Animal Farm, Illustrated

I took a Drawing class last quarter, and we were tasked with illustrating a piece of literature of our choice. Eventually I landed on George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Observe:

And here’s my first experiment with color. I’m thinking monochromatic watercolor washes, probably more neutral and moody than this one. We’ll see.

Anyway, cheers!
-CES

The World’s Smallest Postal Service

This makes me so happy.

The mind behind World’s Smallest Postal Service is Lea Redmond. You send her a 120 word note, she transcribes it into teeny tiny script, and sends a little package – including the letter, a tiny addressed envelope sealed with wax, and a miniature magnifying glass – in a few days. Snag a fabulous letter of your own at leafcutterdesigns.com.

Buy Handmade

I just found the cutest blog, Buy Handmade.

Take the handmade pledge here.

Drawings, Assorted

Here is a touch of my work. As I was looking through it, I realized there are no apparent lines of thought, or clear connections between pieces of work. This is a little sad.

And so:
Resolution 1. Create a collection of work.

Wish me luck!

Fingerprint

Fingerprint is a lovely book that teaches the importance of handmade elements. Lettering, illustration, mixed media, letterpress, found objects, what have you. Written by Chen Design Associates, they say, “You’ll find inspiration in examples from outstanding designers and see how traditional elements can make a more powerful statement than anesthesized computer-only work.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

“Design is at a turning point. Our infatuations with – and the backlash against – technology is over. Today’s best designers have learned to embrace its advantages and think beyond its limitations by combining the power of the computer with the tactile qualities of handmade elements.”

Go ahead, make your mark.

Dan Black

I recently re-discovered a crop of artists that do their work by hand, and it is incredible stuff. Their design pieces show the mark of the artist, which makes each one a glimpse into the process of design, rather than the sleek, seamless finished product. Mistakes abound. The mayhem is apparent.

All this said, you may have noticed my mention of Daniel Black in my post about Hand Job, but I thought he deserved an entire post.

Mr. Black runs a mini-firm with Jessica Seamans and Matt Zaun called Landland, through which he produces some amazing album and poster art. “We are a small collective of graphic designers,” he says, “illustrators, screenprinters, relatively decent advice-givers…”

“…semi-amateur sink and wall constructors, art makers, big talkers, ex-9-to-fivers, listmakers and clean fighters, among many other things too innumerable to mention.”

“We make these things,” he adds, “with computers and scanners and photocopiers and drawings and fun printing techniques and whatever we need to use to get the job done.”

What now, you ask?

Since you are newly familiar with Landland and Dan Black, I imagine the question on the tip of your tongue is “Where can I buy this stuff?” It’s a good one. Here’s a quick list, just in time to miss Christmas:

Posters — allthosetwos.com
CDs & Records — stay-and-stay-said.com
More CDs & Records — myspace.com/treehouserecords

Art prints run at $30, posters from $8 to $20, and albums a mere $4 to $12.

Hand Job

It’s a catalog of type, and, I might add, one of the most brilliant collections of hand-drawn goodies around. 

Compiled by letter enthusiast Michael Perry, Hand Job includes selections from the likes of Tyler Askew, Daniel Black (who sells his stunning hand-printed promo posters for cheap), and Jeremy Dean. Also be wowed by Deanne Cheuk’s watercolors, witness the wit of Adrian Johnson (need a sophisticated color palette? He’s the man), et cetera, et cetera. 

Basically, just get your hands on this tome. You can find it almost anywhere. 

Also, check out Mr. Perry’s stunning portfolio and buy his work at www.midwestisbest.com.