This cartoon octopus character was created for a client developing a new baby product to help with diaper rash.

Believe it or not, I had not drawn a cartoon octopus until this project, so I was looking forward to it. I will say that I underestimated the amount of work all those tentacles and suckers were.

The project started off with a rough sketch of the octopus character so we could get it’s look down before adding the babies. here’s a rough sketch I initially created:

As you can see, the final illustration is pretty close to this initial sketch, however there were a few small details in the character that were made.

Once the octopus was roughly finished, the baby character were added and final tweaks were made to the over all design.

The stylized text for the full logo was added at the final stage.

Next step for the project I will be creating the packaging design for the bag in which the applicators will be sold.

And check out the screencast videos that I recorded during the creation of this artwork:

Swabbies is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghill Cartooning

Related posts

• Surfin’ Souvlaki (7)
• Gorilla Video (3)
• Bends Mender (1)
• Young Marine T-Shirt Illustration (3)
• Video: Cartoon Gorilla Vector Line Art Process (3)

This cartoon dog news reporter — “News Hound” — was created for an upcoming iPhone news app. The client was pretty specific in what they were looking for: a 1940’s era news reporter, but of course a dog instead of a human.

The initial sketch I created for the character was a bit more fun in his look & personality:

You can see the final character shares much in common with the final illustration. In general the client loved the overall look of the dog and the props, but wanted him to be a bit more aggressive-looking and also wanted the camera to be a bit more prominent.

A few sketches later and we were off to the final color vector art. I also created a basic iPhone app icon, but the client decided they wanted to work with some colors and backgrounds and asked for the layered art file to tweak themselves.

As of this posting, I have not been updated by the client as to whether or not the app is ready in the App Store, so keep an eye out!

News Hound is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghill Cartooning

Related posts

• Wissota Woods (0)
• St. Practice (0)
• News Hound (2)
• Video: Cartoon Gorilla Vector Line Art Process (3)
• Video: Cartoon Gorilla Color, Shading & Highlights Process (0)

I was approached by the marketing director who found and liked my cartoon illustration of a monk leaning on a beer keg, and wanted something in the same style, but of course their own original character.

The character was nicknamed “St. Practice” by the client, as the concept behind the promotion was to get beer drinkers into the pubs to “practice” for St. Patrick’s Day.

We went through a few rounds of sketches and revisions to get the character just right. In the end the client was extremely pleased with the final artwork.

St. Practice is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghill Cartooning

Related posts

• News Hound (0)
• Wissota Woods (0)
• Video: Cartoon Gorilla Vector Line Art Process (3)
• Video: Cartoon Gorilla Color, Shading & Highlights Process (0)
• Santa’s Helper (0)

This cartoon bear as lumberjack character design was created as part of a logo design for hand-crafted wood furniture maker Wissota Woods.

The client approached me on this project wanting a lumberjack character, but also wanting something a bit different. Bears are a fixture in his state of  Wisconsin near Lake Wissota, so we ran with that.

I also created the full logo for Wissota Woods…

…as well as a web banner for their site:

The banner as displayed here is only 50% of the actual size for the website so some of the details get lost.

The client was extremely pleased with the final result.

Wissota Woods is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghill Cartooning

Related posts

• News Hound (0)
• St. Practice (0)
• Gorilla Video (3)
• Wacom Intuos3 Graphics Tablet Review for Cartoonists & Illustrators (18)
• Video: Cartoon Gorilla Vector Line Art Process (3)

This cartoon astronaut with a cake spaceship was a fun t-shirt design. It was created for the annual Houston, Texas cake trade show & expo “That Takes The Cake!” hosted by Capital Confectioners.

The project was relatively straightforward: the client approached me with the theme of this year’s show: “2010: A Cake Odyssey” with the requirements that there be a space capsule in the form of a cake, and that a planet be included with a cupcake on the flag. An of course an astronaut!

Immediately I thought the astronaut should be holding a frosting dispenser which he would use to write out the name of the event across the blackness of space.

The client loved the concept and the rough sketch is pretty much exactly what you see here in the final.

This was a 3-color t-shirt design, to be printed on black t-shirts. The magenta for the frosting was a must, and the blue shading worked pretty well and gave it a “frosting” feel overall.

I was told by the client that the artwork & t-shirts were a huge success and sold out! Always great to hear.

I also used the vector art for the illustration for a web banner for their site to theme it for the event, and it was used on the signage throughout the show:

Needless to say the client has already asked me to design the shirts for next year’s event. Far out, man!

Cake Odyssey is a post from: Cartooning & Illustration Blog: Coghill Cartooning

Related posts

• Young Marine T-Shirt Illustration (3)
• Wissota Woods (0)
• Swabbies (0)
• Surfin’ Souvlaki (7)
• Santa’s Helper (0)