Descriptive Typfaces for Descriptive Words

-Kwame Amuleru

Dragon's Horde Logo Finalle

After hours of work and many directions, I have finally found a worthy solution to the Dragon's Horde logo along with some nice variations that I could not help but show after having found the right colors.

I have learned so much after this experience of choosing colors in terms of just how creative one can get with color, dealing with pantones, splitting gradients and ways of dealing with color in illustrator. I'm so proud of this solution.

-Kwame Amuleru

Battle of the Crazy Color Type Sequences

Enter the Void has a very cool opening credits sequence that makes use of a variety of typefaces flashing very fast in lots of different colors. However Kanye West's video has a very similar sequence in his video "All of the Lights".

Did he copy "Enter the Void" or was he just inspired? Did Hype Williams (the directer) improve on it? I'm not quite sure, what do you think?

Enter The Void>>>   VS   All of the Lights>>>

-Kwame Amuleru

Moxy Creative Posters

I found this website/company of posters that all have the same style but are clever in their execution of what they are posters for. Very cool. Good for inspiration. Also a good example of the dignity of simplicity.

Check it out>>>

-Kwame Amuleru

Dragon's Horde Logo (Down to 4)

Dragon's Horde is a comic book, trading card game and related collectible and apparel store.

I have narrowed the logo redesign down to four slightly different variations. Two shades of red, two shapes and either just red or red and yellow.

The yellow gives the logo some variation and adds to the fireball appearance. However the single color stands on its own without the flash.

The twirl shape is slimmer and has more of a dragons scales sample look to it. The zig zag has more action and a better fade effect. Looks like a paint scribble or some claw slashes.

One red is deeper and has more of a presence and the other more slightly more orange red is brighter like a comic book color.

Please comment, I would love some advice.

-Kwame Amuleru

Pantone Color Books

I recently printed a typography assignment using solid coated Pantones on luster paper and the colors did not come out the way I wanted them to. So I decided I'd do some research on how to use these Pantone color books. Here is what I found:

Info about Pantones

Info about the swatches panel in Illustrator

The difference between Coated and Uncoated Paper


Evidently, each Pantone color book should be chosen depending on the type of paper you are using to print on. Each swatch comes with specific instructions for your printer to ensure you get accurate colors on different materials. Seems obvious I know, but I did not know until now.

-Kwame Amuleru

Dragon's Horde Mood Board & Creative Brief (3200 HW)

Past Sketches and Colors (Drawing 1)

These are some old pieces I wanted to share. One was about perspective. Why is the trash can floating in the hallway? Simply because I wanted to make it more interesting. One was a piece that was suppose to be done in the flat segmented fashion of mosaic or stained glass windows. I made a wolf from pastels. The other three are the same imaged rendered three times with complementary, analogous and monochromatic color schemes.

-Kwame Amuleru

Background Work

I wanted to share two pieces I did around the same time. One was meant to be a desktop background made from ying yangs and the other was a laptop skin I made for a young lady who likes hello kitty. Her initials are through out the piece "A.A.C."

-Kwame Amuleru

Collection of Past Self Portraits

It seems as though every drawing class requires a self portrait so I have a few. I decided to share them.

 This was a logo design I did for myself before I knew much about logo design. I decided I'd still take it illustrator and make it. The illustration is supposed to be a "K" and an "A". The A completes the K.

This was just some photoshop. I like to duplicate people in the same picture so I did myself in a black vs white style in the hallway on campus. I added my very old logo I made years ago digitally so that it looks like it was painted on the wall. That figure somewhat abstractly has all the letters of my name in it.

Another photo manipulation of myself on the beach in Grenada. I like how the different variations of me interacts with the sunlight and the shade.

 This was for 2d Design. It was slightly rushed. I wanted to try my hand at the trending simplified cartoon style facial expressions and I played off the King card being the Kwame card.

This was for drawing 1. It had to be life sized which it was roughly. I started to get into solid colors with this piece. On the tip of the sword there is a little piece of literature I came up with that the piece was inspired by. It says : Knowledge is your sword, sharpen it. 
Delivery is your technique, practise it. 
Work is your strength, increase it. 
Life is your oppenent, attack it. 
Balance is the key, find it. 
This is your battle, join it.

