Big Visual

Fine Lines

2009-11-19T12:20:00.000-05:00

I'm always impressed by artists who can just sit down and draw a smooth, consistent pattern or texture as if they see it clearly before them and are just tracing over it.

I just discovered the beautiful work of Luke Ramsey. His stuff has a great range to it, from graphic semi-cubist stuff, to more sketchy street-art.

Ramsey's work reminded me of Theo Ellsworth, a sequential artist with a similar feel to his lines. Theo's compilation of Capacity comics was of the most wonderful indie comics I'd had the pleasure to read in years. I just found his new comic Sleeper Car and was very happy to be allowed back into his intricate, touching and kooky world yet again.

The Sadness of Bare Walls

2009-11-18T18:53:00.001-05:00

Nothing weighs my heart down with bittersweet emotion more than flipping through "SOLD OUT" posters on the Aesthetic Apparatus website. They barely even give you a medium-size jpeg to pine after. The cruelty! Here are a couple of my favorites:

Graphic Mutants

2009-11-16T10:25:00.004-05:00

Lately, I've been really inspired by artists who re-imagine the designs of books or films in a bold, classic style, like M.S. Corley and Brandon Schaefer. I decided to embark down a similar path and create a series of portraits of comic book characters! Behold!
I also set up an etsy shop where big, beautiful prints can be purchased. :)
www.roganjosh.etsy.com

THE GAMES PLACE

2009-11-16T09:21:00.010-05:00

I've been working with The Games Place, a new boutique game shop, to develop their visual ID and marketing material. The idea was to brand the store like Apple, but for board games. Modern and hip, but as clean and open possible.

Logo Design

Web Design

Postcard Series (4 fronts, 1 back)

A couple big posters for the shop!

I also took the game photos and helped develop the copy. I'm very excited for Zach and Jeof. They opened this store in Bryant Park just last week!

Stitched Poems

2009-11-16T01:19:00.003-05:00

Jess Hutchison finds a new dimension within cute. Her fabrications have a real life to them, that gives them an emotional resonance lacking in resin toys and 2D cartoons which aim for a similar aesthetic. The photography's also beautiful. View the whole series of her toy collection here.

Vic Thrill And His Circus

2009-11-15T23:06:00.004-05:00

I just saw Vic Thrill perform an amazing late-night set last night at Glasslands in Williamsburg along with BamIAm on video projections and trapeze luminary Tanya Gagne (or T-Pow) of the Wau-Wau Sisters. It reminded me that I need to post the poster I did for their last gig at Galapagos in Brooklyn, as TEAM SPIRIT ANIMAL SQUAD. I was quite proud of this one. I hope they can take the logo design onward to T-shirts, etc. I also did a poster for Tanya's follow-up show with her students at the Trapeze Loft.

My Lifeline

2009-11-15T22:43:00.002-05:00

I'd like to give a shout-out to CG Textures, probably the most useful digital art-making resource I've found on the net. I'm nothing without my textures, and they make it easy and free (with a generous download limit) to find hi-res materials, all search-able and clearly grouped.

Po-Mo Pillow

2009-11-15T21:23:00.002-05:00

Pillowmaker BennyandHeidi favorited me on Etsy and I immediately favorited back after seeing the vibrant and creative patchwork sewn into every item for sale.

GET LOST

2009-11-15T19:34:00.001-05:00

I'm not much of a font design sentimentalist, and type-as-art isn't usually for my taste. I tend to find it kind of self-indulgent, even if it's pretty smart-looking. That said, I was totally won over by this GET LOST print by Douglas Wilson. Every one is printed on a different vintage map. You can buy them here.

The Badger

2009-11-14T19:13:00.002-05:00

I happened on the beautiful art work of Eduardo Recife and found myself entranced. His work uses familiar themes and images in ways that feel very whimsical but haunting at the same time.

Architectural Mash-Up

2009-11-14T18:42:00.004-05:00

This incredible series of posters entitled UTOPIA by Richard Sabatini, took my breath away. This is one Utopian vision I'd sign up for!
View the whole series here.

Penguin Horror!

2009-11-14T18:27:00.006-05:00

Penguin published this killer book series last year, and posted a video interview with the designer about the process.

I loved finding out that she actually used cyanotype exposures for the images.

Olivetti Design Series

2009-11-14T17:23:00.004-05:00

A nearly endless series of fantastic designs, this Flickr photo set just keeps on giving as you click through it.

Olivetti Lexikon 80 Poster
Originally uploaded by ninonbooks

RE:TOUCHED

2009-03-22T15:30:00.002-04:00

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS!!

COLLABORATIVE DIGITAL ART PROJECT -
RE:TOUCHED

I am seeking other pixel artists and digital imagers to collaborate with on a group project.

