Mended Arrow Design Blog

Richmond Monuments process

2012-01-29T19:57:00.001-04:00

I haven't put in much work for "The South Rises Again." It has been a crazy couple of weeks for me with, finishing up an ART180 Program (teaching 5th & 6th graders comics), the school semester ending (I teach graphic design at a governor's school), pro-bono work and freelance design work. I feel kind of bad about the wait, so I decided to show some of the Richmond Monuments process.

First I come up with a general idea of the strip and sometimes make some sketches of the layout like the Arthur Ashe sketches below.

I then go to the physical site and take several photos of the monument.

I use the photo references by printing them on a black/white laser jet printer. I place the prints next to a blank sheet of standard 20lb computer paper -or whatever scrap paper samples I have lying around. I usually draw with a cheap disposable mechanical pencil. It isn't very environmentally conscious, but I have a big stack of them at home right now. Sometimes it is difficult to see the details on the black and white print, so I view the photo with my computer and zoom in on areas I have questions or concerns about.

Below is a better image of the final penciled panel. As you can see in the image, I do take some liberties with the monuments. The monument podium and Maury statue are a little thinner and taller to exaggerate the panel frame and the individual figures are very stylized (partially due to the drawing scale).

I ink the pencil drawing using a tracing light box, a separate sheet of paper (Again, whatever is around.) and a combination of .03 & .005 Micron flet tip pens. The below image's actual size is only a few inches square.

I scan the image and adjust line work. Finally, I digitally color the image using a combination of copyright free photographic textures, custom brushes and a whole lot of layers. I also add text and panel borders during this stage, but intentionally left them out since this comic doesn't come out until next month. I'm trying to get better about considering the actual dialogue before I draw and color the strips. I've experienced situations where I have to redraw a panel or multiple panels.

I hope to record a sped up version of the entire process in the future.

The South Rises Again

2012-01-12T16:03:00.000-04:00

I'm working on a zombie sub-plot to Richmond Monuments. Six strips have already been written and character designs are being worked on. It is yet to be decided when the comic will be officially released.

This strip will be more "cartoony" and black/white. My plan is to have these strips appear on the off weeks of normal Monument comic strips. This way you'll get a strip every week!

Cat Comic. Prallel Narrative Experiment

2011-12-14T12:02:00.005-04:00

Below are the first five pages of an experiment that will eventually be translated as an "infinite canvas." To keep my interest I've been completing 5 pages at a time instead of doing pencils, then inks, then coloring. (Click images to enlarge.)

Cheats Movement: RVA Profiles

2011-12-13T16:53:00.004-04:00

Taken from The Cheats Movement.
"I first saw the web comic Richmond Monuments in print. It was the second place winner in the 2011 Style Weekly’s comic strip contest. I noted the name of the designer Bizhan Khodabandeh and remembered him from Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40 a few years ago. I then saw the now bi-weekly web comic posted on RVANews.com. Its now syndicated home. Most Richmonders would say that the history of RVA is alive. Well, Richmond Monuments tells a comedic tale of just that — historic monuments coming alive in modern time — often nailing a comedic true about our beloved city. I met up with Bizhan at The Shop to chat about the origins of the comic strip, his process of creating the strip, and his plans for the future. Make sure you check out RichmondMonuments.com every other Sunday to see Bizhan’s latest strip."

Check out more profiles at thecheatsmovement.com

Rebel Voice book tour poster

2011-12-13T16:04:00.003-04:00

Here are two versions of a book tour poster for "Rebel Voices," an anthology of texts from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The book's cover is an old image of a protest. I felt that this image was a bit uninspiring and mostly appealing to history enthusiasts. So I decided to use a historic image of the IWW screaming. the sabo cat (pictured above). The talk wanted to use interest in the Occupy Wall Street Movement to encourage attendance.