This was a picture I photoshopped for fun. I wanted to give it a very temperature cool look with the window frost effect of the type. I also wanted it to look slightly painted like a kings mural. Nam are most of my initials excluding my first name.

This was my self portrait in Drawing 2. I was just starting to learn illustrator so I wanted it to be an illustration of myself as a digital artist. My hair is made of metallic pencils. My eyes glow red like a machine. My body is made of circuits and energy and my hands are open providing a gridded mix of a color splat of various colors. I added earphones because I listen to music when I do design or artwork. It was all done on illustrator.

These were also for Drawing 1. They were my first attempts at reduction. Besides the messy charcoal, I dont mind reduction. The complete one has the letters of my fraternity in the background and the large X is the letter for the chapter I crossed at.

-Kwame Amuleru

My Artshelf (Bookshelf)

I bought a bookshelf from target and redesigned it for my studio/room. It has a pattern of an Adinkra symbol on it that means knowledge. The base paint changes color depending on how the light hits it.

-Kwame Amuleru

Redesign Series >> Illustrations ( Grd 3300)

I took Illustration last term and thus have a few illustrations I'd like to share.

Donkey Dolemite
The class was to make an animal alphabet coloring book and we were given the titles of the illustrations randomly. Mine was obviously Donkey Dolemite. Dolemite was this blaxploitation movie character so I gave my illustration that motif with two lady donkeys laying on him in a triangular composition. I used a lot of movie posters for inspiration.

Lupe Fiasco Concert Poster
We were to illustrate a concert poster using a max of 4 solid flat colors for an artist or band of our choice. I chose my favorite Rapper, Lupe Fiasco. His latest album is titled Lasers and he is a very positive uplifting rapper so I wanted to communicate that. The city was made from a texture that looks like a gradient from afar.

Goodnight Moon Cover Redesign
We were to redesign a children's book that was dear to us. I chose Goodnight Moon. The illustrations in this book are already very impressive so I decided to go an entire different direction with my illustration. We were told not to include the Title, just focus on the illustration.

Oringinal

Redesign

Halloween Card
We were to design the front of a hollween card that would simply say "Happy Halloween" inside. It was to be something that would not be generic. Something that would stick out from all the rest of the halloween cards. We were to begin and finish in one class period(under five hours). I decided to do a card that a girlfriend or wife might pick to give her boyfriend or husband for halloween. Something unexpected.

-Kwame Amuleru

Redesign Series >> My Packaging Redesign Extra Credit Website (Grd 3000)

I had about a day to come up with an illustrator file of a website redesign to go with my packaging. I have never made a website before but I gave it a try for the extra credit.

-Kwame Amuleru

Redesign Series >> My Packaging Redesign ( Grd 3000)

For my package Redesign I did an 8 pack of Rayovac AAA batteries. I was never a fan of the cardboard design with the plastic glued on the front. It was never good for keeping spare batteries over time so I chose a brand that was not as well known as Duracell and Energizer and redesigned it. The box was modeled after a gun clip. It can be easily loaded and unloaded with batteries. When it is opened two batteries slide out just enough to be easily pulled out, then the next two take their place.

I find it funny that as I was looking for an image of the original package, I see that they redesigned a new package that has a similar motif to mine.

Original Package

My Redesign

Their Redesign(For their "maximum plus" battery)

-Kwame Amuleru

Redesign Series >> My Book Cover ( Grd 3000)

This is a redesigned book cover of the classic novel "Shane". I noticed that the reading level of this book is that of early and pre teens but all the previously designed covers did not seem very appealing to kids that age so I decided to create a cover with cartoon like illustrations and a relatively interesting background.

-Kwame Amuleru

Redesign Series >> My Ads ( Grd 3000)

These are some magazine ads I did for GQ. I did redesign them for Express clothing but it seems as though I have lost the redesigned copies. They made more sense as ads and did not having such an overbearing logo. I also added drop shadows in them and instead of all that type they simply said "Grow Up". The idea behind the ad was to target males interested in video games and cartoons who don't pay much attention to their appearance so I had the fake characters interact with the models.

-Kwame Amuleru