If you following me on Facebook or Instagram, likely, you have already gotten a glimpse of the three beer labels that I created for Ology Brewing. Today, I have for you a closer look at the final art, the original drawings, and the labels. These three labels were part of Ology's fourth-anniversary celebration, and each beer was a limited run batch created for the event. Creating a beer label, let alone three, has been a bucket list of mine for some time, and I could not be happier with everything involved with this project. A huge thanks to Steve Leacock (who you may know did all the layout and typography for The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia) for getting me involved with Ology and doing all the design and type work with my art and to everyone at Ology, who have been nothing but gracious and excited about working together. This has definitely been a fantastic project to be a park of. Enough talk; bring on the beer labels.
For the set, Steve and I had the idea of doing a retro space theme featuring cute and popular animals. We brainstormed a list of animals I wanted to draw and animals that would be popular and look good on the labels. The tardigrade was a given from the beginning and was a must for Steve. The tardigrade was really impetuous of the entire theme. After that, we agreed on the axolotl and the sloth. I produced them in that order and provided full thumbnails and comps for the tardigrade to get approval from Ology as we moved along. This process started in November of last year, but they were completed in rapid session earlier this year. Starting things off, here is the Trisolaran Tardigrade.
I made the drawings as large as I could, working from home. This allowed me to make the drawing 17x14. I wanted to have a lot of fun with the drawing and to include as much detail and texture as possible. I also included as much bleed as I could so that Steve had plenty to work with when doing the final layout. In the final label, you can see how much ended up getting cut, but that is part of the process. I made it big so that there was plenty to play around with.
Again, I can not say how pleased with how these turned out. It was an extraordinary moment to turn a corner during my tour of Ology Brewing to see a palette of beer with my labels on them.
Now that the first label was completed, laid out, and approved by Ology, I got to work on other two. In the end, I think the axolotl is my favorite, but the tardigrade will alwasys be special since it was first. The process for the other labels was the same as the first, it all went quicker since I had a template and production flow to follow.
While the beers had official names, I had my own names for the drawings, which I thought about as I was working on them. I wanted each to have their own character and purpose. While the tardigrade was a warrior, I saw the axolotl as a scientist, floating through space documenting its discoveries.
While I am happy with all the labels, there is something about the colors on the axolotl that I am more pleased with. But, to each their own, I know the sloth is a favorite to many.
Did someone say sloth? This chill dude is doing he best to fix a situation he likely made worse. From just a little of the feedback I have seen I think the sloth became a fan favorite and the beer inside the can intrigued many.
That's all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...
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