The Black Dahlia Murder

I chose to do a metal band this time around, because I wanted to play with ridiculously indulgent metal imagery; gothic crying angels, gore, viscera, medieval weaponry, etc. As I started doing research though, I found that I couldn't really exaggerate that stuff any further than what was already being done. The joke would be totally lost, and my sly, ironically detached pastiche would come off as a sincere piece of fanboy art. Not cool.

So I decided to go the other direction, and illustrate some Satanic imagery in a decidedly more laid back style. The dapper goat-headed fellow is Baphomet, a pagan diety and important figure in crackpot conspiracy circles. I've included his picture for reference, and you can read all about him here.

And I'm finally caught up with my postings. More posters underway, however, so check back soon!

The Breeders... Finally.

God, I've been sitting on this poster for months! Something about it just never felt done, but for all of my sitting and staring at it, I just can't figure out what. That is why I'm forcing myself to accept it as is, and posting it as a complete and final piece. Perfectionism can be very dangerous to the creative process, and in the case of this poster, it had shut me down completely.

As for the subject of this poster, I wanted to play off the Latin influence in Kim Deal's music, so I went with a punk rock/spaghetti western theme. I thought it was a cool idea, and it's one I'd like to return to in some form.

Now that this monkey is finally off my back, I can resume posting these posters with some semblance of timeliness. As proof, watch me post this next one.

BAM!

Dinosaur Jr.

Longtime readers (i.e. my parents) have no doubt noticed my poster concepts usually take some element of a band's history, style, or trivia, and play on it in (hopefully) clever ways. Well this one is a bit of a departure from that strategy in that I wanted to pursue some more abstract, less-literal subject matter. All of the big names do it, so I thought I'd give it a shot too.

I have always had a fondness for monsters, folk myths, and cryptozoology, but thus far, I've only expressed that in art a couple times. In the brainstorming process I began playing with Silly Symphonies-style, impromptu-woodland-jamboree imagery, and this was the resulting experiment. More of a detour than a new direction, probably, but fun nonetheless.

Monster Mash

Here's a poster for the Charm City Roller Girls. That's Baltimore, Maryland, for those of who unfamiliar with the nickname. Monster Prom was the subject given to me on this one, but coincidentally, I had already begun sketching out ideas for a "Universal Monsters" theme when I received this info. That's what I really like about working with Roller Derby Leagues--our shared appreciation for retro camp!

This was a definitely a fun assignment, but man, I've never had so much type to fit into a poster before. I kinda like the crowded type, though. It adds to the whole pulp flavor of the piece.

Daughtry

After much tweaking, indecision, and nit-pickery, I have decided to finally upload this poster. I was given a 48 hour turn around on this one, but thankfully I was also given a suggested theme: the singer (American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry), surrounded by adoring fans. I made a conscious effort to keep this one in a strong monochromatic color palette, and I think it paid off. It's an approach I plan on using again in the future, so watch out!

-New poster on the way soon.

The Doobie Brothers

I've been sitting on this one for a while now. It wasn't quite finished, and before I could go back to it I moved ahead on other projects. I finished it up today though, and I'm pretty pleased with the result. My inspiration for the piece came from the Doobie's origin as a biker band. I also threw some nautical themed tattoo flash on the wall, as a reference to J. D. Ryznar and Hunter D. Stair's hilarious Yacht Rock shorts.

More Posters on the Way

Nitpicky perfectionism has delayed the posting of my two latest posters, but rest assured, they will be up shortly. I've got another 2 posters in the pipeline as well, so look for those towards the end of August. Whew, it's been a productive summer!


To see my posters in their not-quite-finished state, check out my posts on http://oondu.blogspot.com/. It's a joint blog showcasing many of CCAD's top illustration talents. Oh, and me... I post there too.