Whew. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted. But I’m back from an amazing fishing trip,  and ready to start up my summer work. I recently started working for Heartwood Creations, a local company that specializes in inlay design for wooden boxes. Their work ranges from classic jewelry boxes, to western/outdoors crafts, to some very artfully designed pieces worth taking a look at. Definitely an area of design outside the normal realm of print and web and an interesting combination of 2d aesthetics on a 3d final product.

Movie credits are great graphic design inspiration. The ultimate combination of images and text in motion. Here are five particularly great examples, plus a bunch more to keep you hunting.

1. Psycho

In many ways, designer Saul Bass invented movie titles. Every sequence made today draws from Bass’s work. Most often indirectly, but when a film maker wants that “old movie” look, like in Catch Me if You Can, they will go right for that “Saul Bass” look. By using cut and paste paper animation and minimal color schemes, Bass was able to convey the essential tone of the movie in an abstract, visceral way.

Also see:

-Anatomy of a Murder

-West Side Story

2. Ratatouille

Disney has always had a knack for the storybook look, no matter what the setting of the movie is. Whether it’s medieval manuscript illuminations, or the hand painted credits of Ratatouille referencing art deco posters, Disney credits always bring the magic. The endearing slapstick animation as well as the stylish animation style and text of Ratatouille can’t be beat.

Also see:

-Robin Hood

-The Sword and the Stone

3. Dr. No

James Bond isn’t just a film line, it’s a film genre. From its very origins in Dr. No, the “Gun Barrel” graphic became an icon. Filled with sexy silhouettes of women and guns, James Bond credits have always been hammy and fun with a classy flair.

Also see:

-Goldfinger

-Casino Royale

4. Iron Man

The video link is poor quality, but do yourself a favor and see this movie if you haven’t already. Translating comic books to movies has been en vogue lately, which is great for comic book lovers especially when it is done well. Iron Man makes this transition flawlessly, right down to the end credits. The animation uniquely melds the technology motif of the movie with a super cool arcade video game aesthetic. Credit sequences, which combine pictures and text just like a comic, are a great opportunity for designers to bring he look and feel of a comic book to the big screen.

Also see:

-300

-Batman (1966)

5. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

These breathtaking titles by Danny Yount represent the new school of title design. A hint of Bass, a dash of James bond, and a little modern flair all add up to one hell of a good animation. By using bits and pieces of the past to make classic Hollywood references, and coupling them with today’s animation styles and technology, you end up with a great finished product that uses cinema’s iconography to its advantage.

Also see:

-Superbad

-Thank you for Smoking

I’ve been looking forward to this movie for some time. Being a huge fan of Will Eisner and The Spirit, it’s good to see that the movie fell into the hands of Frank Miller who, after Sin City and 300 has shown that, at the very least he knows how to translate comics into movies.

The movie has a great cast of Femmes Fatales lined up, including Scarlett Johannson and Eva Mendes as well as Samuel L. Jackson as The Octopus. The trailer looks like Miller is going for the same look as Sin City, which is appropriate as Miller borrowed the high-contrast noir inking style from Eisner.  Let’s just hope the acting lives up to the cool yet quirky characters from Eisner’s Comic.

The savvy artist or designer will grab any good source for reference material and inspiration that he or she can get. These are my TOP 3 internet figure drawing resources.

1. The Drawing Club

Looking for some inspiration on developing your personal style? This is the place. Each week they meet to draw from a model in a certain theme. Anything from super geeky star wars costumes, to poses and costumes inspired by famous artists. Afterwards, they post the best work along with a photo from the model online. It’s great to see each illustrator’s take on the subject and then give it a try yourself. Good, unique, stylish, figure drawing.

2. Andrew Loomis Drawing Books

Andrew Loomis came from the golden age of 20th century illustration, where magazines had more hand -drawn artwork than photography. He needed to draw accurately, dynamically, and from his head. Fortunately, he also developed some of the most fun, most accurate, most easy to learn and simply some of the best techniques for figure drawing and illustration. Unfortunately, his books are out of print.

Luckily for all of us in the internet age, much of his work is available online. Artcone has a comprehensive post of many links where this stuff is available for download.

3. artnudes

Finding pictures of naked people on the internet is easy. Finding interesting dynamic artistic poses with a wide variety of angles, body types, and lighting is not. The artnudes blog contains some of the best in artistic nude photography, great inspiration and anatomical references for the figure artist sick of looking in the mirror.

