I created this poster for QMx and Bad Robot as an exclusive, limited-edition promotional giveaway at San Diego Comic-Con 2010. I painted the image digitally in Photoshop, then aged/distressed it to give the poster a worn look. The model itself was based on the collectible statue of the robot unveiled by QMx at the show.

This was a real treat to work on, but definitely made me anxious, as the Bad Robot mascot is such a well-known and beloved character. I wanted to do it justice and create an high-quality piece, but I didn’t want to lose that sense of whimsy that makes the robot so lovable. We had a pretty tight turnaround on this piece, but thankfully the studio seemed to think I nailed it, and signed off on the piece in time for Comic-Con.

Signing Bad Robot posters at the QMx booth, San Diego Comic-Con 2010

Since I’m still an entertainment industry novice, I’m spending a lot of time researching the industry, and talking to folks who’ve been doing this a long time. One of the most helpful resources I’ve had so far is a friend I met through working with QMx. Geoffrey Mandel was the graphic designer for Serenity (he’s also worked more recently on Mad Men and Parks and Recreation), and he’s been gracious enough to put up with — and answer — a steady stream of questions over the past few years. The last time we talked, he had a few pieces of really helpful advice for me. Continue Reading »

Every Monday, I’m going to try to post an update about what I’ve got on tap in terms of design projects this week. I won’t be able to go into details on everything, since some of my projects are under non-disclosure agreements, but I’ll give as much detail as I’m allowed to. This week, I’m working on projects for a parenting magazine and QMx, and trying to expand my networking efforts.

Used under a Creative Commons license from @superamit

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I’ve decided to restart my blog, and chronicle my efforts to start a career as a graphic designer in film and television. It’s a journey I’m already on, but in the grand scheme of things, I’m still at the start of that journey. As I go, I’ll be talking about what I’m doing to make connections in the industry, what projects I’m working on (assuming I can talk about them yet), frustrations, advice I’ve gotten from others, and anything else that occurs to me that might be relevant to my adventure. Adventure is a perfect word for this. I’m jumping on this career path a little later than others (I’m 35 now), and to be quite honest, I have no idea where this path will wind up leading me in the end. But I’ve never been more certain of what I want to do when I grow up. In some ways, this will be a diary for me, to focus my thoughts and help me track my progress along the way. At the same time, I hope to make it a useful reference for others looking to embark on the same journey. Continue Reading »

I realized the other day that I have tons of little tricks and shortcuts that help save me time and speed up my design process. Of course, the quicker I can get a job done, the quicker I can move on to the next one, which means more money in my pocket. I want to share these tricks and tips with you so you can take advantage of them too! Some of these tricks I discovered on my own, some I adapted from other tutorials I’ve found online. I hope you find them useful! Continue Reading »

In 2007, QMx asked me to create some retail packaging for a line of Battlestar Galactica dogtags. It was a pretty straightforward package design, but it was the first time I’d designed packaging for retail. I had to follow some pretty strict guidelines from Universal Studios’ licensing people regarding imagery, logo placement and the like.

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A logo I created for a new convention – Geek Girl Con – scheduled for 2011, which will focus on celebrating the role of women in geek-dom. The goal here was to create a professional-looking logo which showed women as strong, independent and just as tuned-in to geek culture as their male counterparts. The organizers were looking for something that struck a delicate balance, featuring attractive characters without being hypersexualized.

The logo was received by the community with overwhelming approval, which is always a nice feeling.

Original sketch for the Geek Girl Con logo

To promote the release of the 2009 Star Trek movie, Paramount Pictures commissioned Quantum Mechanix to create 25 models of the U.S.S. Enterprise that would then be altered by 25 separate artists, each of whom would give their unique interpretation of the classic ship.

I was assigned to design a plaque that would be laser-engraved with the name of each artist, along with logos and other information.

See the full gallery of models: http://www.startrekmovie.com/modelgallery/
Sci Fi Wire’s coverage of the project: http://scifiwire.com/2009/04/new-enterprise-models-go.php

Template mocked up to show how final engraved plaque would appear

UPS Enterprise with plaque attached

A licensed Serenity t-shirt I did for Quantum Mechanix. This one has been a huge hit, and has been seen everywhere from YouTube music videos:

… to the Jimmy Fallon show:

(It’s still available for sale, BTW.)

For my second major project for QMx, I pitched them on the idea of creating vintage propaganda-style posters for Battlestar Galactica. It seemed a natural fit for a TV show that was essentially a war drama.

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