New Project: Moe's Mid-Century Modern Minneapolis Logo

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, I am proud to present to you the retro logo I just finished up for Moe's Mid-Century Modern Minneapolis. Moe is in the process of opening up an Etsy shop and I will link sometime soon. For now, I'm just showing off a really cool mid-Century inspired logo that I am really happy with. We also did cartoon character versions of Moe and his cat, Cleo, which I will feature in a follow-up post that I hope to put up soon.

Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers!

Click for larger version.

Now Serving . . . Corn Dogs!

This is a sample promotional poster for a corn dogs. It is sitting here while I decide if it is ready for my portfolio or not, something I call the "cooling off period".  In the meantime, you can get one started for your organization or business right here.

Retro Corn Dog Promotional Poster

Work In Progress—Tiki Girl

This is one that I got sidetracked on because I had some paying projects to work on. I hope to get back to her soon, but with the holidays rapidly approaching, it's hard to say when exactly that will happen, although now that I think about it, maybe I can work it into some kind of tiki themed Christmas deal. Anyway, this is the inked version that I scanned in and was working from.

Work In Progress—October Pin-up Girl

I haven't posted lately because I've been busy on a couple of projects, but those are both winding down now, and I'm gearing up for the promotional part of some special offers for the month of October. I haven't done a pin-up girl in quite some time, so I thought this would be a good excuse, and, of course, this being October and all, I've decided to give her a Halloween theme. I should be back Monday or Tuesday with the finished results, but for now, here is a sneak preview of (for lack of a better title) the October Pin-up Girl.

This is the cleaned up sketch that I scanned in to work from.

Here is the digital version, which is about halfway finished.

Sketches: Retro Heads

A four pack of retro cartoon heads from the almighty newsprint sketchpad that is always kept in my car. This was actually from a few weeks ago when I  got skunked on a Parking Lot Characters field trip—surprisingly none have shown up since the warm weather started, perhaps they've all migrated to Walmart for the season. Anyway, I drew these from my imagination just to be drawing something.

Projects: Hellbetty Jewelry Part II

This is just shameless boasting, because I'm really proud of the Hellbetty Jewelry Project and happy with the way everything has turned out. The client is tickled pink as well, which makes me that much happier. Anyway, this is the latest batch of printed items hot off the presses, the T-shirts and the business cards.

Photo: © 2011, Tarrah Moore. hellbettyjewelry.com

Photo: © 2011, Tarrah Moore. hellbettyjewelry.com

 

 

Photo: © 2011, Tarrah Moore. hellbettyjewelry.com

Photo: © 2011, Tarrah Moore. hellbettyjewelry.com

Photo: © 2011, Tarrah Moore. hellbettyjewelry.com

Behind the Scenes: Cartoon Tests

I've been working out an idea today, which is a variation on my cartoon style, but instead of  the usual ink, or digital, I'm doing it in black colored pencil and blue art sticks. The style I'm shooting for is reminiscent of the soft black & white children's book illustrations of the mid-century, such as those of the legendary, Syd Hoff. You might not think it, but one of the most important choices I've had to make to get the look I want is the choice of paper. To make a long story short, I did three versions on different types of paper to see which one looks the best. So now, without further ado, I present the three test versions.

#1 Charcoal Paper

#2 Cream Tinted Drawing Paper

#3 Cream Manila Drawing Paper

After playing the "Three Bears Game"—this one's too lumpy, this one's too smooth . . .—the one I'm happiest with is #3, the cream manila drawing paper. It's got a nice soft texture and an old school feel, you might even say an "antiqued" look to it. The funny thing is, that I found this paper at Goodwill, and parts of the top sheet were sun-faded, so it had obviously been around for a while. I'll probably never be able to find it again, in fact, after this test, I've only got 47 sheets of it left, which will be fine for this project, but what about the next one? I'll figure something out. If nothing else, I can always scan a blank piece of it and use as a texture for future digital art, so I'll at least be able to use it that way.

Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers!