My very first graphic design job was designing Marvel licensed apparel for men and boys. I am very happy and thankful that I managed to work with licenses I have loved since childhood. In 2003 when I was trying to find online stores for X-Men shirts, I found Mad Engine was hiring and got my first job! I learned so much from the amazing artists I worked with and I'm thankful every day for that opportunity.
Issaquah Salmon Days 2016
Issaquah Salmon Days 2016
My first home when I moved to the Pacific Northwest was in Issaquah, a location I picked for the multitude of nearby trails. I reached out to the Salmon Days creative director and offered up the Red Salmon graphic as a t-shirt design for their booth. It was the top selling shirt, selling more than the obligatory ocean osprey (blue/green colorway) design. Sammy the Salmon running for office was the theme for the year.
In the ever-shifting world of fast fashion art mash-ups, there was an era for Patrick Nagel-inspired character mashups. This came to a quick end when Nagel's estate caught wind of the regained popularity and sought to take down parodies and homages. Making these illustrations a rare item.
Back in 2011, a new wave of minimalist early video game pixel art dominated the indie apparel scene online. A younger generation was introduced to simplified video game graphics with Minecraft, Superbrother: Sword & Sworcery, and Fez. This paved the way for pixel art mash ups with licensed product.
Eldritch Bun Bun
Switchblade Bun Bun
A dear friend down in Portland held a bunny-themed art show to raise money for a local non-profit. These were ink and gouache on illustration board. Originals are still available, but the holographic prints sold out opening night!
Sailor Moon R - Death Phantom
Three Starlight's Moon
The only constant in my life is SAILOR MOON! My deep love for the anime is what got me into artwork at the age of 12. I started copying anime artwork and even majored in animation. Here is a small collection of Sailor Moon-inspired graphics I designed for my own enjoyment. Alas, I did design some officially licensed apparel for the franchise, but it wasn't quite as fun to work on as these!
The popularity of My Little Pony while I worked at Mighty Fine led me to create Art Nouveau inspired graphics for almost every major character in the first few seasons of the show. Fluttershy was the first one I drew and Trixie was one of the last ones I completed.