Indie Music Magazine Illustrations

In the mid-90's, I did a lot of black and white band illustrations for a few independent music/pop culture magazines. I'm not even totally sure which magazines each of these was for, but I believe most of them were done for Carbon 14, which still seems to be in existence (and has a now-coveted 3-character URL - impressive!).

These pieces were all done in a flurry, and I don't believe there was any payment involved other than one or two issues of the magazines in which my work was featured - which was fine back then, as I was still developing my style and getting used to doing this kind of work. Still, I had to turn these around quickly, and they were all illustrations of real people, which took me much longer to work out (though the average person wouldn't be familiar with these musicians' faces, so if they didn't look perfect, I doubt there would have been any protests).

Though the Internet was around back when I did these pieces, it was in its very early stages and I didn't have access - the magazines probably didn't, either. So since these were done essentially for free, and in a short timeframe, there was no approval process - I'd get 8x10" glossies of the band, possibly with photos of them in other magazines, and I'd sketch and then ink them with my brush-tip markers. Then I'd send the final pieces into the magazines, and they'd print them as-is. If only things were always so simple and direct.


A band called Sinkhole. I really like the way the guy on the left turned
out, though I think I'd be scared to meet him in person. I can't be sure,
but this may be the same band.


The Refreshments, who had one big hit in the mid-90's.


A cool little band named Betty Goo. I gooified them. The top
photo on this page is the one I used as reference, way back in '96.


Ben Folds Five. Get it - "Folds" - like in Poker? And I drew
them in playing card costumes? That's supposed to be clever, people.


From a computer advice column. The logo is
supposed to be shown on a mouse pad,
though I'm not sure it totally registers as one.
From Escargot zine.

As always, some turned out better than others. The one guy's arm below, drinking from the soda bottle, is particularly effed up - but I still take responsibility for them, and I resisted the urge to clean them up in Photoshop before posting them. That's got to count for something, right?

Nico's Monster Hunt

I guess I'm going a little crazy for my son Nico's first birthday party, which is under a month away. They only turn one once, from what I hear.

I'd previously posted an entry about the monster invitation I created (my wife came up with the theme, believe it or not) and since then I've printed the invitations, along with a directions card, and sent them out (purple envelope with monster-face sealer sticker) to about 55 families.

Besides the invitation, I've printed more monster face stickers on Zazzle (as part of the giveaway), and a custom shirt for Nico to wear to the party featuring this design.:


I've also printed banners with the five monsters wishing Nico a happy birthday (each including a corny joke), and a series of signs with each monster offering Nico birthday advice. I put together a 14-song CD with rockin' versions of Monster Mash, I Put a Spell On You, Purple People Eater and similar monster-themed songs, designed and printed labels for the CDs, burned 70 copies, bought purple clamshell cases and assembled them all - another party giveaway.

And we have purple and green balloons, streamers, pom poms, monster cups (the main giveaway), paper plates - even Frankenstein's Monster and Wolfman piñatas (the Monster is, fortuitously, mostly purple and green) - it's become quite a project. My wife, who is designing a Mad Hatter-style cake featuring all five monsters (she's a pastry chef) has already suggested that his second birthday party be a quiet, intimate affair - I'm in agreement.

So, besides all of the above, we're working on activities - all monster-themed as well. You can't have a theme party without constantly reinforcing the theme, I always say. We're counting the piñatas as one activity, and we're going to play Hot Potato with a Frankenstein's Monster head for a second game. For the third activity, I'm developing a fairly elaborate game - Nico's Monster Hunt.

I want the kids (there are sixty kids invited - and about ninety adults - that's why we're having the party in a huge park) to have a little adventure, and a monster adventure at that. So I've created something kind of like a scavenger hunt, but instead of having the kids collect things (I didn't want to buy sixty of five items), it's a clue-based adventure.

