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
So far, so good? I thought this one was nice as a digital fake of what appears to be a double-exposure. While it's kind of interesting, I still have issues with it. It somewhat gives the impression that multiple recordings for this project might have been going on at the same time on separate rooftops... which was clearly not the case. That or Dan Burke's gigantic apparition is somehow haunting another musician...
And then there's this one of Scott and Nicole, not really different in layout:
Keeping info on the project to a minimum for the moment, thinking of adding information to promos as the date gets closer. All photos courtesy of Jonathan K. Sun. That's it for now!
This one was ultimately cropped and turned into the disc cover. I like how it almost appears as though you can see the curvature of the earth in it. Seems like it was a combination of a fish eye lens or just the shape of the hill that gave it that effect, Jon?
(also that top one is for Image Production Services, Worcester, MA)
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:
