Creature from the Deep

Every year Wichita has its Riverfest (used to be in May now it is June) Some year the design is better than others. This year the design is very cute and appealing towards parents with children, which I think is probably the largest audience who attened this social event. The design is cute and well-done, but maybe not quite fitting with a midwest "riverfest". My only complaint is that the facial expression as well as the "boat hat" makes the octopus a little too young.

Considering last year's rooster. This design is more effective and beautiful on soooo many levels: color, theme, style, and all-around fun. I will definitely be buying a button this year!

But the best part of riverfest might be: https://www.facebook.com/PeopleofRiverfest

Best of Valentines

I do not celebrate Valentine's Day, but there are some designs that are trending this season that I admire.

1. Black Suarez The illustration is fun, and the humor is cute 2. Sandra Blikas A little on the gross side, but I can admire that for this saccharine holiday  3. Kristie Arthur The hand type feels unique and personal and the saying is sweet (I can identify with the love of cupcakes, but still loving Tyler more!)  4. Wit & Whistle This line of valentine cards border on grotesque and humor. I loved them all, but this zombie was my favorite  5. Fancifone narwals are so cute!

Inspirational Heros

I have had many "heroes" in my childhood that have brought me on the path. One being Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (which is why I love Florence and the Machine they have a trippy Alice quality. The imagiative characters have struck-a-cord with society for ages.

The wood engraved illustrations that are some of the most prolific illustrations of that style today. These were provided by John Tenniel. Originally the illustrations were created by Lewis Carroll himself, but then turned to Tenniel for his expertise. Together these two created my favorite children's book with striking characters that spark the imagination. That will inspire me for a lifetime.

Once color has been added to the story of Alice it was forever the vibrancy of "wonderland".

1) Disney's Alice in Wonderland (2010). This film was directed by another of my favorite inspirations: Tim Burton. The combination of his creativity and the inspiration of Alice created a visually dazzling film.

 

2) Design Army: Designs for the Washington Ballet. The beautiful movements of the performers, the imaginative outfits, and the intriguing typography is a beautiful dream down the rabbit hole.

 

3) My Design: This was the front of the card I sent out for my bridal shower. It is a screen print for the Alice in Wonderland themed bridal shower my aunts gave me.

4) Engraved Woodblock Print: One of the original engravings by John Tenniel. Alice at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

5) Gwen Stefani's What You Waiting For?: Another one of my inspirational heros. It is interesting that some of my heroes have chosen Alice to find the burst of creativity.

6) My copy of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. This a library bound copy with gold leaf and embossed cover. These extra elements make this book feel special and long lasting.

7) The Chesire Cat from Disney's Alic in Wonderland (1951). Easily a Disney classic. The Chesire cat always scared me as a child, but now he is a eerie, yet charming character.

Illustrations in Process

I am still in the first 3 weeks of resolution season, and 40% of us who make resolutions will drop out by 3 weeks. I am still going strong (for now). I have mostly stuck to drawing with pencil and pen, but in the coming weeks hope to bring and color and maybe some computer drawings. (I have done a little bit with color on my ipad. I have been enjoying trying out different sketching apps for iPad). Staying passionate becomes increasingly difficult as work picks up again and my house just seems to be falling apart. "When it Rains it Pours".

 I may be struggling to create my own personal work, but luckily work has provided some suprises with some projects that need some "affordable" illustration.

Monster Mash

This time of year always gets of thinking of the creatures that go bump in the night, but I have always had a soft-spot for adorable monsters. These creative illustrators have made monsters the cool kids you want to hang out with, and I love the vibrancy and texture.

Anna Johnstone

WOTTO

Tad Carpenter

Chad Lesch

Unknown: if you know please let me know

Taking Inspiration from Others

Last week I attended an AIGA event, and the above image is just a sample of one of my spreads during the speaker Tad Carpenter. Plus, I threw in some of his illustrated buttons, did you know how much I love buttons? Being introverted it is an acheivement to go to an event where there will be tons of people I don't know. Going to public events takes a lot of my energy. I am no where near voluntarily enter the discussion, but it is baby steps.

