Sunday Sketchbook

Yo,
I haven't done one of these in a while, but I was all like "Damn son! You need to do some more Sunday Sketchbook and shit." So, after that compelling argument, I was ready to go. Here is some stuff I sketched up last night. It may or may not be related to the embroidery book I bought yesterday.

I've been drawing these 2 little radish guys for a while now. Anyway, enjoy!

The Most Interesting Cobra in the World

This is the story of the most badass reptile that has ever lived. He is the summit of masculinity and his cold-blooded heart will give any warm-blooded honeydip hot pants. Eventually he will be a t-shirt design or something, maybe a patch.

A little backstory:

I was in a meeting and we were discussing opposites. It's not really important why. For instance, someone is either a salad eater or a buffet buster. A nice guy or an asshole. An elephant or a mouse. We were trying to decide what the opposite of "shy" would be when one of my coworkers immediately shouts out "stunt cobra!"

"Sure...wait what!?" I respond.

"Stunt cobra" he says, very matter-of-factly.

I bust out laughing at the absurd sincerity in this response.

Later, in another meeting, I began to imagine what this studly reptile would look like. As a goof, I showed it to the guys from the earlier meeting. They loved it, and I was rewarded with some of that sought-after attention that I crave.

Version one of Stunt Cobra

While I liked S.C. 1.0, I concluded that he was too awkward and needed an image overhaul. He was a little too Michael Cera and not enough Mario Van Peebles (more opposites).
Prancing Cera has no effect on Moto-Peebles, who continues his journey on the highway to ladies' hearts.

I returned to my sketchbook and a few minutes later the preliminary sketch for S.C. 2.0 was born in all its Patriotism-draped-in-leather glory.

S.C 2.0 ready to whoop some ass.

Keep on the lookout for S.C. on the 'hat in the near future!

Award Season is Rough

Yo YO!

So it is like 4 in the AM and I have class in a few hours. I realize that I haven't been posting at my usual rate lately but their is good reason for that, and that reason is award season. Basically there are several award shows for the creative industry (that's design and advertising mostly) and these award shows have student categories for people like me to make a name for ourselves. So I have been working my ass off to enter as much stuff as possible while also keeping up with my normal course-load (which coincidentally is at an all time ridiculous high). All of these things translate into less time to post on the blog.

"But, Sean, That sucks ass!"

Yes, yes it does, and for my absence I apologize. I have so much stuff that I could show you guys but, sadly if I did, I would be disqualified from the competitions (can't show anything until judging is over). But I can show you some snippets of what I am doing.

Here is a little illustration I am doing for a poster campaign. I will show you the final product when I am allowed to (along with a shit-ton of other stuff).

Enjoy.

Banner Retrospective

Hey guys, I hope that you like the new banner. After I put it up, I realized that I should put all the banners I've done together in one post so you could see them all. So here goes.

Ahh, the first banner. An illustration collage that simultaneously demonstrates the randomness of my characters and my ignorance of standard web banner sizes.* The second banner is much cleaner, computer-y, and (dare I say) feminine? This marks my exploration into designing across multiple software platforms (in this case photoshop and illustrator). "Get Some" is the first of many experiments that I did with optical illusions. It eventually grew into a cover I did for my publications class. The forgotten mascot of the Daily Hat starred in this banner that also draws influence from kitschy 60's design patterns. I don't think he is dead quite yet, merely lying dormant at the bottom of the ocean a la Godzilla. Mechanical shark is a testament to the inner workings of the blog itself. Sleek and deadly on the outside, confusing and ripe with whirs and buzzes on the inside. Shiny in both sides. Notice now that I am fully aware of correct banner sizes.

While the evolution of the banner is perhaps not the most interesting material for a post ever conceived, it does feel a bit like those annoying clip shows that sitcoms do when the want to take a week off, I do think that the similarities and differences they exhibit are of some note. Kinda of a mini time capsule of the blog over it's first year of existence. Here is to another successful year. After all, it's all about you guys. Otherwise I am just shouting into the internet, which is pathetic.

*actually this was the second banner. The first banner was only the gentleman with his tongue out and was even more egregiously mis-sized.

Sunday Sketchbook

HI! It's time for some Sunday Sketchbook. Most of this stuff was pulled from an older sketchbook of mine from last year. So 2009. Enjoy.

Sunday Sketchbook

Hey guys!
School started back this week and already I am super-busy, which is crazy and probably means that I will be even busier next week and so on. But that isn't gonna stop me from updating this blog by golly! I mean, where else would I be able to use the phrase "by golly" without massive amounts of ridicule? Exactly!

