Sunday, December 03, 2006

Illustration Friday: Might

might_flat

For some reason when I heard the theme was "might," the first thing I thought of was how you always hear how ants can lift 10 times their body weight. In my quick internets research, I found out ants strength is overstated, but I already had my idea.

I wanted to experiment with limited color here. I was inspired by some colors in an old 60s letter/bill holder that I have. I also was inspired by some old cookbooks I have, that use just black and one color. I like how they use the solid color to describe the shapes, and then use interior black for details.

Here is a pic of the bill holder that inspired the color. Click it for the larger size and some other close-ups on my flickr too:
Retro Letter Bill Holder

39 comments:

emilayusof said...

Wow! Mighty ant! Love your illo, John!

Kim de Young said...

Wonderful thought process for this piece. Love the color decision for the graphic look.

Anonymous said...

love the colors together! this is really fun and retro!

Dr. Diabolical Dave Savage said...

Ah...if ants aren't that mighty, you should've made the ant unable to ring the bell. Still a great illo.

Deb said...

I love the retro colors and the subject is great!!

I'm fond of the flat illo as well.

Anonymous said...

You have dispelled an urban myth!
I like the flat coloured one better too. Nice work.

CosasEnEstereo said...

awesome, love the style for tru is a n original retro style

Michelle Lana said...

lovely idea and a cool illo.

Doug said...

great job! I think I agree with you... the flat version has a better feel to it.

Katherine S said...

cool idea!

anhdres said...

your illustration is fresh and excellent. it stands out even more after reading your description. very well done!

valerie walsh said...

Awesome! i love it!

tusen said...

I think you may be really proud of your experiment :)

Julie said...

John, your work is great. You might know this blog already, but have you been to http://modmom.blogspot.com/ ?

I think you might like it.

shadows and clouds said...

thanks for the comment! ace, another ant-thinker! have fun!

Unknown said...

AWESOME take on the theme!! Love the design too!

dian said...

lovely colors. luv it!

Pickledog said...

Awesome illo John! The big head on the ant is super and I love the rankings on the strength test. He-he big boy!!

Jeannetto said...

why do you insist on ruining everything with your "internet research"? Next you'll tell me beetles aren't endopterygotes with complete metamorphosis'.

<3jeannette
www.jimmyjanesays.com

Luisa said...

jeje, great idea and unbetable interpretation!

saludos!

Kumikob said...

Nice colours, great idea and like the style too : )

FromThaBrook said...

very distinct style and very clean!

sage said...

wonderful! mighty indeed!

Tanya Nichols said...

I LOVE IT!! Great time to experiment with colors...absolutely worked well..

constance wong said...

wonderful idea and I like the limited colour palatte!

Anette Heiberg said...

What a cute character, and I like your bright and fun colors.

Anette
www.wynlen.no

Jay said...

cool character. I like the movement!

Abigail said...

Great piece - I like the texture throughout, it definitely gives it that retro feel.

Kay Aker said...

Perfect sixties aura! Bravo!

Anonymous said...

I agree with all! Great.

Matt Phelan said...

Great use of color!

SILVER KNIGHT said...

mighty nice!

Anonymous said...

great illustration! i love the action on this one... and great experimentation with a new style :)

Anonymous said...

el oh el. i LOVE his face!!

MiKa Art said...

Made me smile! I can feel the action/movement. Love it.

Eric Dyck said...

hey john..thanks for the comment...

i meant to ask you...could you post a link to that old bill/envelope holder? i'd love to see your colour reference materials...

Anonymous said...

You've got a lot of great work on your blog! I like the fun, retro styling and bright colors.

Theresa H. said...

i love your "throwback style"! There's so much energy in this piece that the limited color usage really elevates the actions! Terrific as always!

Cheers,
Theresa

Anonymous said...

John your blog rocks! Awesome work! Your racoon is freakin cool. I love the retro hipness of your stuff. I am way jealous of your skills.