The kids will get a flyer (I've pieced the elements together below) with instructions, a map of the park that I illustrated, and a spot for the answers to be filled in. Here's the setup:

The kids will use the map to walk around the park (probably with their parents, unless they're brave) using the five numbers to locate five semi-hidden signs. Each sign will have a clue that they'll have to figure out, filling it in above. And here are those clues:

1
The monster made by Frankenstein
Beyond this hill made his decline
And as he stumbled past this spot
He feared a stick t'was flaming hot

What did Frankenstein's Monster see here?

2
The Wolfman running in the night
Silhouetted in moonlight
Suddenly he howled in fear
From a bullet he found here
What kind of bullet did The Wolfman find?

3
Dracula, the king of dread
As a bat flew overhead
But when he landed in this tree
He lost his best accessory

What did Dracula drop here?

4
The Mummy, wrapped in dust and gloom
Walked here from his ancient tomb
He fled as soon as he could see
An insect just as old as he
What scared the Mummy off?

5
The Creature From the Black Lagoon
Swimming here one afternoon
Found beneath his scaly fin
A mesh of strings to reel him in

What made The Creature From the Black Lagoon swim away?

I'm not giving away the secret word, sorry - you'll have to work it out on your own.

Developing the puzzle was more challenging than I anticipated. The rhyming of the clues came fairly quickly, but I had to make some adjustments once I'd worked them all out. I gave no forethought to what the final answer to the whole puzzle would be as I was developing the clues - I just figured I'd make a five-letter word out of the answers, which I did - but the words I was coming up with had no connection to the theme. "Ropes" was one I kept arriving at - but how do I make "Ropes" the big answer? I couldn't make it work.

Then, when I figured out a word I liked for the final answer, it required one of the clues to be adjusted. Initially, The Wolfman saw his reflection in the moon (a nice, iconic image - I'm trying to give the kids the impression that the monsters were all recently in the park - I want them to have that warm, spooky feeling, which is hard to pull off in a beautiful outdoor environment, mid-day) - but "moon" didn't have the "r" I needed, so adjusted it to be... well, the final answer. All things considered, it wasn't too big a change to make, but I did feel a little sad that I had to lose the moon for The Wolfman. I hope the kids understand.

For the park illustration, I used Google Earth as a reference - but as you would imagine, it gave me too much detail. So after reviewing the satellite image, I grabbed a letter-sized piece of paper, folded it in half, and using a thick brush-tip marker, sketched it out from memory. Then, I compared it to the aerial view and made some adjustments.

I kept the view a bit distorted - not straight above, but down a bit, yet distorting some of the views of the objects so they're more easily recognizable. And I tried to include just enough landmarks so that the kids (and the parents) would be able to find the 8.5x11" signs on a stake in a sand pit (The Mummy = sand), nailed to a tree (for Dracula), by the edge of the lake or wherever they wind up being placed.

I originally considered making the map in full color, or even two color (tints of purple and green), but then just went with tints of the green. Besides being the fastest option, I think it works best this way - giving the kids just enough detail to get their bearings in the park.


Map detail. Click for full, larger view...
you amateur detective, you.

I used the same technique for the map illustration that I did for the invitation - hand sketching and inking with brush-tip markers, scanning, Live Trace in Illustrator, recoloring and final layout in Freehand. Someday I'll break myself of using Freehand, but probably not any time soon. It's the best.

I'm going to head out to the park next week for a test-run, and to make sure my sign/clue locations will work, and that the map is accurate and workable. I don't want the kids getting mad a me for a misplaced bush or something similar - that could get ugly.

I enjoyed making this whole puzzle - it gave me new respect for designer/illustrators who develop these kinds of pieces for publications like Nickelodeon Magazine and Highlights (who gave me the worst rejection of my life in the early 90's - "We don't use material of this style - please do not ever resubmit your work again in the future." - yes, seriously - it gave me a horrible impression of them after loving their magazine throughout my childhood, and every time I see a copy in my dentist's office I recoil).

Maybe puzzle-making is something I'll pursue in the future - in the meantime, I hope the kids and parents at the party appreciate it - and Nico, once he's old enough for it. I'll have to take him back in a few years and recreate it for him, once he has the word "scarab" in his vocabulary, I know he'll be ready (there's your freebie clue).