Taken from a poster on the sabo cat I designed:
The image of a black cat arching it’s back, sometimes referred to as ’sabocat’, was utilized by organized labor to represent the prospect of sabotage. Ralph Chaplin, a labor activist and anarcho-syndicalist, created the image while
working with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Chaplin intended for employees to place the image around their respective workplaces as a symbolic threat to unethical and unrepentant bosses.

Sabotage eventually was defined as any withdrawal of efficiency — including a work slowdown, strike, or creative bungling of job assignments. These tactics of sabotage were also referred to as “wildcat strikes” — strike actions taken without authorization by union officials. Non-violent in their execution, these tactics were a powerful tool for the radical labor movement and are still practiced today.

Still waiting on some information, but it is mostly complete. Click on images to enlarge.

Enjoy.

Font Aid Japan

2011-12-10T10:23:00.004-04:00

BTW I forgot to post this, but I participated in Font Aid Japan. The concept of Font Aid is to create a typeface through a collaboration of several designers. The proceeds benefit a cause. This years cause was the rebuilding of Japan

"With the help of Sogo Japan, all proceeds from sales of this typeface will be delivered directly to organizations in Japan, such as Second Hand and AMDA International (Association of Medical Doctors of Asia). Sogo Japan strives to help circumvent regular international charity channels and the inefficiencies associated with them." from Myfonts.com

The typeface is currently available at MyFonts, Veer, Fonts.com, and Linotype.

Below are is my contribution, three ligatures.