Don’t untag all of those embarrassing drunken facebook pics of yourself just yet, you could be sitting on an artistic goldmine. As digital cameras continue to get smaller, more affordable, and exponentially higher quality, that candid shot of you and your friends getting black-out drunk at a Halloween party, or getting naked in someone’s apartment might make for some artsy, edgy-as-hell, photography.

One website in particular inspired this revelation: keepitpg. Essentially, the site is a blog where the photographer goes to the hippest, wildest parties and concerts and takes a ton of facebook-style candid party shots. The result is a strange mix of what is traditionally considered low-brow amateur photography, with slick, trendy, compositions, colors, and designs that make it completely legit. Of course, it helps that these are exclusive parties filled with hip cats, oddball fashions, and crazy decor.

A lot the images featured depict alcohol use, partying, and partial or full nudity, so be forewarned. But the edgy sometimes naked, sometimes costumed, mostly drunken people in these photos add to the uniquely disturbing and provocative feel. This aesthetic and conceptual revolution in the realm of photography will continue to grow in popularity as thousands of digital photos are taken every day in the strangest places.

I guess the lesson is, next time you’re looking for inspiration for a drawing, painting, photograph or design, you might want to look up your coolest most beautiful friends on facebook (or flickr or any photo-sharing site) and borrow some of their best bizarre party pictures, like the one above taken last January at a New year’s Party by Laura Schartner of fifthpocket.

Here are a couple of my favs from Keep It PG:

If the 99 cent for 16 ounces price tag wasn’t enough, this energy drink boasts some of the greatest web and graphic design of anything available at a corner convenience store.

Being an advocate of the all-night art session, as well as the energy-charged alcoholic beverage, I was initially drawn to Howling Monkey because of its cheap cost. But after examining the unique can design became enthralled with its aesthetic. The old-timey fonts and illustrations are reminiscent of “miracle cure elixirs” of the past. I can just imagine a sleazy salesman at a carnival standing on a soapbox selling a tonic that would cure all your aches and pains and give you the energy of a HOWLING MONKEY. He would then of course twirl his long black mustache and steal all your money, but can you blame him?

Their website, delivers this carnival aesthetic in full force by presenting an interactive flash scavenger hunt set in a carnival. The illustrations all have the look of paper cut-outs and the same bizarre, slightly creepy feel of the monkey’s portrait which graces the can.

The drink comes in two flavors: Cola and Elixir. I haven’t tried the cola, honestly because of my aversion to non-Coke cola flavors. The Elixir tastes similar to Red Bull, but more sour and bitter, and frankly not quite as tasty. But the hard-to-swallow flavor hardly matters because of the huge energy boost.

Caffeine-wise, the makers have said that it was “comparable to Red Bull,” but somehow I feel a much longer and more intense boost from the Monkey. It might have something to do with the immense amount and variety of herbal supplements and vitamins included in the drink.

All in all, energy drinks are one of the coolest ways to see a complete cross section in graphic design and branding. Anything from high octane lightning and neon, to rock stars and monsters, and now to carnival oddities can be used to develop a persona and aesthetic that we, the thirsty, tired consumer can adopt to quench our need for a quick, carbonated buzz.

BONUS FEATURE:

Here is my favorite way to drink Howling Monkey in what I call the “Egg Yolk” for both its appearance and the Rocky connotations.

2 pts Vodka

2 pts Howling Monkey

1 pt Orange Juice

Pour Vodka and Howling monkey in a Highball glass. Float some OJ on top and enjoy a drink that refreshes, yet knocks you on your ass.

These two music videos are some of my favorites, and use some killer typography as their main focus.

The first one, “DVNO” by French techno powerhouse Justice is quite simply one of my favorite songs. Ever. Besides inspiring skitzo dancing, the video plays on goofy home video graphics and somehow makes ‘em hip. A delightful juxtaposition completely appropriate for the likes of Mehdi Pinson, the rowdy crooner of Scenario Rock who wrote the lyrics and belts out the mayhem on this track. With a song who’s hook features four CAPITAL LETTERS, seeing cleverly-animated typography as the focus gives me everything I could ask for. The only thing this sweet clip is missing is the “DiC” logo and soundbite from kids home movies…Ninja Turtles cartoons on VHS anyone?

With Talib Kweli coming to Madison recently, I have to give him a shout-out for his “Listen” video. The graffiti lettering and designs highlighting the rhymes as he spits them kicks this tune into high gear. The song is amazing in its own right, but the artwork in the video is the epitome of cool. Illustration, Typography, Music, Lyrics, – Talib brings it like a gunslinger.