More D&T Excitement

So I COULD just wear one of my other DMB tee shirts to the D&T Vegas shows. Pssh. Like that's any fun. I've created two brand new tee shirts, specifically for these shows.

The first tee shirt features a D&T logo, created in what I feel is a style that stays in tune with the Big Whiskey look, but with a unique D&T feel. Big design on the back, small pocket design on the front. Available in men's and women's shirts.


Next I decided to work a new spin on a classic song. Featuring a line from Gravedigger, I wanted to capture the loneliness the song so elegantly portrays. Also available in men's and women's shirts.


As always, let me know what you think of the designs. Feedback is ALWAYS appreciated! Hope everyone enjoys, and I look forward to see you all in VEGAS!!

Pantone Teams Up with Dessy

For someone who actually referenced my Pantone book when I was deciding on my wedding colors, this is the coolest thing ever! It really helps brides control their color pallet. No more "orange," rather "Pantone Orange Crush"

Check out the Dessy Group. Even if you're not getting married, you'll still have as much fun as a kid with brand new crayons :-)

D&T Free Desktop Wallpaper

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds will be playing a 3 night acoustic show in Las Vegas this December. As usual, I am so ridiculously excited, as I'm sure all the rest of the DMB community is. Especially if you've requested tickets (fingers crossed).
When I get excited, I create art. So here is my concoction for my current anticipation level.

Click to download one of 3 sizes available:

1024 x 768
1280 x 1024
1400 x 900

Enjoy! See you in VEGAS!!!

Bridal Blogger on the Move

So I've been selected to be a bridal blogger on WeddingChicks.com! Over the next year I will be doing guest posts about planning a destination wedding, DIY projects and all sorts of other wedding goodies. Check out my first post!

I've got a whole list of great tips and projects, so stay tuned!

Nicole

Tee shirt up for scoring on Threadless!

Hey everyone! I've got a tee shirt up for scoring on Threadless!
In case you haven't heard of Threadless, it is a community of designers that create, critique and score tee shirt designs. When a tee goes in to the scoring category, it is up to the community to choose the best ones to be printed. Its a great opportunity for designers, but the competition is tough, so that is why I need your help! Please take the time to head over to Threadless and score my design! Direct link HERE.
This is my first submission to Threadless, and I hope to have many more in the future. Thanks for your support!

The design will be up for 6 more days, so get voting! :-)

Quick Ideas

You know how sometimes you get an idea that just smacks you right in the head, and you have the whole thing done in 20 minutes from start to finish? That happened to me, oh, about 25 minutes ago. :-)
I don't know where it came from, but this line just popped in to my head, and I could see the whole concept clearly. This would be a wonderful anniversary card, Valentine's Day card, or a "just because" for the special someone in your life. Available in 10 pack greeting cards, and journals.

Coming Soon...

Although I love my Cafepress shop, the design parameters are somewhat limiting. So I am currently exploring some more options in screen printing. I created a Mojo print shop, that is technically up and running, but there are no products available yet (hopefully soon!). This will be in addition to my Cafepress shop. Here is a little preview of what I am working on for my first Mojo shirt. It is a women's sheer extra long tee shirt. Like what you see? Interested in buying one? Let me know! The more interest, the quicker I can get this baby available for purchase! Also, the more interest, the lower the price will be. I'm hoping around $20 (just to give you an idea).

Could I Have Been Anyone Other Than Me?

It's a question I'm sure everyone has asked, if only in their head, at some point or another. Eternalized by the music of Dave Matthews, the whole concept can hurt you brain if you think about it long enough. If I had made a different decision that day, or walked home a different way, would I be someone entirely different?
Through the use of typography and basic color, this tee shirt illustrates all of the different possibilities that are intertwined in the big question that so many of us asks. For the hard core fan, one might notice the significance of lines chosen.
Another Dancing Nancies Tee concept is on the way soon.

Tee shirts, totes, and hoodies are available in my shop in both the black and white design.

Dave Matthews Band Tee Shirt

Viva Las Vegas!

Ok, so since I am excited out of my mind to be heading to Vegas tomorrow for Dave's two night stand, I thought I would post these desktop wallpapers I created for all to enjoy!

Click on the image size you want for the full size,
and then right click to download.

1280 x 1024

1024 x 7868
800 x 600

Tee Shirts and Jellyfish

So its been awhile since my last post. But I have not been idle. I have been working on converting some of my illustrations to tee-shirt format. Finally, all those random, seemingly pointless side projects are being put to good use! And now there is more than 2 things to look at in my shop. I wanted to feature some of my illustrations here, 1) so shoppers can see larger images of the more recent designs without "SAMPLE" plastered across the front, and 2) give some explanations and thoughts behind the designs.

Lets start out with the Jellyfish. I have TWO jellyfish designs in my shop right now! I've had a strange fascination with sea life recently, which probably has to do with the beautiful photography I saw in some old National Geographics not too long ago. Jellyfish and octopi in particular have been catching my interest. The funny thing is, jellyfish scare the CRAP out of me. I have always had a fear of meeting one (or several) in the ocean. But they are truly unique creatures and make for some very interesting art because of their varying shapes, colors, and forms. I have an octopus sketch that in my notebook that I have been meaning to put into Illustrator for some time now. I hope to do that soon :-) I'm also hoping that one of these days when I find time that I will post a jellyfish illustration tutorial. Keep an eye out for that.
(make sure to click on the image for a larger view)




This next illustration I started awhile ago in the depths of cold rainy/snowing March. I put it down for some time and then finished it last week. When I started, I was longing for some sunshine. When I think of bright rays of light, I think of a summer morning. And a summer morning, to me, will always mean the sound of my rooster crowing outside of my window. Childhood nostalgia if you will.
I gave the type a 70's retro feel for a little more pop, and of course the line is that of a Beatles song. I thought it was fitting.


