Inspiration Post - Retro Robot Records!!

Hey everyone!! Hope all of you are having a fantastic summer so far. July is already ending which means it's time for our "Inspiration Post!" My blog's chance to choose a theme and 5 accompanying visuals that really jump-start my imagination. It's a great way to get a look into my head as well as encourage your own creative adventures. A nod to BakerBot from my previous post, I chose "Retro Robot Records!!"

Before the age of machines cranking out Dubstep music, robots held profitable careers in OTHER areas of the music industry. Such as posing for album covers for all sorts of artists all over the world. Yes, some of our technologically advanced friends are a bit vain. Why not make a career out of it?? Scroll down to check out the 12 inch by 12 inch canvas that is the vinyl record sleeve possessing tons of robots setting their phasers to "inspire" just for you!!

The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot Album 

image via http://vinyleye.com.au/

Let's start off with the I Robot Album by the Alan Parsons Project. Leave it up to a prog rock band to feature an out of this world cover concept. The sleeve depicts the colorful complicated inner-workings of a gargantuan steel giant. True to it's form, the actual album is set in an age where machines rule over man. I love the bizarre scifi elements such as the transportation tubes. The mix of illustration and nearly photographic artwork gives us a bleak look at our possible future. All hail the robot overlords!

Munich Machine - Get on the Funk Train

image via WaxPoetics site

A robot record in it's purest form, the Munich Machine album lets it's artwork do all the talking. The sleeve features two machines shooting lasers out of their eyes as they rocket into the sky for one funky night! I'm under the impression the robot on the left is a female and the one on the right is her male dance partner. The design of the robots is fantastic. The knobby joints, bright colors and clear accents to display circuitry are phenomenal. Both possess rocket launchers in their bell bottom shaped boots. The yellow robot even has a set of wheels attached to it's soles!!

Bionic Boogie

image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/christianmontone/

Incredibly provocative this fem-bot models for the "BionicBoogie" album cover. If you haven't guessed yet by the satin curtains and groovy font, this is a disco album. And, I admit, she's less of a fem-bot and more of a model. Who seems to be modeling some kind of futuristic listening device complete with headphones and volume control?! Steam rises out of robotic fashionista as the gauge's needle tips dangerously towards the edge. This album cover was TOO bizarre to pass up for the list.

Music Machine - Ktel 

image via Neato Coolville blog

The POSTER CHILD of retro robots stars on this album titled, "Music Machine," by K-Tel. And just as advertised on the front, it even had it's own commercial. Robbie the Robot is the celebrity robot from television series "Lost in Space." The photograph of Robbie rocking out in a deserted field behind a ridiculous stereo system is classic. All the design elements come together in a cheesy way for a winning combo!! The sleeve looks like more of an ad than actual artwork, cramming tons of text as well as bubbles featuring some of the artist you can listen to on this record. I wouldn't have it any other way!

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE - Matthew Laznicka Illustration

Woah check out those robots breaking it down!! I was surprised to find while on my search for retro records that this was not ACTUALLY a record. Nope. Upon closer examination, it's a print by Matthew Laznicka, made to look like a record. With the distressed look and old school fonts I have to admit even I was intially fooled. The art was too fun not to add to this month's post. The color scheme is great, the robots are dynamically illustrated as they dance they dance until the sun comes up!!
 

image via "Junk Shop Juke Box" blog

If you are unfamiliar with the any of the music on the record's from today's post I urge you check them out!! They're all a lot of fun and a refreshing change up from any artists of today. Oh!! And don't forget I keep extra bonus pieces for each "Inspiration Post" on my Pinterest board I dedicated to "Inspiration."  Follow http://pinterest.com/nerdycupcakes/inspirations/ for sneak peak at what's coming for next month's post.  Have a great weekend everyone!!

Illustration Friday - BakerBot Version 2.0

Good morning everyone!! Just wanted to squeeze in my "Illustration Friday," post before the deadline hit!! This week I was pretty excited to create a piece since the topic was "Robots." I love drawing robots. I have drawn so many different kinds during the span of this blog. A concept I frequently play with is a BakerBot:

This latest model of the BakerBot has no time to for fun at the moment. He has to delivery a freshly baked blueberry muffin to a VERY hungry customer!! Maybe in the future we will have bakeries run all by "BakerBots." I can dream!!

To improve on my skills I challenged myself to work on a more dynamic pose for this character. I hope everyone has a super weekend!! 

Laura Cooks: Cooking with Pumpkin (w/ illustrations)

Hey everyone just wanted to update my blog with a pumpkin-themed fun cooking adventure I had. And since this is my illustration blog, I also created a cute little pumpkin character to guide us through each dish!

I LOVE all things pumpkin. I'm a pumpkin addict!! And fall just happens to be my favorite season. Unforunately everyone is still focused on summer and it's just a TAD too early for stores to be carrying their "pumpkin spice" seasonal eats. I decided I'm not waiting until fall. Armed with a can of pumpkin and Pinterest recipes I had all day pumpkin feast!

 

First came breakfast. Even though it's been about a billiondy degrees outside almost daily I decided to start my morning with the "Clean Eating Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal" recipe from "The Gracious Pantry." The recipe only required simple ingredients I already had at home. The oatmeal serves 4 but I'm only one person so I adjusted it back to 1 serving.

Drizzled with maple syrup and topped with chopped pecans, this was such a filling breakfast!! And yes, it looks as good as it tastes!! Next up came my lunch. What could you possibly make for lunch with canned pumpkin?? Two words: grilled cheese.

