Monthly Archives: April 2011

Friday Nights

Posted on April 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

While most of my days are spent drawing in my home studio, some nights of the week I am somewhere else entirely: behind a bar.

Becoming a full-time freelance Creative-of-Any-Type does not happen over night.  It requires endless hours of hard work while looking far ahead to that tiny light at the end of the tunnel.  For me, reality dictates that I work another job to pay the bills, so I tend bar part-time.

I have been in the service industry for 6 years, and bartending for over 3.  I started while I was in college as a full-time student.  And let me tell you:  it has been the best part-time job EVER.

As with most jobs, there are plenty of downsides: you kiiiiiinda turn into a vampire (my hours are crazy), and sometimes humanity can really disappoint you with their behaviors whilst drinking in public.

But the bottom line is the benefits far outweigh the downfalls.  For one, the money is great.  Not just good, but great.  I work a few nights a week, and the rest of the time I can sit at my desk and dream fantastic Unicorn dreams and draw to my heart’s content.

Secondly, working with the public allows me to have some very important social interaction.  This is possibly just as important as the money part, because as a freelance artist, a great deal of your time is spent sitting at a desk.  Alone.  Talking to…….no one.  Working in the service industry really allows you to develop that part of your personality called “Gregarious” and prevents the onset of “Social Awkwardness”.

So, I’m off to work tonight.  And next time you’re out (especially in a town like this, where you can’t throw a rock without hitting a creative type), chances are the person who just dropped your plate of food is probably in the same boat I am: eyes fixated on a certain vision, and dreamin’ a dream.

Have a great weekend!

Oh, and on a side note guys – as a result of the amazing response I received on my 90′s Hand-Lettering post, this article is peppered with a few word pictures of my own.  Thanks for all the great comments, and to WordPress for featuring my article on Freshly Pressed.

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Warming Up, Dandy Style

Posted on April 27, 2011 | 2 Comments

Today I literally tore myself away from doing odds and ends / building crap from Ikea / re-arranging the same furniture over and over in the new Eagle & Wolf headquarters and forced myself to draw.  It has felt like ages.  Luckily, my right hand was still familiar with the feel of a pencil, and nimbly responded to my brain commands.

I began at a sort of loss, so I did something easy and drew an object in front of me.  The lucky victim was my new Rubber Plant.

Observational drawings are a good way to kick things off if you’re feeling a bit rusty.  Once I completed this doodle, I moved on to bigger paper and bigger dreams.

As with my Panda Bear sketch, I’ve been dabbling in new illustration territory.  Lately my drawings have been simply pencil and watercolor, and sans my beloved messy charcoals and ink pens.  I gotta admit guys, I’m enjoying this new style immensely.

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Posted in Illustration, Sketchbook

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90′s Hand-Lettering

Posted on April 25, 2011 | 71 Comments

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This Do-It-Yourself Lettering Book has been in my possession since the early 90′s.  While I wouldn’t call myself a type-enthusiast, this book was pretty near and dear to my heart, since it really fostered my love for hand-lettering.  I referenced it constantly for school projects and my own pre-teen doodling.

Anyone who attended school can relate.  Downtime (or, you know, regular class time) was spent drawing in notebooks, on classroom boards, scribbling in notes to friends.  I mean, how many times did I draw this “S”?

It was always the same: Start with 6 lines.

Draw the diagonal connecting lines.

Cap off the top and bottom.

Close the open ends, and viola!

And if you’re real fancy, you make it 3-dimensional.

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No notebook doodling would be complete without writing your own name a billion times.  Classic styles included Bubble Lettering:

And Block Lettering:

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The Lettering Book is special in its simplicity.  Outside of the instructional copy and a few grids, the entire book is hand-drawn.  This is before “The Internets” and before affordable software programs like Adobe Illustrator.  It covers all the basics:

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Your basic toolbox.

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Page layouts.

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Basic lettering treatments.

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Creative Lettering.

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Lettering themes for the entire alphabet.

But my fave part of the whole book is the section on Word Pictures.  I probably spent the most time copying these examples and creating some of my own.

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And here it is – the ultimate page of the Lettering Book: word pictures of (mostly) junk food!  Ahhhh….true love.

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Which really makes me want to Hand-Make a sandwich.  Isn’t this book awesome?

Til next time,

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Posted in Illustration, Inspiration

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Setting Up Shop

Posted on April 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Things are taking shape in the cavernous room we have deemed “The Studio”.  In addition to the other work desks, Jake and I adopted a nice behemoth of a work table.  Moving it was like carrying a Dodge Neon up a couple long sets of stairs.  I hope the table likes its new home, cause there is no way we are moving it again.

