5/18/2009 01:15:00 AM

What's that? More Portugal. The Man artwork? Yes, indeed. Here are a few prototypes I built over the weekend of the foreign and domestic LPs that I just finished up. My photography isn't the best, but I used mine and my roommate's light tables to make a little photo studio in the dining room. Though it would be fun to share. I am so excited! Each version is definitely different from the CD and each LP has modified artwork to fit the given dimensions of the package. The US version is a giant barf of color. It's a real shame that RGB colorspace doesn't translate well into CMYK. Word has it that if you buy the US version in a special package you get a limited edition poster with some amazing artwork by John Gourley and repositioned by yours truly. I think we even get to sign each of them too. There's also the acoustic album that comes out as well, which should look awesome. I know I did artwork for the foreign release, which I will post if I ever get my hands on it. I think the US version will be sold on iTunes. Enough with the blabber: enjoy!

Greetings!

I can finally talk about the project I've been working on for the past 4 months. Portugal. The Man's latest album, The Satanic Satanist. Here's some info that John and I wrote about it this morning. And a photo of a prototype I made. Enjoy!

For the past couple of months Austin and I have been working on what will become the packaging for the new album The Satanic Satanist. Together we have spent almost every hour away from jobs/sleep/practice on making sure this would all work properly. This artwork came together much the same as the album, lots of hard work and lots of fun. It was really great sitting down with Austin again and getting his thoughts on where the illustrations should go and seeing what he would do with the colors in the end. He really ran with this project and as we speak is still running with it as far as vinyl package and posters and stickers go. He did a truly amazing job in making sure things lined up and worked with every fold. I remember our initial talk and the initial sketch of what would become the package. Austin’s response was something along the lines of “There is no way they will let us do this.” and “You’re going to make me do all this work just to get turned down!”. It took a lot of thought to bring this together as smoothly as it has come. Austin did some really great work with this layout and color placement, there is no way it could have worked without him.

The idea was to make a package out of one solid cut, no plastic. More than anything we wanted to give the buyer something more substantial, a package that could double as a piece of art and not just be a marketable image ready to be tossed upon transfer of music to computer to MP3 player or internet for download (please share once you buy, that is how us little bands grow and how the bigger bands get bigger still.). You may not be able to see it from these rough, ROUGH small scale, handcut package photos but the CD, once transferred to computer to MP3 or internet for download, is also a part of the artwork. The sun. The template is meant to be a mountain that folds down into smaller mountains, much like the mountains that run around our home state and the illustrations are meant to represent the years of my childhood that the album was written through, 1987-93. The years my family moved around the state the most as well as the years I was introduced to films like Lightyears, Fantastic Planet, Fire and Ice and Wizards. Safe bet that those films may have ruined my growing mind.

John

I don’t think I’ve ever used the word “Sick!” before, but after John and I sat down and figured out where we wanted this artwork to go I remember blurting it out rather uncontrollably.

When John first got in touch with me about the new artwork I had a hard time believing that it could be done. He sent me several sketches of what he wanted and it really took me a while to sink in. The hard part, as always, was that both of our schedules never let us meet in the middle. It was hard to Benjamin Button ourselves to get this done—and I’m still working on it. Like, 4 months later. Almost all of our conversations were through phone, email, text, photos—it was a challenge. After we got the basic concept down I had to make a die line. It took me about 5 tries to get something that was right on. My living room had giant piles of paper scraps all over it. When my printer broke I had to draw the die lines by hand when making prototypes and actually had to take a day off of work because I pulled something in my arm from making all of the tight cuts in the package.

John’s message of no plastic really struck me as a challenge on how to make the CD stay in place once the thing was put together. It felt great when I figured out how to make it work. One piece of paperboard, 2 glue spots and a lot of folding. We nailed it. The manufacturer gave us praise for the way the package was built and that meant that we were looking good.

