Tim Mitchell Illustration

I went looking for inspiration in designer toy (vinyl toy) companies online. Places like StrangeCo, Kid Robot, and TokiDoki all use really bizarre imagery but make it work through cuteness (and some really clean design work). So thinking of how these places turn simple shapes into a character, I took simple shapes in my sketchbook and evolved them into....something, haha. For me, I got a few clunkers and a few fresh ideas. I want to do this more often, maybe under a theme (like Dinosaurs!).

A guy at Pixar's booth for last year's SCAD Career Day showed a couple students a Finding Nemo art book and pointed to the designs for the fish. "See? That's all they are, a shape."