, this poster was chosen as the final for the December concert.

Oh, did you think we were done?

Origin of the specious

2011-11-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

So, while I really liked the idea of the pictogram composers, there had to be a method of distinguishing the posters from each other. There are four concerts this season, which correlates nicely with seasonal visuals. Thus, this concept was born.

I liked this one quite a bit. Hassler was a stylish fella. I'm pretty sure he was having Thanksgiving dinner one evening (probably a Thursday evening), looked at the turkey and thought, "Hey, those paper things on the turkey legs would look great around my neck."

When presented, however, there was concern that the visual of the composer was too obscure. I couldn't disagree, so even though I loved the composers idea, it had to be 86-ed. Other elements and the overall style of the poster were well-liked (the seasonal elements, the frame, and the landscape) and the subsequent concepts were built around those themes.

Onward!

Choral Concert Posters

2011-11-11T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hi.

(Insert mea culpa for recent lack of posts here.)

Whew. Glad I got that off my chest. I think we all feel a little better now.

"Well," you might be thinking to yourself, imaginary reader of this blog, "I accept your apology for the post hiatus, but what exactly have you been doing with yourself lately?"

I'm glad you asked that. Because unless you read the title of this post, you'd have absolutely no idea. I've been working on any number of things. One of them (as evidenced by the previous post) is trying to learn animation. It's not a speedy process. The learning curve is steep and it's extremely time-consuming. I'm currently working on the second animation at the moment. Apparently, it's healthy to feel out of your comfort zone as this feeling is indicative of growth. I guess I'd just forgotten how often growth and the feeling of incompetence are synonymous.

One of my other projects has been, as the oh-so-germane title points out, concert posters for The Palouse Choral Society. I met with the PCS team earlier this year to talk about the logo and the posters. Like the logo project, this project has seen a pretty significant evolution between the initial concepts and the finished posters. That change is usually an interesting one to watch. It's even more interesting when you're right in the thick of it.

Here's the thing: Music is extremely visceral. Describing music can be a daunting task. You can describe the lyrics or the notes in a concrete way, but it gets tougher to describe a melody (even if you specifically list the notes) and explaining the emotional complexity of the music is a handful for anyone. That's probably why the "Draw Music" assignment is so ubiquitous in early design classes. Striking the right emotional chord to visually describe a specific kind of music is hardly a science. Add to that the goals of the organization itself and the plethora of opinions from everyone involved and you'll probably end up with a project that changes quite a bit over time. Which is exactly what we have here.

Up front, we have three concepts. One is based on the work of Alphonse Mucha. I spent quite a while obsessing over the work of Mucha. I've always been a great admirer of the craftsmanship and its graceful figures and exacting lines seemed like a good fit for choral music.

Concept two is based on an illustrated manuscript. Because of their painstaking detail and spiritual affiliation, the illustrated manuscript also seemed like a perfect visual representation for the concerts. However, after spending quite a while on this concept, I took a step back and realized I hated the damned thing. So this one was never presented as an option. I think it's ugly and amateurish, even for a concept.

The third concept came from a recent fascination with silhouettes, symbols and pictograms. I like the simplicity and elegance of these kinds of illustrations. More than that, though, I like the potential for humor in them. They're so often used as serious means of communication (traffic signs, for instance) that putting them in other contexts seems funny (to me, anyway). So I applied that idea to the composers responsible for the music in the concerts.

So, here's what these look like:

Technical Animation

2011-10-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here's the first animation I've completed. It was done using Photoshop and a demo version of ToonBoom Studio (hence the watermark).

Programs 2: Die Harder

2011-09-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

I presented the concepts with the nagging feeling that I didn't really like any of them. None of them were bad, necessarily, but I wasn't excited to turn them into finals. I happened to mention I had a list of other ideas that I hadn't actually turned into concepts. One of them was the scientists as action figures.

I had discarded this idea because I was worried it wasn't related enough to the subject. But it's actually spot on in a number of ways. Also, when an illustration accompanies a large body of text that describes the subject matter in detail, the illustration need not be so literal. In fact, it might even be better if it strays from the subject slightly to create tension, draw attention, and avoid redundancy. This is just a theory, of course, but it seems to hold water.

Plus, the little boy in me (or maybe it's more accurate to say "the little boy that I am") had a field day with this idea. SO MUCH FUN. I was obsessed with G.I. Joes when I was little. This, in some ways, is my homage to my favorite toy of all time. Accessories, over the top packaging art, those fused together fingers that always formed a "c" shape to grip items, semi-articulateable limbs. Every bit of it was fun. Plus, the background elements were also fun. I was born in the 80s, but I still have a fascination with 1950s aesthetics. Simplicity and elegance are two possible culprits.

Ok. Less jaw. More draw.

Cheers.

Programs

2011-09-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

Perennially awesome client "Programs and People" recently brought me a new assignment about innovators in science. The article features three men whose research into their respective fields is not only groundbreaking (sometimes literally), but also very marketable. These men are Kerry Huber (who has discovered a way to allow the human body to block the starch in potato products from being turned into fat), Steve Love (native plant seed specialist), and Garth Sasser (livestock management).

Here's what I love about "Programs": The designer I work with is a friend of mine and is a genuine pleasure personally and professionally. She's worked with many other contractors (as well as having done freelance work herself) and always treats me with respect.

"Programs and People" is a magazine produced by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho. Working for any large organization often means being answerable to any number of administrators and managers as well as to a large, very diverse constituency. Readers of "Programs" are likely all over the map in terms of political and socioeconomic positions. It would be nearly impossible to keep this kind of group satisfied without creating something that's nice but relatively bland. But "Programs" manages to consistently create an engaging publication and still allows people like me quite a bit of creative freedom. My hat is off to people who can walk such a line. It's one of the reasons I'm excited to work with them every year.

For the concepts, I focused on only one of the featured researchers (Garth Sasser) to simplify things. The ideas were all based on the phrase, "Taking ideas to the marketplace". The first (coin silhouette) was meant as ancillary art. Concept two plays on the fact that Sasser's research affects dairy products. Concept three is based on a turn of the century sign and concept four is a fictitious 1960s space-age science magazine. These concepts would have been applied to each of the other subjects eventually.

Decagon: SDI

2011-09-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is a set of concept illustrations for a new Decagon project. It involves a new method of data transmission between sensors and data loggers. My understanding is that, essentially, this method greatly simplifies what would ordinarily be a fairly complicated sensor array.

The illustration is meant to show the path a client's data would take from its source to the client's computer. Beginning at the greenhouse (where the sensors are installed), the data is collected and routes through a kind of sensor hub which relays the data to a data logger and then on to a computer.

I tried a few new approaches in this one, including using an X-ray-like visual for the sensor installation illustration. You would think that, after the factory illustrations (see old blog post for reference), I would have learned my lesson about multiple-point perspectives. But the fact is that it just makes for a more interesting visual. And the more compelling the visual, the more likely it is that the viewer will absorb the information.

There will likely be thorough revisions to this set, but overall I think the set does its job nicely.

Cheers.

Palouse Choral Society Postcards

2011-09-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a few designs I worked up for an advertising postcard for the Palouse Choral Society. They're essentially just to let people know the organization changed its name and about upcoming concert dates.

Breakfast Club Menu

2011-09-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well, according to the Blogspot Dashboard, I haven't posted since August 4th. Rest assured that, as today is September 4th, I have spent the last month feeling like a bad person for my posting celibacy. I've been swamped. This time of year is nearly always intensely busy for me. It has to do mainly with a few annual clients whose publishing dates always land right around the same time.

At any rate, here's the first of many posts I'll put up in the next few days. I was hired recently to create an illustration for a local restaurant's menu cover. This restaurant is a local fixture and one that I frequent, so it was a cool gig. Essentially, they asked me to draw the front of the restaurant. And that I did.

These are, respectively, the initial (a larger version), various layouts and compositions of that piece, and finally a revised version.

Lindy's Round 2

2011-08-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

One quickie (the clipboard) from this morning and one sketch of Bruce Pearl that didn't end up getting used.

Process Photos

2011-08-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

Howdy.

Remember the fair cut-out project? Well, it's pretty much wrapped up. Here are some photos of the project as it came together over the last two weeks or so. Keep in mind these are 4' x 8'.

Lindy's Basketball

2011-08-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

It's been "Lindy's" time again this week. Which is part of the reason I've been so busy. One of the articles in the upcoming college basketball issue has to do with Indiana's teams and how there's been a bit of a reversal of fortune between two in particular.

Part of the article suggests that, were we to go back in time to 1985 (when "Back to the Future" was made), we'd find the status of these two teams to be the complete opposite of what they are presently. So opposite, in fact, that it would seem like a weak plot device in a bad piece of fiction. So that's the genesis of this illustration.

This one was done at break-neck speed, but in spite of that I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Cheers.

PagePipe elements

2011-08-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a few illustrations for the website Pagepipe. There was a pretty pronounced shift in the approach to the site and these illustrations are the result.

New Splash Screen

2011-08-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

A new splash screen for one of Decagon's microsites (Aqualab).

Recycling Process

2011-08-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Remember the initial sketches for this project? Well, if it's your first time to this blog, probably not. It's for a recycling company and is meant to generally describe both small scale and industrial recycling processes.

But if you do happen to remember it, this is what the final (tentatively) looks like. There's always the possibility that additional changes will need to be made, but it's likely at this point that said changes will be minimal (is there an emoticon for crossing your fingers?).

Overall assessment: Fun.
Favorite part: Drawing the trucks.
Least favorite part: I find drawing tires tiresome.

Man, I love what I do.

Don't call it a comeback...

2011-08-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

Because it was really more of a retort. Nevermind. That's retorted.

There has been a bit of a gap in posts as of late, no? This is the point where I would normally explain that I've been intensely busy, make my apologies and a few jokes, and then promise never to do it again ever ever. But I'm a bit pressed for time, so if you could think back to one of the dozen or so times I've already done that (just pick your favorite) and mentally insert it here, we'll get to the actual work much faster. Done? Ok, cool.

Here's the final for the Lysimeter splash screen. I likes it. At this point I've pretty much exhausted my conversational Lysimeter knowledge, so I'll just post the piece. It was well-received and hopefully I'll get to do a few more at some point.

I'm also going to post some illustrations I did explaining how to refill your differential pressure transducer. Yup, finally gave in to all those requests that were inundating my inbox.

Enjoy!

Lysimeter Layouts: Return of the Thing

2011-07-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

The next set of layouts for the lysimeter microsite for Decagon Devices. Enjoy!

Tell me lys, tell me sweet little lys...

2011-07-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

The hydrology division of Decagon Devices, Inc. asked me to work up a few concepts for a new microsite that features lysimeters.

*Caveat: I hereby offer an advance apology to any soil scientists and hydrologists for my layman's explanation of this equipment and process. A hydrology apology. Heh heh. I'm such a nerd.

A lysimeter is essentially a piece of equipment (well, multiple pieces of equipment to be specific) that allows very accurate observation and measurement of a given environment. The data is used in climate research, water management, agronomy, and soil science.

Some of this might look familiar if you've seen the posts on this blog about the drain gauge project. The drain gauge is made by Decagon. The other lysimeters are made by a German company called UMS. These things are huge. They're a meter tall.

Have I mentioned before that I love my job? Have I mentioned how much I love technical illustration like this? Well, this project is no exception. I've tried to explain before the impetus of this, and maybe that's a fool's errand. I've cited before that technical illustration is very exacting and clean, which likely appeals to certain dominant personality traits of mine. I may or may not have been German or Swiss in a past life.

I think there's more, though. This kind of work (specifically this project) involves drawing lots of different materials (metal, soil, plastic) which means drawing a lot of textures, surface treatments, the way light reflects off those surfaces, a variety of colors, etc. It's challenging and there's enough variety that it never seems repetitious.

I also love utilizing illustration to make something possible that can't really be done in other mediums. I dare you to cut a lysimeter in half so you can see a cross section of it. It's pretty hard to do that with soil, too. Not impossible, but difficult to be sure. And time-consuming. And the result probably won't be as pretty.

There's a lot of talk about illustration being obsolete these days. As if the ease of digital video and photography make illustration into an antiquated piece of ornament. But, as just noted, illustration can make possible visuals that you just can't create other ways. A cross section, an exploded view of an engine, step by step processes, the inner workings of mechanical or biological systems, multiple perspectives, hypothetical situations, etc.

Let alone the imaginative realms made possible through illustration. Illustration can show other worlds and realities. It can be infused with personality and emotion. Illustration can narrate and explain. Apparently, because of the cerebral cortex, humans are the only creatures who can create hypothetical situations in their heads. We can imagine. And illustration is this imagination made manifest. And all of these things make illustration completely relevant, regardless of technological advances.

I didn't really mean for this to turn into a dissertation. But I won't apologize. I'm sorry, but that's just the way I am.

Cheers.

Tainted Love

2011-07-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a whole flock of creature concept alternates I drew up for PagePipe. The company focuses on efficiency and speed. They wanted an image that represents some of the potential pitfalls of the website arena. The creature represents toxicity, inefficiency, waste, etc.

Stop Gap

2011-07-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

One of the two people who read this blog commented that I hadn't posted anything for a while. Which is true. I've been swamped with work. Which is phenomenal, but leaves little time for ancillary agenda items. I have multiple projects going on at the moment and there will be some exciting posts soon enough.

In the meantime, here are three semi-new items.

1.) Color options for the Palouse Choral Society logo. Did I mention this was the design they picked? Well, now I have. So there.

2.) Several monster sketches for a website piece. Color versions to come soon.

3.) The final version of the Latah County Historical Society Sign (oddly enough, I forgot to post this color variation even though it was my favorite).

Cheers!

Seems Fair

2011-07-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

The University of Idaho College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) just asked me if I'd be interested in drawing some fair cut outs for them (the kind painted on large panels with a hole cut in them where you put your face). And I was all like...moo yeah (that intensely bad joke will make sense in a minute).

Here are the concepts. They are currently waiting for approval. It's difficult to tell without color, but the top set is a potato in various forms of awesomeness.

