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Race Point Publishing release their Skull Sourcebook featuring wotto art. 

Race Point Publishing recently released their Skull Sourcebook. Referencing many artists, genres and symbols of the dead, this book is an in depth look at the skull. Skulls are one of the oldest symbols of our world, rich with cultural resonance and significance. From the origins of Aztec skull art and the Jolly Roger that was hoisted on pirate flags to the sugar skull for Mexico’s Day of the Dead, skulls have a wealth of source history and, of course, a long line of artistic tradition. Skull Sourcebook features hundreds of different skull images and artworks.

I was one of many talented artists to be asked to contribute to this book and was honored to be placed amongst some of my favorite artists ranging from the tattoo world to modern art giants. They selected several of my Day of the Dead skull pieces to showcase in the book and I am credited in the back pages with a small bio. When I received my copy of the book I was super happy to see other artists I know included. It’s always great to see your peers represented.

If you are into skulls, just getting started drawing skull or just want reference material this book is a great resource. It’s available in all the usual online places and comes highly recommended by me.

My Third Win at the Site Where it All Began.

Threadless has a special place in my heart. This is because a. I got my love of T-shirt design from there and b. I met my wife through that site! After an eight year hiatus I got my 3rd print, have to say it felt pretty great. I first got printed back in 2008 with my first ever submission to the site “I’m with…”. My second win, ‘Thou Shall Not Steal’ was a little later that year. So after many submissions and a lot of high scores I finally got a 3rd win with a design submitted to the Sublimation contest!

The new winning design is called ‘Many Layered Doodle‘ and it features a mass of layers filled with themed doodles; houses, dinosaurs, the ocean and monsters. This is the style I am most well known for and as an all over sublimated print it works very well. Threadless has changed a lot over the eight years, with a core of their catalog going to print on demand. The one disappointment in winning this time was that Threadless no longer do exclusive staff photography for the winners, so the images were all mocked up in Photoshop, which isn’t nearly as much fun. I did however get samples and the tees, cushion and tote bag were all printed very nicely.

The design is available in tees, tanks, pillows, tote bags, wall art and phone cases!  Threadless and I go way back and the brand has been a big part of my success. They will always bring good memories for me and I’m super happy to be back there.

Unique boutique City Kid Style wotto tees

Occasionally I am blessed with the opportunity to work with a brand who gives me a good amount of creative freedom. City Kid Style is one such brand. This unique boutique store offers printed “basics” and unique one of a kind hand made kids clothing. The brain child of a Washington mom with a local, sustainable and American made message, this brand has a great products.

I was commissioned to create a tee centered around a well know Oscar Wilde quote. The brief was loose and afforded me the luxury of letting the design unfold organically. I tried to represent the young kids who would wear this tee with characters, words and positive energy that reflected the spirit of the brand. A mass of characters and doodles developed into a unique slightly heart shaped composition. Happiness, Education, Home and Friendship were all represented in a fun and unique way.

My work allows me to work with giant brands and smaller boutique companies like City Kid Style. One thing is for sure it always feels good to support a small business lead by people with passion and a dream. We should all support our local, creative and sustainable businesses, it’s in all of our interests. Take the time to support this brand and pick up one of  their tees here.

It has been said that opposites attract. Well let’s hope so because BrewLink Brewing Co. have just released two stouts in one amazing 4pack. BrewLink Stout Cans consist of a dark oatmeal stout and a lighter white stout. Two cans of each unique stout flavors make up the mixed four pack. A genius idea with Ebony & Ivory literally living side by side.

I have worked with BrewLink on their branding and this is the second 4 pack of beer I have worked on for them, the first being a delicious Pale Ale.  The brand is still in it’s early years but so far has been well received. For this beer the owners had a very strong upfront idea. Black and white opposing cans. They had also commented on my doodle art and how much they liked it, so I combined the two ideas.  The result was a four pack of striking cans with lots of hidden details and weirdness. Enough to get the attention of a consumer in a sea of over populated craft beer cans. Job done. I cannot wait to taste this stuff…if the last one was anything to go by these will be delicious.

If you are in the Plainfield, IN area you should try and get some of this stuff and pour it into your mouth hole. The Brewery now also has a Tap House location for exclusive tastings and all things BrewLife.

wotto’s  ‘Calavera V’ design launches DBH Subscription Boxes 

Design By Humans launched a subscription box in December 2015. The first box was art directed by Sage Hagan, who invited me to be the very first featured artist in a DBH subscription box. The box comprised of two limited edition T-shirts only available by subscribing to the box. The theme was Birth and Death, thankfully I got Death. It seemed fitting to submit a Calavera Day of the Dead skull, as that’s a style I am very well known for at DBH.

I created ‘Calavera V’ in vector form using a limited grayscale color pallet. The final tee was printed on a super soft heather charcoal tee using discharge inks for a quality finish. The box, when assembled consisted of two tees, mine and a ‘Birth’ themed Phoenix design by the very talented Studio8worx.  Packed with the tees were sticker sets, postcards and a card describing the theme and artist bio. This was an interesting challenge and something different for me, an honor to be placed next to such a talented artists. I’m told it was received very well by the fans too.

Famebit launches promotional t-shirts and shoes with doodle art by wotto.

I recently had the opportunity to work with Famebit, a company that matches influential social people with products and opportunities. I was asked to create a promotional design that could be used on t-shirts  and shoes, maybe other items too. After a short discussion they were drawn to my doodle style. It fit the job well and they gave me a long list of items, words and stuff that they felt visually represented their brand.

I created a fun vector design that encompassed all of the elements mentioned, everything from ceiling cat memes to a selfie stick stick man! The color palette reflected their core branding and the final tee was printed really well. They gave away several pairs of converse shoes as part of the promotion, you can see them here. Famebit also sent me a nice care package to see the tee first hand, always a sign of a great client. The quality was good and another cool client was added to my list.