Art

Oct

2022

Low poly artwork is a lesson in persistence

I recently had the opportunity to learn a new skill—how to create low poly illustrations. Low poly, short for low polygon art, is a minimal art style used in video game design, animation, and illustration. This art form requires at least 50% technical skills and the rest artistic skills.

I photographed a Mississippi Kite, a swallowtail bird with its wings spread, roosting in a half-dead tree in nearby Exploration Green. I used another photo of cirrus clouds in a blue sky, and a third photo of the Hunter Moon a couple of weeks ago for the background. I used Adobe Illustrator to create hundreds of triangles to highlight the bird’s colors and contours. This took many hours plus lots of patience and persistence.

You can see the results below.

Sep

2022

17 Amazing Benefits of Using Lip Balm to Restore Dry, Cracked Lips Today

Marketing in the Digital Age

You’re probably wondering why I am interested in lip balm. Since I live in Houston, I need it when the humidity drops below 70% or if I have spicy food for lunch and wipe my lips too often. But seriously… my challenge was to create two marketing pieces for Cheetos Lip Balm. Cheetos introduced the lip balm in 2005—I am not making this up—and it was a marketing flop. Today, I think that marketing such a product could be a success because of the prevalence of social media marketing channels. After all, pickle- and bacon-flavored lip balms are available, as well as dozens of other sweet, spicy, and savory flavors of lip balm.

You can see my Cheetos Lip Balm blog post below. It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek in places (pun intended). Enjoy!

May

2022

The Eclectic Menagerie is full of whimsical, larger-than-life sculptures

e•clec’•tic men•a’•ger•ie
: site south of Houston with an eclectic collection of concrete and metal sculptures

: sculpture garden curated by Texas Pipe & Supply with larger-than-life rusted steel and stainless steel sculptures by local artists

Driving south of Houston on Texas 288 over the years, I have marveled at the giant animal sculptures along the freeway. I was excited to see new additions as I drove by, but never stopped to look. Then I researched The Eclectic Menagerie Park, located on a narrow strip of the Texas Pipe & Supply property. I made it my mission to stop and smell the (metal) roses.

Jerry Rubenstein, Chairman of the Board of Texas Pipe & Supply, started the outdoor sculpture museum decades ago with a couple of concrete animal statues. He commissioned local artists Ron Lee and Mark Rankin to create about two dozen metal sculptures, from a giant dinosaur and armadillo to a fishing rod and reel with Jerry's old red pickup truck caught on the lure. A stealth bomber stands at attention as Snoopy flies his Sopwith Camel. A semi truck cab is stuck in the dirt, waiting to be towed out. King Kong hangs menacingly on a crane and colorful cows stand on a surfboard up in the sky.

Enjoy a sample of the Eclectic Menagerie images below.

Eclectic Menagerie Gallery

: Stegosaurus

: Stegosaurus plates

: Roadrunner

: Dragon

: Armadillo

: Armadillo armor

: Mariachis

: Three Amigos

: Alligator and rebar man

: King Kong

: Stealth bomber

: Rod and reel

: Lure and pickup truck

: Pitchfork and flowers

: Pitchfork handle detail

: Owl talons

: Cowabunga!

: Eclectic Menagerie Park | Truck cab

: Texas Pipe & Supply sign

May

2022

Entropy. The Beauty in dirt, rust and decay.

en’•tro•py
: a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder

life’•cycle
: the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences of a specified primary stage

I took a series of random walks through manmade and natural settings—in search of interesting lines, forms, colors and textures—and found beauty in rusty, dirty and decayed things.

Some observations from these walks:

colorful moss and lichens on rocks improve with time.
rust patterns on manhole covers, sewer grates and checker plate metal are attractive.
usually overlooked, thistles other weeds have exquisite forms and colors.
fungi on decaying trees have unusual shapes and rich textures.
earth cracked after months of drought reveals beautiful, random patterns.
dirt splashed on a fire hydrant or squashed by giant tires creates uniform patterns.

Enjoy these things while you can; they are temporary. At the end of their life cycles, they crumble into the earth or wash away, only to start the cycle again. That’s entropy, returning things to an orderly state. Enjoy my photos below.