Except for the people we have met face-to-face, there is an anonymous filter through which we see virtually every other person in the world. How is that filter imperfect? (i.e.-What do the eyebrows on the talk show host’s makeup artist look like? What would they fix about themselves? What are they oblivious to?) This project is a reversal of the typical receptive gaze.

What similarities and differences arise when a person’s most important visual feature (their face) is anonymously handed over to a largely unsupervised and uncoordinated group? Let's find out!

Contributors give up the rights to their own face, and take creative license with the faces of others, unaware of who they are retouching or what the person looks like originally. They just contribute their own idealized cheek or eyelid, having no concept of the whole face.

The idea:

Each participant takes a hi-resolution close-up photo of their face. The photo is raw and un-altered.
The photos are emailed to me.
I chop up each photo into segments. (around 10-15)
I email each artist random segments of the faces of the other participants.
Each artist takes the liberty of re-touching each segment they receive. Alterations can include adding or smoothing texture, adjusting hue, redirecting lighting, sharpness, adding jewelry, “fixing” anatomy, incorporating new backgrounds, and on and on. Ideally, each segment will look like it’s from a completely different “photo shoot” with its own feel. From the perspective of the retoucher there will be no idea of what the rest of the face looks like or what other artists are doing with the other areas of that face.
The altered segments are emailed back to me and I will reconstruct the face.

Timing:
This will be an ongoing project for all of 2009.

Display & Scope:
The segments of the faces will be printed out on canvas. They will be approximately 4x larger than life. Exactly how “oversize” they will be depends on budget and gallery space constraints. I am also seeking gallery and art space recommendations!

Guidelines:
Not many. I would like to suggest that participants err on the side of subtlety, and “altered realism” rather than going for wild patterns, cartoony effects, etc. If two segments on the same face end up looking similar through coincidence, I may request one of the contributors revise their work.

Send me an email if you (or someone you know) is interested!

Finished Citroen

2009-01-14T00:01:00.005-05:00

The car's out of the shop.

Took a month to go from here:

to here:

Vroom

2009-01-01T17:11:00.006-05:00

The car I'm modeling in Maya is coming along!

Wormburner Radio Interview

2008-12-23T16:09:00.007-05:00

I got some great props from WNEW as well as an on-air shout-out from Hank of Wormburner when they did a live performance promoting their Christmas single Bells of St. Ignatius.

"Aside from the music, A Hero's Welcome is notable for the stunning artwork that graces the cover and inside flaps. The story behind the artwork is even more remarkable" - Matt Simpson, WNEW

>Listen to the whole interview and performance here<

Flame On!

2008-12-13T17:35:00.006-05:00

//I'm updating the site, so please forgive the clunkiness.//

I was recently asked to design posters and handbills for two of my favorite bands: Wormburner and Camper van Beethoven!

Spring Awakening

2008-03-27T17:36:00.007-04:00

After a dry spell, I'm finallly working on some fun new projects.

a new Wormburner poster:

and a logo for a music blog:

Phase 1

Phase 2

Final

The Pain!

2007-08-06T13:55:00.000-04:00

Omodern has posted a photo series featuring the hottest in European interior design ... FROM 1974! It's not for the faint of heart.

See above: The poor doe-eyed model is completely disoriented by her surroundings. Where should she pee?? Clearly, it's safest to huddle in place, lest she arouse the predatory spider-chairs.

Wormburner at the Merc

2007-07-20T22:15:00.000-04:00

A new poster:

It's what happens when you enter keywords from your dreams into a Google image search.

Sushi for the Eyes

2007-06-25T11:58:00.001-04:00

Coney Island Mermaid Parade 2007, originally uploaded by MacRonin47.

Coney Island Mermaid Parade 2007 - The best eye candy New York City has to offer. Beauties, bizarros, and everything in between. It's probably my favorite NYC event. This year, I was busy being a drunken pirate on the Otto's float, so I'm browsing Flickr to see all the amazing stuff I missed.

I love seeing how the same fabulous people keep appearing in different peoples' photosets.

, originally uploaded by surgery.

Anemone2, originally uploaded by kikibaxx.

FCUK Me?

2007-06-18T16:35:00.001-04:00

hmmm...
This ad campaign looks alot like Circus of Enlightenment... I'm equal parts suspicious/flattered/puzzled. Chalk it up to that pesky zeitgeist?

For eye-feasting:

2007-06-16T21:31:00.000-04:00

More recent posters added today, along with a revised "Logos & ID" section.

Update!

2007-05-19T17:01:00.000-04:00

New artwork added 5/07 revising "CD packaging," "Posters, Cards & Ads," and "Design Misc. & Illustration" bringing these sections as up-to-date as they will probably get in 2007! Other sections are being rebuilt with the new format and will have new art shortly. Thanks for visiting!

Hello

2006-07-18T23:07:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Big Visual. Stay tuned for new images.