Apparel Design for American Crown- Spring 2013

I apologize for my long absence from the blog. I have been very busy over the past year and a half working as a designer at West Coast Novelty, where I have had the opportunity to do design and illustration work for WCN's American Crown destination apparel brand. 

Here are some styles that I created last year that have since been produced and sold to Walmart stores nationwide. Check your local Walmart- some of these styles may be available for purchase at a location near you!

(These are all original designs for West Coast Novelty Group and may not be copied or reproduced in any way.)

Men's Mardi Gras 2013 Tees:

 

Women's Mardi Gras 2013 Tees:

Girls' Mardi Gras 2013 Tee:

Toddler Mardi Gras 2013 Tee:

 Men's American Crown Spring 2013 Apparel:

 

 

 Women's American Crown Spring 2013 Apparel:

        

                    

                  

A Punk-Rock Zebra... and a Lesson in Animal Prints

For last week's assignment in my Wildlife Illustration class, I studied the Burchell's Zebra.

Here my character, Zoey the Zebra:

My orthographic studies:

And a realistic color study of a Burchell's zebra:

Lesson Learned: When illustrating an animal with a patterned coat, draw the stripes (or spots or patches) on the animal like you would draw a tight-fitting patterned piece of clothing on a person or a pattern on a vase, a bowl, or any other rounded object. Be sure that the pattern follows the curves of the animal's body, so that it does not flatten out the form of the animal's body. 

Also, when designing a clothed character of an animal with a patterned coat, keep the clothing simple! Since the animal has a pattern all over its body already, solid colored clothing will help to keep things from looking too busy. For my zebra character, I played up the fact that her stripes reminded me of tattoo sleeves, and I put her in a leather vest to give her a punk-rock look that went along with her mohawk-like mane.  

A Rhino in a Mini Skirt... and a Lesson in Animal Character Genders

Here are some orthographic studies I did of a white rhinoceros:

A realistic color study of a white rhino:

And a character, Rita the cheerleading rhino:

Lesson Learned: When characterizing wild animals, make sure that you note the gender differences within that species. In my research, I learned that female white rhinos can weigh up to half a ton less than males, and they also have a less pronounced shoulder hump and shorter horns than their male counterparts. This information helped me to make Rita look more feminine, and I will also need to keep those gender distinguishing characteristics in mind when I go on to design the guys that play football for the Rhinos.

Pre-Christmas Caribou... and a Tip for Painting Snow

In my Wildlife Illustration class, the module on antlered ungulates provided a great opportunity for me to prepare for the holiday season by learning to draw reindeer. My research taught me that, in the wild, they are called caribou... only domesticated caribou are called reindeer.

A little character, Rosemary the Reindeer
(created in Adobe Illustrator):

 I think I will re-work Rosemary the Reindeer later on to dress her up for Christmas!

Anatomy studies of caribou:

A color study (painted in Photoshop):

Lesson Learned: Snow doesn't have to be white! When painting snow, think about all of the different colors that can be reflected in it. For my color caribou study, I added areas of orange and blue to the snow. These sunset colors reflected in the snow help to create a mood for the piece that is much more interesting than if the snow had been plain white.

Koala, Hare, and Fox... a Lesson on Fur

Here are a few more wildlife illustrations I have done lately:

Koala

European Hare

Gray Fox

Lesson Learned: When illustrating furry animals, keep an eye out for the different colors within the fur. The animal will look more interesting if the fur has many colors in it. 

Green Tree Frog... and a Lesson on Anthropomorphism

Last week, our lesson was on Reptiles and Amphibians. I decided to study the Green Tree Frog:

Orthographic Drawings:

Wildlife Illustration:

Character Design (Lilly the Tree Frog):

Lesson Learned: Pay attention to the details when anthropomorphizing animals. When designing the ballerina tree frog, I first asked myself- what do I need to include that will define this character as a tree frog? I decided that the essential elements to make it look like a tree frog are the skin and eye colors, the structure of the head and placement of the eyes, and the toe webs and pads. Then I asked myself- what humanlike characteristics does this animal have that can help me to anthropomorphize it? I decided that the hinged elbows and knees, humanlike muscular structure of the arms and legs, and the ankle bones are all aspects that I could work from to help make this frog more human-like. 

Largemouth Bass... and a Lesson on Animal Anatomy

Well, I have finally entered into my final semester at the Academy of Art University! I can hardly believe it.

For the first assignment in my Wildlife Illustration class, we had to study and draw a specific species of fish. I chose to illustrate a largemouth bass (Greg's favorite fish). I had to do 3 orthographic drawings in pencil (skeletal, muscular, and exterior), a size scale illustration, a realistic illustration in the fish's natural environment, and an illustration of a character I created based on the fish I studied.

Close-ups of the color illustrations:

Lesson Learned: Understanding the anatomy of an animal can really help when drawing it in poses that you do not have exact reference for. If you understand the way an animal's body moves, you will be able to depict it more believably from viewpoints that you do not have exact reference for.

St. Basil's Cathedral... and a Tip for Traveling Artists

For the final project for my Decorative Illustration class, I created a paper box. It is a little gift box that someone might get in a souvenir shop.

My design was inspired by a trip I took to Russia last year- I used photos I took at Red Square in Moscow for reference. For the bottom of the box, I made a collage from scanned images of tickets that I had saved from places I visited in Moscow and around the Kremlin and Red Square.

Here is the box design template:

And here is the printed box prototype:

 

Lesson Learned: When taking photos of your travels, don't leave out the details! I took a couple of standard tourist shots of the outside of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, but I also took dozens of pictures of the details in the paintings and patterns inside. The tourist shots are great for my photo album, but those photos of the little details that caught my attention have served as a great source of inspiration for me when it comes to color and pattern design in my illustrations.

Mt. Rushmore Gets a Makeover... and Tips for Brainstorming

My last decorative illustration assignment was to create a set of holiday-themed paper product coordinates : a paper placemat and coordinating paper napkin design.

I chose to do a design for the Fourth of July:

Lesson Learned: When brainstorming for a design idea, make a list! 

For this project, I started by writing down things that I associate with the 4th of July: fireworks, flags, stars, summertime, barbecues, America... then expanded on a few things from that list- summertime: hot, sunny, sunglasses; America: freedom, democracy, presidents, national landmarks... and I eventually ended up with the idea of illustrating the presidents on Mt. Rushmore wearing sunglasses like they were taking part in the sunny backyard BBQ. I never would gotten to this idea if I hadn't written everything out to help guide my thought process.

Decorative Illustration: T-Shirt Design

My first assignment for my Decorative Illustration class was to do a t-shirt design. I decided to design a shirt for the Academy of Art University.

                 

For the final portfolio at the end of the semester, I will actually print the design onto a real shirt.

Lesson Learned: For designs that will be screen-printed, stick to a few colors in a graphic style that will be easy to reproduce without ruining the quality of the artwork.