PCS Logo Revisions

2011-07-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Well, How do! If you live in the United States, happy belated 4th of July. Our neighborhood last night was apparently chock-a-block full of people reveling in the joy of filling the skies with the Kabul-like cacophony of mortars and Whistling Petes. So if these posts seem a little punch-drunk, it's because people's supplies of gunpowder-fueled mayhem didn't run out until well after midnight and I couldn't sleep.

So, remember the Palouse Choral Society Logo? Sure you do. It was only one post ago. Well, after the meeting there was much discussing and a secondary meeting. Eventually the plethora of ideas were winnowed down and a tentative winner seems to have emerged.

This one has changed quite a bit since the beginning. Most do. I think that has something to do with the decidedly un-scientific process involved. At the outset, it's pretty difficult to know right off the bat exactly how you want to represent a business, organization, idea, etc. with a graphic logo. It has to work intellectually and aesthetically. Those two things are difficult enough as it is. But the logo also has to feel right.

Sometimes the process is like playing darts and hitting the bull's eye on the first throw. And sometimes it's like playing Twister. In the dark. And none of you speak the same language. Figuring out what a client wants and needs often boils down to communicating effectively. That sounds like (and is) a total cliche, but it's true. And effective communication is sometimes pretty difficult. As far as I know, there's no manual for how to talk about visualizing abstractions. That manual has to be re-written for every client. It's a whole other facet to design and illustration I never predicted. But, believe it or not, it's also really interesting.

Enough yakkity yak yak. Logos now.

PCS Initials

2011-06-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Pun intended. I think puns are underrated. Judging by the heavy sighs and eye rolling I often get in response to my excellent and clever puns, people completely agree with me.

The Palouse Choral Society is, as the name might suggest, exactly what it sounds like. And a whole lot more. It's a diverse group of people from a fairly large geographic area who all have a passion for singing classical music. I was asked recently to create a logo for them.

As I've mentioned before, I love a challenge. Which means there was plenty to love on this project. Just about every element of the organization and subsequent design is abstract. The words that best describe the core elements of PCS aren't easily distilled into images (community, passion, craftsmanship, etc). And many of the descriptors have ultra-ubiquitous pre-fabricated images attached to them. I did my best to avoid these like that Skippers/gas station on the south side of town.

Here's what I came up with. My favorite is the nest with blue and brown. I think the color combination and the composition are strong. However, the connection to the actual subject matter wasn't particularly apparent. The nest is meant to symbolize community, but conceptually it does little to explain the organization.

They say it's next to godliness

2011-06-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Decagon has an isotherm generator called the "Vapor Sorption Analyzer". On the outside chance you're not sure what that is, the VSA provides data on the water activity of certain products, which can effect expiration dates, shipping, product stability, etc.

There's currently some software being developed for the VSA and I was asked to come up with some concepts for the software icon (along with the splash screen which I'll get to later). Here are the results.

Yet again, I found this project to be more fun than it probably should have been. And I'm not exactly sure why, but I'll guess:

1.) I like the cleanliness, efficiency and utilitarian nature of logo and icon work like this. I'm sure there are any number of people familiar with my work who would say that my illustration, regardless of subject matter, is cleanliness incarnate. Although I won't argue that my work is pretty clean, this kind of logo work is an extreme version of that. And it's pretty fun to see how far you can push something.

2.) I'm a huge, gigantic nerd and doing design work for a company that makes scientific instruments is the closest I'll ever get to being a scientist (which would be cool). I've always been fascinated by most things sciencey (rock crystals, geodes, potato clocks, etc), but I'm lacking in the science-brain department.

3.) I love a challenge. The last logo design project, in terms of difficulty, was like pulling teeth. And, that having been said, I'm like Bill Murray in "Little Shop of Horrors" (who loves getting his teeth pulled). For me, there are few things as satisfying as coming up with a bevy of ideas in an attempt to distill a complex issue or idea into a manageable graphic.

The disclaimer here is that I genuinely believe there are few to no logos that can fully express a complex issue. Logos are necessarily abbreviations. They're just a starting point.

RedeSign

2011-06-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Several months ago (before the logo redesign and banner projects), the Latah County Historical Society asked me to put together some designs for the interpretive sign in front of McConnell Mansion. Here's the original post:

http://noahkroese.blogspot.com/2010/05/historical-society-concepts.html

A concept has been chosen and this week I put together several variations of it. And here they be.

Blog Logo Final

2011-06-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here's the final version (along with a few iterations) of the logo for the new Decagon blog. Of the versions including text, the middle is the tentative final.

Sample Page

2011-06-03T13:41:00.001-07:00

B-Logo

2011-06-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

I spent years doing political cartoons. Probably drew thousands of them. Literally thousands. And of those, I don't suppose more than a handful were even worth reading. Up until recently, I've always considered my attempt at editorial cartooning to be a failure. I mean, even if I had 20 cartoons that were worth their salt, that's still a pretty bad ratio.

But now I see it as being beneficial in a couple of ways I never really anticipated. 1.) Great drawing practice. 2.) Good skin thickener (I'm thinking of selling the idea to Maybelene). 3.) All the times I spent thinking about political and social issues, most of which are incredibly complex, and trying to distill those issues down to something that can fit into a black and white 8.5" x 11" space was great design practice. Cartooning is about many things, but perhaps one of the most important things you learn is economy. Economy of space, of words, of images, etc. It's figuring out how to cram a big idea into such a small space (don't worry, I'm coming to the point).

It turned out to be invaluable for logo work, which in many ways is a similar process. A logo is often just a very simple graphic representation of an idea or a group of ideas. There seems to be a complexity continuum. A logo for a single product, for instance, might be relatively straightforward. On the other end of the spectrum are logos meant to represent more complex ideas. And that's where it gets tricky.

This logo could be one of the most difficult I've ever worked on. It's for Decagon. Specifically, it's for a new blog Decagon has started up. Check it out here:

http://www.cultivatingscience.com/

A brief description of the blog is "The casual conversations that initiate scientific progress." It's about many things, including but not exclusive to: Natural science, conversation, ideas, innovation, discovery, excitement, inspiration, education and wonder. The blog is a great read, even for a non-science person like myself. The problem is in the number of intangible elements there. A logo for even one of those things would be difficult. This one has multiple concepts behind it.

So I thought about it. And thought. And thought. And now my brain hurts. But here's what I came up with. I'm meeting with the client tonight to go over the concepts and keeping my fingers crossed I came up with something they find interesting.

LCRI revisions

2011-06-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here's round 2 of the recycling process project. There were a few changes requested, including labeling each item and the inclusion of several new illustrations. Overall, though, the piece seems to have gone over fairly well.

Whoops.

2011-05-25T12:13:00.001-07:00

Forgot about these two. These were concepts for a third team, The Wheat Wackers. This one didn't end up being finalized, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

DCK TKO!

2011-05-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

And here are three versions of the winner. Serious fun.

Death Cap Continue!

2011-05-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Death Cap Killers logo concepts, round two.

Upon request by the team after the first set of concepts, I worked up two more. One fairy-based and the other in the spirit of "Through the Looking Glass". I'm proud of both. I think each is different and has its own attitude and character.

