Blogs Posted Under Creative Inspiration

I guess if you are a in the field of computer animation, the name “Big Buck Bunny” would mean something to you. For those of us NOT in the field, however, this may or may not be familiar with you.  However, for those of us to have ever enjoyed the creative and talented brilliance of the team of PIXAR, you will undoubtedly appreciate this. Don’t get me wrong, the animated short film Big Buck Bunny has nothing to do with Pixar. It actually has to do with Blender,.. || Continue Reading →

Good logo design can be easily found.  Great logo design is a bit harder to find. Insanely brilliant logo design is a diamond in the rough. Every now and than, I come across a logo that not only catches my eye for its simplicity, which is very crucial for a successful logo solution, but that has such a strong concept and its solution is stunning. Take Nebraska-based graphic designer Sean Heisler for example.  It was his logo design for Killed Productions that first caught my.. || Continue Reading →

Yes, I am a Star Wars Geek.  Though I have never attended a SW Convention, I did see the original in the movie theatres a total of 11 times when I was 9 years old.  Heck if George Lucas wised up and really cash in, he would make a Star Wars Land theme park for which I would make an annual pilgrimage to for sure. I am also a lover of vintage travel posters.  Their simplistic use of flat color that really due upon their lithographic production processes and had all of the characteristics.. || Continue Reading →

Came across another amazing illustrator.  This one hails from my home state of California and goes by the name of Raymond Swanland, one of the former geniuses behind the fantastic world of creatures created for the former video game guys over at Oddworld Inhabitants that was housed in San Luis Obispo. If you examine his giant collection of mythical creatures in his illustration collection, you will notice a very distinct style:  sharp, razor-like shapes that convey a very strong.. || Continue Reading →

I love finding and image that just makes me smile.  I also love stumbling on very talented illustrators. So, I got the best of both worlds when I came upon truly amazing talents by Brooklyn-based illustrator Peter de Seve.  Known mostly for his incredible cover illustrations for New Yorker magazine, you may also notice his quirky touch on the character design behind Ice Age‘s character “Scrat”. But for me the highlight was a little piece that he did that features.. || Continue Reading →

One of the regrets I have about NOT living in a dense urban area is having a ton of chic urban clubs where indy bands play.  This stems from my love of cool, creative gig posters that are slapped upon a wall somewhere to showcase or announce what band is playing where.  They are excuse as a designer to cut loose, go crazy, and dream big. So my envy bar rose to obscene levels when I came across some of the design work by a Indianapolis designer and Art Director Mike Harpin, who.. || Continue Reading →

I love typography.  That is one of the reasons why I found myself in this industry.  Letterforms are art in and of themselves.  The way they can arrange themselves to form words, to form shapes and compositions within a layout. Done right, they can be used to form complete illustrations.  Which is what makes them such a great visual medium to illustrate with.  Because one can use words as the paint (literally), you can develop another level of concept into the design.  The.. || Continue Reading →

I love sharing with the world when, though I am never the first and probably not the last, I stumble upon creative genius or uber-talent that is floating around. My latest find was in the realm of chalkboards.  We have all been around them.  We were raised in school around them (at least my generation or older was) and we may have even had our share of eraser pounding outside of classrooms. Nowadays we see them in small coffee shops and elusive deli’s here and there. .. || Continue Reading →

I love remakes.  Not so much with film, because hardly ever does the remake do justice or turn out better than the original, but with book covers, that is not the case.  With each re-publication of a book, it usually means a re-dressing of the cover graphics or jacket.  At least in the case of paperback releases. Enter designer and illustrator Jim Tierney.  Not only is this creative-guru talented, but he is ambitious.  He dreams big and delivers on execution. Case in point:.. || Continue Reading →

I was graciously referred by a young friend to check out the design stylings of fellow creative Will Staehle, and for lack of a better term, was wickedly delighted!  Not only was he deemed by PRINT magazine as one of the Top Twenty Under Thirty New Visual Artists, but he has his hands full.  By day, he is a Digital Designer at JibJab here on the West Coast. By night, he is running his own studio called Lonewolfblacksheep. But what really floated my boat, was Will’s side.. || Continue Reading →