TopDog Illustration

Simplicity Is Key

2011-10-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

TopDog Illustration specializes in visual storytelling. When working on medical device projects we believe breaking down these stories into a very simplified form can be an effect way of creating and maintaining a dialogue with potential customers. Because if infographics are intuitive they can help you tell your technology story in very short amount of time. This will keep your prospects engaged when efficiency and impact are vital to closing your sale.

Here's a project I just completed for RhinoChill using this same methodology.

Visit us at: TopDog Illustration

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The Smartest Business Decision I've Ever Made

2011-08-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

Attending the HOW Design Conference in Chicago was one of the smartest business decisions I've ever made as an illustrator. Where’s why:

1) Designers are great businesspeople

The last 10 years has not been kind to illustrators. While demand for editorial work continues to slide, most illustrators have a tough time saying no to low paying jobs and poor contracts. (Or don't care.) Sure we all want work, but most individuals fail to realize how their decisions affect our whole trade and clients have learned to take advantage of that. Designers, on the other hand, tend to be more business savvy when it comes to paperwork and negotiating. Hearing them speak gave me assurance that it is okay to turn down work that doesn't meet my criteria.

2) Designers hire illustrators

As they say, go where your costumers are. Putting myself in a sea of 4,000 designers, principals and visual artists is like putting a high-class call girl in the middle of a hedge fund conference. You go where your customers are. This was a no-brainer. (However, I failed to get any dates.)

3) Expanding my circle of influence

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few years it's that the people you surround yourself with will influence your work, for better or worse. Today I’m in a much better place professionally and creatively because I’ve focused on surrounding myself with positive people that I can learn from. This has had a huge impact on me creatively and has encouraged me to express myself in ways I never would have imagined.

4) Advice from other principals is priceless

These are the people who are doing something right. They have small to medium design firms and take on projects that have a large impact on the companies for which they work. Putting myself in the audience and listening to what they have to say is an incredible value. Where else am I going to get this advice? Sure I can read magazines, blogs and articles, but hearing these people speak and getting a chance to meet them face-to-face has a huge impact on me. It's a rare opportunity that I’m glad I took advantage of.

5) I finally found a good use for Twitter!

Attending a conference where you don’t know anyone can be a little intimidating. So, before or after each session I made it a point to say hello to whomever I sat next to. In doing so I happen to meet two ladies who were using Twitter to form a group of conference new comers who were traveling solo. (#HOWlive #Newbies) In doing so, we followed this public forum and commented on which sessions we were attending, which speakers were great (and which ones weren’t) and where to meet up for lunch, drinks or dinner afterwards. (Or all of the above!) Not only did this make me use Twitter in a way I had never imagined, but I also ended up with 25+ new friends that otherwise I never would have met. Post conference we also formed a Facebook group as a way to stay in touch and exchange ideas. A practical, professional purpose for social media – who’d a thought???

6) Making a transition takes growth

Larger projects bring more consulting. When I take on large information design projects, most clients realize these undertakings can have a significant impact on their company’s brand. And when companies turn to me for advice on how to make these projects successful, I start making the transition from an everyday illustrator to a marketing consultant who specializes in visual storytelling. That’s a big difference – both in pay and in responsibility. So with this in mind, it’s essential I get advice and learn from people who have experience walking companies through branding strategy sessions. Then I can apply these methods in my practice and increase the chances that these large information design projects will meet their goals.

7) Most great illustrators are also great designers

One thing most people would be surprised about is that even though designers and illustrators have different classifications, there’s a lot of overlap. In fact, if you were to give a talented illustrator a design project you would likely find they could complete that project in glorious fashion. That's because most illustrators have a superb eye for aesthetics and are actually great designers even though they don’t practice these skills in the traditional sense. So in my view, learning how to be a better designer will translate into being a better illustrator. (And hopefully a better marketing consultant who specializes in visual storytelling, right?)

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http://twitter.com/#!/topdogillo

WE!

2011-01-31T11:31:00.001-08:00

TopDog Illustration has done a series of informational graphics for Windows Embedded covering a variety of industries. In this particular illustration we focus on the healthcare industry.

The challenge with this project was to demonstrate how WE devices cover the complete patient care cycle from pre-admission, admission, diagnosis, and therapy to ongoing care. When devices have one common platform and a central collection of information, they can provide better patient care with lower deployment and training costs.

Here are the steps I went through to get to the final image.

TopDog Illustration

Why do cars speed out of control?

2010-04-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine, Dave Peterson, who is the Chief Marketing Officer at Coverity had an appearance on CNBC the other day to debate the possible cause of why some automobiles (cough, Prius, cough, cough) may experience uncontrolled acceleration. His point was that there’s an enormous amount of untested software code within these vehicles and these issues may be software related and not mechanic as some have assumed.

The next day, he launched a PR blitz to capitalize on his appearance and explain to the general public and potential customers that his company, Coverity, can analyze software code to find conflicts and avoid issues like these from happening. After all, these software failures can be terribly expensive for the companies and potentially life-threatening for customers.

To drive home his point, he asked me to create a series of informational graphics to help explain to the average Joe how much code is in a typical luxury automobile and that the possibilities for something to go wrong are almost endless.

First, a graphic to explain how much code is in a single software component and within that code, there are a trillion possibilities that one piece of code may conflict with another piece of code.

Second, explain that the complexity increases when you add several software components from multiple suppliers and all of these different products have to successfully interact with each other.

Third, illustrate these software components interacting with each other within an automobile and that the total amount of code in an individual automobile when printed out would equal the height of a 50-story building.

Fourth, show that traditional ways of code testing, such as manual and scenario, can only achieve about 50% coverage. Coverity’s Software Integrity Analysis is the only way to ensure 100% coverage of the entire code base.

Check out more work:
TopDog Illustration

Circa 1990

2009-09-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

I ran across some of my old college work the other day and I found it entertaining to not only see how I addressed certain illustration challenges, but that one turned out to be a fairly accurate prediction.

Of course, back then I didn’t know what direction my art career would take. But when I look at my old work I can certainly see which areas I excelled and they’re not far from what I’m doing now.

For this assignment, we had to come up with our own subject to render and then apply it to a magazine cover that it would be suitable for. I did the illustration on cold press board and entirely with grayscale Prismacolor markers. While the piece turned out to be good training for detail and chrome work, I do remember one of the comments from my instructor was, “Nice rendering, but markers aren’t typically used for final illustrations.”

True. But I had fine tip markers and just couldn’t help myself. I also shouldn’t have spent so much time rendering all that stupid type either.

Of course, now that I’ve been doing work for Bicycling for several years it’s a good thing I upgraded from markers, huh?

http://www.topdogillustration.com

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ResMed

2009-07-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

Instructional graphics for medical device companies is becoming a growing segment of our business. Here's a project recently created for ResMed showing a patient how to install a sleep apnea monitoring device.

www.topdogillustration.com

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Three Ways To Chip Ice… Who knew?

2009-04-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

TopDog Illustration just completed a project with Food Network Magazine for an article on “How To Chip and Chisel” ice.

http://www.topdogillustration.com

Crash Testing Helmets

2009-04-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

I tell my clients in the bicycle industry that I know their products because I use their products. This gives me an edge on the competition because the bicycle industry is a very tight community. Occasionally, I’ll also crash test their products. With Bell and Giro on my client list, fortunately for me I have the chance to work with the best helmet companies in the business. Every now and then they’ll pass along a new helmet for me to try. But odds are, sooner or later I’ll end up in a tangled mess with my bike and will be grateful I was wearing a helmet that was not only well designed, but also thoroughly tested. Over the years, I’ve had a few helmets that have met their demise.

Helmet: Giro Pneumo
In late 2004 when I was clipped by a car making a right-hand turn. I ended up with a severe concussion and very little memory of what happened that day, but I was still alive to ride another day.

Helmet: Giro Atmos
In 2006 I was doing my first mountain bike-packing trip in Henry Coe State Park. On the last day, I somehow got off balance with my heavy panniers, tipped over, fell off a steep switchback and landed directly on my head. I remember that impact like it was yesterday. The thud of my helmet hitting hard dirt and the cracking noise the neck makes when it’s wrenched someway it shouldn’t go. Once again, I was grateful for a well-designed helmet and I rode out that day without any major injuries.

Helmet: Bell Sweep XC
Most recently was this last weekend. I was riding at Soquel Demonstration Forest and was heading down a really fun and fast trail called Corral. I hit a tabletop log jump and my plan was to have enough speed that I’d clear the top and land smoothly on the downside. Unfortunately for me, there was an ill-placed log on the landing that my back wheel hit squarely and it catapulted me OTB (over-the-bars) and into the dirt and brush. Of course when you go OTB, two things usually happen: you land on your head/shoulder and shortly thereafter the bike clocks you in the back of the head. One crash, two impacts. Thankfully, Bell and Giro make sure the backsides of their helmets are just as protective as the fronts.

If you’re in the market for a new helmet, be sure to check out the latest models from Bell and Giro.

http://www.topdogillustration.com

Hooah! Magazine

2009-03-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of years I’ve been trying to introduce a more hand crafted feel to my computer generated work. I recently got a request from Hooah! Magazine to illustrate a stock car with a blueprint look and feel. In the past, I’ve colored line art blue to get that effect, but thought this would be a nice opportunity to add some freehand pencil work.

For this piece I ended up doing the line work in Adobe Illustrator and all the pencil work on velum. Then I scanned the pencil work into Photoshop and assembled the final piece. I was excited to see the end result, but can’t wait to try this effect on a detailed cutaway.

http://www.topdogillustration.com

WTB Tech Illustrations

2009-03-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I got a call from Dain Zaffke, the marketing coordinator at Wilderness Trail Bikes. They were adding a new technology section to their website and needed several product cutaway illustrations. These renderings would help explain the technology story about their products that might otherwise go unnoticed.

A few days later, I loaded up my bike and headed up to Mill Valley for our face-to-face meeting. Why the bike you ask? Well, it’s standard practice within the bike industry that you combine work with a little bit of pleasure. So I embraced the opportunity to experience some new trails in an area that I normally don’t get to ride.

One of the main points that came out of our meeting was that WTB wanted these illustrations to have an art quality to them. I think too often 3D renderings look cold and these needed to be warm with a handcrafted feel. Ideally, these individual renderings needed to look like a piece of art.

With that in mind I produced a series of 13 renderings with a technique that I’ve been developing over the last couple of years. Instead of filling everything with full color, I used a line to color fade; along with adding simulated pencil lines to give it a nice warm, technical feel.

The following work can be seen in all its glory on WTBs website at; http://wtb.com/technology/

http://www.topdogillustration.com

Let’s HOPE for a Better Image

2009-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

A lot has been made of the controversy around Shepard Fairey’s Obama poster and I’m not going to debate the merits of Fair Use vs. copyright infringement. But what I am excited about is the debate has gotten so much publicity that other artists will see the story and will learn something from it.

It seems as though somewhere along the way art schools forgot to teach their students about copyright law. Which to me is just absurd because it directly affects everything we create and ultimately our livelihoods. Sure, this is boring stuff. I wake up everyday with the desire to create, not with an eagerness to study copyright law. But in order to run a business and to stay out of legal trouble, I have to at least know the basics.

If you’re using reference for your project know who owns it.

Clients often provide me with reference material and it’s important that I know who owns that material and/or if they have permission to use it.

What if the client doesn't own or have permission to use the reference material?

Make sure you make some drastic changes along the way. Sure, a legal debate for Fairey somehow actually helps his career, but for most people it's a terrible expense. If the client insists the new work be real similar, just turn down the work. It’s just not worth it. There will be other projects.

Awhile back I even added a few lines to my own contract to cover me in case the client provides existing artwork that they don’t own. It reads something like this:

If client provides the illustrator with artwork to be incorporated into the Work, the client represents that it owns the copyright to said artwork or has permission for the Illustrator to use. If said artwork is incorporated into the Work, the client will hold the Illustrator harmless for all liability caused if that portion of the Work infringes on the rights of others.

--

Arming yourself with a little bit of knowledge about copyright law will not only help you stay out of legal trouble, but will paint a professional image for artists as a whole.

www.topdogillustration.com

ICON6-LA

2009-02-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

Left Coast Meets Right Brain

After the Illustration Conference in New York City, I was selected onto the ICON Board of Directors to help plan the next conference. Late last week we had our first meeting in Pasadena to discuss the 2010 event and the decision was made to host the conference in LA! I personally couldn’t be happier. When you combine the perfect weather of a great vacation destination along with a strong and vibrant artist community, you'll likely end up with a very successful endeavor.

I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of that on my visit. In addition to the talented people with whom I have the pleasure of serving on the Board with, at the wrap party we were graced with the presence of several very talented and successful illustrators and art directors from the area. As that synergy carries over to ICON6, we will no doubt have an amazing conference!

What do you want to see at the next ICON?

I will most likely be putting together sessions dealing with the advocacy and the business side of illustration. If there’s something you’d like to see covered within that scope, drop me a note and let me know.

www.topdogillustration.com

Animate Instructions

2009-01-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

Using Photoshop's new animation feature, it's fairly easy to create step-by-step instructional videos to post on your website.

Staples Infographics

2009-01-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

Information design always tells a complex story, but needs to be simple enough to effectively get the message across in a very short amount of time. In order to be successful, the graphic also needs to be esthetically pleasing and should show a nice architectural layout.

In this particular case for Staples, the client needed to inform customers what products they need to buy in order to set up a home network. Here you can see how the project evolved from sketch to preliminary to final.

http://www.topdogillustration.com

Beware of the Whale Tail

2008-12-10T18:36:00.000-08:00

(Click here for info about the contest.)

If you live in California, then you probably have heard the Coastal Commission had a falling out with the artist that designed the current Whale Tail license plate. Now in order to free themselves of their current debacle, they decided to hold a contest to come up with a new design. And of course, the contest also comes with a contract that the new artist must sign in order to enter their design.

Let me start this by saying even without all the drama behind this license plate, no freelance illustrator should ever sign a contract (such as this one) that surrenders all the rights to their work.

But unfortunately, this project (when coupled with that contract) puts the new artist in a very dangerous situation. The contract clearly states that the illustrator completely releases the Coastal Commission from all liability and puts everything squarely on the illustrator. Now, normally this may not seem like that big of a deal. As an illustrator you’re usually responsible for creating original work. But here’s the catch (pardon the pun): The criteria and subject matter for this project doesn’t give the new illustrator very much leeway with a new design. So if that final illustration looks even remotely similar to the previous illustration you could be liable for infringement. And given Wyland’s (the previous illustrator) stance in regards to his work and his contentious relationship with the Coastal Commission, the new illustrator will likely find himself (or herself) unwillingly in a lawsuit over the new design.

Now, don’t get me wrong here, Wyland should have every right to sue whoever infringes his work. All content creators should. But what you have to take into great consideration here is the way the contract is written and the parameters of the project. Whenever I receive a new contract from a client, I always weight the risks (the liability I’m willing to accept) with the commission being paid. I’m not willing to accept very much responsibility if the commission is pretty low.

Now before you consider taking on this project, please ask yourself this question: Do I risk my career, my livelihood, my possessions, possibly even my home when the payoff is only 1,000 dollars? I hope your answer is NO!

You’re Just Telling Stories

2008-11-25T11:59:00.000-08:00

Sure, I am an illustrator, but that’s not really what I do. You see… I’m really in the business of storytelling. Whether it’s informational graphics, product cutaways or instructional illustration, what I’m actually doing is informing an audience how something works.

In this case, it’s through step-by-step instructions on how to use a Kuhn Rikon can opener. While you probably think most people would know how to use such a device, through my own testing, I realized the use of this particular can opener was not very intuitive. I handed it to a couple of people, gave them a can and told them to open it. No one could. That’s not to say it’s not a brilliant design, quite the contrary. It’s certainly a highly designed, beautiful piece of equipment. But when someone creates a paradigm shift with an everyday object, it can initially create some confusion until people are used to seeing and using that particular device.

Once my drawings were finished and the instructions were written, I did another test. This time with the help of the new guide, everyone succeeded in using the opener correctly and proof my job was done.

Sound & Vision Magazine

2008-11-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple years Sound & Vision Magazine has been a great client to work with. While their deadlines are inevitably tight, I always take solace in the fact that within one week I know the job will be done and off to print.

Here’s a prelim and final illustration covering speaker, TV and furniture placement within a typical family room.http://www.topdogillustration.com

Retouching and Color Correction

2008-11-24T16:33:00.001-08:00

An area of expertise that I don’t advertise on my site, but continues to be a big part of my business is photo retouching and color correction. Each year I work on hundreds of product shots for catalogs and web sites for brands like Giro, Bell Sports and Easton. This talent requires an acute eye for detail and the color knowledge involved literally takes years to develop. Fortunately for my clients, I’ve been doing this type of work for close to 15 years so it’s something that really comes second nature to me.

With that in mind, if you’d like a quote for retouching your next catalog project, give me a call.

http://www.topdogillustration.com

Contracts, Contracts, Contracts

2008-10-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I had a good conversation with an art buyer about the terms in my contract and why I stand where I do in regards to copyright and exclusivity issues. Since a lot of fellow artists deal with these issues on a day-to-day basis I thought it would be a good idea to write about some of the important points here in the hopes that others will learn something and follow suit.

Understand Exclusivity
I rarely ever grant exclusivity to my work. Why? Because you have to understand that not only are you granting exclusive rights to that illustration as a whole, but you are granting exclusivity to the CONTENTS as well. Why is this a problem? Here’s an example. When you look at my info graphics, some people and objects like computers and desks are reused. Now, most clients could care less about me reusing elements, but legally, if you turn over the copyright or give exclusivity, it means they own or have the sole right to ALL of it. This includes ALL of the CONTENTS.

How much will that project cost YOU?
By retaining ownership and granting non-exclusive rights, I am not limited in any way in regards to what I can create for future clients. This is especially important since most of my work follows a specific style. It's important because by retaining the ownership and re-usage rights to those creations my business, one: stays out of legal trouble, and two: is not limited long term in what I can produce for other clients. What’s the point of taking on a project if it will just cost you money down the road because you have to turn down similar work? I mean, think about it… Can you imagine someone suing you for creating something too similar to your past work? Isn’t a person’s illustrative style all about creating something that looks similar to past work???

Respect
Of course the concern in all of this is that the client wants some sort of protection or guarantee that the finished illustration won’t be resold to a competitor. And I can respect that. But, for the record, I’ve never resold a finished piece of work either exactly as is or without that previous client’s okay. Now I don’t have to work this way, after all, I own the copyright to all of my work. But I work this way out of respect and this is how I retain good working relationships with my clients.

For Example
Now, let me give you a real-world example. Someone literally called me a couple of weeks ago and wanted to reuse one of the house cutaways on my site. I told them I couldn't just resell it out of respect to that previous client because they were still using that image. However, I would be interested in creating a new house cutaway and I might be able to reuse some of the elements in order to save myself some time and them some money.

These Boots are made for Walking
These are all situations that are very difficult to word in contracts. The best way to handle this is to retain the rights to everything you create and hopefully the client will trust what you tell them. Usually, when I take the time to explain this to them most understand where I'm coming from and are okay with it. However, in reality not everyone is going to trust your word. For those you can’t come to an agreement with, you just have to walk away.

Great resources for understanding terms in contracts:
The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook
The Free Legal Dictionary

Get Your Race On!

2008-10-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

As someone who lives to create, when I come up with a nice design I feel it’s a terrible shame if that idea doesn't get produced. Well, I came across this conundrum a couple of years ago when I came up with a design for a woman’s mountain bike jersey. As most of you probably don’t know, I sponsor a small mountain bike race team that competes in local and regional cross-country races like CCCX, Sea Otter and the Downieville Classic.

When I formed this team few years ago, all the jerseys had the same unisex design and I always felt a little guilty that we never had a female specific design for the one woman on our team. At the time, I just couldn’t justify the expense of a second run. Then one day I came up with a great idea and once I saw the design printed out I just had to get it produced. Of course, now I have some 30 female jerseys and still only one female teammate.