Not much drawing in this neck of the woods.  Lately my thoughts have been filled with infused liquor recipes and tiny finger sammies for an upcoming home celebration.  No need to fret though – doodling shall commence soon.

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Sketchbook: April Drink & Draw

Posted on April 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

At yesterday’s Drink & Draw, I made my drawings with pencil, then added watercolor this afternoon.  Click on the images to enlarge them to their full-size glory.

If you missed the event, no worries dudes – gift packs are still available, and we’ll bring them to next month’s Drink & Draw.  Hopefully by that time we will be able to sit in the semi-warmth of that glowing ball they call “The Sun”.

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We have yet to make the big move, but Jake and I have been steadily dragging things over to the new place.  Check out the studio, it’s redonkulously big!!

It’s all in shambles now, but we are looking forward to making this a full-fledged drawing-and-design factory.

Til next time!

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Stripey Duds

Posted on April 11, 2011 | 1 Comment

Ahhh….the ol’ Krueger striped sweater.

Here’s my own.  It’s a bit more cheery.

I felt it worthy of a doodle.

Currently, most of my art supplies are packed.  They are anxiously waiting, practically in a frenzy of wait, for the move to the new house.  Oh wait – that’s me.

And just a quick reminder, April’s Drink & Draw event is THIS Wednesday!  Come doodle your brains out, win some free art supplies, slurp on a nice selection of beer.

See ya there!

 

 

 

 

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Isobel’s Clubhouse: The Development of a Logo

Posted on April 8, 2011 | 2 Comments

 

Last month, when Jake asked me if I would collaborate with him on a new project, I accepted without hesitation.  The job would entail creating the logo for a new community center opening downtown, in the Pearl District, specifically for a clubhouse open to children and adults alike.  The project would be our first very public design work as Eagle & Wolf.

The reason why Jake tapped me for the job is because our client, a non-profit, wanted the logo to be a spunky little girl.  You need not say more!  DONE AND DONE!

So, who is Isobel?

Isobel Faith Zimmerman is the daughter of an Oregon Pioneer Family.  That’s right.  Old school.  After she passed in 1992, her family home became a historical site in Oregon.  At Isobel’s request, it has been turned into a museum.  In addition, it was at her bequest that a community center be opened in the River District.

The logo we created is a true blend of traditional techniques and modern design.  For my part, every drawing was created on paper, while Jake took the scanned drawings and enhanced them digitally.

To begin, I just started drawing different faces.  They wanted an energetic pioneer girl, a tomboy who wasn’t afraid to play in the mud.

I drew dozens of faces, many of them not pictured here.   Then Jake and I began to narrow them down and refine.  I made a couple of ink comps.

We realized that while some of the characteristics were in the right direction, there just wasn’t the energy we were looking for.  I really wanted to nail the exuberance of a 5-year-old, yelling out the words “Isobel’s Clubhouse!!”.

So I slightly changed direction.

And then more ink comps:

There!  That one on the bottom!  That was our girl.

Jake took the drawing and added some type face for the initial logo.  Even part of the type face was hand-drawn.

And later, color was added and the logo was refined one more time.  Here is the final version:

 

We are very excited to be a part of this project, and I want to thank everyone who worked with us to make it happen.  Isobel’s Clubhouse will officially open in the Ramona Apartments May 2, 2011, with a launch party being held at the center on Saturday, May 14th.  For more information, visit their site.

 

 

 

 

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Blobs Have Feelings, Too

Posted on April 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Currently, my house is in complete chaos.  Eagle & Wolf offices are moving to another house, and we are very excited!  In addition to having a bigger home studio, I’ll finally have a place to store my GIANT pieces of art, and a garage to park our beloved vintage motorbikes.

While rummaging and packing, I re-discovered these old gems from a community college art class.

“Individuality”

The assignment was something like, “choose four words from this list and illustrate them”.  What better subject matter than a bunch of blobbys (and one block)??

“Trapped”

“Opposition”

“Domination”

Look for an inside peek of our new studio in the next couple weeks.  I must now return to rummaging.

 

 

 


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Panda Bear / “Look Ma – No Black!”

Posted on April 5, 2011 | 2 Comments

I made this drawing yesterday evening while listening to the new Panda Bear album, Tomboy.

It’s a bit of a departure from my usual style – softer, more loose, and no black.  I laid watercolor directly over pencil lines and used brown for the darker hues.  More children’s-booky, in my opinion.

I really wanted to loop the first and last letters around her eyes, so as a result I know it reads more like “P and A” than Panda!  In a do-over circumstance, I might play with that type more.

You can hear the whole album for free at NPR.org, as well as a DJ set by Noah Lennox, aka, Panda Bear, himself.  Check out the new album, Tomboy, here.

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