Portfolio- Kinkonauts Posters

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!

Found Festival Design

I recently had the pleasure of doing the design for the 3rd annual Found Festival which is a multidisciplinary arts festival, across several venues in Edmonton. Here's a bit about that process:

1. I like to sketch with coloured animators pencils, they help me distinguish between elements.

2. I made three sketches of different concepts and this was the one the festival organizers decided to go with.  (I was glad, it was my favourite of the options too.)

3.  I drew the under drawing at 1.25 times the print size. The poster is 11 x 17 but the bottom 2.5 inches is reserved for sponsor logos, so the dimensions of my final product seem a bit unusual.

4. Using a lightboard, I inked all the elements on separate pieces of paper. Firstly because my scanner bed is not especially large (and I hate merging scans) and secondly because with all the elements already separate it makes colouring in Photoshop a little faster. 

I also sent the organizers five colour palettes to choose from, they chose the brightest, most summery option. I made two variations of the poster using the same colour scheme.

copyright 2014 Meags Fitzgerald

copyright 2014 Meags Fitzgerald

The festival is also printing t-shirts, this variation of the design was made for a one-screen screenprint.

copyright 2014 Meags Fitzgerald

Poetry Festival Design

In August I finished a logo, poster and t-shirt design for the Victoria Spoken Word Festival, which will take place in March. This year's theme is storytelling, so I focused the concept around a team of characters I designed based on traditional archetypes with unconventional twists. We made colour and b&w versions of the designs. Everyone at the festival is a dream to work with, I'm really happy to have had this fun project!

Festival Design!

I recently finished up these designs for posters and social media for the Vancouver International Improv Festival. The Artistic Director, Alistair Cook and I conceived of this idea of Regions of Improvisation. I drew inspiration from maritime signal flags, which at their core, like improv are just about communication. I designed fourteen in honor of the festival's 14th year. I owe thanks to my brother Tiegh Fitzgerald, who's also an improvisor for helping me finalize the regions' names.

I did a t-shirt design for the festival as well, but I think we're keeping that secret until the actual event.

Right now I'm designing the visuals for another festival, illustrating some posters for a theatre company and working on a couple t-shirt designs. It's been fun!

Chemistry, Biology and Life Sciences

In keeping with my Garden State project, I made a sailor inspired shirt last week and attempted to photobooth wearing it. (Yes, I do use the word “photobooth” as a verb.) The first booth I visited is in the Halifax Shopping Centre, it is often out of order and has produced both incredible and horrible photos for me in the last 8 months. Unfortunately it was an off day for the booth and my photos came out overexposed and splotchy.

I re-took my photos yesterday at a different booth (in Scotia Square) and was delighted with how they turned out. Despite being oddly teal, the images are sharp. This makes me wonder about wet chemical photobooths and what makes them vary this drastically. Both of these booths are a model 17 and are serviced by the same person. There’s still a lot I don’t know about photobooth chemistry but I’m intrigued to learn more as I do plan on buying my own within the next decade… as soon as that jar of pennies labelled “photobooth” reaches 500,000 coins.

This week I also put together my first little terrarium. This was a low-risk endeavour because I used an open container and only one plant species. I don’t have much of a green thumb but I do daydream about making a large enclosed terrarium filled with orchards. I obviously still have a thing or two to learn, as my cactus seems to be exasperated in its humid bubble in my humid bedroom in this humid city. Sorry new cactus friend.

Last month I didn’t record an ambidextrous drawing video because I simply didn’t practice enough for there to be improvements from the latest video. This month I’m happy to report that I’ve been practicing and hope the August video will be epic. It will also be my last video for the Writing Right project for a while.

Autumn is going to bring a whole lot of thrilling change! I’ve decided to do a one year Post-Baccalaureate program in Graphic Design at the Nova Scotia College of Art + Design University. It will certainly be a bit of an adjustment to be a student again but I’m really keen to learn and build up my portfolio. Currently I’ve got four illustration/design commissions on the go that I’m trying to finish before I delve into school assignments in just 2 ½ weeks. Wish me luck and stay posted for the many updates to come!

Roses in my Eyes

I have many items on my to-do list right now but I have no complaints because it’s all stuff I love to do! Firstly, I was a little over zealous when fabric shopping for some summery prints. I have very good intentions of making some shirts, skirts, dresses and bags and now all I need is a free weekend to sit at my sewing machine. In the meanwhile I have put some floral prints in cross-stitch hoops and hung them on a wall to brighten up my room.

The time I usually allocate to my personal projects has been in short supply because I just accepted a job at Napkin Works, a trendy design firm in downtown Halifax. I’m working on a handful of various illustration projects right now, some of which I will be able to share on the blog shortly. I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that I get to make drawings for a living.

I’m also working on a talk that I’ll be giving this Tuesday (June 14th) at the Fuller Lecture Series on the theme of “Things I Used to Be”, with a handful of other presenters. Here’s a description of my talk:

A lecture about a truly unfunny person’s accidental rise into the world of comedy, including stories about incredible luck, being in the right place at the right time and what happens when you always say yes.

Click here to link to the facebook invite, if you’re in Halifax please do come!

In anticipation of Two Hands Two Crowns

I’ve been a busy bee working away on new items for a more focused product + project line. It will replace my current line, Go Eat Some Poison Productions. (I started working under that name when I was 17, and feel like its time to update it a bit to reflect who I am now.) The new items will be available for sale on Etsy in December. In the meanwhile I'm still toying around with a new logo. The company name is Two Hands Two Crowns. I won’t go into the backstory for the name but I will say it relates to a pair of tattoos I’m getting in November. Currently I’m trying to come up with a simple but eye catching logo, though along the way I’ve had some fun experimenting with some more elaborate designs. I've had a Wacom tablet for almost a year and haven't got much use out of it (I just like drawing on paper), so playing around with these designs was good practice for my hand to screen coordination. I’ve posted some of the “just for fun” and early drafts here and would appreciate any comments/ feedback you’ve got, as it may help me solidify the final design! Click to enlarge the images.