Death Cap Roller Derby Logo!

2011-05-25T11:52:00.001-07:00

Along with the concepts for the Violent Gems logo, I was asked to do a concept for a second logo (Death Cap Killers). This concept expanded into a full blown logo design job. In which I was only too happy to participate. Seriously. I'm just not sure how this project could have been cooler.

There ended up being two sets of concepts for this round. Of this set, I'd have to say my favorite is the chef, but ultimately I don't think it was a good fit for the theme. The 8-bit piece holds a special place in my heart. However, 8-bit art (assuming I'm even using that term correctly) is extremely popular right now. Also, although I grew up obsessed with crap video games (and I still am to a certain extent), the reference isn't necessarily universal.

Violent Gems logo final!

2011-05-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

Here's the final version of the logo for the Roller Derby team, The Violent Gems.

Beat it.

2011-05-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

This could be the best photo of one of my illustrations in use. Ever. For full illustration, see Border Highlanders logo post from several months back.

LCRI, part deaux....

2011-05-25T11:41:00.001-07:00

Re: Cycling

2011-05-25T11:33:00.001-07:00

Some time ago, nevermind how long exactly, having little or no money in my pocket and little else to interest me on land....

Er, wait. Sorry, wrong intro. Some time ago I did a poster for a local recycling company called LCRI (Lewis Clark Recyclers Inc.). It featured a bear dominating an elementary school science fair. The company recently contacted me again with a new job. They asked for a series of small illustrations showing the process of recycling (among other things).

Here are the concepts and one of the layout options I put together. This one will have to be spread betwixt two posts.

-Noah

Isn't it icon-ic?

2011-05-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

In case you thought I might have been spirited away in the rapture, here's proof positive that's not the case. I assume it's because of that thing that happened in the second grade. At any rate, I've been busy with a potpourri of projects, each of them just about as disparate from the others as they can be.

The first is a software icon for Decagon Devices, Inc. I've designed a few of the graphic elements for this particular piece of software. I like the cleanliness and functionality of icon design. To me, the process seems more difficult than say, logo work for a business because an icon has to be intuitively understood and not noticed.

This icon represents web help. Within this program there's the regular help button and a button that provides help using the interwebs as a resource. This icon was designed for the latter. 45 iterations, concepts, and variants later, one was chosen. It's not always easy to convey tone in text, so I'll just say outright this project was genuinely fun. Which I'm pretty sure makes me a dweeb, but whatevs.

Cheers.

You're wondering who I am...

2011-04-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

(Secret, secret, I've got a secret)
Machine or mannequin?
(Secret, secret, I've got a secret)

I have no explanation for this post's title or intro featuring Styxx lyrics. Perhaps because the subject matter (a new set of Decagon sensors) is mechanical/technological in nature and the words to "Mr. Roboto" seemed prescient. But that still seems like a stretch.

At any rate, these three go along with the large set of sensors I illustrated for Decagon's website some months ago. I think I'm getting better at these (they take less time, I'm more satisfied with the results, and I'm enjoying the process more). It's par for the course that I now feel like I have all the resources I need to begin the project I just finished. C'est la vie.

You may have noticed the slight disparity between this post and the one directly preceding it. They're almost diametrically opposed to one another, yet I find each project to be completely fulfilling and fun in their own ways. I feel fortunate to have a projects that run the gamut in just about every respect. It keeps things interesting.

Cheers.

Roller Derby!

2011-04-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

I think I may have mentioned before that I love what I do. My worst day drawing is better than my best day doing any number of jobs I had in previous lives (ditch digger, stagecoach tilter, etc.). Drawing, for a nerd like me, is really, really fun. Even amidst all that fun-having, occasionally a project will come up whose fun statistics are off the fun index. I'm talking maximum fun density. This is one of them.

A roller derby team asked me to work on their logo. Seriously. A roller derby team. That's so cool I could use an exclamation mark at the end of this sentence (but I won't).

Enough talk. More roller derby.

Historical Society Logo Concepts

2011-04-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here are the concepts for the logo. I don't know if I could pick a favorite. Usually, one of the concepts stands out and I subsequently suggest that concept to the client. But this time I'll be happy regardless of which one is chosen.

One lesson I've learned over the years (I'm not a fast learner so it took a while) is: Never put forward a bad concept. I've had a couple projects where I had several decent concepts, but I wanted to have a nice number of concepts to present. For some reason, I picked the number five, as if that were a more dignified or significant number. So I'd have three or four concepts I liked and I would throw one more in there that was sort of half-baked. On one or two occasions, the half-baked concept was chosen. When that happens, it makes the project difficult to work on and makes me rue the fact that I just threw that last one in.

So now, whenever possible (sometimes the time to flesh out really strong concepts is a luxury), I present concepts I genuinely like. That kind of investment can be a liability if everything gets rejected, but in my mind it's better than presenting something I'm not proud of. I'm sorry for all the sentences here that ended in prepositions.

Cheers.

Historical Society Concepts

2011-04-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Good Morrow To You Sirs/Madams!

I was commissioned recently to work up some concepts for the Latah County Historical Society. This year is the 125th anniversary of the McConnell Mansion (built in 1886), the flagship exhibit of the organization. It's a super cool Victorian-style house built by William McConnell, a prosperous merchant and early governor of Idaho.

I was asked to re-imagine the current logo (an oil lamp) for the anniversary. I was also asked to come up with a few ideas for a banner with the same purpose. After doing some research, I learned that along with the McConnell mansion being built in 1886, The Statue of Liberty was also dedicated and coke first began being sold in stores. This was the genesis of one of the concepts. The other 2 banner concepts are relatively straightforward.

This project has been so much fun to work on. For starters, a subject with this much history behind it (in the U.S., 125 years is a long time) means the possible inclusion of any element of that history into the design scheme. The process is also an intense amount of fun, particularly if it's challenging. I start with research, think about the subject (what it means and the intent of the project), generate as many ideas as I can, narrow those down, generate more ideas, narrow those down, etc. When all is said and done, I pick the concepts I think are the most successful and meet the largest number of requirements and I turn those concepts into illustrations to show the client. If I'm lucky, one of those will be accepted.

If that sounds like a lot of work, you're right. But when the work is exciting I tend not to notice the hard work. I'll post the banner concepts first, then the logo designs.

Baby, I'm amazed

2011-04-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago (perhaps longer), I was asked to create a baby announcement for some friends who are expecting. I drew up some concepts and these two won out. The first is relatively straightforward. The second, in case it isn't clear, is a reference to "The Big Lebowski", of which my friends (and I) are big fans.

Tattoo-ine

2011-04-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

Rather than go to Tashi's station to pick up some power converters, I decided I would design a tattoo for a friend of mine (at his request). He's a police officer and asked me to base the design on St. Michael, the patron saint of law enforcement.

I worked up the first version and sent it off. The response was tepid. When I took a second look at the design, I saw why. He kind of looks like he has corn rows. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it doesn't exactly fit with the image one has of St. Michael. Also, it's a bit too clean. It almost looks like the logo for a mutual fund group.

The second version (shown with and without shading) was well received and could end up being the final version.

The Final Countdown!!!!!