A list of contributing artists:
Jonathan Abbott, Rui Abreu, Frank Adebiaye, Tim Ahrens, Anonymous, Eero Antturi, Leonardo Aranda, Hector Carrillo Aspano, Danielle Atnip, Alejandro Cabrera Avila, Christophe Badani, Joanne Gyo Young Bae, Ben Balvanz, Cynthia Bataille, Priyanka Batra, Donald Beekman, Hannes Beer, David Berlow, Kevin Beronilla, Fabian Bertschinger, Nicole Bittner, Bart Blubaugh, Dathan Boardman, Andrew Boardman, Joel Vilas Boas, Konstantin Boldovskiy, Scott Boms, Michael Browers, Vickie Burns, Matt Burvill, Daniele Capo, Seymour Caprice, Mauro Caramella, Matevž Čas, Eli Castellanos, Sarah Castillo, Tom Censani, Pinar Ceyhan, Ivette Chacon, Hin-Ching Chan, Sarah Charalambides, Karen Charatan, Sinde Cheung, Todd Childers, Justin Chodzko, Felipe Coca, Antonio Coelho, Jefferson Cortinove, Alan Lima Coutinho, Nick Cox, Nick Curtis, Girish Dalvi, Christopher DeCaro, Thomas C Dempsey, Matt Desmond, Chank Diesel, Anum Durvesh, Suzie Eland, Engy Elboreini, Craig Eliason, Emi Eliason, James Elliott, Grace Engels, Exljbris, Hillary Fayle, Carol Fillip, Jeff Fisher, Scott Fisk, John Foley, Stuart Ford, Mathias Forslund, Brock French, Anina Frischknecht, Eric Frisino, Chiyo Fujimori, Kaela Gallo, Ayesha Garrett, Harald Geisler, Alfonso Gómez-Arzola, Adriana Esteve González, Richard Gregory, James Grieshaber, Grupoingenio, Kemie Guaida, Carlos Fabián Camargo Guerrero, Rachel Han, Erin Harris, Stefan Hattenbach, Magnus Hearn, Marissa Heiken, Georg Herold-Wildfellner, Jamie Homer, Ed Hoskin, Dav[id Hubner], Jonathan Hughes, Rian Hughes, Grant Hutchinson, Xerxes Irani, Masayuki Izumi, Jan Janeček, Hyun Kyung Jang, Julien Janiszewski, Dušan Jelesijevic, Cal Jepps, Meghan Jossick, Evamaria Judkins, July Twenty Fourth, Erica Jung, William K, Claes Källarsson, Kapitza, Asutosh Kar, Arno Kathollnig, Sami Kaunisvirta, Hajime Kawakami, Scott Kaye, Richard Kegler, Anna Keroullé, Bizhan Khodabandeh, Lara Assouad Khoury, Ilona Kincses, Becky King, Sean King, Megan Kirby, Max Kisman, Keith Kitz, Romy Klessen, Akira Kobayashi, Kokin, Kozyndan & Silas Dilworth, Atushi Kunimune, Andreas Kuschner, John Langdon, Ray Larabie, Jess Latham, Kelly D Lawrence, Matic Leban, Chien-Hao Lee, Bryan Levay, Enrico Limcaco, Andreas Lindholm, Andrew Loschiavo, Chris Lozos, Ian Lynam, John Lyttle, Gustavo Machado, Jonathan Mak, Ricardo Marcin, Jeannie Mecorney, Steve Mehallo, Cristina Melo, Martin Mendelsberg, The Midnight Umbrella Studio, Goro Mihok, Ojasvi Mohanty, Ahmed Mohtadi, Alixe Monteil, Veronica Monterosso, Dani Montesinos, Masanobu Moriyama, Misa Moriyama, Pedro Moura, John Moy Jr, Marc Marius Mueller, Shoko Mugikura, Joachim Müller-Lancé, Diane Myers, John Nahmias, Yoshihisa Nakai, Hiroshi Nakayama, Reiko Nara, Nathoo, Titus Nemeth, Nathanael Ng, Ngoc Ngo, Antoninus Niemiec, James Ockelford, Kunihiko Okano, Naotatsu Okuda, Toshi Omagari, Onikeiji, Ozlem Ozkal, Jason Pagura, Hrant Papazian, Brian Jongseong Park, John Passafiume, Patrick Griffin, Alejandro Paul, Vian Peanu, Dylan Pech, Rebecca Penmore, Peter Brugger, Jean François Porchez, Carolyn Porter, Andrew Pothecary, James Puckett, Rachel Hernández Pumarejo, James Random, Liam Roberts, Tom Rogers, David Jonathan Ross, Sumio Sakai, Sana, Stuart Sandler, Rafael Saraiva, Riccardo Sartori, Ai Sasaki, Yee Wen Sat, Agnes Schlenke, Giovanna Scolaro, Roland Scriver, Alessandro Segalini, Shawn Semmes, Jane Sheppard, Josh Sherwood, Paulo Silva, Mark Simonson, Luis Siquot, Greg Smith, Owen Song, James L. Stirling, Nina Stössinger, Tanya Turipamwe Stroh, Kevin Strzelczyk, Neil Summerour, Superfried, Shiho Takahashi, Shuji Takahashi, Yusuke Takeda, Naoyuki Takeshita, Bruno Tenan, Chung-Deh Tien, Tom, Ryoichi Tsunekawa, Alex Tye, Matthew Tyndall, TypoVar, Virginia Valdez, Beatriz Valerio, Tom Varisco, Brayden Varr, Catarina Vaz, Andy Veale, Yvette Claudia Velez, Marie-Anne Verougstraete, Abbie Vickress, Ray Villarreal, Pat Vining, Courtney Waite, Hoyle Wang, Viola Wang, Jim Ward, Grace Watling, Terrance Weinzierl, Robert Weiss, Stuart Weston, Kevin Wijaya, Dave Williams, Beau Williamson, Delve Withrington, Katherine Wood, Neil Woodyatt, Jesvin Yeo, Yokokaku, Kazuhi Yoshikawa, YouWorkForThem, Matt Yow, Charlton Yu, Yuriko, Ron Za, Jayson Zaleski, Víctor Zúñiga

These contributors represent the following countries:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brasil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Country, Czech Republic, El Salvador, England, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, México, Namibia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenija, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA

Monster Draw Rally

2011-12-10T10:13:00.004-04:00

BTW I will be participating in today's Monster Draw Rally. The Monster Draw Rally is an opportunity to help 1708 fund raise. The even entails several artists drawing independently (several at a time) for an hour. The finished works are then sold.

