Making Trouble
About a year ago I had the opportunity to work with local band Trouble Maker creating their logo and mascot. They had just formed and were doing some gigs around town and wanted to create a fun and memorable identity for themselves.
The band members had said they wanted a mischievous kid type character, akin to Dennis the Menace, a red headed problem child, slingshot in hand. Possessing a strong background in drawing cartoon type characters but having done little professional work in that area, needless to say I was pretty excited about this direction and felt it was right in my wheelhouse.
First step (as in any illustrative logo project) was to hit the sketchbook and start banging out some early concepts (in red pen no less). Once those were roughly complete I scanned them in, and the creative process moved into Illustrator.
Since the primary usage for the logo was on a bass drum head, I quickly determined that a full illustration of a kid pulling back on a slingshot wouldn’t work well in that space. I instead focused on just the head of the character, maximizing my space usage on the drum head. By doing so in a classic skull and crossbones arrangement I could create something that would work well in a circular format while projecting the fun (yet bad ass) image the band was looking for.
I ultimately coupled the character with some bold cartoon-style typography and soon it was soon ready for a first draft review with the client. That first draft was circulated amongst the band members who soon returned with feedback that they liked it, but would prefer it to be a bit darker, dirtier, less juvenile.
I went back to the drawing board and brought out a darker palette. Gone was the red hair and freckles in favor of a raven black head of hair, the gnarled tooth was replaced with a lit cigarette. The blue disappeared in favour of a goth crimson (scary red eyes), and the background got a hit of grungy texture. Revisions complete I presented the second option to the band, which also happened to be the final which is in use today:
In the end both the band and I were thrilled with the outcome. We worked well together in creating an identity and mascot fitting to a party/cover band with just the right combination of party fun and rock ‘n’ roll attitude. I was extremely happy with the way it turned out and simply loved the opportunity to work in this style.
I’m certain by now there’s probably more than a few groupies rocking Trouble Maker mascot tramp stamps. If you do see one in the club, make sure you snap a pic for my portfolio – and if you ever are in Calgary and have a chance to see Trouble Maker, check them out – always good times with some good tunes.
2 Responses to “Making Trouble”
Jason Dorn - February 22, 2010
Cool stuff, I’ve been meaning to do a similar entry for the Climbing Mojo stuff I did last year, but the sketchbook with the original sketches seems to live in the back seat of my car for some reason. Never remember to bring it in and scan it all in.
Cam Hoff - February 22, 2010
Thanks Dorn. It’s a nice way to revisit some of your “greatest hits’…
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