2011-04-12T10:19:00.001-07:00

And, ladies and gentlemen, here is the final logo. What can I say? I feel like I've watched it grow up. Like Malcom Jamal Warner from "The Cosby Show". Hopefully this logo won't end up hosting a bad Saturday morning cartoon show that only signifies the good cartoons of the morning are over and golf coming up in the programming. Sigh.

More fun than a barrel full of monkeys!

2011-04-12T10:13:00.001-07:00

I once had a friend who lived in Japan. In her town, along with the human residents, there lived a group of monkeys, though of what particular breed I cannot say specifically. She said they were scary. They would chase her and her friends to school and throw rocks and other undesirable things. They were not to be played with. It makes me wonder where that saying about a barrel full of monkeys comes from. Imagine how angry they would be, having been cooped up in a barrel with each other. I dare you to open the lid of that barrel and have fun afterward. I dare you.

This logo, on the other hand, was fun. It happened while I was attempting to generate some new ideas for the restaurant logo and I decided to bring it to fruition, knowing full well that it would never be utilized in any professional context.

Go Go Gadget Logo!

2011-04-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

So, as it turns out, the last set of logos wasn't quite there. I embarked on an epic (and by "epic" I mean orderly, logical and straightforward) journey (and by "journey" I mean I stayed in my studio) to find the real and true logo. Unfortunately, when my group and I found the ark with the logo in it, it was stolen by Nazis. When they opened it their faces melted.

That may not have happened. Sometimes I confuse my own life with "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Could happen to anyone, though.

Ok, fer serious though, here are the sets that followed further exploration of the themes and designs of the first sets. I guess you could call these the descendants.

Landscapes!

2011-03-24T15:59:00.001-07:00

I kind of grew up outside. Not in a Jungle Book type way, but I spent a lot of time playing outside as a kid and I still really enjoy the outdoors. I'm also an illustrator. So it's a little weird to me that I don't do more landscapes. I usually enjoy them, I find them interesting and challenging, and people tend to respond positively to them. Why don't I do them more often?

My theory is that I'm just MORE interested in the things an elementary school or middle school boy would be interested in (again with the zombies, superheros, monsters, etc.). But all those characters need landscapes to walk around in, so I suppose it behooves me to hone my landscapabilities (oh, yeah, that one's going on Urban Dictionary).

Of course, this project has nothing to do with any of that. What follows are the concepts for a set of large landscapes that are likely to end up in the office of a client. These will be big (anywhere from 2' x 4' to 2' x 7').

More Logos!

2011-03-24T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here are more logos, as promised in the title of this post!

Logo Work

2011-03-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

I was commissioned recently to do some logo work for a restaurant. Here are the initial versions of the logo. The process is ongoing but I'll be sure to post the final version eventually.

I actually really like logo work. It doesn't seem like something I would enjoy. Or maybe, given my proclivity for enjoying technical illustrations, just the opposite is true. I'm a big fan of precision and cleanliness, both of which logo work tends to have in spades. But it doesn't really involve much complicated illustration, detail, zombies, samurai, or aliens.

I suppose what I really like about logo work is the challenge of distilling an idea, thought, or feeling into a graphic that communicates the complexity of said idea. It can be tough. People tend to have emotional associations with just about every word and image in existence.

It's also challenging because there usually have to be dozens of variations or different logo ideas created before you find THE ONE.

So, in summation: Noah gives logo work thumbs up.

Video Scene

2011-03-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick scene from the video I mentioned in an earlier post. It's a new approach for me, but very enjoyable.

Landscape Concept

2011-03-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

This here's a concept for a series of landscapes I'm working on currently. Ultimately, the project has moved in a different direction and this one will not be included. But I think the style is interesting enough to share. Not that it's my invention or anything. This kind of etching or woodblock print-style aping is nothing new. But for me, it has a very nostalgic appeal to it. I'm not sure why.

Private Commission Number 2

2011-03-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

This is a second private commission. It was done the old fashioned way, with watercolor and colored pencil on paper. As I said in a previous post, I still enjoy working in traditional mediums but I don't often have the time to do so.

I've been thinking about the difference bewtixt the two methods for a while now. I think working traditionally allows you to be closer to the drawing itself. You have to mix the colors and touch the paper. You also have to be much more invested in the illustration. If you screw up, you either have to figure out how to cover it up or you have to start again. I think this makes you think much more about the illustration you're working on. It makes it more about the process and the actions involved therein.

Digital illustration, in my opinion, streamlines the process. Without having to mix the colors myself, I can move faster. I can re-format the drawing I'm working on without having to start over. I can correct mistakes instantly. I can modify an illustration at any time, even after I think it's done. This makes the whole process much faster. And that, subsequently, allows me to focus on the story more. It's something I've always wanted to do. But creating a full story (with the detail and precise standards I demand of myself) on paper is a demoralizing amount of work. Working digitally opens up new arenas for me.

And I likes it.

Cheers.

Private Commission

2011-03-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

A private commission.

From the Sketchbook

2011-03-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

This isn't something that happens often, but I'm going to open up the sketchbook. In part, it doesn't happen very often because I just don't have the opportunity to work in my sketchbook on a regular basis. I'll be honest: I miss is sometimes. Digital illustration is phenomenal and I wouldn't trade it. But there's still something really exciting about working on paper.

The other reason I don't usually let people peer inside the sketchbook is because I'm a complete and utter perfectionist. It's a battle I've been losing for a long time. I like to work at a drawing until I'm completely satisfied in every way possible. And if a drawing doesn't reach that stage, I pretend it doesn't exist. But, like the one guy in the elevator with you or the guy at the urinal next to you, however much you pretend he's not there, there's still the awkward acknowledgment of his presence and attempt to ignore.

Well, I have deemed these sketches worthy of display. One is based on the H.G. Wells story "The Island of Dr. Moreau", which I recently re-read. The other is just a cartoony sketch of a logger. One of the details that I have yet to figure out digitally is how to give my drawings the sense of energy and life they have on paper. Maybe this comes from the fact you can see sketch lines and erase lines. Whatever the case, for me there's something very appealing about this format.

Cheers.

And now for something completely different...

2011-03-11T08:18:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to read some H.P. Lovecraft for years. A couple weeks back, I finally went down to the library and picked up a book of short stories. It's phenomenal. Basically, everything I was hoping for and more. On a side note, it's interesting to read and see how much of the material was re-tasked for "Night Gallery", the phenomenally campy Rod Serling horror show with amazing character acting and special effects that rival any middle school play. One of the stories, "The Call of Cthulu", is the tale of a massive demon who I guess lives under the sea (with Sebastian and Ariel, though I imagine they're don't interact often).

Cthulu is an oft-visualized character. I think part of it has to do with the fascination with the story itself and part has to do with Lovecraft's literary descriptions which usually describe monsters as "Too horrible to imagine" or "You'd go mad if I told you". I think this is kind of clever and simultaneously a bit of a cop out. It lets your imagination fill in the blanks which works well only if you have a good imagination. It also lets the author off the hook for filling in physical details.

So I thought I'd take a whack at it. It's an interesting challenge to try to bring something new to well-trodden ground. Subject matter-wise, it isn't often I'm asked to do something like this and I enjoyed the brief tangent. It will likely remain a sketch forever, though, since I don't really have the time to finish it.

