Flyer to Promote Studio

[McLean]

Its a flyer to promote the studio I've joined right now. I'm considering taking art-noveau designs and putting them around the border, with white as the value. Anybody think its fine the way it is now, or should I push on with the border?

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/MC_Bear/FireDemonFlyernet.jpg

[madster]

Anything but a plain white line border will be way too busy for that illustration.

* The leg anatomy is really wonky, the way he leans with his hip jutting out like that and the legs positioned as they are.
* The 3-fingered hands look odd, especially his right "thumb."
* His head seems to be awfully small in proportion to the rest of his body, particularly the upper torso. Is this deliberate? It looks strange under the phrase "powerful design." Shrunken head guys just don't call up the adjective "powerful" to me...but hey, I'm picky that way.
* The motto, "We really want to illustrate for you," is flat as far as taglines go. What illustrator doesn't? Try for something a bit more interactive between the studio and the client, like maybe, "Discover your illustrative options!" or something more "partner" oriented, instead of the studio being subservient...

Good concept, I'd give the execution a 7/10

~M

[McLean]

The thing about having a small head is (hopefully) it serves to emphasize the bulk of muscles. I guess with the legs an all, I had realized tht they're kinda wonky in the hip area, but in this case it doesn't bother me so much. I mean, his muscles are already so strangely proportioned, it'd be funny to go back and try to make the hips "natural"...this is the kind of guy who's going to bend over to pick up a quarter, and fall over and won't be able to get up.

on the other hand, though i feel i subconsciously realized this- I hadn't given serious thought to it until you said something.


I had some other lines, like "See what we an do for YOU", and "Meeting ALL of your Illustration Needs"... but they just didn't seem genuine to me. I guess what I finally picked was kinda lame and obvious, but it just felt like the most genuine thing to say. But maybe I gotta get over my relative inexperience and assume the dominate role in campaigning.


oh, the thing about "strong design"- its over a strong dude. Just thought it would be a pretty simple gimmick that folks would get quickly, without thinking too hard over it.

thanks for taking the time to comment

[madster]

That was no gimmick, that was your advertising "hook" to help "brand" the company. You succeeded too well with the Powerful Design concept, that's why I wrote!

The visual of that beautifully rendered torso, combined with the type, did create a very stong mental/visual connection, bringing the concept to the forefront. That's why the image started to fall short of the concept it was promoting, when all the "little details" you hurried/passed over started to stick out to the eye.

Yes, the too-small head does emphasize the beautiful muscles, but not in the way you want. It emphasizes them as not being anatomically proportional to the head. A recent "stock photo" trend was to have overly large heads on regular sized bodies. I just don't think it's as effective in reverse. It tends to connote the concept of a "pin-head," someone a little shy in cranial gray matter...Not the image I would want associated with MY company...(along with a non-hackneyed motto that better matched the "strong design" hook phrase).

If you were doing this "Real World," this would have been one of 2-3 comps, and if selected, you would then rework this to correct the inconsistencies, tighten up the anatomy and the linework at the bottom, and bring his head more into proportion.
Were I the paying client, I would also want to see a rework of the bracelet/flames thing on the right arm, with the flames redesigned to look more like illustrative tools. I would also want the flames around his head reworked to be more proportional to the rest of the body, and I would have you remove the Communist Scythe-shaped birthmark on the left side of his body. I would want to see the light sources (you show 2 at present) better defined and more consistently illustrated, and would want a more "interesting looking" font for the company name.

You are somewhat in a quandry here, as you are creating an illustration for a business selling and specializing in illustrations. Any and everyone who looks at the flyer will be judging whether the illustration that they see is of a high enough calibre to consider using the business's services.
If the anatomy is wonky, the linework incomplete, and the proportions and details somewhat lacking, who do you think will decide to spend any money with the company, and why?

There is a very common undercurrent within the graphics community of giving commercial work your absolute best, because it professionally displays your talents, as opposed to "just messing around" for personal satisfaction. The fact that "cutting corners" here and there on this didn't bother you all that much shows an area needing improvement that is not "art" oriented, but is no less important than the Basics of composition and design.

Hope you rework this for better presentation if it is for a "real" company. It is a great concept, and would be even more powerful if executed cleanly.

~M

[McLean]

huh, pretty well stated.

with that in mind, I may just completely start over with a new drawing, because you're right- i've cut a few too many corners to have this as a "showcase". But yeah, this is for real, which makes it a little more important. Its not exactly for a client, as I am one of the peeps in the studio, but no reason to half-ass my representation of the other artists in the studio!

[madster]

Well, if your first draft is any indication, I'm sure your next one will be even more kick ass!
Looking forward to it. Powerful Design is NO lie for you, now you just gotta live up to your own hype...
Be aggressive with the motto too. Something like "Let us illustrate YOUR strengths..." or "Your Power Illustration Source..."
~M