The artwork itself was culled from all of John’s illustrations and Zach’s photos of Alaska. After the illustrations were locked in I had to add color and texture. I was provided a huge piece of paper with hundreds of watercolor swatches and used that to fill in the white space in the artwork. Since it was pretty much blue and green I used computer magic to re-color every piece. My artwork files each had something like 400 layers before I started distilling everything down. It had turned into a mass of colors and I had to mentally reset a few times to get everything right. Some of the artwork matching on the panels didn’t work out so I spent a lot of time printing out individual pieces and redrawing, which was tough, but my love of puzzles and TCB came through and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier with a project that I’ve worked on. I’m still working on the domestic and foreign LP and poster artwork (which looks insane) and everything is the much the same way visually, but totally different composition and scale. It’s going to be stunning when each piece finally gets to sit next to each other and I think that’s the ultimate way to complement such a fantastic album. It’s really all that I had seen in my head when John and I put our ideas together. It came out exactly like it should.

Hi. Working on a new project, which is almost done. It's a doozy. did you know that A factory will make any die cut you want, but sometimes may not like it?

hello dear reader! it sure has been a long time. about 3 months, i'd say. ever since i created this here website, i realized that my archiving system has been all messed up, which is why i am working on a new website design. i'm hoping to make it iphone ready, which should be really cool.

here are 2 projects i've recently completed. first off is some t-shirt, posters and custom-cut masks i made for the band, sound of animals fighting. these are a few promotional items for their new album! super awesome to work on this project. i had so much fun and i think those masks came out really well. second are 3 tshirt designs for viso beverage company. i love how these came out. all 3 are different, but play off of the same theme, which is: awesome.

on another note! i have gotten into a couple of more books too. very very very excited about this. more info when i get it.

enjoy!

dang! 8 pages of yours truly

happy canada day!

well, not right now, but you know... on july first. I was commissioned by cinematheque in winnipeg to create this movie poster for a canada day screening of meatballs and pick-up summer (originally pinball summer). totally fun project! thanks kier-la.

one of my favorite bands, portugal. the man is playing 2 nights in anchorage and i was approached about creating the poster for the show. turned out great. it's totally a mystery if that's a booger or a bloody nose, but that's a fun puzzle and knowing is half the battle.

I just finished an album design for the band, lavoy (who are playing at the ptm show by the way). Super awesome motherfuckin dudes. Really fun project. i still need to finish their tour poster, but i couldn't wait to show you the album design i came up with. a very simple bi-fold "eco" case. this project had a lot of challenges, because there were really no rules. we came up with whatever we wanted to and did a dang good job of it. thanks guys!

and lastly, earlier this year i had the opportunity to create the design and packaging of a line of herbal lotions and all things natural for a company out of san diego. This is only a fraction of what i designed and it will all be updated once i get my new site design up in the near future. i think it turned out very well for my first time. this is an especially challenging project because i got to work with a new type of printing and metallic inks. there were a lot of rules to follow!

greetings. i should most definitely not say that i will post up new projects with any given date or time, because i am so busy. that's a good thing for sure. i'm working on some new projects for epitaph, which is gonna rule. some new film related projects are coming down the pipeline and i'm super excited. here are 6 posters for your enjoyment! oh yes and i am going to comicon AGAIN this year. take that!

greetings one and all!

ahh yes, time does pass by so very quickly. it's been a while, but man have i been busy. i wanted to talk about all of the things that i've been doing in the past couple of months. and do not fear: images to come!

a few really amazing posters for holocene have been created. i'm getting better at drawing those awesome swirly swirlies, let me tell you.

i've also had a wonderful opportunity to work with the winnipeg film group in winnipeg, manitoba. we worked together on creating a fun logo that celebrated the spirit of film.

i'm in the process of working with a non-profit organization called "riding home." long story short is that you get on a bicycle, ride across the country and build some homes for some wonderful people.

i'm gearing up to create some amazing album artwork for a band from wasilla, alaska called lavoy. super nice dudes and damn fine telephone etiquette.

i'm also in the works to begin my first project for a super nice dude named etienne. he runs a promotion company in paris and wants me to create a poster for a show (and hopefully more!). i am incredibly excited and already have my idea bouncing around in my head.

some really cool news about 2 books that i'm going to be in. oh yes, did i not mention that i'm getting published in two seprate design books? me and 16 pages of a lot of radical artwork. i'm told they're almost done--coming all the way from spain. i will definitely give out the goods when it's time.

i've also been working for another venue in portland called berbati's. i get to create their weekly newspaper advertisements for their shows and i had been asked a few weeks ago to create all new 2008 vip passes (they rule!), comp show cards, drink and food tickets and all kinds of other goodies. most of it's done, which will be displayed on this here website in the next update.

that's all for now! sorry to keep you waiting so long, but i'd say give me a try in a week or two and something special just might be here when you get back.

