12.29.2011

icv2 Review!

I just got word from the Fizzmont Public Relations and Celebrations Department that my upcoming book Leo Geo and his Miraculous Journey Through the Center of the Earth got reviewed on the website icv2!  You can read the review HERE : )

Leo and his brother, Matt Data LOVE to play Super Nintendo, but Matt usually wins.

12.28.2011

Fizzmont Notepads

One of my least favorite times of the month is when Greg from the Fizzmont Immaculation Systems and Solutions Division comes down with one of his mandated cleaning days, and all of us here in the Imaging Division have to spend the day straightening up.  Right after the holidays, too!  Well, bad luck turned into good luck and I stumbled upon a couple of notepads I've made for various departments here at the institute.  Here's an image of some of my stationary for memos as well as a form for (what amounts to) employee complaints.

 
In my own personal illustration work, I'm really drawn (no pun intended) to dense, expressive, and textural drawings, but I've found that in my design work, I'm more inspired by a more sparse, Swiss-type style.  I'm also inspired by diagram-type layouts as exhibited in these artist books.

(Running a Secret Society by Jackie Batey)

(Office Orchestra by Andrea Chappell)


(Tide:Edit by David Faithful)

I'm really in love with handmade objects, and those memo pads are great little art pieces, as well as really useful.  If anyone is curious; the back of the notepads is chipboard from the back of my paper pads.  Also, each of those sheets were perforated so that they could be torn off easily.  The perforation was done by hand with my handheld perforator:
Well, that's all that I have for now.  I hope that you all had a nice holiday weekend!  According to an article on Wigan Today, the average person consumes 6000 Calories on Chirstmas day.  That's a lot!  That's 25104000 Joules of energy! 

12.21.2011

Leo Geo Bag No. 1

I've just been cleared by the Fizzmont Packaging and Props Department to release some archive photos of the original packaging for Leo Geo and His Miraculous Journey Through the Center of the Earth.  As I might have mentioned before, Leo Geo was originally a handmade minicomic.  There were some cool bells and whistles (some of which I'll show later) as well as some special packaging.  I discovered mostly by chance that the dimensions of Leo Geo would fit PERFECTLY into a kraft quart liquor bag!  Here is the art for the first bag design:


And here is the finished bag with the screenprint:

I had a real problem with putting the price of the book on the actual book itself, so having a bag allowed for a bit more real estate that I could put a price on.

In other news, Slate magazine released THIS really fun article online about robots.  That last spherical one is bonkers.  Thinking about robots has gotten me thinking about Big Dog, my favorite robot in recent memory.

12.14.2011

Fizzmont Fotos 1

Hello!  Today Dr. Leo Geo gave me a box seemingly filled with clutter and asked if I wanted it.  Not being one to want to accumulate junk, I kindly asked him what was inside.  Leo told me that the box was filled with photos from his time here at the Fizzmont Institute.  They were duplicates that he had no need for, but if I wanted to poke through them, I could.  Yes, please!!  First, there's this gem:

Leo and his brothers have always been very close.  His brother Alan Aqua is a deep sea specialist, but it looks like he's having a pretty OK time at this land-locked dig site.

Also, I came across a video yesterday about how globes are made.  It's pretty interesting.  You can watch it HERE.

12.07.2011

Leo Geo Poster

(click to enlarge)

One of my favorite things about working with Dr. Geo is that he is always coming up with new ideas.  The guy never sits still.  I walked over to his lab the other day and I saw him pouring over all sorts of diagrams, formulas, and blueprints.  I was so inspired that I drew this poster of him.  He's really excited to have the visual account of his experiment to the center of the earth see the light of day!  I can't blame him!

In other news, have you guys heard about the diamond planet!?  I know this is back from August, but it's just now crossing my desk.  Pretty amazing stuff.