Tad Carpenter is very passionate about his work, and that is infectious. Love What You Do. Shit Happens. Have Passion Projects. Exercise. Take Risks.

I have a hard time accepting any of those qualities, which is maybe why I have been so bummed out lately. Doing a complete 360 is out of the question, but maybe I can incorporate some of these and the rest will follow. I got to accept that for my day job sometimes my work will suck, but if I take the time to take on passion projects will let me know the joy of being in love with my work again. Something else that would lift my endorphin levels is exercise. It has nothing to do with design, it would just be good for me. Taking Risks? Now that is something that has never been easy for me. I will probably put that off, and save to take some more secured risk (is that a real thing)? Risk is scary, but as Tad said there is never a good time—you just have to take the leap.

Making a Mark

With my efforts to improve my illustration skills I have been thinking more about mark making tools. My weapon of chose is usually the nearest pen or sharpie lying around. They are good enough tools, but do not allow for much variation in line width or my illustration characteristics. Different tools that have some interesting qualities to add to my pen drawings:

1. Watercolor: one of the easiest marking tools to add, since I have a watercolor set from my grandmother and some brushes that I can begin to dabble with this fluid form.
   
2. India Ink: this thick black ink was a great tool for my serigraphy prints in school, because its light-fast qualities. I still have some lying around. Similar to watercolors is that this ink can be very fluid, but you can use it with a calligraphy pen for more control.
   
3. Potato Printing: I have always wanted to try this technique. I have all the tools I need for this, but have always been hesitant to waste these delicious spuds on something other than food. But the texture these prints can supply would be worth the risk. Definitely it is on my must try-list.
   

Do you have any favorite techniques you like to use?
Photo from Oh Happy Day!

Wonder of Pathfinder

In the past year I have discovered the wonder of the pathfinder tool. I can not pin point when I discovered how wonderful it was, but I am sure I found it by accident. It typically saves me at 3 steps compared to what I used to do before.Software is constantly changing (thanks Adobe for my empty wallet). Pathfinder tool enables to me to create unique vector illustrations. I included a quick illustration that uses my favorite tool:

Favorite Videos

Here are some of my creative videos that I have seen lately:


Doc to Dock "SOS: Save Our Supplies" from Shilo on Vimeo.



Louise Attaque - Du monde tout autour from ChezEddy on Vimeo.



A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

BIG Grownup Experiences

I have some big grownup experiences coming up in this next month. I am going to try to keep this blog going even as the personal to do list grows exponentially. Maybe I will be able to share photos of the exciting new things ahead. Until then:

I have been working another card/print. Chevron pattern is huge right now. I see a lot of crisp zigzags filling the blogosphere. Using linoleum blocks enabled me to get a little grungy and organic. Of course each one is hand printed by me! this time I used turquoise ink.

STRESS

"Wise men should not click pens"

Vector Illustration

My illustration for this week is a little doodle of Wisconsin. I did not set out to make it  about Wisconsin. I had started with the sky then the hills. It felt like it needed a cow, and cows make me think of Wisconsin. I started on computer, though I would prefer to start with a sketchbook, then scanning, then vector work on the computer.

Each project has its own process. What is nice about non-work work is that I don't need to be as strict in my discipline. I do what I feel like.

Linoleum Illustration

For this month's illustration I went the analog route. I freehand cut a linoleum block and made a simple nesting doll stamp, that I have put on a few cards. If you would like one (email me your address, and I will send one to you!) I love way the lines become thick textured lines from the way the knife pulls at the linoleum (if you are having trouble carving you can always use a hair dryer or iron it heat it up, then it carves like butter!)

Illustration Aspirations

I am trying to work through my goals, and someday I want them to lead me to a place that has me sketching and creating like this:


our creative process/. 01 from Casey Warren | MINDCASTLE on Vimeo.

