Colonel B.A. Nanner

Just a fun, quick sketch based on a simple idea: draw a monocle and build a character around that. Faces are always fun for vector illustration since you can pretty much do half, then flip it around for the other half.

I hate this

It's me. I wanted to do a self-portrait as part of this project, but I think it would actually take more time to create something I'm happy with. I still have a lot to learn about vector illustration before I tackle faces again.

One thing I've noticed about each of these pieces, is that reducing things down to three colors is the hardest part. I like the ones based on my sketches the best because I can plan around the limited palette (there's a lot to be said for the positive/negative relationships that can occur here).

So I didn't want to post this because I don't think it's that great. Just the same, I promised a new one each day- not a good one each day.

I want to do this again. I will re-do this, but I will continue making new ones. My re-do won't count. There are so many reasons I shouldn't be doing a self-portrait right now anyway.

NannerGear?

Inkscape has a plugin that generates gears. You plot some points, fill in some blanks, and you get gears. The crazy thing is that these are functional: rotating one gear, rotates the whole set according to the placement of the teeth and all of that.

I was originally looking for a way to create a custom pattern that could be applied to a path. I wanted to make my own tooth pattern and apply it to a circle to make my own gears. The program can totally do that, but it's going to require some more research on my part to make it happen.

I really wanted to make something that evokes a hidden power in the banana. Once again, the theme would be to use the sticker as a window to the inside. This is more of a stylistic gear pattern I created(Inkscape will create the shapes for you, but placement and extra elements are all up to you). I may revisit the idea of gears when I learn a new technique for making them and a much cooler overall concept.

One week down. Seven stickers done. One follower (thanks, man). The stakes are higher. The pressures are greater. But I'm having fun, and that's all that matters.

The Strongest Woman In the World

Chun-Li on a banana? I would be happy to randomly find Street Fighter anywhere in the supermarket, really.

This would be maybe the third piece of Street Fighter fan-art I've produced in my life. It's not great, but it sure beats the Vega I drew in my notebook in middle school. Look forward to more Street Fighter down the line: just about every character in the series would make an awesome sticker. Count on seeing at least my favorites: Fei Long and Makoto.

Almost a full week down. I'm learning some things about my process and I'm finding a groove.

Ro-bro

I had some ideas in the queue that I was excited to put to use tonight. However, going through some recent projects I found a sketch that basically went unused.

I say "basically" because I used the sketch as a means of learning Inkscape - sort of a crash course, really. What I ended up with was a cool idea with a cool head and an awkward-looking body. I accepted the fact that it wasn't great work, that I had learned some things I wanted to learn, and tossed the file aside.

So I scrapped that awkward body, threw out the weird color-scheme, and added some science-y lightning bolts and an antenna. You finally made it, Ro-bro. Make me proud.

NannerShip

The idea behind this one wasn't to come up with a sweet alien design (not even close), rather I wanted to think of the sticker as a window to something whimsical. What if the banana were a spaceship, and the sticker was the porthole the passengers looked out of? Make sure the folks at the nut-house have that in writing.

The important thing to consider here is that I sat down with barely an idea. I wasn't sure exactly how to make that idea work, but I tried. I worked against resistance, and I won today.

Dood!

One of my favorite series of video games is Disgaea by Nippon Ichi Software. In the game, you take control of a powerful entity from the netherworld who commands legions of (admittedly cute and fuzzy) monsters. The thing I like most about the games is that they don't take themselves too seriously with their stories and characters. The game play is top-notch, and the special moves are always over-the-top.

So enjoy today's sticker, "Prinny Veteran". Prinnys make up the peon divisions of netherworld armies. They shuffle around your castle all day with their fanny-packs of doom, comically tripping on random things and saying "Dood" a lot. Also, they explode when you throw them.