One More Quarter

I've been repurposing a lot of of my old band art - album covers, CD covers, images from flyers, t-shirts, even unused images - I'm pulling out all the stops. Most of this stuff was rarely seen when it came out, and much of it is out of production, so I'm happy to keep it alive via my various Print On-Demand stores.

This piece, which I now call One More Quarter, was originally done in 1995 for my band cuppa joe's 7" vinyl single Archipellago/Love Peace Anarchy Infinity (those were the song titles), released on Drive-In Records. I designed it to fit in the square format, alongside some handwritten text. The image was printed in one color (purple) on textured peach recycled paper. I liked the way it came out - the final product had a nice handmade look to it.


Archipellago/Love Peace Anarchy Infinity 7" vinyl single
cover- still for sale ten years after its release.

As far as the concept, it was a typical "romantic intentions gone wrong" image. Both songs on the single were about romances that didn't quite work out (what else is new, as far as song subjects?) so I took my cue from there.

The illustration was done with my trusty brush-tip markers, which was then photocopied, and then Zip-A-Tone was added for tone. If you're not familiar with that product, it was popular in the 70's and 80's, though scanning and digital production pretty much killed it. You bought it in sheets that were tacky on one side, and you'd lay it down on top of your finished image, then you'd cut it to the areas you wanted to fill and pressed it into place. Using it made me feel like a pro.


Detail of the illustration. Check out that crazy Zip-A-Tone!

Zip-A-Tone came in different variety, based on the percent of tone and also the screening size (how close the center of the dots were to each other). It was an efficient way to lay down tone, allowing the art to be shot as line art, and not grayscale - so the final printed piece was always totally crisp. It was a bit of a pain to use, but I do miss it - I admired a lot of cool Zip-A-Tone-based art when I was younger, especially in the many black and white horror and science magazines that I hoarded.

Would you like to hear one of the songs, Archipellago? Here it is:



I played drums AND tambourine on that one - but not at the same time. That's what they call "the magic of multi-track recording". We even called in a small string section for maximum bittersweet sound quality.

Recently, I started applying the image to shirts and other products, and I worked well. I was initially worried that the dot pattern wouldn't reproduce well, especially on clothing, but I ordered a sample shirt and it turned out just fine... even if it does make me look a little lovelorn. I can take it.


One More Quarter on Skreened

Gator Wrasslin'

In the mid-90's, pre-internet, I was trying to get my illustration career going. Because I did a lot of simple pen and ink (actually brush-tip marker) work at this point, and because digital printing was still fairly uncommon, expensive, and not the quality it is today, I did a lot of black and white promotions for my work. This one - "Gator Wrasslin'" - was one of those pieces.

While some may question the logic of representing yourself in an illustration sample (hey, it is a self-promo), I was so happy with the line quality on this one after I did it (originally with no intention of showing it to anyone) that I added my name and some rough-hewn text that said "Gator Wrasslin'", printed it on a postcard, and sent it off to magazines, newspapers, and other publications that I thought really wanted to see a drawing of me in a tank top, rubbing a reptile's belly. It was a short list, but a good one.



I think I toyed with the idea of coloring the piece, but thought better of it. For one thing, I spotted the blacks a little more thoroughly than I'd done on previous pieces, and that made me more confident that it would stand on its own. That also would have made it tougher to color - filling in those areas, all surrounded by solid black, tends to look like an afterthought to me. So colorless it remained.

I did manage to get a few magazine projects from this. One Art Director told me I had a "sensitive line style". That was a very nice compliment, but seemed slightly creepy when I thought about it too much. Eww...

If I were to do this again, I'd have kept the gator's belly white and not filled it in. I may have also removed the machete from my teeth - it looks kind of cool on its own, but I'm not sure if it really goes with the theme - am I wrestling the alligator, or preparing to fillet it? And I definitely would have given myself long pants and at least a t-shirt. No one needs to see all of that body hair, no matter how nicely rendered it may have been.