POMG!!!!!!!!

i was viewing the apple web site and noticed that one of their web pages has the cover of one of my album designs. it's not like i am being "featured" on apple's web site, but you know.... thought i'd rub it in a little bit. breaking news: i am awesome!

greetings!

today i woke up and checked my bank account only to notice that i am paying a monthly fee for using this web site. and then i thought, wait. why am i throwing my money away by not updating?

so, today is the day, dear viewer. most of these projects are new, while some are a recap of past projects with the full outcome of produced materials (in the case of records, sometimes it takes a while for me to get the final piece back), so please excuse if i am repeating some things. i thought it would be fun to show some posters and some spreads from my new portfolio book.





















new posters!



over the summer i was contacted by american eagle outfitters to create a poster for a mini-series that was on mtv. i created a few custom graphics, alphabets and concept photography for the piece. shown are a few different steps that we took in order to come up with a near-final piece. my artwork was then brought into different areas, which included a web site design, titles for the series and commercials. super fun to work on with a tight deadline. funny story: i was in los angeles and made it a day after their big hollywood party. that would have been fun to go to huh? instead, there were some bums outside of the party zone, in which they proceeded to call me drew carey. ugh.




i created an album layout, t shirt and sticker for the band, climber. lots of fun. i wanted to express a dreamy atmosphere that accompanied the music. the band had already established a loose branding guide for their artwork so it was important that i adhered to their rules while also adding my personal touch and creativity to the final product. this is a tri-fold digipak design.









i've posted artwork of these 2 albums before, but some of the items were and are still missing. there were copies made in germany, which i have yet to receive, but the pictures i took today of the church mouth vinyl were from the usa version. a really great gatefold design with 250 each of purple, red, brown and blue swirled vinyl. amazing. for the 'waiter' album there were also two different vinyl versions. the german copy (i have shown on my blog before) and the usa version, which was printed black and gold and an awesome leopardy clear and gold record.



i have been working with lucid, inc. for a few years and mostly do production artwork with them for a lighting company in california. the lowe's and target box were created from a strict set of provided guidelines by each company. in the case of the lowe's box (portfolio) i am ranging somewhere in between 250-300 individual fixtures. when i started working on these i had worked with a style guide very little, if at all and now i'm proud to say that my grasp on interpreting pre-existing information is going well.







over the summer i created two id packages for a photographer and an interior decorator. lots of fun to work on. logos/id are always fun for me, because it puts my brain into overdrive.



these are two collateral packages for a local filmmaker in town. i was given a lot of free reign to create a phenomenal package, which included the dvd/armaray case, a poster and (my first!) title screens for his dvds. i now get to be on imdb.com. woo hoo!




i was recently contact by a wonderful band in new york called 'we the they.' they wanted a custom myspace profile. i conceptualized a design that reflected the style of music with a groovy hand-drawn layout. funky colors and lettering really give the page a nice appeal. nice banner at the top huh? jeeze.

oh my goodness! it's been a long time, friend. a long time! i apologize to you, my dear reader, for not updating when i said i was. but the truth is: austin has been busy.

since july i've worked on: about 10 posters, 3 dvd packages, 3 album designs and a really nice project for american eagle outfitters that was a big hit over the summer. i'm currently in brooklyn, new york hanging out with my design buddies. did you know that brooklyn industries is having a sale on winter coats?

i've also created a brand-spankin-new portfolio book for my newest works. it's simply fantastic and right in the next room. so if you're in new york until thursday give me a call and i will buy you a coffee and we can talk awesome.

oh yes, and when i get home i am updating my web site! now you have no reason to make fun of yours truly.

