Recently I've become more and more aware of books not just as canvases to place my illustrations in but as actual, physical art objects themselves. This is kind of spring-boarding off that Edward Gorey post I wrote a week ago. He was a great example of an artist that didn't consider himself to be only an illustrator, or only a graphic designer. Instead he thought it was best if one artist had full control over the entire book, it's design and illustration. John Hendrix is a current guy, and friend, who I feel is doing something similar. That being, having a high degree of both picture illustration as well as typographical design. This combination works so well when making a book feel like one artist crafted it.
I've hand lettered type before for some of my books and I've really enjoyed it. But I wanted to see how I would do if I focused more of my daily attention at making words more illustration and pictures more graphic. This is one of those results. Because I was thinking about books and words I thought of phrases. New and used books and bookstores are a thing already, but how about tacking on the word AMAZING? It gets the idea across that yeah books can be either new or used, but they're all pretty amazing. They have the ability to transport the reader, make that person feel something new or different, they're pretty incredible.
This design was the my initiation into the graphic world of letters and I'm hooked. I've drawn a bunch of other designs and have a bigger plan for them but first I want to see how others feel about it. I submitted the design to the Cotton Bureau and I've got less than 14 days now to sell 12 shirts. The design will be printed on a black, tri-blend t-shirt, a white cotton t-shirt, and a black, tri-blend tank top. Men and women's sizes and fits.
You can pre-order these shirts at: https://cottonbureau.com/products/new-used-and-amazing And thanks for your support! Also, if you're an illustrator, I highly recommend getting down to business with typography. Print some interesting typefaces out and just trace them, you'll be surprised at how fun that can be. Once your hand knows the nooks and crannies you can do it without tracing and add your own vibe to it.