Along with using the jerseys for our team, I also use these as promotional items and mail them out to past, present and future clients in the bicycle industry. Which brings me to the reason for this post. If you’re a female working in the bike industry, send me an email with a reason of why you would love to wear a TopDog Illustration Racing jersey and I just might send you one!

http://www.topdogillustration.com

And now I walk into the wild… with only a sketchbook.

2008-09-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

Besides being an artist, I’m also an avid backpacker. I do a lot of solo trips and have recently been working on my off-trail navigation skills. There’s something I find extremely gratifying about being self-reliant and finding unique landscape features that are often far away from a trail and in hard to reach locations. It might be a lake, a spectacular vista or even a unique rock formation.

Recently, I also came to the conclusion that I need to draw more. While I’ve been telling myself for a while now that I need to start sketching again for fun, I found it impossible to actually get started. Then I thought, what if I combined the two? I’ll plan a trip to Yosemite and I’ll trade my reading book for a sketchbook. I’ll keep the mileage to a minimum so I have some downtime and out of pure boredom, I’ll have to sketch to pass the time. This seemed like a lot of work just to pick up the pencil again, right? But I felt I needed to get away from all the other distractions that exist in my day-to-day life in order to make it happen.

When we start out as young artists drawing by hand is all we do. But over the years I’ve gotten so dependent on Adobe Illustrator that my traditional skills have deteriorated. Sure, like most artists I do simple sketches when I start my projects, but they’re done fast and lack a lot of detail. After all, why waste all that time redoing sketches when they’re not part of your final illustration, right? But over the years I’ve gotten increasingly impatient with my pencil work and I’ve realized that it might be hindering my progression as an illustrator.

Perhaps this is something we all need to do from time to time. Challenge ourselves as artists to rediscover a creative skill that we left back in our youth and give it a try again. Maybe it’s painting, sculpting, pottery… it can be anything that you enjoyed when you were younger, but left behind because you found your niche as a graphic designer or illustrator. I’ve even considered painting again, which by the way, I haven’t done since college. I realize I’m not going to be an accomplished painter or sketch artist any time soon. But I can’t help but think that re-learning one of these skills will somehow influence my work and make me a better artist both personally and professionally. I can see the headline now, “Accomplished illustrator re-learns how to draw with pencil!”

http://www.topdogillustration.com

My Best Work

2008-07-24T15:56:00.001-07:00

Every spring I put together a new page for the Directory of Illustration and it gives me a chance to reflect on the work that I’ve done within the last year. Once again, some of the most memorable projects have come from the bicycle industry. As an avid cyclist, my eyes always light up when the phone rings and I see the name on the caller ID is something like: Bell Sports, Giro, WTB or Fox Racing. Being an independent contractor I get the pleasure of working with all of them and not just singling myself out for one particular brand. I’d have to say, that’s one of the greatest things about running my own business.

Lately though, I’ve been asking myself why are these clients continually helping me produce some of my best work? I narrowed it down to a couple of things.

The first is TRUST. When these companies call me it’s not because I’ve been cold calling them or because they’re calling ten other illustrators for the lowest bid. It’s because they have chosen to work with me. They trust I’ll understand their needs and produce some great work that in the end will make them look like a hero and will help their company sell more product.

The second is PASSION. They understand that I have an appreciation for their industry and their passion for biking comes through over the phone. Now one of the most unique things, that I have yet to find with any other industry, is the fact that when we do have to meet face to face, they usually ask me to bring my bike so we can go for a ride afterwards. What other industry does something like that? Now, don’t get me wrong, I also love doing work for the tech companies here in Silicon Valley. But never once has anyone in that field asked me to bring some tools so we could tear apart a blade server afterwards. And I’d have to say, if they did, there’s no way it would be as much fun.

http://www.topdogillustration.com

Helmet Illustration for Bell Sports

2008-07-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

This project was recently completed for Bell Sports over the course of three weeks. As well as meeting with the product designer I was supplied with prototypes, technical drawings and photographs of their new helmet. As in most illustrations like this, it went through a progression of three stages; sketch, preliminary and then final. The completed rendering was then leveraged in press releases, advertisements and product literature and is already having a great return on investment.

http://www.topdogillustration.com