Drumm Gets Kids Reading!

I seldom get requests for posters for children. The vast majority of my work has been for adults. So, when Drumm's owner contacted me, I was more than happy to take this project on. Drumm's a borzoi and, in his home state of Alabama, he is heavily involved in a program called Sit!Stay!Read! When Drumm's owner contacted me a while back, she was interested in a poster she could leave with Drumm's kids at the end of the school year. She also wanted an image that she could print out for the kids to color. This order represents an example of the range of requests I get (from clip art and logos, to web board signatures and coloring book images).

Drumm is truly special. He encourages kids to read, understands commands in Russian, and he can even count! Early in March, I had the pleasure of meeting Drumm and his owner when they brought some retired greyhounds from Alabama to GRA Canada (insert shameless plug here) for adoption. When she mentioned to me that she was headed to Canada in March, I had no idea she was headed to GRA, and she had no idea I lived so close by. Small world.

What's the Difference Between Custom and Semi-Custom Work?...

... In a word, it's the BACKGROUND. Most of my semi-custom work features one dog on a plain, colored background and a little text. My custom work usually means there's a specific theme, more than one dog, a more elaborate background, and/or possibly a more complicated pose for the dog(s) in the poster. The caricature marathon post is an example of semi-custom work.

So today, even though I'm taking a short break from custom orders, I'm showing an example of the process of starting and completing a custom poster (using Wally as an example). Wally's owners have a love of Disneyland and wanted to base a poster around it. Once I knew this, I set out to find a picture of the most recognizable Disney landmark I know(the Cinderella Castle). I pulled the first decent picture I found into Illustrator and simply worked over top of it using black shapes and white shadows. Once the building is finished I can simply use it as a background prop, and the poster starts to take shape.

The two versions of the constructed poster are shown here for me to explain that it is common for me to start from scratch. The first version of my finished poster is very different from the one the client selected (where they chose Wally seated and the Hollywood Tower as a prop). I have a few rules with custom work:

1) The client is always right. They always have the last say when it comes to poses, backgrounds, colors, text, etc.

2) The client is always encouraged to make changes until they are happy with the final product. I never want customers to feel badly when they request changes. Even though "Tinkerbell" Wally was not selected, I can almost always use some element of the original dog (in this case, his face is identical both versions). It is NEVER any trouble so, if you are a future customer, don't hesitate to be proactive with your poster. It is YOUR poster, and I always have a blast with these!

When I'm ready to take new custom orders (i.e. when I've adjusted to the hectic schedule of being a working new mom), I'll post here!

Caricature Marathon! Here They are....

In the end, I offered to do 10 caricatures in a first come first serve basis. Even my local printer here in London Ontario (Mercury Blueprinting) enjoyed printing these. I've been submitting my work to them for over three years, but these proved to be their favorites. For a company that specializes in University conference posters and architectural blueprints, they claim to get a kick out my orders.

Here they are (in no particular order). I've grouped them into pairs for ease of viewing.

"DAVE" sparks a marathon

Towards the end of last year, I posted some illustrations of my greyhounds to the gallery of a web board called GreyTalk. One image in particular, resulted in a couple of commissions. So, I decided to run a small caricature marathon at the beginning of 2010. For $30 CDN the client received a few jpeg files of varying sizes, a png "clip art" type file, a small file to be used as a web board signature, and a few files (of varying sizes) to be used a computer wall paper. Requests are still trickling in because someone spotted a signature, and wanted to know where to get one.

The irony is that "DAVE" was not created to make posters or signatures. He was engineered so that I might be able to animate him in the future. Although I have several images of greyhounds that I can pull into Flash, most are way too complicated (at least for me) to animate. Dave represents a simpler version of my artwork, although it may still be a while before I can pull it off successfully. Animated Dave may never see the light of day (particularly with my work schedule). In the meantime, I am satisfied that he inspired artwork for a few new happy customers! :)

Font Fun!

Anyone who is familiar with my work knows I like to use a variety of fonts, and I tend to frequently use layers and reflections until I end up with something I like. At this point, I'd say I have well over 100 at my disposal. The best part is that they were all free! The following caricature marathon post is a simple example of my use of these fonts.

