Thoburn Design & Illustration

More than a year ago I scratched out a very rough sketch of a cat pawing into an aquarium for a snack, and subsequently being pulled in by a huge octopus. It was an idea I had to illustrate the idiom “curiosity killed the cat”. That sketch got filed away in an ever increasing pile of “eventual-projects-to-get-to-when-I-have-the-time”. A couple of months later I caught my son giggling away while snooping through that pile. When I asked him what was so funny, he handed me the sketch of that cat about to be devoured as a result of it’s own curiosity. He loved it, so I decided to move it to the top of the pile. That is how curiositykillz.com was born.

I decided to expand the idea into a series of 9 illustrations depicting the lives of 9 different cats. Back stories were researched and developed. I presented the idea to my good friend, and amazing web consultant, Corey Brown, who jumped on board and began coding the site that I had designed.

I want to make something perfectly clear, curiositykillz.com is in no way meant to glorify the death or harming of animals. I’m hoping it’s clear that my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek by the over-the-top stories and illustrations. However there are those who won’t “get it” or don’t think it’s funny. In fact one website has refused to carry the merchandise as they deemed it “offensive”. In our family we have four cats (and a dog along with two fish), and this series of illustrations was born out of love for those cats and an observation of their insane behavior. I personally know the benefits that pets bring to our lives and how important they are.

You can follow curiositykillz on twitter or you can become a fan on Facebook

Every year I create an invitation for a non-profit organization’s national conference (not spec work). The invitation is typically 16-20 pages, 8.5×14 saddle stitched. It includes the typical conference stuff, like a brief write up on the host city or state, event schedule(s), guest speakers, registration forms and special sessions. Each of these special sessions require a logo of sorts. Below are three of logos I created as well one for the host state, Colorado.

Like all good wives mine drops hints all throughout the year of what they want/need for special occasions. She’s been telling me for months that she needed a new purse. When she didn’t get one for Christmas I was in serious hot water. Although the water quickly cooled when she opened her brand new MacBook. I had escaped the doghouse, but I hadn’t forgotten the purse. I put it on the list for her birthday. Rather than any old boring bag I decided there had to be a company out there creating custom purses suited to each individual. I was sure they’d charge plenty for it as well, but she’s worth it, right? Enter Snaptotes.com. I was immediately impressed with their website. It was clean and user friendly. I selected the bag that best fit her needs, and painlessly uploaded her custom artwork, a comic character named Frisk based on one of our cats. First the front:

and then the back:

I ran into two snags in the ordering process, both of which were my fault. I called their 800 number twice and each person I got was courteous and patiently walked me through the process. Once it was done and paid for, which was shockingly reasonable, I waited with great anticipation for it’s arrival which they calculated at 7 to 10 business days. When it arrived I secretly unwrapped it and was completely blown away. I cannot even begin to describe the quality of their work. The outside is digitally printed on a thick nylon material and sown tightly to the bag. No visible snags, scrapes, loose threads or scuffs. The purse itself is leather while the handles are nylon. I was so impressed I decided to order more. A large wallet:

Again, I was blown away. Excellent craftsmanship and one of the most unique gift ideas I’ve ever found. I can’t recommend this company highly enough. If you’re looking for a unique gift, or you want one for yourself, check out SnapTotes.com. You won’t be disappointed

I wasn’t done. I thought, if you can put anything you want on a bag, how about a watch? Sure enough, there’s www.timissimo.com. Unfortunately site design wise, this ones in need of a face lift. It’s a bit clunky and busy, but it works and I couldn’t believe all of the customizable options. Not only can you put whatever you want on the face but you can choose, the time-markings, watch body and band. Theres multiple options in each of those categories.  You can even add customized writing to the back, all included in the price.

(A note on the back, it’s not engraved. It appears heat stamped).

Again, I was completely taken aback by the product, this time more-so than SnapTotes, strickly because of their website. I was not impressed, however all that disappeared after the watch arrived. I would highly recommend them. Super fast, the watch arrived in 7 days, and professional. Needless to say, I was a superhero. My wife said it was the best gift(s) she had ever received, and she was quick to show them off to complete strangers. Unfortunately this has put me in a quandary. How will I top this next year?

Scot Lienke with the Washington D.C. area band Oz Revue contracted me to design a set of gig posters. He provided me with their logo, a link to their site and a couple photos of the band in action. I noticed that front man “Oz” had a signature hat he wore in all his performances. I chose to build the bands “image” off the hat and color in the bands logo. I wanted the posters to flow and almost “move” like their music which I sampled on their site. At the last minute we added “Soul, funk, blues & rock” to clarify the style of music. I carried the white lines from the top to the bottom and used them to form the words. Space was required at the bottom for writing in the time, date and location. Also featured at Gigposters.com

Here’s a practical tip you can use to “scan” artwork using MacBook’s built in isight camera. The process I use when beginning an illustration is to do a quick pencil sketch,

scan it, place it in Illustrator, set the opacity to 50%, lock it’s layer and “trace” over it.

Recently my scanner, printer all-in-one deal, gave up the ghost. It wasn’t exactly high quality but we had a good relationship and I was sad to see it go. Before I had a chance to replace it, I was up against a tight deadline. I grabbed my Moleskine and did a couple of quick sketches. Then I remembered, I had no scanner. How would I get the sketches into Illustrator. I considered snapping a digital photo of it but with multiple cords and unintuitive software my camera is more trouble than it’s worth. It could work in a pinch, but then that tiny little camera staring at me from above my laptop screen caught my eye.

I launched “Photo Booth” and grinned gleefully as the LED lit and my ugly mug appeared on screen before me like some kind of Jetson’s inspired mirror. I grabbed the Moleskine, held it up to the camera and snapped a perfectly traceable, albeit flipped, image for me to trace.

As you can see, I’ve been using my isight camera in this capacity for awhile. So what do you do if you don’t have a MacBook? Get one, it might be better than a new scanner!

Just wanted to send out a special thanks to CSSElite.com for featuring my site (and the others who picked it up). And thanks to you for stopping by and checking me out. Come back soon, as I’m just putting the finishing touches on a new illo. One I’m pretty happy with.

Cheers!

Life magazine is doing a special tribute to Audrey Hepburn, “Remembering Audrey 15 years later”. It’s a hefty issue containing many of the photos of her that have appeared between it’s covers over the years. I completed my portrait of Audrey in Adobe Illustrator about three years ago. I thought I’d bring it back to the top in honor of her.

Welcome to my online portfolio. This being my first post I thought I’d give a little more background info than the short blurb to the right. I’m a freelance designer with a passion for illustration. It’s truly where my heart lies. I’ve been drawing since my parents caught me scribbling on the walls of our Florida home. My digital illustrations start out as pencil sketches that I scan in and basically trace over in Adobe Illustrator.
I’ve been a graphic designer for over 11 years starting in the commercial printing industry. I’ve lived and worked as a designer throughout central and north Florida, Tennessee and currently in northern Virginia as a senior designer for a national organization.
Samples of my work, both illustration and design, are available by clicking on “work” above. You can purchase framed or mounted art prints as well as t-shirts by selecting the links to the right under “shop”.
Keep checking back as I will be uploading new art (finished and unfinished) on a regular basis.

Thanks again for stopping by!