A New Approach And New Designs

Lately, I've been getting a lot of great attention for the minimalist art I have been doing, but recently, I've started trying something different.

I wanted to keep with the minimalist look, but perhaps take a few more risks when it came to design.

I had a few ideas in regards to puns and word play.  The phrase, "Release the Kraken" of course refers back to the movie, "Clash of Titans", which were the words were spoken in order to release the giant sea monster by the same name. So, I wanted to put on a spin on it, and instead played on the notion of "cracking" open a lobster or crab before one would eat it. Staying consistent with a minimalist style, I came up with two different designs. It made me chuckle and I thought that eventually, I could see it a seafood restaurant, maybe on a bib?  This was kind of the direction I was going with my brain.

Soon after, it also became clear to me that maybe certain characters in sci fi or comic book movies and television shows had fake products either during or after their careers.  For example, Commander William Riker from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a trombone player.  I thought it would be hilarious to imagine Riker opening up his own music academy after serving his time in Starfleet.

While I loved doing minimalist superhero costumes, this kind of design work was different and a bit more challenging in the sense that I had to really think, "OK, what sort of quirk or hobby did this character have that many fans would get?" I had to make it subtle enough but still recognizable. From there, I kept moving forward and tried to think of other ideas. The mash-up was also born from this. Combining different ideas in the fictional universes also made sense to me and I wanted to come up with fun pieces.

Of course, in making these, I didn't want to try too hard. If I had an idea, I had to think it through and made sure I didn't force it. While on one hand, I wanted to keep making these sorts of things, but the reality was that I couldn't do it until it was completely fleshed out.  My process had to be realistic and logical, despite the many different ideas.  In each and every one of the these, it involved planning and constant questions, "OK, is this OK? Will people get it? Is it too on the nose? Is it too obscure?"  It was that balance that I thought made each of these work.

So far, I only have a handful of designs like these, but I hope to do more. Again, it's making sure that it plays and it's simple enough that people will get it and enjoy it.

Here's to the next few designs that hopefully will come about soon.

Stay tuned...