A good sign painter, like any master of his/her craft, has the ability to transform the letters into seamless, effortless and beautiful experience. I had the good fortune to have a VHS tape recording the night back in '86 when Michael Jordan lit up the Celtics for 63 points. I watched that game for the next few weeks many times. The last time I watched it was just as riveting as the night I watched it live. He made the domination of some of the greatest players in the game seem so simple. The analogy is a bit skewed but stick with me on this one. The sign painter has to compete with the current wave of so-called sign designers that use perfectly cut vinyl lettering stuck to the side of a truck or board. The lettering is all done by machine and usually that machine is run by folks with little to no design knowledge. The letters, though precise, lack an emotional response. The throwback sign painter wields a brush and some paint and dives in over a rough sketch. When we come upon a true sign painters work, we have a very human response to a human event. Cut vinyl is flat. We simply read the words. Michael Jordan, in that instance of his 63 point explosion, made me view the rest of the players in the league in the same way I currently feel about cut vinyl.
I'm not sure of the artist/sign painter responsible for the work I'm about to show you, but it really is nice stuff and worthy of a view....
This trailer has been slowly rotting just south of R. B. Walter Elementary in a field that is home to some regular auctions throughout the good weather months.
So good...this is logo material!!!!
love how the "i" transitions into that beautiful "z".
Some time ago, my boss asked me to design a sign to hang above the Office door. As people enter our school, they need to understand that checking into the office is essential for school safety. I took on the job of creating an interesting design for the spot. The process went like this....
First: brainstorm, sketch, brainstorm, sketch, brainstorm, sketch...and buy a piece wood and cut it to size (it is always good to have that blank surface staring at you to give you that kick in the pants!)
Second: Scan the parts into the computer and begin the shuffling around in hope of finding the right composition. It has to feel right. If words are a part of the composition, choosing the right typeface is essential to the success.
Third: I did all my Photoshop designing to scale (27"x20" at 150dpi grayscale). I then chop the finished design into 8x10 chunks and print them out. The pieces then get trimmed and tapped back into a collage that looks like my final sign. I give a light rubbing of hard graphite on the back side of the collage. Tape it onto the sign board and trace it with a mechanical pencil which leaves a light pencil line to fill in with paint.
Fourth: Paint. I keep a few pieces of paper laying over the graphite so my drawing hand/arm doesn't smudge.
FRONT
BACK
Last: I will coat the entire sign with a water based finish, Polycrylic (clear satin), to protect it. Before that is done, I will choose some sort of trim treatment to frame off the design.
I hope to deliver it to the boss soon since he's retiring after this school year. I'll take some shots of it when it hanging above the Office door.
My latest design for society6... not sure how this design came to be...most likely I was doodling a font and noticed discover can be broken into two interesting words. I'm sure I'm not the first person to notice this but ran with it anyway. Used some old magazine photos to fill the lettering. Later.....
professionally speaking, this is a hectic time of year. sorry for the lack of comics lately....will try and get on it in the next few months....
When I need some characters designed or advice on what my work is lacking, I ask Ash. My wife has untapped talent that boils over every once in a while. Her sketchbook catches some of that spill. I call it "untapped" due to her lifestyle. She has major commitments at her job (set design work and graduate studies) and many other obligations that have her not in a zone that will allow her to focus solely on her ability to draw people.
They aren't those cookie-cutter caricatures you get at the beach or realistic portraits you'd hang in your den, they're truly personalized. A different style on a different day. She never seems to work in a similar way. I love it. I'm more than just jealous as well. Admiration seems to sum it up. If we didn't have lives (hahaha), she might be making a killing with this stuff....
me!
I do a project with my 4th graders each year that involves pictures from magazines. They have to collage them into a new design that involves a background (setting), a main character and a title. They weirder the better! They can't be so weird that they don't seem like the pictures go together though. The project is difficult for students as they can't predict what they will find in the magazines. It is really three collages in one. The setting is a collage. The main character is a collage:
The title is also a collage in which the students can only use two letters from a lettering style that they find.
Most of my students love it though it is labor intensive. I tell them that it is one of the projects I do myself when given some free time. Here is my latest finished product...
I always seem to use Nike stuff. My love of their stuff stems from the early eighties when I was getting serious into athletics and they were becoming a major force in shoe design.
My wife says that the mouth is a little too creepy... It was supposed to make you think "save us". She might be right.
could use some riveting but i like it so far....
latest item up on society6...
hours clicking by at an alarming rate....not enough time to do it all.
It has been some time since the last installment of angry strongo. Between Christmas, illness, birthdays and work, time has been minimal and the few ideas I've had for comics have been tabled due to insufficient time. Most, if any time, has been spent on society6 stuff.
My children are now a year older, 6 and 4, and we're full swing into the mayhem of 2013.
I have spent a considerable amount of my recent free time attempting to build an identity on society6, an online artist community that offers up prints, framed prints, tees, pillows, phone cases and laptop covers of your work. I am attempting to only submit things that define my current state of design preference. I say "design" because I feel strongly that design isn't "Art" with a capital A. Design is an artistic process but with motives different than Art. My work for this blog and society6 has all been based on my design opinions...not true Art.
Live a Life of Learning has been a pet project for the last two years. This design of the honesty policy is the latest in the ongoing series. Being a teacher and all has me considering what kids need to see and hear that will get them through this crazy world...
It took about five to six versions on the lettering style for "BEST". I went with a skinnier and italicized version of what is on money. I scanned in the back of an old photograph to give it that weathered/worn look. It became a royal pain with all the changes it saw before completion.
While driving to the in-laws the other day, Ashley noticed this "sign". I'm not sure where to begin. I'd like to say that it's so bad it's good. But I can't say that. I guess I'll just speak to the font. It has some kerning (spacing) issues. The A is quite a ways from the T and the I is uncomfortably close to the X. The D seems to be sagging from age. The roundness in the R and D fails...probably tape was used to mask the lettering while they went to town with the Rustoleum. It sure is difficult to neatly turn your masking tape. I'm sure that the owners are outstanding at taxidermy.... a very difficult skill. It takes real talent and attention to detail to make a name for yourself in the field of taxidermy. It's very competitive in these parts. This sign just doesn't make me feel as though the details are getting the attention they need. The sign is my first impression. Their business card to public passing through.
If I do need a taxidermist, I can guarantee that I WILL stop into this establishment first. They're out there taking that financial risk. Their spirit is there even though the lettering is struggling. Happy New Year everyone.
