It’s been almost four whole months since I started my new job and even though I was hired primarily as a web designer, I’ve yet to design and build a website from scratch. Granted that we aren’t a web design company, but it’s part of what we do. Sure, I’ve made a few tweaks and updates to the sites we currently maintain, and I’ve had the opportunity to create some registration pages and HTML email blasts, but I haven’t yet been able to do what I used to do multiple times a day at my previous job.

Did I really just allude that I might miss the old grind of daily website builds? I take it back. There are times I miss building websites all the time, and my WordPress skills are a little rusty, but I wouldn’t trade what I do now to go back to then. Ever. Unless the phrase “Million-dollar salary” was brought up.

Anyway, one of the perks of my new job is the side-projects that pop up from time to time. Our company likes to do things that are unexpected by our clients. That could mean delivering creative Thank Yous, or just finding out-of-the-ordinary ways to allow our clients to easily remember who we are. This is how the illustration above was born.

To thank one of our clients for letting us work with them, we created a mini art gallery of work using their logo as a starting point. Since they enjoy displaying and partaking in local art from the area, they were pleasantly surprised by all of the work we put into our pieces. I illustrated this piece by had, colored it using Illustrator and Photoshop, and then printed it in color on a piece of watercolor paper. And although the watercolor effect is missing in the picture above, I still think the piece turned out well.

I try to tell myself that I am working on artwork on a regular basis, then I wake up one morning to find out that it’s been six months since I’ve opened a file in Photoshop. I’ve been “working” on Laura’s logo for over 6 months, and I feel terrible that it has taken me so long.

I love drawing and designing, and every time I sit down at the computer or table to do some work, I love every minute that I’m lost in those projects. It really is my passion and when I’m pen-deep in a project, there is nothing that makes me feel more productive. The roadblock for me is getting my lazy ass to move itself upstairs and get to work.

When the opportunity came along to take a couple days off work, I jumped at it. Not only did a want a much-need rest, but I thought I could use the free time to get back into my true hobby (i.e. not video games).

The image above is the final logo design for Laura’s personal website Sleeping Lion Designs. She’s amazing at sewing and makes these really cool hand-made purses and bags. She told me that she wanted to start trying to sell them online, so I got to work. I really wanted to create something for her that wouldn’t just be a portal to ship her stuff, but a place where she could show her personality and style as well.

She helped a lot with the ideas and design and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. The lion itself is completely hand-drawn and was digitally painted. I really wanted to capture some of the hand-made feel that her products have in the logo. I also think the font is a nice modern addition to the lion’s arts-and-crafts aesthetic.

Website development is next on the list, so feel free to bookmark it and I’ll post an update when bags are ready to be bought.

Remember the sketch of my thieving otter friend from my last post? It seems he has found a home on a concert poster for my friends in The Rebel Set. Even though the band is mash-up of surfer rock and Johnny Cash country with a modern twist (+10 Description Bonus) this poster, as you can see, has nothing to do with that. And that’s the reason I enjoy designing concert posters so much: you can be as creative as you want as long as it’s attention-grabbing.

The poster design itself is my cell-shaded cartoon take on the Indiana Jones movie posters that were drawn so well by the master Drew Struzan. I would have liked to spend a little more time adding some shadows to the otter himself, but due to time constraints, I didn’t have that option. Even without the extra shadow detail, I think it turned out really well. My favorite thing about the design is the expression on the Otter’s face. Whereas Satipo’s look changed from concerned to conniving in the movie, I wanted the Otter to look as if Indy just yelled, “Throw me the idol!” turned around, and saw a giant otter staring back at him. I’m thinking that the silent exchange to follow would be quite funny.

Maybe they should have re-made the original trilogy with CGI animals instead of making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? It already sounds like a better movie to me.

Welcome to the new Killer Robot Comics website. If anyone follows my blog — and kudos if you do — you may have noticed that I haven’t updated in about two months. Many reasons have contributed to this, but the main reason is that I decided I wanted to get Killer Robot Comics 2.0 live. After thinking about different ideas, I decided on a Wordpress-powered blog where I could manage my website, portfolio and random sketch postings all in one place. I thought this might be the easiest way to keep all of my work together and make it better for people who actually follow what I write and draw.

The blog postings, sketches and comments system is all here still, with the added bonus of being able to post about my actual design projects, show off my portfolio and link to my resume. I guess you could say that it’s an actual website. Thanks to everyone who still reads and views my stuff, and I promise you now that my free time for design isn’t taken up with the site, you should see more frequent random art and actual project pieces popping up here. So, update your bookmarks and feeds and email me (srllaves[at]gmail[dot]com) or leave a comment if something is borked. Thanks so much.

I decided to kick off the new site with the sketch I used to create the poster for the Final HQAX Show last month. My original idea changed a little from an all-out royalty-free-dinosaur-drawing look to what you see now. I just think I couldn’t decide on a style that fit the information. The final poster design changed slightly from what I originally created for better readibility, but you can see the original version here.

I was out of town for the majority of the weekend, but I did manage to do a few logo mockups for a friend that works for a local animal shelter. The logo will be for an annual charity event to help less fortunate dogs get adopted, so it was worth the effort. My favorite logo design is above. I’ll admit that it’s really just an illustration, but I like it too much to add anything else. I’ll also admit that it suspiciously looks like my dog.

The fourth annual I Am 8-Bit art show kicked off this weekend in LA. It involves artists reliving their old-school gaming memories through art. My sister lives close by, and I’m trying to convince her to go check it out. For now, this gallery is as close as I’m going to get.

After a long period of cookouts, canoe trips, broken cars, filled cavities, and Burnout Paradise, I finally had the chance to get back to doing some art last night. I was asked to create a poster for my friends in The Rebel Set for an upcoming show on August 23rd. Apparently the show is at a “hilljack” bar and they wanted something blatantly stereotypical. Above is the linework for the main part of the design, a “hillbilly” if you will. Drinking Moonshine. It’s my homage to Bugs Bunny’s Hillbilly Hare where they had the two squat Hatfield and McCoy types duking it out for a cross-dressing Bug Bunny. And they say cartoons now are bad for kids.

This is another piece I created using my Wacom. The first few times I’ve used it, I’ve been very meticulous at following the original sketch lines, but on this one, I went a little more wild. I added in some details and changed some curves or hairs because of the freedom the tablet gives you. It really is like drawing with a felt-tipped pen that you can erase. I like the “flowy” lines I got with this piece. I’m excited to get better at this.