Thursday, April 29, 2010

BOOKS!


Oh my gepetto! Four awesome books were awaiting my arrival from work today. I have to give myself a pat on the back for these smart purchases. I've been gobbling these up since I got my grubby paws on them.

I Am Plastic is jam packed with designer toys. I'm talkin' JAM. PACKED. It gives a comprehensive view of toys from around the world from leading, as well as lesser, names in the industry. Although it doesn't give much information on the individual designers themselves, it provides plenty to look at there's nothing to complain about that.

American Trademarks is not your momma's logo book. The diversity between all the marks included really sets it apart from other literature on the subject. While there are some simple designs similar to the Japanese municipal flags that got plenty of attention about a year ago, there are even more illustrative logomarks with lots of hand-drawn typography to boot. Sweet, sweet eye candy.

Ed Emberley's Make A World are the drawing books I grew up with as a kid. He is so clever in his execution and very easy to follow in his direction. Not only that, but he demonstrates how to draw a gazillion things in very few pages, making the book light and thin, easy for a little kid to pick up and manage. Everything included in the book is drawn with 15 basic shapes, creating a simplicity and cohesiveness throughout all of the pictures. It's no wonder I'm turning back to this in my ripe age. This legend of a man's got ingenuity oozing from every orifice!

Rework is brought to you by the heads behind 37signals. It gives great advice, information, and inspiration on starting a business, staying motivated, work ethic, creativity--in short, being a better creative who knows how to manage and market his work. It's written very colloquially, so you feel like you're having a conversation with those who have experience and have gone through the things you are going through or want to get through. The book is broken down into short, easily digestible sections so you don't ever get the sense that you're being lectured at. Moreso, it gets you thinking about the subject so you can start developing your own ideas. Before each section there's also a nice little typographic illustration to introduce the new topic, each of which could easily be turned into a motivational poster--minus the cat hanging from a tree branch.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Red Bearon

The Red Bearon
For those of you who haven't already caught him in my portfolio, I present to you "Red Bearon"! He has 1 point of articulation, a dashing grin, and his favorite plane in tow. Yowzas!

Ingela P Arrhenius






Talk about making all of the same things I love in a style that I adore. Ingela P Arrhenius is my new favorite artist. Done.
(Thank you, grain edit.)

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Mr. Fancypants in...

Mr. Fancypants
MOUNTAINS OF MONEY!!! Money..money.... money...
Check the 3-D version here.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

leo

leo
I was in the middle of working on something when this lion begged me to put a face on him.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Ursa Major in 2-D!

Space Panda art
I thought it would be nice to do some 2-D art to accompany my 3-D art of the same character. He was a lot of fun to recreate. I hope to do more like it.