Unless someone wants to commission me to do so.

Which you could.

You know...if you wanted to.

Mea Culpa

2011-03-11T08:05:00.000-08:00

I hereby offer my sincerest of apologies for being remiss in posting in the last two months or so. There are explanations, of course, but mostly I've just been lazy about it. The last project I had involved video illustrations and posting the individual illustrations out of context wouldn't have been very interesting.

I've also been working on a book. It's a project I've been incubating for over five years and I'm just now beginning to bring it to fruition. It's big. It's rich. And it's ambitious. But for now, I'm not going to post any of it. In my mind, it's too premature for display. At any rate, most if not all of my free time and energy are devoted to this project which is another reason my blog has been on hiatus. I'll try to be better about posting, though.

Blah blah blah. Enough talk. More illustrationing! This one was the card I made for my girlfriend for Valentine's day. The inside said "Happy Valentine's Day to my princess unicorn fairy sparkle princess." She got a good laugh out of it, which made it a resounding success.

Lindy's Baseball!

2011-01-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday I was contacted with a new assignment for Lindy's Sports Annual (the baseball edition). I'm always up for sports illustrations. They tend to be different enough from my normal scope of work that it's challenging and fun. Aw, who am I kidding? I don't know that I have a "normal scope of work". Just about every illustration job is different (and I love it).

At any rate, while I love football, no sport holds for me as much excitement as baseball. Watching it as a kid seems to have forever placed it in my brain onto a magic pedestal along with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Captain Crunch. So, suffice it to say that baseball illustrations in particular are a real pleasure to draw. There. I knew there was a point in there somewhere.

The first illustration will accompany an article about how difficult it's been to predict baseball contenders as of late. I enjoyed drawing/painting the lighting in this one. Illustration number two is Roy Halladay.

Roy does not have an easy face to draw. I run into this occasionally. Some people just give me trouble. Typically, it's people without many distinguishing characteristics or features. The most symmetrical faces are the hardest for me. There's nothing to focus on. Nothing to draw (har har) the attention, nothing to exaggerate. But I worked and worked and worked and eventually wrestled this illustration into a satisfactory form. Hopefully it looks like Roy Halladay. I'm occasionally tempted to draw a big arrow pointing to whomever I've just drawn and write beneath the arrow "This is a drawing of (person's name)". Hey, it's cool for political cartoonists, right?

-Cheers

As promised...

2011-01-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

Here are the finals for the factory close-ups.

Ancillary Illustrations

2011-01-03T12:02:00.001-08:00

I like to draw. I also like to use the word "ancillary" whenever possible. Makes me feel ancillary. Anyhoo, this set goes along with the factory illustrations from a couple months back. The illustrations are meant to show workers in the various areas of the factory using the Aqualab.

Main challenge: Using various angles and compositions to create visual variety within the set. This was also made more difficult by the circular framing, which was a little more limiting than I had anticipated.

Least favorite part: The first illustration (the woman with a hairnet, goggles, and a red shirt). This project actually took a lot longer than I'd predicted, mostly because of this first illustration. I had to figure out a style that sat comfortably between cartoony (too silly for the context) and realistic (too serious). It also had to match the original illustrations enough for them to mesh in a single visual presentation. I probably re-drew her face four different times.

Favorite part: Probably the woman with red hair (in shipping). I just like the way this one came together.

I'll post the sketches first, then the finals.

Portrait

2011-01-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Well, it looks like my m.o. in terms of infrequent posting during the fresh-faced 2011 will remain generally unchanged. But if that sticks sideways in your craw I'll make you a deal: I promise to feel more guilty about not posting regularly.

This first post was a private commission. I drew it on the tablet and am pretty satisfied with the result. I know I've said this before, but I continue to be amazed at the similarities between tablet painting and oil painting. It's like rediscovering an old friend. Assuming old friends are available for purchase through Wacom.

Food Safety Icons

2010-12-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

You know that scene in the movie "Alien" with John Hurt? Well, this kind of food safety is nothing like that. Nothing at all. Come to think of it, I'm not sure why I even brought that movie up. I'll have the stenographer strike it from the record.

These icons will accompany the factory illustrations. The four icons are temperature, water activity, acidity, and moisture content.

There's a page of concepts and then the finals. Cheers.

Aqualab Video Illustrations

2010-12-02T09:25:00.000-08:00

There's nothing dry about the Aqualab Duo, bwa ha ha ha ha!

Sorry.

The Aqualab duo is an instrument made by Decagon Devices that measures both water activity and moisture content. It has a number of different applications (remember the factory from a couple of posts ago?), but my understanding is that it's primarily used to determine food safety.

Water activity and moisture content aren't the easiest concepts to understand and, subsequently, the capabilities of the Aqualab can also be a bit tricky to grasp. To that end, Decagon is producing a video that breaks down the fundamentals into manageable morsels. These are the illustrations to accompany the narrative.

Splish Splash Screen

2010-11-30T15:30:00.000-08:00

This here's an illustration for a bit of software developed by Decagon called "Datatrac". I likes it.

It's a Wonderful Card!

2010-11-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

I sometimes wonder what Kym and my celebrity mash up name would be (you know, like "Branjelina" or "Bennifer"). "Nym"? "NoKym"? "Kynoah"? "Kymboah"? Well, the world may never know. But here's Kym and my super awesome celebrity mash up Christmas card as a consolation prize. Of course, by "celebrity" I mean "ordinary citizens" and by "super awesome" I mean "super awesome". It's our house, looking all quaint and stuff. Just looking at our house covered in snow fills my heart with shoveling. I mean joy. Why would I say "shoveling" when I meant "joy"? Weird. Anyway, merry shoveling.

Decagon's Christmas Card

2010-11-29T18:21:00.001-08:00

Has it been a year already since the heady days of my first Decagon Christmas card? Yes, as a matter of fact. As it turns out, once 365 days (or thereabouts) roll over, it's pretty much considered a year. You can probably find last year's card buried somewhere on the blog, but I'm not going to re-post it for you. Humbug.

Here's this year's card. I'll post the concepts as well. While I like the choice they made, I had my heart set on the bad sweater with the sensor on it. Made me smile.

Extra sensor perception

2010-11-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

Several months back, Decagon asked if I would be interested in illustrating every sensor they produce and I was all like, "Boo yeah." Here they are, in non-alphabetical order. My favorite name is the anemometer. It's fun to say. Now you say it. A-Nuh-Mom-EE-Ter.

The Factory (non-Warhol)

2010-11-29T09:40:00.000-08:00

"Marge, I'm sorry I tried to make gravy in the bathtub, I'm sorry I used your wedding dress to wax the car, oh, well, let's just say I'm sorry for the whole marriage up to this point."

-Homer Simpson

Sorry, sorry. It's been brought to my attention by several parties that I haven't updated in a while. I've been working like crazy and just haven't had the time or inclination. Consider this and the Homer quote my mea culpa. I'll be updating over the next couple of days with tons of new work.