My slot is 1-2PM
at 1708 Gallery
319 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220

More info and a list of artists and their times can be found here.

A video of last years event.

1708 Gallery - Monster Drawing Rally Timelapse from Annapurna Kumar on Vimeo.

Student work 2011

2011-12-09T16:34:00.012-04:00

Illustrator portraits

By Milena Salas and Naomi Bradley-Jean

By Osaze Shears and Kristen Smith

By Maryam Ansari and Marin Leong

Art movement posters for the classroom. (Students had 3 hours to research and complete them)

By Sidney Tilghman

By Brittany West

By Jake Dorsey

Various type exercises

By Sequioa Roscoe

By Maryam Ansari

By Naomi Bradley-Jean

Statement based posters

Brittany West

By Christopher Poupore

By Cameron Lanier

Art and store items are going on sale!

2011-11-30T11:31:00.010-04:00

I will be selling wares at Gallery5's Holiday Market. Everything that you see in the Mended Arrow store will be discounted! I'm also selling some old original inked drawings and prints like the few below.

Only $10!

Only $10! (Come by to see all 25 prints)

These will be sold for a $1 a peice. They are slightly larger than 24" by 36" but can easily be trimmed down to 24" by 36"

Also keep in mind the awesome stuff from the Mended Arrow store that will be discounted!

Half off $40!

Half off $10!

All other items will also be discounted! between 25% to 50% off.

More about the event below:

poster by Bizhan Khodabadneh (click to enlarge)

Both events are FREE to the public.
First Friday, Dec 2nd
6PM-10PM
Featuring live music, dance,
visual art exhibitions
and Virginia micro-brews & wine.

Saturday, Dec 3rd
10AM-3PM
This daytime event will feature
food, drinks, and a series
of craft-focused workshops.

Also available at both events:
*Snow-globe workshop. Make a snow-globe for that special someone
at the craft station. Only $3 for material costs to participate.
*A wrapping paper and ribbon station will be available free
for audience members to package up their special holidays gifts.

For more info goto www.gallery5arts.org

New Work: Terry Brown Photography

2011-11-28T09:53:00.007-04:00

Logo, business card, letterhead and web consulting.

Logo design is intended to reference film negatives. The "TB PHOTO" type is custom. I am considering turning it into a functional typeface sometime in the future.

Business card design to reinforce film negative reference. They are screen-printed on heavy stock pop-tone French paper by Team Eight.

Simple clean letterhead that is functional in Microcsoft Word.

The website work included installing a CMS, Indexhibit, styling type, transferring domains, and making sure the logo was up on the site. All of the architecture, most of the layout and content was than up to Terry Brown.

Right To Education

2011-11-25T14:17:00.004-04:00

This was my submission to the Poster For Tomorrow Competition this year. It deals with the issue of keep children from education based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, class, etc. Each crayon is actually labeled with a color of the rainbow. It didn't get selected. =(

10 of the winners can be found here. There is some really great stuff. I am a little upset that we don't get to see the whole 100 this year.

New Form: exhibit photos and article.

2011-11-24T10:21:00.005-04:00

Image from the invitational laser cut paper exhibit on the "Future of City." Curated by Xu Li. (Click to enlarge.)

Image of my contribution. (Click to enlarge.)

More information (Chinese) and photos can be found here.

Catfish Kraken Deck

2011-11-22T21:22:00.007-04:00

A sneak peak at this skateboard deck for Rorschach Records I've been working on. I don't suspect there being any more changes. The white outline is the cut line and the white circles are the size and placement of the standard holes in a skateboard deck. I might make some minor changes....or maybe major changes, but I like it so far.

