Dr. Gonzo's Wild Beaver Rub

Here's another wacky/fun project! "Dr. Gonzo," of Dr. Gonzo's Uncommon Condiments, Worcester, Ma., (click title of this post for a link to his site) contacted me to do a tee-shirt design to celebrate the release of another one of his uncommon condiments. In this case, he'd been developing something called a "Wild Beaver Rub" and wanted some art that might also make sense as a product label. For some reason, I figured he wanted something that straddled the line between tasteful and tawdry, which people wouldn't be ashamed to wear around town. Below are some examples of things I sketched out for him before arriving at what we ultimately used:







As you can see, I wasn't quite sure which one of these would hit the right note for this client. But then again, my process for a project like this is seldom a straight shot. Simple graphic? Cartoon? Detailed pen & ink? What's the printing process involve, how detailed can you get, anyway? I just showed the good doctor everything and let his apparent reaction decide a winner. That, infused with the good sense of humor of my friend, Derek Ring (a talented illustrator also from Worcester), plus Dr. Gonzo's original tagline, "Every wild beaver needs a good rub," We wound up with this for a final:


I think it looks pretty good! Currently working towards (eventually) doing one of the other sketches as a limited edition print, but these tee-shirts are currently available at Dr. Gonzo's Spicy Comestible Emporium, located on Main St., Worcester, not too far from the Armsby Abbey.

Speaking of the Armsby Abbey, and to wrap up this post, here's a promotional illustration I did for them prior to their opening. A drawing selected from their primary round of sketches (pats self on back).


-Kung Fu Mike