greetings and happy independence day! wow, the last time i posted anything was in may. shame on me. i've been working on some exciting things since then. a few posters, some more cd and lp layouts (which are going to look amazing!) and i finished a project for american eagle outfitters last week. currently, i have been working on some logo/collateral packages for a few wonderful people. and since it's our nation's anniversary i'm not going to do anything today! just kidding i am still working right now. more to come soon.

hi friends. i am back from the inter-dead. things have been going well over at austinHQ. i wanted to show you some of the things i've been working on lately. some posters, some awesome album artwork and soon i will be able to show you my first dvd project! i also got my camera working again, which makes me happy.











this one was super fun to make. it's for the european tour for portugal. the man. john (from ptm) helped draw with me. tour starts this week!



another "expanded" album artwork for one of portugal. the man's eps. we made the cd first and i forgot to make it big enough, so we just made more more more. the back is just as good as the front and it is being printed in germany.



here's the cover for ptm's newest album that is slated to come out in july. i'm almost done with all of the artwork. john drew illustrations with me. the whole package is going to look phenomenal.

that's it for now, but keep on the lookout. i'll have more soon. i've got a few posters coming up that will rule your ass.

Greetings. Sad news from yours truly. I think my camera is officially kaput. Very very sad. The only imaging devices I have are my scanner and my cell camera. I've got some new projects to post as soon as I figure out how to resurrect the Sony's zombie bones.

Some other wildly exciting news: I will be traveling up to Seattle next weekend to officially start on the artwork for Portugal. The Man's next album, which I believe is still called "Church Mouth". I'm very excited about this. Why just today I was IMing my friend John about rabbit fur and how much it would cost to make about 20 thousand pieces of carrot-shaped strands of rabbit fur to put in the CD resivoir. Let's see if this one happens.... Anyway, I get to take the train. It's been a good 20 years since I've ridden on the Amtrak. Saying 20 years make me feel so old, but guess what? That means I was 5. I'm still young, though my looks are devilishly mature.

I also forgot. Today I sent off more artwork that will turn into PTM's USA release of the Waiter: You Vultures! LP. It's different than the German release, which is full color. This version has the same layout as the German version, but starts with a black paper jacket, then a clear gloss spot coating of texture, white ink and the top is sprinkled with gold metallic ink. It's going to look amazing. Oh yes, and the wax is clear with yellow splotches. I think they're only running 500, so if you'd like to pick up a copy, you better keep your eyes peeled and your ears opened. And watch out for zombies also.

More to come soon. Enjoy the first beautiful day in Portland of 2007.

holla! still working out the bugs in my HTML, but welcome.

hi. things are going well in new portfolio mode. i have all of the great work i've done in 2006 and am working on pfolio layout today. i can't wait to get everything up. 10 album designs, loads of posters, a few id packages and one heck of a one-man party.

ye hath none more work to postest for a whileth until ye gets ye site up something neweth.

greetings! i've decided to post the last batch of work (hopefully) before i get my butt in gear and fully update my web site from top to bottom. there are a bunch of great projects before you. one thing that isn't on here is the debut cd for the band, 'blue cranes.' reed and i have been working on it since almost the beginning of last year and i have a copy of it in my hands right now. it's one of the coolest album layouts i've ever done. there's a poster that i created for their cd release show and it resembles the album pretty well. that'll be up on the new site for sure. now onto the projects...


i'm currently in a poster show at the goodfoot here in portland. there are 3 of my posters up on the wall in this corner, but since i was probably drunk or the booth was too tall, you can only see 2 of them.


one of my dear friends asked me to make save the date cards for her wedding in march. i drew them and printed 2 color green on the front, black on the back with my little print gocco. they came out exceptionally great. i also get to create the wedding invitations. i can't wait to get started on those.






this is the first poster in a while where i didn't draw any of the letters. i think it RULES.


cd release poster for blue cranes.






poster for jd ramirez's killer girls night. next movie night will be for wet hot american summer!


poster for holocene music's newest band, 'the shaky hands.' they are playing a show in brooklyn at the southside lounge and i was asked to use the album art (created by josh minkus, and it's amazing!). i did the placement of josh's swirl artwork and lettering for this one. i love it.

that's it for now. hopefully i will have a re-launch within the next month or two and with brand spankin new business cards to boot.