BDetails - An inside look into the art and work of Adriana de Barros

Maya the Bee

2009-01-20T06:24:42-08:00

“Maya the Bee”

For the first time in whole year of doing plenty of t-shirt designs, I got a high score at Threadless (3.1 out of 5). “The Birds” t-shirt did very well. I had also worked on “The Surreal Magritte Tree” a few weeks ago, and I also got a great score of 2.9 out of 5. Believe me, getting any higher than 2.3 is a very difficult task. As a result of these scores and similarity of illustration technique, it is likely that I’ll continue to explore themes within this style. My fingers are crossed in hope they print one :).

As for “Maya the Bee,” it is a painting that I did some months ago, but only went live with it this year. I only did two paintings throughout the whole year, which is pretty lousy. But I’ve had a lot of concerns and change of priorities in my life, so not much time to sit down and paint. I hope this year that I’ll be able to do a bit more painting.

I’ve included a video of the step-by-step painting process as well as static images (below). Enjoy!

The Birds

2009-01-12T05:22:57-08:00

“The Birds”

Inspired by Hitchock’s films: “North by Northwest (1959)” and “The Birds” (1963). This t-shirt design is up for voting at Threadless. You can view a Flash presentation of “The Birds” on the voting page.

I’ve been rather quiet, because I’ve been updating Scene 360 Illusion on a daily basis, and also spent some time working on a big anniversary issue for Scene 360 magazine (published this month). Enjoy!

Top: T-shirt “The Birds” (c) Adriana de Barros

Victorian Dreamer and Keyhole Legs

2008-11-15T11:21:15-08:00

“Victorian Dreamer and Keyhole Legs”

Okay, so you are wondering who, what are these names about? They are my latest two t-shirt designs: “Victorian Dreamer” from a personal painting, and “Keyhole Legs” designed for BadasHell’s Pin-Up t-shirt contest. Please vote, cheer, yell, wear ‘em! (View t-shirts below)

Update: (Nov. 13th) - Also here is another bunch of tees up for voting at Threadless:

Last week, HAI! published an illustration spotlight that interviews me. Their feature includes answers to how reliable I am, what skills I have, and what my favorite sandwich is?

Top: T-shirt “Victorian Dreamer” (c) Adriana de Barros

T-shirt “Keyhole Legs” © Adriana de Barros

Scene 360 wins at Pixel Awards!

2008-11-04T09:44:20-08:00

“Scene 360 wins at Pixel Awards!”

This week has been the opposite of last week. Let me explain, I’ve had a number of bad weeks, and this one was quite positive. I received an invitation by Flair magazine to publish my collage “Tattoo” (from the Erotica Scrapbook). The political tees that I made of Obama have been selling at Frivole and Zazzle. And now the icing on the cake: “Scene 360 is the 2008 Magazine winner at the Pixel Awards!” It has been a year of pushing the magazine forward, and I mean forward! I opened a video channel, a new site, and publishing consistently daily news and issues every month. Also relevant to the achievement of this award is the contribution of all team members. I’d like to highlight a few that have really helped this year: Martyn Conteiro (contributing film editor), Jenny Eng (contributing editor), Mike Philbin (contributing writer), and more.

A special thanks to our partners: Media Temple (precious hosting), and Mailchimp (mailing list and newsletter).

The next issue will be scheduled for December, it will be our anniversary. Nine years in the making, it is a long time on the Web. Enjoy!

Top Image: Scene 360 website

Kitty and Lamb at Broadway

2008-10-31T12:33:56-07:00

“Kitty and Lamb at Broadway.”

It has been a tough week. I had worked on a Flash piece to present “Kitty and Lamb at Broadway” t-shirt for Threadless, and once I submitted it, I got a rejection note stating the image was too large to print. I’m now starting to save rejection letters, because I think I’ve had a good amount this year. Even though a lot of people tend to only see the limelight of my success… in reality there is a lot of hard work, and non-acceptances until reaching “green lights.”

I have received wonderful feedback during the voting of my designs, but the final scores do not match those positive comments. The Internet has become a reality show, and the most popular person is often the person who wins contests. It is upsetting, but I will not give up this easily. I had a chance to speak with Threadless staff in regard to figuring out what people want, because the voting were just strangely-not-connecting to feedback given. And they are also aware that it is a challenge to understand things, what do viewers really want? But they gave me hope about their selection process, i.e. they often make their own call based on the quality of work, comments, etc.

