Origins: Calamityware Plate 1

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.

 

1

Started 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.

2

Flying in formation like WW2 bombers is part of the sinister quality.

3

My first sketch of flying monkeys in formation. Oops! Forgot the tails.

4

I wanted the monkeys to look similar but not like identical rubber stamps. Instead, each should have a different face and tail.

5

Reaction of the innocents is vital. But here the levitating hat is a bit too silly.


6

In 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.

7

I 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.

8

Before making the first prototype, I used cut paper to simulate how the design would look on the physical plate.

 

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