Pardon our dust/lack of updates. We're currently hard at work on our new website, launching in early September. We can't wait to show you what we've been up to the last few months...
Filtering by Category: New Stuff,Photo-Illustration
It's been busy here at IC, to say the least, and we haven't been updating the blog as often as we'd like. To make up for lost time, here are a handful of new albums we've been working on over the past 6 months. Enjoy.
WovenWar I've been friends with these guys ever since we toured together in 2010, but never had the chance to work with them on a design level. I couldn't be more pleased with how smoothly everything went. We knew we wanted a cover image that centered around an icon, and the WW mark is something that came to mind instantly after our first conversation. As always, I loved working in simple black and white. Each image is comprised of abstract painted shapes to convey a ink-blot/rorschach vibe. Pre-order the physical package here.
Tedashii Below Paradise Taking a page from the late, great Storm Thorgerson book of "doing it for real," we ventured out into the high desert of Southern California in early 2014 to create this album cover. Caleb Kuhl did a killer job on the photos, Neil Visel was particularly handy with the forklift, and I put too much lighter fluid on the car and we had to call the fire department. Apparently they saw the smoke from a neighboring county. Oops. Grab the physical album here.
Propaganda Crimson Cord Our pal Prop gave us free reign on his (amazing) new album - we wanted the packaging concept to feel as organic and layered as his music. What may look like paint drips and splatters are (mostly) images of his iconic dreadlocks. Our goal was to blend his soul into the art as much as possible - which was inspired by the album title and album concept. Grab the physical album here.
Memphis May Fire Unconditional The guys in MMF came to me with this concept, which I thought was great - that of the bond between father and child. Since my dad happened to be coming to town around this time, I thought it would be a great opportunity to photograph his arm for this cover... and I was able to talk one of my brother's children into giving us a "hand" as well. Grab the physical album here.
The Atlas Moth The Old Believer I’ve always enjoyed creating imagery that is “more than meets the eye.” I also love concepts that allow for some real hands-on interaction. Ideas like this have kept music packaging exciting for me through the years. When The Atlas Moth came to me with a concept that would change the cover image when wet, I thought there was no way we'd get the necessary approval to make it happen. Thanks to the folks at Profound Lore, who, in rare fashion, believe in going the extra mile in the name of artistic endeavor, this amazing idea is something you can now hold (and drench) for yourself. Above are both "before" and "after" versions of the cover. Grab the physical album here.
Lecrae Anomaly One of our favorite clients, Lecrae (and his label - Reach Records), asked us to work on the follow-up to his last album Gravity, which we had the pleasure of working on in 2012. We enlisted the help of our friends at Shinbone Creative to create Crae's likeness in 3D wireframe (spot gloss varnish!) form for the cover. The physical packaging will def. be worth checking out. Pre-order that here.
Killer Be Killed Working with an entire band of metal visionaries isn't something I get to do every day. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance. The aesthetic that we really bonded over, and seemed fitting for this project, was that of crusty, gritty, photocopied punk. The real fringe - Discharge, Man Is The Bastard, Doom, Crass, etc. It was a blast getting to work in a style that I love, for awesome guys that totally get it. Grab the physical album here.
Grieves Winter & The Wolves Another album cover that's more than meets the eye. We worked with Grieves to create something really special for 2011's Together/Apart, and we knew we wanted to do something amazing for this record as well. The actual cover (top image here) features a die cut hole right in the center, where a standing Grieves shows through. When the cover is opened, we see that he's surrounded by wolves. Careful out there, buddy. Grab the physical album here.
Insense De:Evolution I had the pleasure of touring with these guys in Europe during the spring of 2012. We spoke a bit on the road about working together for the artwork on their new record, and I'm stoked that we were able to make it happen. Not to worry - no babies were harmed in the making of this cover. Grab the physical album here.
Over the years, Number One Gun has been a source of creative exploration for us. They've always been great at essentially giving us free-reign, which has allowed us the room to create some work that we're really proud of (thanks, Jeff). For this, their newest digital-only release, This Is All We Know, we created a scene made to look like a page cut from a special Twilight Zone Edition of a 1960s Life Magazine. We started with a pre-printed image and added a mysterious mirrored box, nestled into the setting.
