I captured some of my insights and discoveries during the creation of the first four Calamityware plates. I thought you might like a glimpse of the creative process so I decided to do a four-part Origins series for the Calamityware Blog. I hope you enjoy it.
1Started by re-reading L. Frank Baum’s classic book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and sketching my impressions of the flying monkeys. They are obnoxious little scamps with long, animated tails. |
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2Flying in formation like WW2 bombers is part of the sinister quality. |
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3My first sketch of flying monkeys in formation. Oops! Forgot the tails. |
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4I wanted the monkeys to look similar but not like identical rubber stamps. Instead, each should have a different face and tail. |
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5Reaction of the innocents is vital. But here the levitating hat is a bit too silly. |
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6In the final drawing, the figure reacting to the sight of a squadron of flying monkeys is separated slightly from the background by a thin, white line to allow him to stand out. |
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7I started the tradition of decorating the back of each plate by including one angry-looking monkey. He also had a role in some of the project updates on Kickstarter. |
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8Before making the first prototype, I used cut paper to simulate how the design would look on the physical plate. |
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