Well well, it’s time for an update!  It’s been a while since the last post, but I was working on a few projects that I didn’t want to share until the clients introduced them to the world first.  One of these projects went live just the other day, so I can now unleash it on my blog!

The first of these commissions was a logo design project for a new toy shop in Mill Valley, California.  The shop is called “Henry’s Toyshop” – Henry being a big friendly bear – and the store has a terrific old-fashioned flavor to it, with wooden and natural toys rather than modern gaming systems – this is my favorite kind of toy store.

This job was exciting on so many levels, and I absolutely loved having the opportunity to be truly playful and childlike when creating Henry.  Lastly, this job taught me one new thing about myself:  drawing sweet little animals, all dressed up and looking dapper, makes me seriously happy.  Meet Henry!

And here are a few early versions of Henry; these are the sketches where I played with facial shape, age, size, and gesture.  As you can see, the client and I had a pretty clear idea of what the logo would be (bear + wagon), and so the journey to the final was mostly character design.  What fun!

The Grand Opening for Henry’s Toyshop is on November 7th, and I’m so excited to go see Henry up in his natural environment!

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