AJMF Posters

Poster Design Choices

These are done, but I'm having a tough time deciding between these two slightly different versions. The only changes are in the bottom right corner, but I think it makes a big difference. Thoughts?

AJMF Concepts

For my first concept, I wanted something that felt fierce and loud. The band names are worked into the stripes of the tiger and would be hand written. The entire piece would have an organic, yet psychedelic feel.

 The next piece is based on retro jazz artwork, and is designed in such a way as to be interesting even when rotated 180 degrees. 

 The final piece is a bit more random, but I think it would be a fun poster. I'm having a bit of trouble getting the colors just right, so suggestions are appreciated!

Television Series promotional posters

 For our assignment, I decided to focus on two very different shows that I absolutely adore, one being animated and the other being live action. My intent this semester is to continually push myself to create different styles and use different techniques in my work, and I hoped that these variations in subject matter would lend themselves well to meeting my goals. 

For this first poster, I wanted to create something that felt true to Steven Universe while also being more than a simple illustration. My fear was that had it just been drawn out digitally, it would've come across as looking too much like something made in-house. The solution I came up with was to create a paper cut-out version of my original drawing. Aside from the text and some minor details, the piece was entirely made from cut construction paper. I also used the tagline to make allusions to the style of the poster itself, using words like stacked and cut, while still referencing the content to be tackled in the upcoming season.

For my second poster, I wanted to capture the essence of the show, which is darkly humorous and comic-based. The intro credits for iZombie, as well as some of the commercial break screens, are done in an illustrated, half-tone comic style. Keeping with this feel, I decided to take a photo and then edit it to have some comic style elements. The photo itself is heavily based on the series as well: the main character often eats brains while on the job at the morgue, wearing purple latex gloves and using chopsticks. The 'brains' here are made from sculpey, and the 'blood' created using Nyquil and maple syrup. This was a bit of a challenge for me, as I don't do much photography or photo editing. I'm very pleased with the final result.

Self Promo Posters for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim

I've always appreciated humor in commercials. Some of my all time favorites:

This commercial aired during the Super Bowl over 10 years ago, and I've never forgotten it. I did, however, forget who the ad was for. He's wearing a Reebok logo necklace, but other than that and the website name at the end, it doesn't actually do a good job of instilling a memorable brand experience. Since the video did go viral though, I'm sure that more than did it's job.

This Old Spice campaign was not only different, funny, and memorable, but it also actually lead to my husband buying their product. They did a very effective job of making a previously bland product seem relevant again.

Kamon

Cryptids of North America

I had a fantastic time working on this assignment. So much so in fact, that I took my character illustrations and printed a couple of shirts over at Fallen Arrows. I've often thought about illustrating children's books, and this was a fun opportunity to play around with that idea. The only negative was that when uploading to Issuu.com, a number of the gradients completely screwed up. It's very odd, since in the PDF they appear completely fine. I also had a journal of sorts at the back of the book, a few pages for kids to take their own notes. Since that would've looked awkward online, I removed them from the book. So the online version is pretty basic and not nearly what I envisioned. I think I would actually need to reformat the entire book to get it to work like I would want:

http://issuu.com/kwelch5/docs/cryptids_book_single_pages

A much needed update

I've sadly been neglecting my blog this semester. I've never been good at keeping a diary or journal, either. It's a habit I just can't seem to make for myself, though I keep trying. Maybe I just have a hard time talking about myself and my work to the world? Or maybe I'm just forgetful. Probably the latter.

In any case, this was the bag from our initial three part assignment, to draw on blank cups, bags, and sketchbooks. This was my favorite of the three. I was really pleased with how the type turned out. The corgi queen turned out ok, just wish I'd spent a little more time on the initial sketch (since it's a little wonky and doesn't really look like a corgi). This was a really open ended and creative assignment though, and I hope we have more of these in the future. 

1950s Decade of Design poster

So for my 1950s poster, I thought I would highlight the scientific and technological advances of the day. A pinup girl in period dress rides a hydrogen bomb, while one is exploding behind her. The space shuttle taking off symbolizes the founding of NASA and the beginning of the 'space race.' There are also two nuclear power plants in the background on the left. I would also like to incorporate some text into this somewhere, something that looks and feels like it's from the 50s. Perhaps 'Technology: Paving the way for a better tomorrow!' or something equally cheesy and period appropriate.