William Marchant

New Typepad and Wordpress Blog Designs!

Here are a couple blogs that I recently designed.  The first one is about "garage-saling," called "Garage Sale Gal" (that title might change though).  This one was setup on Wordpress using a fantastic template by Ignacio Ricco.  I just did the little illustration of a woman with her kids, carrying a bunch of garage sale "treasures" for the background and banner.

Check out this full blog at http://GarageSaleGal.Wordpress.com/

The second blog is 100% custom designed.  I built this one from scratch on Typepad, a platform that I have become much more comfortable with, in contrast to Wordpress, which I only have a free account and have never really utilized for all its worth.  "Sarah Drags Tim..." is a blog that talks about Midwest living and the great stuff there is to do if you just look for it.  

Check out this full blog at http://SarahDragsTim.com

Seoul Taco STL Website Launch!

Today, Looks Great launched the first of several websites!  

www.SeoulTacoSTL.com is now the online home of the first Korean BBQ Taco Truck in St. Louis!  I did everything you see on the site except for the logo...they had that done somewhere else.  

Seoul Taco is planning to open it's shutters later this month and I am honored to help create an identity for them in the area.  In addition to the website, Looks Great is handling ST's print items such as menus and business cards...check out Facebook for updates on those.

So go check out SeoulTacoSTL.com and let me know what you think of Twitter or Facebook!

LOOKS GREAT! is the New William Marchant Illustration & Design

It became apparent to me that this site, WilliamMarchant.com, may seem a bit jumbled.  There's a lot that I do so there is a lot going on on my website.

In an effort to make things simple, straight forward, and clean, I am launching a re-branding of myself under the model www.LooksGreat.biz!  Looks Great (LLC pending) will serve as my main portfolio/resume website and WilliamMarchant.com will be converted to my blog.  While I do like this site, I really beleive that in the long run, Looks Great will be easier for new visitors to understand and navigate.

A link to my blog will be added to the new site soon, but I am still figuring out the best way to link the two sites...so I am just keeping them separate for the time being.

So go check out my new site and let me know what you think by voting for your favorite on Facebook!

MARCH 2011 St. Louis Illustrators Meeting A New Mobile Art Form

I specifically remember seeing the New Yorker cover to the left by David Hockney last Fall and saying to my girlfriend, "What the hell is that doing on the cover of the New Yorker!"  I then read that it was done on an iPhone and sent directly to the A.D. from the phone...to which I responded, "Who gives a crap?  It looks like shit."

Well, last night's meeting of the St. Louis Artists' Guild Illustrators Section gave me a whole new perspective on the medium.  Michael Anderson, architectural illustrator and Plein Air landscape painter, gave a presentation on his iPad about such "mobile drawings."  Anderson presented two programs/applications that he uses: Brushes and Sketchbook Pro.  (His iPhone, iPad, and Tablet creations are seen below)

I came to respect this medium, first, because of its Impressionist qualities.  Yes, the illustration for the New Yorker cover isn't the coolest illustration I've ever seen, nor is it a style that is particularly striking to me.  But it gets across an idea.  It is a picture of a spoon in a bowl on a table with a chair pulled in.  That's that...you have a picture of something that was created by a person drawing on a digital device.  While this may not seem too ground breaking, consider the alternative: A picture of a spoon in a bowl on a table that was drawn loosely with a pencil.  That's not too special either...it's been done.  But I beg a mainstream viewer to point to the last time they saw/heard of someone drawing the cover of a major publication on a freakin' smartphone.  To me, the method makes the picture become something special.

DECEMBER UPDATE: W Marchant Ilustration & Design

My blog hasn't been updated for a while so I figured it a good idea just to explain why.  Why is because I've been busy as EVER!  While I've gotten only rejection letters back from a few of my picture book submissions...the design side of things has been great!

One thing I've been busy with is a lot of renderings and other design for a company in New York called Populate: Drawing People In.  I can't really talk about the projects I did for them because each involves 2011 ad campaigns for some major companies.  But I will say that a major soft drink company, a leader in dress pants, and a technological giant have some really cool campaigns coming soon and I am glad to have had a hand in pitching them! 

Other projects that I can only "mention" are the work I did for the CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)...but there is some neat stuff going on there too!

Some stuff that I can actually talk about, for one, is all the stuff I've been doing for MSI (Motor Service, Inc.).  I've been handling a rebranding of their company since early this year, which has included everything from new business cards, to truck decals, to merchandising items, to carbonless forms.  It has been a well-rounded project to say the least.

With all this design work, I feel lucky to get away from the computer screen every now & then...and some recent t-shirt screen printing orders I've gotten have helped that! 

Also, in whatever spare time I get, I have been developing a mini-comic or zine that is nearing completion (that's the cover above).  I will be targeting some underground comic stores and indie bookstores to sell some of these things so look for them soon!  If you want to pre-order a copy just shoot me an email.

And the last thing is always my side project RockScratch...I'm always adding new stuff there so check it out.  I'm running a 20% OFF Holiday Sale...so now's a good time to take a look!

Well, I think that covers most of what I've been doing lately...I'm going to get back to it, but have a happy Christmas season!

