Project Archive #4 - SouthCaKHero

If you know Herb Gould then he needs NO introduction. If you don't know him, then here it goes. Herb is one my close friends, and one of the most special people that I have ever met. He often asks me to design things for him and his various projects. The minute he says he has an idea to run by me, the only thing I can do is be scared. You see, Herb never asks anything simplified. It usually goes something like this.

Herb: I need you to draw something for this thing I'm working on
Me: OK, (I begin bracing myself for something outlandish)
Herb: So, I want a bionic man, and I want it to look like he is hanging from an imaginary pole,
Me: *Puzzled Look*
Herb: And I want the man to be leaning sideways with his hand coming out like this. *Wild hand gesturing begins*  It should look almost lifelike, like he's jumping off the page trying to pull you in.
Me: *Super Puzzled Look*
Herb: And then I want a hand to be coming down from the top, like a massive beast hand almost, and it looks like it's trying to pull the man away. *More wild hand gesturing*
Me: Ummmmmmm.....okay

And folks there you have it. Sounds pretty crazy and outlandish, huh? My thoughts exactly. Now, add in the fact that I'm supposed to somehow actually create this. Yes, my head spins every time! Herb pushes me creatively and artistically with every project. He asks for things that completely boggle my mind, and I usually have no idea what I'm going to do. However, I have to say anytime we collaborate we create great things.

Awhile back Herb asked me to create this sketch for him. He wanted me to create a superman emblem, but with a twist. Herb is from South Carolina, so the outside of the emblem was going to be in the shape of South Carolina. It seemed easy enough. Compared to some of the other ideas he has, this was a piece of cake actually. So, I took to the sketch pad and this is what I created.

Add some color and we have the finished product.

This was a couple of years ago when I first designed this. Herb recently decided to produce it on a t-shirt. In addition to being from SC, he is also a proud alumni of Clemson University. We changed the colors and added a "cape" on the back.

Even though I did not go to Clemson, I'm digging the shirt. It's always nice to see your creations go from the sketch pad to actual production. It has definitely inspired me to start producing some of my other designs. I used to make t-shirts all the time, and then lost interest in it. That and I didn't have a t-shirt press. There's only but so much amazingness (Yes Mr. Spellcheck I know that's not a word, but I'm going to use it anyway) that can happen with my $6 Walmart iron. So stay tuned, there could be some cool things coming in the near future. Until then....It's on to the next project.