Party peoples, let your freak flags fly. It’s time to
get funky. And we don’t mean the “hey what’s that
smell?” funky, but the fresh and far-out kind. Like
designer and illustrator Molly Z, your audience will
rock out to vibrant, high energy palettes that groove.
“At the end of the day, when I spread my art on
the table, I want it to be like candy,” says Molly Z.
“Colorful, fun, tasty, vivid, bright. You can’t decide
which one you want because it all looks so delicious.
I want my art to make people feel joyful.”
To spread the good vibes, Molly Z treats her
audiences to illustrations with action and attitude: “I
love trying to come up with a new set of colors that I
haven’t seen used before that communicates brilliance
in a new palette.”
Molly Z’s normal modus operandi is to sketch
line work in pencil until a client approves the image.
“I use Sharpie markers to thicken the lines to get the
weight and movement I’m looking for. Then scan in
the black-and-white image; clean it up in Freehand
and finally convert to vector art,” says Molly Z.
“I tend to be very attracted to bright combinations
of colors that vibrate or glow and attract your
attention right away,” says Z. Her eye-catching illustrations,
like the one at top right for the Philly Swirl
Ice Cream Company, are attracting attention of the
commercial kind. Her illustrations will be featured
Spring and Summer 2007 on a variety of products:
back-to-school supplies (folders, notebooks, binders)
for Walgreen’s, gift wrap and tags for a promotion
printed by Lake County Press on Utopia Paper and
gift cards for Target.
“Look for unusual combinations of color, and
work to remember the palettes you see in places that
make you feel something,” advises Z. “If you want to
use funky color combinations, don’t hold back!”
 Funky fresh
Turn on the funk with
Retro Rock Poster
(bizarre) and Funk
(whacky)—free at
www.acidfonts.com.
Party down with Mo’
Funky Fresh (funny)
and Jokerman (kooky)
at www.fonts.com.
|
Lay down the funk
“Art books are a big
source of inspiration
for me,” says Molly
Z. “Other countries,
foreign films, ethnic
diversity, international
fashion, retro food,
candy packaging …
I also really love the
modern artists from
the ’50s and ’60s.
They did amazing
things with shape,
line and materials that
are very fluid.” Image
22829309, Brand X
Pictures, www.jupiterimages.com
|
Retro recliner
Cop a squat and settle
in for some inspiration
on a tie-dye bean
bag chair. Image
23376443, Comstock
Images, www.jupiterimages.com
|
Trippy tincture
Give this colorful
illustration a funky
new home. Image
22474720, Creatas
Images, www.jupiterimages.com (Free
images available at
www.dynamicgraphics.com/downloads.)
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PALETTE: Funky
PALETTE: Combinations
