How Tweet it is
Posted by Josh McKible at 9:45 am on June 16th
Batch Two of my NaniBird series of free papertoys has just hatched, with over 25 designs contributed by talented designers and artists from all around the world. Please visit and download some for fun.
Batch Three is wide open so if you'd like to participate, just let me know!
Asian ambient
Posted by Josh McKible at 8:37 pm on April 27th
Heres some artwork I did recently for a CD of ambient sound effects from various cities around Asia. It's intended primarily for use by sound and film studios and not really the casual listener. The brief was pretty much wide open, the only request being to make sure it depicted urban sounds and not the stereotypical rice paddies and water buffalo imagery one might associate with the idea of "Asian".
Actually, the label head did request that I put a mole by the corner of the woman's eye as he thought she looked a little like his wife and wanted to surprise her. Sweet, I thought.
I pitched a few ideas during the sketch phase...
A mechanical/organic lotus with speakers set into the bud and various skyscrapers plugging in like audio jacks.
A street scene with speakers set into lanterns and boom mikes coming off utility poles, which here in Japan at least, are everywhere (the poles that is) and crowded with all kinds of wires and gizmos. The skyline is an amalgam of various buildings from across Asia.
And the one closest to the final, with a few changes.
Heavy Petting
Posted by Josh McKible at 9:58 pm on March 9th
About a year ago, I did the illustration and type work for a title sequence of a small, indie romcom (romantic comedy, dontcha know... ^__^) called "Heavy Petting", about a man, the woman he loves and the dog that stands between them. I didn't do any of the actual animation, I just provided the boards that then got brought to life in After Effects. The film was stuck in distribution limbo for well over a year, but now it's finally making it's way around the festival circuit. It's really fun to see a drawing come to life. Makes me want to learn After Effects for myself.. along with the gazillion other things I'd like to do.
Thanks Rob!
Posted by Josh McKible at 7:45 pm on February 29th
Tech Nani
Inspired by Robd's submission to the Salomon board contest I decided to throw in a couple of my own. It's a tough shape to design in, but it was a fun challenge.
NaniBird flying!
Posted by Josh McKible at 6:16 am on February 20th
Nanibird, my new site for free paper birds, has launched with 15 new designs from some very talented folk, including from 2 fellow drawgers: Linzie and Robd. Thanks guys!
Fortune China
Posted by Josh McKible at 7:47 pm on February 3rd
I recently did this cover for the Chinese edition of Fortune magazine. It's for their "‘Chinese Executive Health Survey in China", the focus for the image being keeping a good life/work balance. It went through allot(!!) of revisions, during which the AD demonstrator HER chops with Adobe Illustrator... very stressful. The final image may be a bit cheesy, but I'm still psyched to have a cover that something like a gazillion people will see.
Re-Kindled
Posted by Josh McKible at 10:40 pm on January 27th
with tone
I did something recently for the tech section of a men's magazine about a new "e-reader" from Amazon called the Kindle. Apparently, you can download newspapers and books to read on the thing over it's always on free wi-fi (provided of course, you're subscribed to the papers or have bought the book).
The AD asked me to incorporate a product shot of the thing in a crowded subway scene, the idea being the Kindle wins out over the paper versions because of it's small size and one thumb reading. I'm not too sure about the thing (I can see it putting allot of book designers out of business...) but I suppose I should reserve judgment until (or if) I actually handle it.
After the initial sketch round the AD asked me to incorporate some tone into the illo... maybe I went a bit overboard. In any case, the final version is a much more pared down affair. Not sure which one reads better...? But I'm kind of partial to the filled out one.
Deep Breaths
Posted by Josh McKible at 8:53 pm on January 23rd
Here's something I did recently for Family Circle. It's a "how to" for using an asthma inhaler. Thanks go to the AD, Lisa Kelsey, for letting me get pretty with something that could have been very dry. No, no pun intended.