Here's a look at the album cover we created with long-time friend Aaron Sprinkle, for his newest release, Water & Guns. The Album itself is phenomenal, and Aaron, as usual, gave us his unyielding trust to create something with no boundaries but our own imagination. Water & Guns speaks of (among many other things) Aaron's recent move across the country, and his long journey to complete this record. Our idea was to represent two polarizing landscapes using abstract shapes. In this case, all pre-printed materials from vintage magazines. Buy this record.
We love our clients. We love Lego. So why not combine the two? For our annual Client Holiday gift this year, we decided to design a custom Eye Creature Lego kit. Edition of 6 sets. 444 pieces. 4 instruction booklets. 8 different mouth combinations - and a hinged top that allows the owner to store all kinds of fun items (as shown below). We even found 2 extremely cute kids from 1972 in my house that wanted to participate in the box design. Disclaimer: This product is NOT affiliated with Lego, folks - this was a gift. Oh, enough already. Check out how we made it below:
Here's our album cover for the one, the only Andy Mineo. Heroes For Sale arrives on April 16th. To be continued...
Here's our cover for Lecrae's much-anticipated new album Gravity. We've been fans of what Reach Records has been doing for years - so we're pretty excited to be part of this record. And Church Clothes has been on repeat in the studio since it dropped.
We may or may not have a big announcement residing within one of these wax packs next week ... Stay tuned.
DrilOne x Invisible Creature presents Leroy 'The Destroyer' Box Set!
Leroy 'The Destroyer' Box Set will be available online in the IC shop and at San Diego Comic Con Dragatomi Booth #4935. 12 sets were made and 10 will be sold.
DrilOne x Invisible Creature Leroy 'The Destroyer' Box Set includes:
1 - Invisible Creature Leroy C. customized by DrilOne 1 - 11"x14" print by Invisible Creature, numbered and signed 2 - Leroy 'The Destroyer' Vinyl Stickers 1 - Leroy 'The Destroyer' 1" Button 1 - Set of dogtags that are numbered to match the box, Leroy, and print
Price: $250
Release times:
Friday 07.06.12 / 1PM PST - 4 will be available in the IC shop Thursday 07.12.12 / 2PM PST - at DrilOne's signing SDCC booth #4935
If there are any left, they will be available here:
Saturday 07.14.12 / 11AM PST - at DrilOne's signing SDCC booth #4935 Sunday 07.15.12 / 1PM PST - online in the IC shop
Check out the cover we just wrapped up for Sold State newcomers The Overseer.
Design Bureau Magazine asks us a few questions in their latest issue. Featuring K-Rash like a boss on the cover.
Extra special thanks to the talented and gracious Mr. Foster for featuring us in his beautiful new book, New Masters Of Poster Design, Volume 2. Available now!
Well, it appears someone ate the yellow snow. Our brand new Winter White Leroy C. is now in the shop. Get 'em while he's cold.
Wow, we're 5. Officially out of the toddler bed but still able to pee in the yard. Not bad. It's been an incredible journey thus far ... thanks to our amazing clients and you (of course). To celebrate the holidays as well as our half-decade, we're offering free shipping on all US orders through December as well as a new 5" x 5" mini-print (with any Leroy C. figure purchase) to hang next to the awkward family photo of that one acquaintance from high school that still sends you Christmas cards. You know the one I'm talking about.
Thank you so much. And seriously, we can't wait to see what happens in the next five ...
You may have seen a fairly vague posting regarding this last week, but here's the lowdown: Low & Behold is a new project band that J Martin and I have been working on for a few years now. In a nutshell, it's really stripped-down classic goth/new wave- for those of you that dig on the likes of Depeche Mode, Sisters Of Mercy, etc. The first release, a 12" single titled Blood Red, is available for pre-order now here. The record features the title track, plus a b-side (Violent Sound), packaged in a gatefold sleeve, with a 11" x 11" 2-sided art print. So, yes, $9 is a steal.
Have a Blood Red Halloween.
The latest edition to the Leroy C. family is here. Cast in pearl grey vinyl highlighted by bronze and grey sprays. Heavy!