Mmmm cheese on carbs!! Not the healthiest thing to be stuffing my face with but the ingredients weren't too terrible for you. For instance, the recipe calls for a laughing cow cheese wedge which are very low in calories (and super yummy). And instead of a deli cheese slice I used some vegan cheese made from rice and it tasted just as good.

Bizarre sounding but totally savory!! The pumpkin "filling" was enough for 2 separate sandwiches but I piled it all on one anyway. YOLO my friends. I ate my sandwich with some wheat thins and some applesauce. Mmmm!! Check out the full recipe by user asally04 on the "KeyIngredient" website. And last but not least dinner.

All I needed was one more pumpkin recipe and my pumpkin feast would be complete!! And I definitely had one up my sleeve. "Pumpkin Mac and Cheese" by "Eat. Drink. Love." I can't say no to Mac and Cheese. It took me two attempts to make this. The first attempt I burned myself on the pot of boiling water and spilled the entire pound of curly noodles all over the floor. Yikes!! It just goes to show you accidents happen. We all need to be careful when we cook!!

I'm glad I picked myself up and tried again because this recipe was a unique filling dish!! It calls for not only cheddar cheese but also Gruyere. If you don't feel like buying Gruyere you can use Swiss but I wanted the full Pumpkin Mac and Cheese experience!! It was a great way to end my day. I hope you enjoyed the illustrations. If you're a true pumpkin addict like me, go try out some of the recipes!!

Illustration Friday - Space "Travel" PRINT!

Hey everyone!! Man is it super hot here in Pennsylvania. I hope everyone is staying cool where they live. I have some exciting news to reveal in this post. My Etsy shop, VioletInk, has been re-opened and I am ready to sell some art prints of my illustrations!! The first illustration I added for your purchasing pleasure is "Space Fish," which also happens to work swimmingly with this week's Illustration Friday theme, "travel."

The first Goldfish to ever TRAVEL to outerspace!! Space can't be that different from life underwater. Our little guy glides his fins effortlessly through the stars. I will admit, I did cheat a little. This was an original piece I created back in 2010 but this is first time I am releasing it as a 8x10 print!! If you are interested in checking out my shop or purchasing this particular piece of artwork, just go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/violetink. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

USA 4th of July 2013 - Wrap Up

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to create a post about one of the Holiday's I celebrated here in the states, Independence Day also known as the "4th of July!" It's all about celebrating America and it's freedoms. I saw a lot of really fun ads on my Facebook feed and wanted to share with you guys some of my favorites. Check them out below:

These two gems were pulled off the "Venture Bros Blog" fanpage on Facebook. The Venture Bros is one of the only things I watch on television and it's highly underated. I couldn't resist sharing these star spangled tributes to America.

The Kraft branding is fairly easy to recognize; unnatural yellowy-orangey color on a royal blue background. They incorporate their product, mac and cheese, cleverly in two patriotic ads. 

These ads featured on the "Kraft Macaroni and Cheese" fanpage, were silly and targeted towards those who already like Kraft Mac and cheese with bold captions such as "You know you love it. Evidently so does Uncle Sam." As an illustrator I also appreciate the fact that these two ads were completely illustrated and still very modern, eye-catching and tantalizing! 

Here's an ad I came across on the "Crayola" fan page!! Crayola crayons are another thing that are pretty easily recognized. What a smart idea to lay their actual product out to create an American flag!! It was accompanied by the caption,"Give a big thumbs up for our forefathers, who made it possible for us to have the freedom to create, imagine and inspire!" The white crayons look a little green to me but I still love  Crayola crayons and this sweet ad.

Here were see the same concept presented with a different product. Cheezit's released this ad on their fanpage to celebrate America!! While I find Crayola's take on the idea sweet I find Cheezit's ad visually more appealing. In fact, it makes me pretty hungry. But if we're going for accuracy points, the stars as well as stripes are misrepresented while Crayola made sure to duplicate the flag to a T!

And last but not least, Hello Kitty added this lady liberty to their fanpage. I love the simplistic art style that is Sanrio. I draw a lot of inspiration from their brand and am a self proclaimed, Hello-Kitty-a-holic! Having the brand's mascot drawn up as a little Statue of Liberty is too cute and very visually striking!! Bravo Sanrio!!

As for me?? I spent Independence relaxing with family and friends at a picnic. I made sure to bring a very patriotic cake along (pictured above) with that was a HUGE hit!! Hope everyone else had a great Holiday and a great weekend!!

Illustration Friday: Unicorn "Protest"

Hey everyone!! Hope your week is starting out well. If not, it's almost over, no worries!! I am trying to stay consistent about my "Illustration Friday," posts and created a piece for this week's theme which was "Protest." The past few topics have been challenging for me since they're less fun and more serious but I still managed to come up with this:

A propaganda poster advertising "Unicorn Rights." Did you know some people do not even BELIEVE that unicorns EXIST?! What a slap in the face!! I am positive if all the unicorns banded together they could form an excellent protest. I wanted to create a powerful and marketable piece to aid in raising awareness of their existence. Fight the power!!

Illustration Friday: "Equality" Wedding Cake

Hey everyone!! Hope everyone had a good week last week!! I had a fun idea for this week's "Illustration Friday." The chosen topic was "Equality." I thought long and hard about what to illustrate that showed my support for marriage equality and came up with a super cute idea below:

An adorable Groom & Groom teddy bear wedding cake! Although I like to have a lot of fun on my blog I always try to emphasize the point of being yourself!! And I'm a strong believer in treating those how you wish to be treated.

This illustration is still cute and I wanted it to symbolize my support for same-sex marriages. I'm thinking about making a Bride & Bride themed illustration as well. We'll see!! Have a great day everyone!