Anyway, I figured I would post some stuff outta my sketchbook. Just a few random pieces. I didn't spend too much time on any of them and they don't even really have any relevance to a greater project or concept. Just drawing for the sake of it. Hope you enjoy it. If you don't keep it to yourself!

Quick Update

YO, YO, YO! SUP, SUP, SUP?

This will probably be my last update until this qtr is over (next Tuesday around 10pm), so I am gonna try and give you guys a few things to chew on.

First, I thought I would let you guys know that the Hohner ads that I put up about a month or so ago won a few awards at school, one of them being student choice for art direction. I did pretty well, I won 4 awards in three different categories (Advertising, Art Direction, Illustration, Design). That isn't good enough, though, I am gonna go balls out next quarter and hopefully get some good news to share with the unwashed internet masses (is that smell me?).

Next, I got an update on the dummies illustrations on the post right below this one. If you recall they are for my publications class. Here is the watercolored version of them.

Next, I have some cool retro comics that I drew for your viewing pleasure. They are for my brand extensions class. The lines were written by Jeff Scardino, the strapping Italian fellow responsible for the Hohner ad copy. I will reveal later what context these fit into; for now just enjoy them for what they are (random-as-shit).

Hmmmm, I am sitting here trying to think of some other stuff I can show you. Oh yeah! I got some type portraits of Dave Eggers that I did for my publications class. You wanna see em?

::waits::

OK! These are for a feature article I did where readers got to ask Eggers questions. The portraits are made up of all the questions that are asked in the article (yes, the article does exist and no, I did not write it nor did I speak to Eggers).

Ok, well that is a decent amount of original stuff, so how about an embarrassing little factoid about yours truly? Here it goes: I got the new Shakira CD and I think it is awesome. The video for She Wolf is great too. I know, I was surprised too, but I can't help the way I feel. Anyway, check it out. At the very least it will force you to re-evaluate what you think about me.

Phew! That quick update turned into one of the longest posts I've done in a while. Cool. See ya.

Dummies!

YO! Final 2 weeks of this quarter means a few things: less sleep, more Red Bull (it's an inverse relationship), lots of work getting done, and that the break is coming soon! Here are some little guys that I drew for a magazine spread I am working on. I call 'em dummies. Will post final spread when I finish it.

Oh yeah, leave some comments. I mean, if you want to. *nudge, nudge* You don't have to...but it'd be cool if you did.

Quick Sketch

Sorry guys, I've been SUPER busy lately. Here is a quick sketch I did in class (instead of taking notes :/ ). Enjoy!

A peek into my sketchbook

I opened up one of my older sketchbooks today, looking for something I could put on here. I've been really busy so far with the new quarter at school, and it doesn't appear that there is any respite in sight (le sigh). So I figured I would give you guys a little peek into my sketchbook. I don't spend too much time on anything in it, so be kind. This sketch is of Chairman Mao. I have a few compositions like these where I take portraits of famous dictators and mess with them a little. Nothing too serious; it's all fun and games! Enjoy.

Stickers by Me

I decided that in order to properly pimp my blog, I should make some stickers. So I did. So far I have 3. I love the retro feel that they have.

Hope you like em!

Name my Mascot!!

So for a while now, I have wanted to take my interest in character design to the next level and actually make a 3-dimensional model of one of my characters. Well, I decided that my break from school would be a perfect time for me to undertake this project! And I am going to keep you guys updated! How lucky are you?

I started with a design, I tried to keep it simple since it is my first time. Below is my first little sketch that I did. Basically it is a sleepy monster who wanders around in a kind of zombie-state.

After I was satisfied with the character, I put it into illustrator and made a vector illustration. I also did a little bit of coloring and shading in photoshop.

The next step is to make a character design sheet that includes front, back, side and three-quarters view. Then I gotta make an intial model and then a mold. I'll keep you guys updated.

Oh yeah! I need a name for this little monster. Leave a name in the comments section with a short explanation if you like. If I choose your name, then I will give you one of the vinyl versions of this guy that I make (they are gonna be sweet and very official) for free!

HI!!!

