The idea was to utilize a close-up of a flamingo in homage to the cover of their newest release, Gore. The first sketch below is the initial idea I had of a 3-color screenprinted poster. I sketched out the idea and used a brush pen and the idea was that it was going to be mostly black behnind the flamingo with a few greens of foliage coming through, some greenish waters, and the pink flamingo. But ultimately, I wasn't happy with the result of the first drawing.

I tried again, this time with playing to my strengths--loose, kinetic lines with no pencils underneath. Straight ink to paper. Boom. I was much more happier with this one and was stoked to get it scanned and colored. I drew out some loose lettering and once I got those down, it all came into Photoshop for colors. Sometimes pencils/sketches can hinder the process. You gotta be willing to roll the dice once and while and see what happens.

I decided to go full color at this point versus screenprint and print them on textured paper. This opened up a much wider world for color and technique. Suddenly this became even more fun than I was already having. Having fun is one of the most important things you can do as a creator. Enjoy this shit because no one else is gonna do it for you.

I am focusing on the finished product in this post instead of showing shots of the color process. After getting my proof and first copies, I took some photos to highlight the details. Here are close-ups of the tiny things you may miss at first viewing and the texture in the archival paper. I decided on a limited run of only 15 and made them available in my webstore. (There were only a few left at time of this publishing.) Ultimately, the finished product came out great and the response was dope.

For those of you interested in having custom & innovative design work created for your band, business, or brand, please contact me @ blue73100@gmail.com.