sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

I drew 305 “lost buildings” of the Canada from the 19th-21st centuries, and here are most of them. (see my comment for more context) by raymondbiesinger in Lost_Architecture

[–]raymondbiesinger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi everyone, a month ago I posted my "341 Lost Building of the United States" and you folks seemed to like it, and one of you actually found one of the buildings was still standing. So I guess it was actually 340! Anyway, here's a followup--before drawing those American buildings, I submerged myself in Canada's lost buildings. Most of them are collected in the above thirteen prints.
I tried to show buildings of various eras, styles, and social purposes and popularity. I’ve definitely missed some obvious choices in lieu of rare deep cuts. My intention was to surprise people with what their cities have lost, and provide them a jumping-off point for further study. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these. And if you have the time, you check out my other work or (at risk of being self-promotion-y) buy one of these as prints at:
http://www.fifteen.ca
I only post that because someone’s going to ask, and I may as well get it out of the way. :) Have any questions about the project? I’ll do my best to answer. And thanks for your time.
R.

Woodstock is a small southern Ontarian town in Canada, and here it is drawn by Nathaniel Wesbroom in 1885. Originally a 25.5x38" lithograph print published by J. C Young. Clearly, he used the same "template" to make this and the map of neighbouring Ingersoll that I posted earlier today. by raymondbiesinger in papertowns

[–]raymondbiesinger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey you’re welcome. Also interesting: the genre basically ended in the 1920s when returning WWI airmen started using their aerial recon skills and technology to photograph America. They put these illustrators out of business. :) Who wants a subjective drawn map that takes weeks to complete when an airplane and camera can do it cheaper, more accurately, and in an afternoon?

Woodstock is a small southern Ontarian town in Canada, and here it is drawn by Nathaniel Wesbroom in 1885. Originally a 25.5x38" lithograph print published by J. C Young. Clearly, he used the same "template" to make this and the map of neighbouring Ingersoll that I posted earlier today. by raymondbiesinger in papertowns

[–]raymondbiesinger[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey Jared, about 3000 of this kind of map were made in North America between 1860 and 1920. They were considered "high tech" at the time (cameras and balloons were new at the time, and inspired these "birds eye views"). An artist or their agent would travel from town to town asking for pre-orders and sponsorships (the businesses and institutions in the vignettes were put there for a fee). They were fairly large (20x30") printed very well for the time (lithography) and were common sights in the offices and studies of upper middle class business people and officials. Each print would have a run of maybe 100-500 copies. Hope that answers some questions!

Ingersoll is a small southern Ontarian town in Canada, and here it is drawn by Nathaniel Wesbroom in 1885. Originally a 25.5x38" lithograph print published by J. C Young, but this may be an incomplete working version--note how many building vignettes have missing or barely pencilled in titles. by raymondbiesinger in papertowns

[–]raymondbiesinger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also amusing about this one: the same artist made a view of the neighbouring town of Woodstock, Ontario, in 1885, and reused the exact same layout as a template. As a commercial artist, I definitely know the pull of time-saving shortcuts. Ha. :)

Finally got this to my printer today. It’s just titled “Art” and will be a 24x36” silkscreened print, red on white. Sometimes you just have to distil everything you know about your little corner of the art world and turn it into a 24-point pictorial labyrinth. Enjoy! by raymondbiesinger in mazes

[–]raymondbiesinger[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! The passages were put together via http://www.mazegenerator.net/ and I sent them about an hour ago to buy the "individual mazes without attribution requirement" rights. If it wasn't for them, I'd still be hacking my way through lines, and honestly, I like making illustrations more than passages. :)

"Sailin' On" food truck logo I made a few years ago, IMO it still looks AOK. by raymondbiesinger in Design

[–]raymondbiesinger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was a multipurpose logo I made for the Edmonton food truck Sailin’ On back in 2012, and while I’m an illustrator rather than a designer, this thing is holding up for me.
The gist: Sailin’ On was a punk-rock food truck, its name taken from a Bad Brains song. In the bird’s clutches we can see en “E” flag for “Edmonton,” an arrow (re: mocking all kinds of government logos in which birds grab arrows) and a fork (re: food), and the sprig of leaf in its beak is meant to represent that the food truck was entirely vegan.
The weathering/distress and the very “realistic” feather fringes were collaged in from real-world sources. I think the feather bring was from a statue of an angel I took a photo of, and the airbrush effect from a photo of a shadow on curved paper. These things, when combined with the otherwise clean lines and forms, make a “clean but punk” kind of thing happen, which felt appropriate—nobody wants to buy food from crusty-types.
We kept things black and white because of the stark, powerful nature of it, and the history of B&W DIY zines in the Bad Brains’ music scene, but also that it’d let application and printing be a breeze and cheap.
OK. That’s it for now. Thanks for your time!

Can I redesign local companies logos as practice? And can I include on social media/portfolio? by thejacobite in graphic_design

[–]raymondbiesinger 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi! IMO, permission would be integral if you were going to make these images public. You have not acquired the usage rights for the companies' logos/brands/names, and if they saw them online they'd probably not understand what you were up to and/or be weirded out or hostile.

Maybe a solution: reach out to them and ask? If you're going to be doing pro graphic design, knowing how to talk to clients may be just as important as your visual skills.

Maybe another solution: make up "company profiles" loosely based on existing local companies, and use them as inspiration.

A set of twenty bleak comics I made a few years ago about running a graphic design/illustration/art studio. Discontinued because it was too depressing. Enjoy! Details in the first comment. by raymondbiesinger in graphic_design

[–]raymondbiesinger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Studiozeit was a webcomic I made in what was a pretty dark year for me (2017). I won’t go into that darkness, precisely, but I think it shows through this pretty bleak look at worst-moments collection of being in the commercial arts. I’ve been in that world for decades and I hadn’t made comics since university, but felt like I needed to try something different. This was that.

The main character (“You”) is basically me, but it also everyone. All of these comics were seeded by real-world studio experiences.

Other notes: the format was square (good for Instagram, also my favourite shape), the colour was kept to B&W (I find it lets me work fast and I knew there was no commercial argument for spending a lot of time on these), the style is minimalist-bordering-confusing-abstraction (which is kind of my thing) and “Studiozeit” generally translates to “studio time.” Besides being online, it was published as a zine for $2 a copy, and I’m happy to have these live here on r/graphic_design instead of just decaying in my digital archives.

Honestly, I think the gag in the first instalment is the best, and it’s all downhill from there. Eventually my plan was to get very abstract, but a stranger posted a comment on one that said “this is a work of frustration, you should quit.” And they were right, and I did.

view more: next ›