I hope there are still a few people that check the hat for updates. I know I haven't updated in about 3 week (geez!), and I'm going to blame it all on school. Well, school is over (for now) and I have a TON of stuff that I am planning on putting up here in the next few days so LOOK OUT! I've got a pretty wide range of stuff that I am going to post, from simple illustrations to packaging, to and entire branded campaign. So keep your eyes peeled (that saying is disgustin btw) and your face intact, because hopefully my sweet ass design skills will melt it off! Wishful thinking probably, but you never know.

These are illustrations I did for an art director at school. They are for a company called "One Laptop One Child" that gives poor children in africa laptops so they can get on the internets and waste time like you and I. Okay, they probably give them laptops for educational purposes. Anyhow the ads came out really well and props to Lauren Boyd and Michael Williams for the art director and copy(respectively). I hope you like them!

I love character design and had a lot of fun doing these. So if anyone needs any illustrations, holler at me!

More school previews

In our Branding class, I have been working on branding my own non-profit that is geared towards teenagers. Instead of taking an existing idea, I decided that I would create my own non-profit (called homebase) and build it from the ground up. The project takes up the entire quarter and In 1 month, I will have to present to the class and eventually in my panel review.

Homebase is all about encouraging creative expression and growth. I wanted to come up with an image and style that I could carry throughout the entire presentation and all of my deliverables that would convey creative growth. Below is a sketch of what I have come up with, more to come later....

Brian Eno & David Byrne poster

One of the assignments in my illustration class is to make a poster. It could really be about anything, but I chose to do a concert poster for Brian Eno & David Byrne. If you don't know who these guys are click here. It isn't quite done (probably about 85%), but I thought that I would put a little preview.

I used a special technique for this poster, as we were only allowed 3 colors (with black counting as a color). My 3: orange, blue, and black. In order to get more colors, I decided to use a dot matrix overlay technique (I doubt I am the first to do this but I did come up with it independently). Basically I used squares composed of different densities of dots to get multiple values out of each color. When I overlay and print the different colors on top of each other,new colors (like the brown in the bear which is the blue and orange) are created. I tiled the squares over my image and got rid of the excess dots until I had achieved the desired shape. Pretty cool stuff.

This process also gives a modern shout-out to old letterpress printing styles and screen printing. I like old school.

Check out my bear:

JAH!

So I am going to try and post more often. This does not, however, mean that the quality of my posts (or lack thereof) is going to decline (or improve?). It just means that I am going to be working a little harder. I think that I have struck a pretty good balance of original content, random web-finds, and opinion posts. This means that the type of content will not change, but the amount of it will increase. All of this at no charge to you! I mean, what a deal, right?

Below is a pencil drawing of Bob Marley that I did a while back. It probably took about 6 hours to complete (give or take). Enjoy.

Typecon 2009

Yesterday concluded my 1 week long adventure at Typecon 2009, and boy, are my stems tired!* I learned a lot about type, listened to a bunch of important typophiles and designers speak, and even met a few of them! Oh yeah, not to mention all the free stuff I got! I learned a few things this week:

1. I love typography, but not necessarily typeface design— I just do not have the patience for it.
2. I want a letterpress— old skool craft that yields amazing results!
3. Learning CSS and HTML is integral— gotta stay ahead of the curve.
4. My computer is a noisy mess— okay, I already knew this (:P).

So, to commemorate my type-journey, I am going to share some self portraits that I made out of type. One is hand-drawn and one is a vector illustration. ENJOY!




*Man, type jokes are so lame that they are awesome! Wanna hear another one? OKAY!

I made this one up myself:
What did the kinky type designer get his wife to do to his penis?




He letterpress it! (DRUMS)

little buddy

Toof is a demented little tooth-fairy-esque character who preaches good dental hygiene and mayhem. He has a crew of evil bunnies that help him with his nefarious deeds. I would love to eventually sculpt this little guy (and his friends)!

Welcome BACK!

So for the past week my computer has been messing up and I haven't been able to make new posts! Needless to say I was quite perturbed by this, but all is well now so HAZAA! You also may notice some additions to the original artwork that I post on here. Well after talking to a few teachers and designers who would know, I have decided that I need to protect my intellectual property.

I actually hate having to put all that text on my pretty pictures, but my hand has been forced since little thieves feel the need to take other people's shit. Which is something that REALLY pisses me off (or "grinds my gears" as it were). 

FUCK PEOPLE WHO STEAL OTHER PEOPLE'S IDEAS!!!! 

Anyway, here is another character I drew recently. Inspiration was the RHCP song. 

character sketch

Drew this little guy in class today. Yeah, he has a little anime-hair thing goin' on. What can I say, I'm a nerd!