As always, I shall keep pouring the contents of my random brain out in to the world. Who knows what form that will take next.... Until next time, peace!

The Album Cover Game

Some of you may have seen this floating around the world of Facebook already. For the non-design user, it may seem like another dumb game to facilitate procrastination, but for the creative professional, the game serves as a great jump-start for the brain. It's also closer to real life then one may think. You're usually going to have a set of elements that you HAVE to use. The client really likes a certain photo, or you have to have that all of those words you have to squeeze in to satisfy legal. Whatever the case may be, these things are simulated in the game. Where the real creativity comes in is how you put these things together, how you add other relevant graphics and of course, typography.
Once again, we turned the game into an art floor challenge. It started out just going back and forth, but then my creative director kicked it up a notch and gave us 5 minutes to create a cover. Don't over-think, just do. As I mentioned before its a wonderful creative tool. Stuck in a design rut? Take 10 or 20 minutes to make album covers and come back to your project. Sometimes your brain just needs a quick change of scenery. Scroll to the end of this post for the rules and links for the game.

Here are a couple of my creations:


And here is some of the art from my very talented coworkers:

Sheena

Jodie

Myra
Jess
Mandy

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random... Read More”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 - Post it to FB with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in. (feel free to untag yourself...)

Oh, Sweet Summer, How You Torture Me So....

As I sat staring at the flying snow, and freezing my damn ass off, I started day dreaming of the glorious days of summer. I got to thinking about how this will be my first summer living on Lake Michigan. I will be able to enjoy sunsets on the beach, the cry of sea birds and the sound of the waves breaking gently on the shore. And then I looked out side again. Blast. So instead of whining (too much) about it, I created this shirt to reminisce about the days when we won't have to spend 20 minutes scraping ice chunks off our windshields or breaking our ass down icy steps. I wanted to branch out from your typical summer cliché and create something a little more off the wall and quirky. Tee shirts, hoodies and totes featuring the design are available in my Cafepress shop. Let me know what you think!

Stay warm ;-)

VS Pink Contest

Victoria's Secret tee shirt design contest is coming to a close today. A fun little ditty to express your creativity while staying consistent with the brand image and what VS Pink stands for. The contest has become a bit of a rivalry at the office, with my creative director leading the charge (what he wants with a $500 VS gift card, I'll never know). So here is my hollar-back to the challenge.
There are 30,000 + entries, so if I don't win anything, I will put a variation of the design for sale in my Cafepress shop... Enjoy, and check out the other entries!

It Was 40 Years Ago Today...

that one of the greatest, most influential bands of all time performed publicly for the last time. I am speaking, of course, about the Beatles, and it was today, January 30th, 1969, that they performed on the roof of the Apple Records headquarters in London during the filming of "Let It Be." Not only is this an extremely significant event for the band and their millions of fans, but this moment has become that of pop culture legend. The rebellious last stand that had to be broken up by the police. The impromptu concert that many would give a kidney to have attended.
So in honor of my favorite band, my inspiration and my creative motivation, here is a short film titled, "I Met the Walrus," featuring an interview conducted by a 14-year old budding journalist who snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto in 1969.
The words are absolutely profound and still carry so much of weight even today. The message is enhanced by the fantastic illustration and animation of the film.
I hope you enjoy.

Small Town Son Logo

Recently, a friend of mine asked me to design a logo for his country band, Small Town Son. The guys said they wanted something that was country, but not the "rootin' tootin' cowboy hats and rednecks" kind of country. Instead they wanted to take inspiration from the likes of Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and Kieth Urban. A country flavor, but with a rock inspired sound. The kind of band that can cross genres. They wanted rugged, modern, and down to earth.
The other requirement was that the logo have parts that can be separated. They wanted an element in the form of the bands initials, STS, to be able to stand alone.
I'm also going to be doing a couple of tee shirts for the guys, which I will post when they're ready. Here are some of the other logo options I provided for the guys:

If you live in and around Michigan, you should check these guys out at a live show, or on their MySpace page. They are very talented, and when they get huge, you can say "I saw them way back when."

Happy Super Bowl weekend! Enjoy the game/ads/food/beer, whatever your thing is!

Dixie Chickens and Tennessee Lambs

If you're a DMB fan, you will know what I am talking about! In very eager anticipation of the upcoming (though not upcoming soon enough) summer of Dave, I decided to design a shirt. A staple at any live show is the outro line from Crash Into Me. Even if you're not into Dave, the quirky message and bold typography is a bright and fun way to make a statement. Now for sale in Men's and Women's Tees in my Cafepress shop.

Front

Back

A Couple Portfolio Pieces to Start With

I am a graphic designer and I love working on a array of different projects. Here's a couple recent pieces to kick things off.


This is a poster that I designed for my fiance's birthday.

Hello Out There!

First post on blogger. Trying things out.