Entropy image gallery

: Storm sewer grate

: Electric manhole cover

: CLC manhole cover

: Sewer manhole cover

: Water valve cover

: Muddy hydrant

: Decaying pumpkin

: Felled tree

: Thistle

: Wildflower

: Spanish moss

: Lichen and moss

: Rusty bin

: Rusty checkerplate

: Cracked earth

: Tire tracks

: Asphalt

: Tree fungus

: White fungus

: Hollow tree

: Woodpecker work

: Rotten log

Apr

2022

Old, rusty, abandoned equipment provides great photographic subject matter

Old, rusty, and abandoned equipment fascinates me. It has rich lines, angles, and textures, even though its colors are faded. A large property south of Houston, Texas provides a backdrop for a recent photo session. Perhaps a farm in its former life, the City has walled off the property with a six-foot fence and planted vines along this fence that, eventually, will obscure the view of what some feel is unsightly. Suburban progress encroaching on this old, rusty aesthetic.

Rusted steel drums, corrugated metal and giant tires rest peacefully next to a barbed wire fence. A Corvette body sits on the ground, a shell of its former sleek design. A rusty axle reminds me of an old plow. A couple of Case excavators and an old John Deere Tractor sit idle, as if their operators took a lunch break and never returned. But there is life, as Black Angus cows and their petite newborn calves graze near a once-colorful dump truck. They look at me as I snap photos.

I want to go inside and get a closer look at these interesting items, but the electric fence warns me to stay out. I enjoy what I see from the road…

Abandoned farm Photos

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Jan

2022

When the dog bites, when the bee stings…

I had just returned from walking our dog, Maggie, which happens three or four times each day. I unclipped her leash to let her run in the yard and noticed a stray leaf that needed to be picked up. As I bent down, a bee or wasp stung me on the face. I had a fat lip in seconds and calmly drove myself to the ER.

I drew this “BEE CALM” illustration later that day to remember to remain calm during emergencies. I used Procreate on my iPad Air with several stamp and texture brushes. A nice memory of a scary situation! By the way, I never found the insect responsible…

Oct

2021

The 2021 Halloween Comic Book Cover Challenge

When I studied Art & Design, we had a Photoshop project due just before Halloween. I now call it “The Pumpkin Challenge.” Our assignment was to take a digital coloring book page of a Jack O’ Lantern–just black lines–and use different Photoshop brushes to color the drawing. My pumpkin that year used red, yellow, blue and black halftone dots to create shades of orange and blue. I added a few bats, and it was done!

Last year, I created a special Halloween comic book cover with the same pumpkin outline, elevating the project with other illustration and typography work. This was the first edition of Iconic Comics. I sent it to my former professor, and he was excited to show it to the class.

This year, I continued the tradition with a 2021 version of the Iconic Comics Special Halloween edition. I drew the pumpkin outlines, the green “goo” and the purple blob using the Adobe Illustrator Pen Tool (my former nemesis). I must admit that these days, I use Illustrator more than Photoshop for graphics. I created a Halloween color palette of orange, purple, green and black. The pumpkin uses gradients and three different halftone effects for shading and highlights. I found vector drawings of the spider webs and bats on Vecteezy, and modified them to fit my theme.

I sent a copy of the latest comic book cover to my professor, who was happy to share it with his class. Enjoy!

Oct

2021

Halloween Thanks to CLHS Teachers and Staff: “No Tricks, Just Treats!”

The Clear Lake High School PTSA wanted a Halloween poster to show appreciation to the school’s teachers and staff.

Jill B Gilbert created a 20- x 30-inch poster with a black cat and pumpkins, a haunted house on a hill, and spider webs. The poster, created in Adobe Illustrator, uses various tints of purple for the background, with oranges and yellows for the pumpkins and a hint of glowing green.

Thanks to the amazing CLHS teachers and staff from the PTSA! Enjoy your treats!

