This past week, I dove into calling design agencies I sent mailers to a few months ago. Before I jump into the above illustration, let’s just say I’m glad I did. I was happy to hear some people actually got my mailer, but many did not. Or, maybe they just didn’t remember. Regardless, I made contact with people and was able to send a small PDF portfolio directly to them. Phone calls are not my favorite way to make contact, but it is amazing how much more beneficial it feels compared to just sending an email that garners you no response. That doesn’t feel good either…

As I was saying, one of my phone calls got me in touch with the nice folks over at Kindleman who also run Shoebox Creative. They feature different artists on their site periodically, and they asked me to submit my “shoebox” and 5 examples of my work to become their next featured artist. My shoebox reflects my new direction in terms of style and treatment. Instead of just doing solid colors and gradients, I will be using textures where appropriate. I intended on using textures on the robotic arm and conveyor belt, but it did not add anything significant. I’m finding that it is important to trust my instincts as much as possible. Another example…I was going to make the robot a blueish-gray color. The literal part of me said that metal is cold and gray. On the gray concrete background, though, it was completely washed out. So, I went in the other direction…a loud orange. Now, it pops off the page and compliments the neon green. I think I’ve realized that the literal part of my brain needs to stop talking every once in a while so the side that makes things just look good gets a voice.