Friday, February 16, 2007

Illustration Friday: Gravity


My submission for Illustration Friday's "Gravity" is from a painting I made for Geekfest.com for Microsoftee's (people that work at Microsoft) and they used the art for a T-shirt. I loved creating this image because it was so different for me and my favourite jobs are when I get to come up with an idea that works on a few levels. Microsoft has a mascot called the "Screaming Geek". They wanted a piece of art that used the geek for an upcoming event and I was given a picture of the character . So I decided to turn him into Gene Kelly, use the idea of "Singing in the Rain" (It always rains in Seattle/Washington and Microsoft is based in Redmond, WA) and turn it into "Screamin in the Rain". Gene Kelly is the guy known to defy gravity and I was able to sneak a building/brick wall in the scene too!
copyright 1996 Microsoft
Geek image on back of shirt and this logo is on the front.


32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Val: I'm back and peeing on everything in sight. It's great to be a puppy again. Watch for me, I'll be burying a bone in your yard any day now. Love. Bad Dog (returned)

Michelle Lana said...

NIcely done, Val! I love it!

Cream said...

Screaming geek! My handle is Screamingcream... But I can't sing though...
Lovely painting!

merlinprincesse said...

LOL! He sang and has crashed on the ground because of gravity??? :)

Liz Jones said...

Love it!!! Screaming geeks in the rain... what a concept!

pati said...

Hehehe... I bet those geeks loved it, Val!

Teri said...

I love it. Gene kelly lives!!

Anonymous said...

Gene kelly should be so cool.
Nice t-shirt design. Perfect style.

Laura said...

this is great Val! those bricks must have taken forever!!! awesome details, nice work for the geeks =)

p.s. - also how cool that you were able to get to the *Girly show*!!

carla said...

Wow! This totally rocks! I love it! It really is fun to see something a bit different from you... you're an amazing artist, Val!

Kim de Young said...

Funny! I'll be all those engineers were so cool wearing their "Screaming Geek" T.

Anonymous said...

Really wonderful illustration! What a great opportunity to do that kind of job. Your art was worn on all those peoples shirts! Very cool!

Anonymous said...

very different indeed! but lovely and funny...tnx for stopping by

isay said...

yes it is different but you came up with a really cool idea. those geeks must have loved it so much!

Ginger*:) said...

It is different from other work that you have done, but it is still wonderful. I happened to see your photo collection of houses... what a magnificent array of rooftops, windows, doors, and surroundings. They must be a constant source of inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Hi Val,
A parody of the singing in the rain...It's funny ! great work ! I like this Geek Kelly or Screaming Gene !
Have a excellent week!

Anonymous said...

This is so cool!

Janet said...

What fun!...and what great detail on the bricks!
Neato!...on going to the show and meeting fellow Illo Fri-ers.I wouldn't worry...I don't think you can be stumped!

Doodlestreet said...

Great GEEKFEST!!!! Hey, I saw that you like bears! (cute about the polar bear..heh heh...). You know, my mom makes handmade teddy bears and has for years and years. All sizes...but mostly little 5 or 6 ince tall ones. She taught me the craft a couple years ago...I should try and fin a photo of the one I made. They are really cool little things--I thought you might find that pretty cool since you like bears.

Doodlestreet said...

DOOD!

Anonymous said...

screaming in the rain... very clever!

Paige Keiser said...

Very nice illustration with lots of atomsphere and mood!

Ces Adorio said...

I cannot believe it. I am such a dummy. I never clicked on the photo to enlarge them. This was the first time I did so because I could not make out the face very much since I can't find my glasses. OMG! I missed all the details. Now I need to go back and review all the art pieces. To think I expected people to click on my photos to enlarge them but I seldom practice it. What a geek.

Angela Matteson said...

Really nice concept! It's great that is works on so many levels.

° said...

sorry val cant say as i like this soo much since u did it for microsoft lol good thing u used gene kelly as ur inspriation. i lov that movie great singing and dance numbers in it. and ur right some of his moves do defy gravity

Unknown said...

lovely illo!! I can break into song looking at this illo ... except I can't sing. LOL

Digital Scott's Illustrationblog said...

Terrific!

Collin said...

When I saw this, I thought "This isn't like anything I've seen of Val's before." Great job! Were you able to get a few of the T-shirts?

Kay Aker said...

Such expression and ambience, that's some tshirt!

Jannie aka Chickengirl said...

go geeks!!!

Lee said...

neat design for the geeks ;) it's fun seeing non-house pieces (though I love those A LOT!)

Kim Carney said...

good one!