The first is an illustration of a factory for Decagon Devices. The factory is a representation of a mid-sized food producer that makes cookies and biscuits. Decagon's Aqualab Duo has a bunch of applications throughout the factory and this illustration is meant to...well...er, illustrate that. Follow-up illustrations with more specificity are in the works now.

This project was super fun, but I've never worked so hard in my life. Before this, the most work I put into a project was the University of Idaho campus map. By comparison, that project was a breeze. Each of the factory's areas has specific equipment that had to be illustrated individually in multiple point perspective. It ended up being an average of 10+ hours per day for 15 days in a row. Here's the result.

Cheers.

Final Display Panel

2010-10-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Here's the last of the display panels. It's a little smaller than the others (2' x 4'), but the level of detail was about the same so not much time was shaved off. The white box is an instrument housing (when you have sensors in the field the housing protects them from the elements). The first three images are concepts, the last image is the panel in its final incarnation.

Corn!

2010-10-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

Howdy,

Here's the third panel in this set (I have one additional panel to do after this one). This one is by far my favorite, which is a surprise. In some ways it makes sense: The most recent panel should be the most technically proficient. However, making corn (an extremely ubiquitous crop here in the US) interesting was a challenge. Personally, I think I did a decent job of it. The colors are rich, the composition draws the viewer's eyes around the canvas, and there's enough detail to make it worthwhile to take a second look.

As always, now that I'm at the end of this project, I'm just beginning to feel competent enough to do justice to the illustrations. But such is life. Overall, I'm really happy with the turnout.

-Noah

Trade Show Panel No. 2

2010-10-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

Finished the range this morning. Though I can't exactly articulate why, I like this one more than the rain forest panel. Maybe because it's sunnier and the rain forest panel looks like a section of the Degoba system.

Rain Forest Panel Final

2010-10-01T09:04:00.001-07:00

For the trade show panels (did I mention the final versions are 24" x 72"?), the rain forest was chosen. This was partially for visual interest and partially to show the versatility of Decagon's sensors and devices. I think it was a good choice. Here's the final. What you're looking at is around 50 hours' worth of work. Worth it, I think. Drawing at this scale provides some interesting challenges, and I'm always up for those.

This was well-received at Decagon, which was a big relief. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember and doing client work for perhaps ten years. Even after all that time, I still get anxious about showing a final piece to a client. That's probably a good thing. It prevents me from cutting any corners and typically leads to client satisfaction.

Trade Show Panels

2010-10-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Decagon has a large show coming up in October. They asked me to work up concepts for three panels, each showing a different environment against which they will display various sensors and devices. They asked for three kinds of environments: a forest, a range land and some kind of crop.

I worked out three concepts for each environment. For forests, you'll see a baobab tree forest (Madagascar), a rain forest (Brazil), and a redwood forest (California, USA). Crops: Vineyard (Italy), corn, and Rambutan (a spikey fruit grown in Malaysia and Indonesia). The range land concepts were all based on images from various locations like Wyoming, USA and Australia (I can't remember the exact locations).

You asked for it

2010-10-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

For years now, my millions of adoring fans have been screaming for a water balance technical illustration. Well, my friends, here you are.

Commissioned by Decagon Devices, Inc., this illustration shows the various movements water might make in a given area. Eventually, it will wind up in one of Decagon's catalogs.

I love this illustration. Seriously. There's something so satisfying and exciting for me about this kind of work. For me, a lowly illustrator, some of this information is new and downright baffling. When there are large amounts of information to be conveyed, the illustrations that accompany said information can be a bit dry. So not only do I enjoy being exposed to new information (I think they call that "learning"), I also love the challenge of making information like this visually exciting. Ok, maybe "exciting" is a bit of an exaggeration for most people. There won't be a warning beneath this illustration for people with pacemakers, but I think it will be interesting to people. And it was exciting to ME. So...bonus.

I was wondering the other day about my proclivity for technical illustration. It seems like most people wouldn't get this excited. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but I realized recently that I'm a second-generation technical illustrator. My grandfather worked on technical schematics and illustrations. I have one he did for Hughes Aircraft. Is that cool, or what?

Programs and People Final Illustrations

2010-10-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

The good people at "Programs and People" were nice enough to allow me to illustrate both the feature article and the cover, which I was super excited to do. As you'll see, they chose the concept of the little girl in the woods. All of the art continues with that theme.

I'm not sure if I've brought this up before, but I used to paint with oils years ago. It was the focus of my undergraduate show (large scale, photo-realistic portraits). I loved the depth of color and richness oil provided. But when I decided I needed to make money for things like rent and food, oil just wasn't practical anymore. Illustration means deadlines and oil was just too slow (and I never got the hang of acrylics). I also always had trouble creating sharp, fine lines with oil. I shifted over to watercolor, ink and colored pencil for years, but I always lamented the lack of depth.

The tablet provides the depth of color of oil paints and the fine, sharp lines and control of ink and pencil illustration. These illustrations are great examples of that versatility. And, with the increased speed, I'm able to add more detail and more visual interest to my work.

I always hope for my illustrations to accomplish a number of things:

-Please the client.
-Satisfy myself.
-Entertain and fascinate the audience.
-Create enough visual interest for people to want to look more than once.
-Be evidence that I love what I do.

I think these illustrations hit most (if not all) of those goals.

Cheers.

The Concepts Strike Back

2010-10-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

This is the last of the Programs concepts. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

Programs concepts continued

2010-10-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Programs and People Concepts

2010-10-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

This set of concepts is for "Programs and People" magazine. The feature story in the magazine this year deals with budget difficulties faced by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho, particularly with regards to the reduction in money from state and federal government. From there, the story goes on to describe the uncertainty in the programs' future.

As the story is multi-faceted, it was pitched to me from several angles. This is part of the reason there are so many concepts in this set. For the most part, though, I like to use what I call the "shotgun approach" at the outset of a project. Basically, it just means interpreting the story/project in as many ways as possible and coming up with a wide range of visuals to match.

My favorites:

-George Washington Graduate: This one is meant to depict the influence money has on various college programs and departments. The concept isn't as illustrative, but I like that it's visually very different and it was fun to put together.

-Soldiers: This concept was based on the various beleaguered parties within the college. Running a department at an institution of higher learning is difficult in the best of times. With severe budget constraints it becomes exponentially harder. These characters are based on Willie and Joe, the consistently exhausted Bill Maulden characters from his Stars and Stripes tenure.

-Little girl in the woods: Based on the idea that pursuit of alternate funding is leading the department into unexplored and unfamiliar territory, this Hansel and Gretel-esque concept I think nicely captures the emotional content of the issue.

-The Viking (or Vandal) on the desk: Also based on the "unexplored territory" vein, I like how different this one looks. Working digitally allows me so many more possibilities, which is exciting.

I'll post the concepts I liked first, then the remainder in two other sets.

We've got a piper drawn, here...

2010-09-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

These are the concepts and final version of a logo/crest for a local bagpipe band (the one at the top is the final version). The final iteration will be on a bass drum and part of a large flag to be carried into battle and parades. Ok, maybe just parades.

Sensors!

2010-09-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on illustrating every one of Decagon's sensors. I'm not sure of the exact number, but there are dozens. This is precisely the kind of meticulous, nit-picky work that I love.