Goals: A Formal Announcement

Not too long ago I answered a question posed by GeneralOverachiever about managing creativity. I talked some big talk, but very little commitment. Lists and sketchbooks help me define my goals, but I have discovered that they to not inspire me to complete the work I have set out to do.  I am more prone to do something if I inform others of my goals. The thought that others could hold me accountable, makes it easier to force myself do it. I believe all of these goals will help me to be a better designer, employee, blogger, and person. 

_____________________________________________________________

 LIST OF GOALS

_____________________________________________________________

YEARLY:  Go or do one thing out of the norm or at least out of WICHITA.

BI-ANNUALLY: Update my website (at a minimum)

MONTHLY:  Have a food adventure in the kitchen.

WEEKLY:  Create an illustration every week. Whether simple or small I need to create something for myself every week.

EVERY TWO DAYS: Continue to post every other day, or sometimes more often!

DAILY:  Do something active and engaging every day.

CONSTANT VIGILANCE: I want to constantly observe and engage in typography around me, and particularly the typography I use and create.

Let's check back in one year and see if I have accomplished my goals! Do you have any goals you are hoping to attain in the near future?

Hitachino Nest

I am not a beer drinker, my brother would not let me have it anyway, but I love label design on alcohol. This particular beer has a fun owl, which has a modern woodblock feel to it.

Their different beer varieties have this sixties-ish type which is a bet odd to me, but what I love is their color choice and there logo/icon. It reproduces well large and small. The illustration has whimsy and texture. It's round shape fits well on the bottle cap.

Iconography

An icon is simply: a representation or if you want to ad to it: a representation that stands for its object. Iconography is becoming more entrenched in our modern visual culture. We see icons on the apps on our phones, street signs, and even in our browsers.

I recently designed the new website, and we decided to use iconography for the navigation. It was challenging, yet fun to come up with icons to use for this site. Icons are almost simplified logos. A logo acts as an icon for a business, but usually more meaning is involved versus an icon. Icons are typically made as simple as possible, because they are used small and need to be universally understood. Icons were some of the first art made by humans. Simple figures that stood for people, weapons, and animals. A way of recording culture. How we have created the symbols has changed through the centuries. We began with simple cave paintings, added color, then used more developed tools for etchings and other art making techniques at styles, and now we have computers and the cellphone has really sparked a new need for unique yet universal icons .

We need unique icons for the personality, customization, and style that we crave as a way of expression. Companies needs the uniqueness for brand identity. Universal icons are needed become a global society. Icons need to relate across cultures and languages. Because we have this rich history in iconography there are still many styles and techniques used for making icons, but there has been a return to simple illustrations, due to the nature of cellphones. The icons used on cellphones (smart and not so smart) and it is difficult to read an illustrious icon because the detail will be lost in small sizes. App icons help us identify the program we want to use and assist us in a quicker many than we would be able to with words.

I encourage you to observe the world around you this week and identify the icons around you, and make some icons of your own to some how help facilitate your life in some manner.

Emotional Wine

While looking at Lippincott Branding Agency I found this fun brand: wine that loves. I do not drink wine, but I enjoy the concept of this brand. It has simple wine pairings for each wine, and a fun graphic to guide you to the best pairing choices. The illustrations are simple, yet clearly define what your wine choice should be for your meal. Each illustration is limited to two colors (one of the being the bottle) and the red color is the brands identifying heart. The third color is the part of the branding color that helps define that type of wine, so whether you want to use the illustration or color you can quickly pick the right one. The organic shape of the thought bubble is a modern and whimsical approach, that fits the user-friendly feel of this brand. I have not visited this wine in a store, yet, but if I were ever in need of hosting a dinner party I would reach for this first. Wine pairings have always been a challenge (from what I understand from tv and friends), and this just simplifies the whole ordeal.

Monster Mash

These were the monster creations I came up with on the last week. I should continue to work on my illustration skills.