New Store, New Chalks

Over the course of my life, I've found that sometimes I need to take a break to let myself absorb information before I can successfully move up and on.  Oftentimes, one gets so lost and involved in their work that it's difficult to step back and analyze things with a sober eye.  My sister prefers to live by the Hemingway technique: "write drunk; edit sober" and I suppose I am not much different.

2012 brought about many changes -- a new internship, new job, new location, and a new perspective.  Though I do still miss old coworkers and "the way it used to be," this change brought about a renewed sense of life and a much needed change of pace.  I learned from some of the best.  Now it was time to put it to use.

Yokozuna : The Grand Champion
Ah, the first real chalk.  This dude was made by request for a big promo item.  Honestly, it is probably one of the more challenging pieces I've done.  I've only ever drawn a person once (with chalk) and it was kind of nerve wracking.  Nevermind this chalkboard was a 3' x 5' piece of chalkboard painted foam core (which murders pens, by the way).  Not exactly my comfort zone.  But I think it turned out pretty well (as did Regional Leadership :)).

Made a few references to Japanese culture here -- Woodblock printing (Sumi e), the rays of the Rising Sun (Japanese War Flag) and the Mon (Japanese Family Crests/Emblems).  My marketing team and I tried to avoid the obnoxiously stereotypical images -- which is fine by me, as I prefer the more subtle & humorous approach.

Bento Box : This + That
Here's another fairly large chalk with a few experimentations thrown in.  Trying to unite words + image in a fairly fluid and complete look.  Type-wise, there is always room for improvement regarding kerning (darn keming!) and overall text placement.  Image-wise, there is the quinoa.  Grains will be the end of me.  But I think this suffices.

Added a few flourishes to the text to pull everything in and complete the look, and used a new combo of colours!  I think this looks fairly pleasing, if I do say so myself :)

Not a bad start to a new chapter, right?  Things are coming together and I've got plenty more to experiment on.  My sobriety period has officially ended and it's time to get my chalk on.  So look out for more new and awesome chalks!  Yeah!

Cheers,

CZ