Jul

2021

Eight Million Stories, Inc. selects Jill B Gilbert to create a brand for a new school

The Justice Hub School | Original Brand

Marvin Pierre is Executive Director of Eight Million Stories, Inc., a nonprofit founded in 2017 to support disconnected youth in Houston, Texas. Building upon the success of Eight Million Stories, he is founding a new school in Houston’s Third Ward. Marvin chose Jill B Gilbert to create a brand for The Justice Hub School that is attractive, edgy and has an urban feel. This project also included development of a brand guidelines document that will grow with the organization.

Apr

2021

So, you think you need a new brand… eight tips for success

A brand is how your customer or audience views your business. A brand includes your organization’s brand identity—a logo and other assets used to convey your message; a brand strategy or blueprint; and brand marketing to spread your message via different digital, print, and word-of-mouth channels.

If you need a new logo, you can work with an in-house graphic designer or hire a freelancer. Follow the eight tips below for a greater chance of success.

1. Understand the "Why"

Why do you need a new brand? If you are just starting out, you may want to brand your products or services. Maybe you are launching a new product or service within an existing company. Perhaps you have a brand, but feel it is outdated, or it no longer reflects your organization’s mission, vision, and values. Do a majority of stakeholders share this need?

2. Understand the "What"

What do you want to accomplish with your new brand? What benefits do you expect, for example, the ability to reach larger audiences via new digital and print channels, greater market share, easier brand recognition, or other?

3. a brand is more than a logo

4. Do Your Homework

Do your homework before working with the graphic designer. With graphic design projects, it’s easy to express what you don’t like, but not always so easy to express what you do like, and what you really need. Talk with your stakeholders to get a feel for their needs, wants, style, and color preferences. Do a little research and find 3-5 examples of brands that inspire you; be prepared to talk with the designer about how similar aesthetics might work for your organization.

5. Follow a Process

Creating a brand is a project that should follow a process. This process typically includes the following steps:

Study Client Brief
Research
Brainstorm
Sketch
Develop Concept
Revise
Deliver.

The designer should set expectations upfront regarding the project schedule and specific deliverables, such as the number of concepts and rounds of revisions.

6. CONSISTENCY COUNTS

You will use your brand in digital and print formats, maybe on signage, T-shirts, and more. Apply your brand consistently in multiple applications such as full color, all black on light backgrounds, and all white on dark backgrounds. Make sure that your brand looks great and reads well in different sizes, from an inch or two on a business card or letterhead, to a 12-foot banner at a trade show. You might need a horizontal layout on your web page or a large banner, a vertical layout on stationery and business cards, and an icon only for a website favicon.

7. Set Standards

If you do not have Brand Guidelines or a Visual Standards Guide, this is a good time to create one. Such a guidelines describe your organization’s official colors for print and web materials; your official logo/brand layouts and color combinations; logo/brand placement; and typography for web and other marketing communications. A brand–even when it consists only of letters or words–is artwork that must not be altered in any way, such as changing the aspect ratio, colors, or typography. Make sure that your staff is aware of the standards and their use.

8. Protect Your Assets

A brand is one of your organization’s assets and becomes more valuable as it becomes widely used and recognized in the marketplace. Protect your brand like the valuable asset it is—stick to your Brand Guidelines/Visual Standards Guide—always! Add a trademark (™) or service mark (SM) symbol to your brand, and apply for registered trademark status (®) as appropriate.

Art

Low poly artwork is a lesson in persistence

Marketing in the Digital Age

The Eclectic Menagerie is full of whimsical, larger-than-life sculptures

Eclectic Menagerie Gallery

Entropy. The Beauty in dirt, rust and decay.

Entropy image gallery

Old, rusty, abandoned equipment provides great photographic subject matter

Abandoned farm Photos

When the dog bites, when the bee stings…

The 2021 Halloween Comic Book Cover Challenge

Halloween Thanks to CLHS Teachers and Staff: “No Tricks, Just Treats!”

Eight Million Stories, Inc. selects Jill B Gilbert to create a brand for a new school

So, you think you need a new brand… eight tips for success

1. Understand the "Why"

2. Understand the "What"

3. a brand is more than a logo

4. Do Your Homework

5. Follow a Process

6. CONSISTENCY COUNTS

7. Set Standards

8. Protect Your Assets

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