I love detail. In most cases, it's the subtle variations that define people, places, and things as distinct from one another. Every human, for instance, is composed of generally the same features in the same locations. It's the tiniest of variations that make us unique. The celebration of those subtleties makes my job (and life) a joy. Cheers.

New Sensor Illustrations!

2010-09-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a month since my last post! I've been drawing like a mad man (assuming that's not a redundant statement), so I barely noticed how long it's been. I'll try to be more diligent about updating the blog, though.

First, the final version of the web art for Decagon. In the post directly preceding this one, I described the project and posted the four concepts. One was chosen and brought to what I think is its final incarnation.

I put an intense number of hours into this project (more than I care to admit), but I was looking for a very specific aesthetic and feel. Before beginning, I was aware that an illustration with this subject matter can easily stray into overly-sentimental territory. My goal was to create an illustration with rich but natural looking colors, a background that suggests a sprawling almost epic landscape, and a character who looks pensive and worried but not tortured. I was also partially patterning the piece on the styling of N.C. Wyeth (Wyeth's work was always clearly illustrative). The result, I think, was something akin to mural art. I think I met most of my goals and the illustration accomplishes what it needs to. So...thumbs up.

Decagon Concepts

2010-08-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here are four concepts for Decagon Devices, Inc. The art, which will eventually accompany some educational content on the website, is meant to illustrate the possible ramifications of a lack of data. If you're a farmer without adequate information about the amount of moisture in your soil, your bottom line could be seriously affected. These concepts are meant to portray the emotional weight such a knowledge gap might carry.

Lindy's Sports Annual Illustrations

2010-08-16T12:54:00.001-07:00

This is the latest set of illustrations for "Lindy's Sports Annual" (college basketball edition). The feature illustration accompanies an article about Kentucky coach John Calipari. Calipari is controversial figure. There's no doubt that he wins basketball games. Some people, however, don't particularly care for his methods. There are strong feelings on both sides and this illustration is meant to convey the range of those feelings.

On the right side of the illustration, John Chaney makes a cameo. Type "John Calipari John Chaney" into Youtube to find out why if you aren't already familiar with the incident.

Illustration number two goes with a remembrance of iconic UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who passed away recently. Wooden's coaching career encompasses enough wins to warrant a dictionary entry under "success" or perhaps "badassery" (wait, is that last one a word?).

The third illustration pairs up with a scoping article on the change in brackets (from 65 to 68 teams). Initially, there was talk of an increase to 96 teams. The illustration (the idea came from my editor, Shawn O' Neal) plays off the idea that filling out a bracket with 96 teams would be a daunting and ridiculous endeavor. Included among the forms on the hypothetical brackets are job and mortgage applications, a 1040 ez, and a subpoena.

Of these, my favorite is the John Calipari piece. I had the most time, which allowed me to carefully consider the subject matter and execution. I think attention to detail is one of the factors that contribute to memorable illustrations. I'll let you be the arbiter as to whether or not I managed it in this round.

-Noah

But wait, there's more!

2010-07-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Here are the main Drain Gauge illustrations...

Did someone say Drain Gauge?

2010-07-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

The second project for Decagon was a series of manual drawings for a Drain Gauge. I have an odd impulse to be apologetic about the geeking out I'm about to do, but I'll ignore that impulse. About two months ago I was invited to a field install of this device, which I found totally fascinating.

The drain gauge does pretty much what it sounds like, along with several other nifty things. When installed correctly, it measures the amount of water moving through a given sample of soil. The field install was a bit like watching a cooking show (which I also love) in that I was able to witness the entire process from start to finish, step by step. Something about watching a progression like that has always been interesting to me.

Along with the functions of the device, the physicality of the device is also cool. It has a surprising number of components of various colors, textures, and sizes, which made it fun to draw. On top of all that, I learned about the product and the process. Yet another example of illustration introducing me to new experiences and arenas. So, to recap: Installation=Interesting and fun. Device=Interesting and fun to draw. Learning=Exciting. Entire process=Sweet. (If this language is a little too scientific, I apologize.)

So, here she is...

Second Set

2010-07-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

Double Header

2010-07-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

Howdy!

The two most recent projects on which I've been working for the past month or so have been pretty intense, which partially accounts for the delay since the last set of posts. Am I off the hook?

What follows is a double header of technical drawings for Decagon Devices, Inc. The first was a series of visual solutions for a set of somewhat abstract concepts. By "abstract" I mean that many of the concepts have no physical incarnation (at least, not one that can be seen with the naked eye), and therein lay the challenge. These included wireless communication, the internet, and device pairing.

While the illustrations themselves were relatively straightforward, some of the concepts were pretty hard (translation: fun). I'll post this project first (it will have to be in two sets, though).

Whoops

2010-07-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

This illustration (for the Boise Weekly) was from a couple months back. Guess it must have been lost in the shuffle.

Howdy Howdy

2010-07-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I've been working on (and continue to work on) some big projects (one for "Lindy's" and a couple for Decagon), but I won't be able to post them for a little while. In the meantime, here's an illustration that was supposed to run in "The Boise Weekly". The story was going to be about emerging alternative energy projects in Idaho (in which cows play a significant fiduciary role). Unfortunately the story was canned, so here's the decommissioned illustration about 3/4 of the way finished.

Ink and Paint

Snowville Run!!!

Baseball Illustrations

Technical Illustrations

Art Auction Final!

Art Installation Concept

Thank You Cards

Choral Society Winter Ad

Art Auction

CCI

Fall Posters

Irreduceable Complexity

Origin of the specious

Choral Concert Posters

Technical Animation

Programs 2: Die Harder

Programs

Decagon: SDI

Palouse Choral Society Postcards

Breakfast Club Menu

Lindy's Round 2

Process Photos

Lindy's Basketball

PagePipe elements

New Splash Screen

Recycling Process

Don't call it a comeback...

Lysimeter Layouts: Return of the Thing

Tell me lys, tell me sweet little lys...

Tainted Love

Stop Gap

Seems Fair

PCS Logo Revisions

PCS Initials

They say it's next to godliness

RedeSign

Blog Logo Final

Sample Page

B-Logo

LCRI revisions

Whoops.

DCK TKO!

Death Cap Continue!

Death Cap Roller Derby Logo!

Violent Gems logo final!

Beat it.

LCRI, part deaux....

Re: Cycling

Isn't it icon-ic?

You're wondering who I am...

Roller Derby!

Historical Society Logo Concepts

Historical Society Concepts

Baby, I'm amazed

Tattoo-ine

The Final Countdown!!!!!

More fun than a barrel full of monkeys!

Go Go Gadget Logo!

Landscapes!

More Logos!

Logo Work

Video Scene

Landscape Concept

Private Commission Number 2

Private Commission

From the Sketchbook

And now for something completely different...

Mea Culpa

Lindy's Baseball!

As promised...

Ancillary Illustrations

Portrait

Food Safety Icons

More Video Drawlins'

Aqualab Video Illustrations

Splish Splash Screen

It's a Wonderful Card!

Decagon's Christmas Card

Extra sensor perception

The Factory (non-Warhol)