Most of my fonts come from three fabulous sites: dafont.com, blambot.com and fontdiner.com.

A word of warning - some fonts from these companies cost money and/or come with restrictions on how you may use them.

Occasionally... The Process Does Go Awry!!

This is Rudy. Normally, when I am contacted by a potential client, we go over whether there are any elements/scenarios they might like to see in a poster. Occasionally, I will try to come up with something on my own to get the ball rolling. Occasionally... the wheels come right off the apple cart. This is my "train wreck" poster... an original idea that the client just didn't like... and was trying REALLY hard not to hurt my feelings! Take a look at the file that went to the printers (the second image where Rudy is hovering gently over a field of daisies) and the one I originally sent to this client (a poster with a very different feel)...Hard to believe that these two posters were designed for the same client! The point is that we eventually ended up on the same page. LOL.

Same Dog... Different Feel

Since the "clip art" bulldog in the last entry turned out ok, I figured I'd try and use a style of coloring that is a little more reminiscent of my usual style in Illustrator. Here he is.

From Long and Lean... to Stout and Mean!

I'm always looking for opportunities to expand my experiences in Adobe Illustrator and, when I found a website that allows you to submit designs for t-shirts, posters and logos, I decided to join. Despite a constant influx of open competitions through this site, I am looking primarily for opportunities to designs products that include dogs or other animals. When I found an open competition to design a t-shirt for a football team called the "bulldawgs", I decided to give it a try. Bulldogs are so different from the long lines of greyhounds, that I initially had a little trouble. After downloading a photograph of a bulldog, I was able to put together the first image (hand drawn - not clip art). This particular bulldog represents a slightly different style for me. I almost never outline my images in black (a little too harsh for my tastes), but I was pretty happy with how this one came out. However, after some amount of playing around, the designs I eventually submitted looked quite different from the original dog.

The client also wanted a pair of angel's wings in the design. About a year ago, I found an online tutorial about designing wings in Illustrator. I finally got to use them! My submitted design (one of roughly a dozen) is being decided upon as I write this. Wish me luck!

GreyFellas: FINAL!

Here's the final product! All the characters and text have been arranged, and the client's ferret, Whizz, has been added....because what would a gangster-style poster be without a weasel?

GreyFellas: Jazz

While the vast majority of my experience in Illustrator has been with Greyhounds, I am always willing to try other breeds of dog! Here's the lovely Jazz.

GreyFellas: Ranger

Here's Ranger!

GreyFellas: Murphy

Next up is Murphy.

GreyFellas: Maui

These days, before I put an entire poster together, I will send the client files of their pets so that they can be approved. At this stage, alterations to markings, facial expressions (and anything else), can be done easily. It's always easier to alter these things before all the elements are brought into a final poster. The next few posts are about a poster called GreyFellas. The clients had plenty of ideas and feedback, and the process was a lot of fun! The final composition of this one, although similar to the "Farm Poster," has a very different feel. Hopefully, these kinds of posts will spark some kind of inspiration. :)

First up is Maui!

This blog is NOT for family pictures... I repeat...

When I started up this blog, I was determined that its primary (only) focus was going to be my website and my art. However, over the past week or so, I find myself consumed with something other than my day job or my website. Late last week, our first child made her way into the world. My pregnancy has been both physically and emotionally difficult, but she was worth every minute of it! For those of you who ended up waiting slightly longer for your posters over the past few months... here's your reason! :)

So, this time around, there won't be any art to post - only a short timeline of the hours leading up to our daughter's birth.

TOP PANEL - 24hrs to go. My husband, Lewis, and I head out to the park with our greyhounds for one last pre-baby stroll and some ice cream.

MIDDLE PANEL - 2.5 hrs to go. My hospital bag is packed and we are headed to the hospital for my scheduled c-section. Here I am telling my boy Jack to behave.

BOTTOM PANEL - Our little girl, Naomi Grace Kavanagh, was born at 1:43pm on Thursday, June 11, 2009. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 4oz and she is absolutely lovely. Her father is doomed!