I posted “Kitty and Lamb at Broadway” at Emptees, a forum like website for people who make tees and of course those who like to wear tees. It is a friendly place, and many artists hang around there, so there is a level of respect for colleagues and viewers have indeed given constructive criticism. It is great! As a result, they mentioned that I should submit my large print to DesignbyHumans.

Please support and vote for this design here. Thank you!

PS. I just launched a new Scene 360 Issue this week.“Wacky Issue.” Check it out!

Toys for Tots

2008-10-29T10:05:37-07:00

“Toys for Tots.”

Collar Free has teamed up with “Toys for Tots” to create t-shirts for a cause and raise awareness during their Holiday Drive in San Diego. I’ve submit a design entitled “Marine Teddy,” which includes a cute teddy bear sailing on a ship and bringing gifts to kids.

To find out more about “Toys for Tots” organization, read here:

The mission of the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys from October through December and then distribute those toys to needy children in the community as Christmas presents. The toys are collected by Reserve Marines at various community and civic functions, sorted according to age and gender, and then are distributed to local social and welfare agencies, churches, and civic organizations.

Buy “Marine Teddy” t-shirt at Zazzle >

Vote and Win a t-shirt

2008-11-15T11:21:39-08:00

“Vote and Win a t-shirt.”

OK, for the first time… I have five designs ready to go up at Threadless. I don’t know how? I probably got these ready in my sleep. The links to each t-shirt design are listed below, please cast your vote directly at Threadless. (Remember to vote high! Thank you!) And also in this post’s thread, please let me know which concept you like the best and which one you think has the most potential to win. If that design does win, I’ll be offering three t-shirts to three lucky thread-posters (selected at random based on your winning hint).

The Moth

2008-11-15T11:21:59-08:00

“The Moth.”

The bird design has been receiving positive comments at Threadless. I am looking forward to an equally matched voting score. I finalized another design entitled “The Moth - Life Cycle,” which is a revised design from 2000-and-something. I had a simpler illustration with the Death’s Head Hawk Moth, and based on comments from Threadless viewers, I elaborated the concept to including the three stages of the moth’s life cycle: (From Bottom to Top) 1. The Larva (Caterpillar) 2. The Pupa 3. The Adult Moth. I’ve been fascinated with this specific species since the release of “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991). I even wanted to buy a collector’s specimen from Asia at $75.00, but thought why do I need this? Let the beautiful insect live and fly around Europe and about.

Hai, The Bird, and MailChimp.

2008-11-15T11:22:22-08:00

“Hai!, The Bird, and MailChimp.”

Last week, I was invited to respond to two interviews: 1) For Hai! Hire an Illustrator Spotlight (which is still pending for publication). And 2) for MailChimp’s Case Studies (Read interview here). Darren Di Leto (from Hai!) also invited me to send artwork for his promotional illustration catalogue that is mailed to art directors and magazines. There were 200 entries, and only 60 selected for the publication. I was one of the lucky ones, and I was kind of surprised given the quality of the work and well-known illustrators in the group.

Lastly, I submitted two designs to Threadless. “The Bird” went up for voting today. I probably should have titled this design as “The BirdS,” but my computer monitor was dark and I must have seen only one birdy. And the second design should go up next week: “The Moth - Life Cycle.”

Scene 360 Illusion

2008-10-01T05:23:57-07:00

“Scene 360 Illusion.”

In about a week’s time, I worked and completed a new Scene 360 project entitled “Illusion.” I wanted to expand the current news column at news.Scene360.com, and create a bigger space for artistic posts. This is the project’s scope:

The illusion project highlights artwork that is “unique”–amazing for its skills, level of creativity and vision. From Lego art, living grass graffiti to foot painting–we will cover art, design, photography and videos with artistic integrity that often causes us to think “WOW!”

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this, but I’ve dreamt about doing a website with a diagonal header for some years. I finally got a chance to put that idea into practice at Scene 360 Illusion.

Additionally, this week has been pretty good at Scene 360. Not so much for my concerns on other issues… I’m worried about the economy in the United States, and what will happen next? Things in Portugal have been gloomy for five years, I certainly hope it doesn’t get worse. Anyhow, onto the good news… Scene 360 was nominated for a Pixel Award, it is one of the top 5 online magazines. It was unexpected, because the competition is fierce, just in that category sits AdWeek. And in other categories companies like BBC and Sony have sites nominated. So not only is this a big compliment, but it gives myself and all team members strength to keep going and improving the magazine.

As a result of the nomination, I was invited to do an interview at MailChimp. I will let you know when it is published.