Pink Laughter Designs Blog

This illustration was created in both Illustrator and Photoshop. I have as very strong fascination with clowns and all other characters related to them which includes mimes, harlequins, jesters and so forth. Many people find this to be unusual since clowns are a source of fear for most, but even if clowns are depicted in a sinister fashion, I am interested in that depiction and characterization of clowns as well.

I didn’t really have a plan when I first began this illustration, although I wanted to experiment with images of mimes which turn into looking more like clowns. Mimes typically have the eye paint designs featured in this piece in some way. They also usually have darkly painted lips.

These clowns are in lavender and pink hues with lots of shine which gives them a candy-coated appearance, hence the name of this image which is Candy Coated Clowns.

Stay tuned for more painted-faced and masked character illustrations, which might include an illustrated character card set.

Twilight Cafe is a menu and restaurant concept that was inspired by futuristic themes and motifs of the 50s as well as stylizations from the cartoon The Jetsons. Boomerang shapes, things relating to outer space, colors blue, pink, red and green, the future, exploration and modernism were heavy themes that shaped the design output during the 50s and the early part of the 60s. I decided to first create a menu design using these ideas. I wanted the menu to be playful, intriguing, reflective of the look and feel I was going for and interactive to some degree. The prices and selections of the menu items had to represent the time period and style. Prices were of course going to be much lower. For example, a burger might be 50 cents or a sundae might be a nickel rather than what the prices are today. A restaurant such as this would offer traditional American foods that would fit into the theme.

I discovered during my research that it was common for many restaurants during the 50s to offer juices and fruit selections as appetizers. Today these items are normally sold as side orders or placed within the beverage or dessert menu so it would look rather unusual to see juices offered as starters now. These two pieces are vector illustrations and were created entirely in Illustrator. I also created a tangible copy of the menu. I printed out the layout for the menu, had it assembled, laminated and presented as a real menu that a restaurant would actually use.

I have many alter egos that are based off of various sides to my personality and moods that I often fall into. Panash [PA-nosh] is a character that I created several years ago. He has a suicide king complex and he is also one of the characters to my Pink Laughter Kingdom word concept which I will be developing into fantasy-adventure a book series over time.

I created him in several modes. Sometimes he appears in a red rather than blue clown suit with knives as hands and amid a background of fireworks and brilliant light displays. His hair is wild, chaotic and has a life of its own. He often ties up his hair with balls of light orbs in the colors lime-green, purple and sky blue but sometimes he lets all of his hair down and they appear more like abstract snakes or dreadlocks shooting out in various directions in a reactive manner.

I started a company with some friends and former schoolmates about a couple of years ago. The entry can be seen here where I talk more about this film company entitled, Third Eye Cinema.

Post LINK

He was created in Illustrator and Photoshop CS 2.

I am always full of ideas…especially concepts for products, services and businesses. What I love as much as design is the idea of taking an idea from concept stage all the way to prototype stage. Concepts for me need to come out of theory at some point and I am thrilled when I can do this with any of my ideas.

This illustration was inspired by my fondness for pastries, desserts and especially pastry shops and bakeries. I’ve dreamed of opening up my own shop in the future when money and time allows for this. I’d sell petits fours, cakes, cupcakes, tarts, creme-based confectioneries and much more.

It would be a place of delight and pleasure. Along with my intrigue for ideation, I enjoy the idea of branding. Branding goes hand in hand with conceptualization. An idea becomes an actual identity; a product or service which enhances one’s lifestyle.

Cake Wonderland was one of these ideas. I plan to develop it further someday…to create a full blueprint for the business plan.

I find that having mascots or character icons is very effective for promoting a brand. Character depictions become the emboodiment of a business. I chose the character Airo from my Pink Laughter Kingdom world concept. He is one of the characters in this story world.

He is known as the elusive pastry chef. He head, always topped with a tasty cake on a platter, which acts also as a permanent hat, becomes iconographc for the cake shop, Cake Wonderland.

This piece was created in Illustrator and Photoshop.

The Asymptotic Faery is a character design I plan to develop further. It’s based on my writing identity under the same name as well as the writing blog site I started recently:The Asymptotic Faery Writing Blog

The name, originally just Asymptotic Faery, came about several years ago as one of my alter egos. I have many alter egos that I like to characterize. The Asymptotic Faery’s name was originally Inkair. I might still use this name for the T.A.F. character but for now it represents another facet of my personality under my real name.

Additionally, I used this name as one of my online discussion board aliases for a few years and it eventually stuck as a username. The name depicts a state of mystique, curious intelligence (cerebral connotation) and childlike whimsy. More directly, the name implies my ability to relate to other people through ideas, thoughts and emotions while remaining quite solitary and distant on many levels. Others get close to me but never really get to know or understand me fully…so to speak. This has nothing to do with placing myself on a pedestal of any sort. The meaning should not and is not intended to be interpreted this way. It is more about my acknowledgment as a solitary person…tending towards being social on my own terms out of habit and nature. It also reflects my experience of being able to only relate to a few people in my life very well on a very intimate level.

The design was originally developed in Illustrator, but taken into Photoshop to add in background elements from other related pieces. I wasn’t sure about how I wanted to interpret the look of the character. I had some other sketches in mind. I am still in experimentation stage…so the design can change if I wind up not liking it as much within a week or so. The character was a bit different than what I usually design because was very insect-like.

Originally, the legs were not encased in bubble sheaths or material as they are now. They just stood out of bare stick-like limbs. I wasn’t too satisfied with that after a week had passed. I wanted the limbs to look more substantial. I’ve also always liked the look of easter eggs, colorful beetles (especially scarabs), ladybugs, butterfly wings, reflective glassy objects with a hint of water and mirror elements and alien-like creatures. So this character takes on all of these associations. It’s a faery…a unique being but it also has the ability to transform and adapt to various environments with its appendages and body.

The head is the central stagnant look but the character has the ability to change and adapt…body-wise. I added in the character holding a shiny glass with pink liquid in it circling around several small planets which depicts a snapshot or section of the universe.

The slogan for The Asymptotic Faery is, “The Whole Universe Inside a Glass of Water.” The meaning behind this slogan can be seen as my T.A.F. blog site linked further above.