Bis dann!

Is the App the Future of the Picture Book?

When it comes to the children's book market, trying to get published the old fashioned way is tough.  Especially nowadays.  I know that I am stating the obvious, but ambitious authors/illustrators, such as myself, need to hear that as much as possible.  Personally, I like hearing it because it makes me try harder.  Also, it forces me to accept the possibility (rather likelihood) that I will never be published the old fashioned way.  So, I am compelled to consider other options such as self-publishing. 

But wait...isn't self-publishing just a lower form of "doing it the old fashioned way"?

If I'm going to self-publish, why not be cutting edge, ahead of the times...a pioneer!  I'm talking about going electronic.  GASP...is he really talking about ignoring the tradition, the beauty, the personal experience of print media!?!

LIMITED EDITION Kings of Leon PIGEONGATE Tees!

Check out RockScratch.com for more info on ordering yours today!

 

 

August 2010 SLAG Meeting - The Genius of Michael Swoboda

As a self-taught computer artist in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, I always knew that I wasn't doing things totally the "right way"...and I even prided myself on that.  Whenever I see an ad in a magazine or a design element on a website that is original in style and very visually interesting, I try to recreate something similar in Photoshop....that's how I figure out new techniques to use in my own work.

Well, last night's Illustrators meeting at the St. Louis Artists' Guild was a complete eye opener.  Legendary St. Louis computer arts professor, Michael Swoboda -- freelance graphic artist and professor at Meramec Community College -- gave us a lightning-speed crash course in Photoshop basics.  I use the term "basics" very loosely...there was nothing actually "basic" about it at all.  He goes very fast and is truly impossible to follow completely.  But, I was able to jot down enough shorthand scribble to remind me of certain things to try out.

I learned more shortcuts and new techniques in his brief two hour presentation than I've taught myself in the past year.  Simple things such as the Filter>Distort>Displace technique for texturizing layers have now made my techniques obsolete.  I learned Photoshop capabilities such as "Content Aware Scaling" that I never even knew existed!  He showed us how to combine techniques in order to achieve an "antique" effect or other techniques to achieve a "hand spun silkscreen" effect.  All I can say is wow!

While I don't just make graphic art, I feel that furthering my knowledge in the realm can only help.  Swoboda teaches how to make things look realistic.  As Bob Shay stated, Swoboda could put text across a mountain and you would look at it like it was actually there.  That is not the type of thing I look to do in my own work.  BUT, from knowing how to do things like that, I would be able to apply those techniques and skills to the work that I do wish to create.

I definitely see myself taking a Swoboda class in my near future.  I hear they fill up very quick...within a couple hours each semester registration period.  Some people even take the same course multiple, multiple times (15 times in one case) simply because there is so much to learn.

I wish I had a link that I could put here so you could learn more about him and his course, but he is truly hard to track down on Google.  So if you are interested just check out his course at http://www.stlcc.edu/mc/

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium

Well, my design software is finally updated after having purchased the latest version of the Adobe Creative Suite (CS5)!  I bought my copy off eBay and saved about 500 bucks!  I went with the Design Premium package because it has all the essentials that I need to do the projects that I do (Learn about the different packages here).

I am truly amazed and über-excited about the updated features of each program such as the multiple pages feature of Illustrator and the 3D features of Photoshop.  I was working with an old version of Ps CS3 for a long time.  So, obviously Ps CS5 is like an entirely new program!  Many of the road blocks I kept hitting with my designs are now completely alleviated...allowing me limitless possibilities.

I've never really gotten into Flash, Dreamweaver, or InDesign before, as I didn't have the programs to experiment with...so I can't speak to their advancement.  But, as soon as I get some free time to play around with them, I'll be showing off my new "chops"! 

You can definitely expect some changes to this site in the near future!

A Night Full of Comic Strip StarsJune STL Illustrators Meeting

This Tuesday's meeting of the St. Louis Artists' Guild Illustrators Section featured comic brothers Glenn and Gary McCoy.  I knew of Gary from his Duplex strip that appears in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch...but as it turns out, they each do a WHOLE LOT more than just a single daily strip.  In addition to the acclaimed strips Duplex and The Flying McCoys, Glenn and Gary do everything from children's books and greeting cards to storyboards for animated features. 

Frankly, I don't know how they get it all done whilst bouncing from LA to the Philippines to New York, and appearing at high profile events such as Playboy Mansion parties...these guys are rock stars of the comic world! 

There is SO much more I could say about them, but I wouldn't give their stories or jokes justice...they are those charismatic, hilarious type of people that you just have to hear for yourself.  You can find out all about them through the links below.

Another highlight of the night was meeting the great Dan Martin of the Post-Dispatch who just stopped by to hear the McCoys talk.  Dan Martin's the guy who draws the Weatherbird...you know, the longest running comic strip in HISTORY!!!  I've grown up loving the Weatherbird, and I felt like a kid again meeting Dan.

FIND OUT A LOT MORE ABOUT THE McCOYS HERE

CLICK HERE FOR DUPLEX

CLICK HERE FOR THE FLYING McCOYS