Back in the mid-2000s, when I was living in Calgary, I occasionally performed improv with the Kinkonauts. I have very fond memories of guesting with the long form ensemble.
A couple months ago I was contacted by one of the Kinkonauts, Owen, about making a poster to announce their new season and a template that they could use throughout the year.
The company had already been using space-inspired designs for many years, so sticking with that theme we decided to infuse it with a retro, comic book look. I studied science fiction magazine covers from the 60s for inspiration. Then I mocked up three concepts.
They choose the second design (which was also my favourite) so I refined the sketch further and once they gave me the go-ahead, I sketched out the under-drawing on a large piece of paper.
Next I inked over the under-drawing using a lightboard, I did this in sections on multiple pieces of paper.
In Photoshop I assembled the scanned inked drawings. In the early stages of the design process I presented the team with three palettes, (again they chose my favourite one) and so colouring was a breeze. I also used the existing Kinkonauts logo as the alien woman's badge and their existing font for the heading.
Next I made six variations of the poster, each in a slightly different colour scheme, so the company can re-use the image for their whole season. I also made variations of the design for social media and to be made into buttons.
I really had fun with this project, it's not everyday that I get to draw aliens as part of my job. I hope that the Kinkonauts have a fabulous season of improv!