Cropped illustration. (Click image to enlarge.)

Detail (Click image to enlarge.)

Detail (Click image to enlarge.)

Gallery5 Presents a Holiday Market

2011-11-16T17:52:00.002-04:00

Gallery5 Presents A: HOLIDAY MARKET
At Gallery5 200 W. Marshall St. Richmond, VA Free to the public

poster by Bizhan Khodabadneh (click to enlarge)

Both events are FREE to the public.
First Friday, Dec 2nd
6PM-10PM
Featuring live music, dance,
visual art exhibitions
and Virginia micro-brews & wine.

Saturday, Dec 3rd
10AM-3PM
This daytime event will feature
food, drinks, and a series
of craft-focused workshops.

Also available at both events:
*Snow-globe workshop. Make a snow-globe for that special someone
at the craft station. Only $3 for material costs to participate.
*A wrapping paper and ribbon station will be available free
for audience members to package up their special holidays gifts.

For more info goto www.gallery5arts.org

99% poster for download

2011-11-05T16:50:00.004-03:00

Here are two 99% posters I have made free for download. They were inspired by Noah Scalin's 99% image.

Click here to download b/w version.

Click here to download color version.

Amanda shows no mercy

2011-10-27T10:32:00.004-03:00

I originally used this photo of my wife wearing my Jiu-Jitsu Gi for an illustration reference. I was able to reuse it for a class demo on vector imaging. We tend to joke about her being a bully. (click for larger image)

Disarmingly Modern

2011-10-27T10:28:00.003-03:00

Post card design for the below exhibition. The image reflects some of the sculpture's process in reinventing the Venus de Milo. (click for larger image)

Disarmingly Modern:
A solo exhibition of sculptures by Ned Fry

Public Opening Reception
First Friday, November 4th
6PM -10PM.

At Gallery5
200 W Marshall St
Richmond, VA 23222
www.gallery5arts.org

Ned Fry is a Charlottesville, Virginia native and a recent sculpture graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is an aspiring artist who’s work is gaining popularity across the state.

“I make art to fulfill a visual and mental need.... It is my dream for others to see and experience what goes on inside my mind and to share with them my visions, love, dreams and desires in physical form. It is essential that I make art for myself and others.”

The process of creating an art piece, to me, is very random. There is no written step by step plan. I just live my life and ideas reveal themselves through my experiences and actions. This can be seen in my most current series of artworks based around the armless statue of Venus de Milo.”

Growing Community: A farm to fork dinner.

2011-10-18T15:47:00.003-03:00

7PM, Oct 24th
Gallery5
200 W Marshall St
Richmond, VA 23220

$45 per person
$80 for two
+$15 VA wine or micro-brews optional

Dinner will feature four courses prepared by Todd Johnson, Executive Chef and Co-Owner
of Mezzanine with produce from 5 of the area’s best farms. Farms include: Shalom Farms, Rock Castle Farm,Victory Farms, Tuckahoe Plantation Livestock, & Manakintowne Specialty Growers.

Come celebrate the Richmond farming community and Shalom Farms work to increase access to healthy produce in under served communities in urban Richmond.

Pre sale tickets at gallery5arts.org
Vegetarian options available.

Monumentalize yourself!

2011-10-18T15:32:00.001-03:00

Monumentalize your portrait at www.richmondmonuments.com via the Edgar Allan Poe Bust by donating to Richmond Monuments. Monumentalize donations are a fixed amount of $20.00.

You can also donate to the project, even if you don't want to be "monumentalized." Whether it's a few bucks or a million dollars, everything counts. Just click the appropriate button on the monumentalize page.

Monumentalize sample using Marvel comic artist, Reilly Brown.

Freebies Wallpaper

2011-10-12T15:21:00.003-03:00

Below are a couple of detail images from my newly added "Freebies" section. I intend to continue adding to the section with various goodies and will keep you updated here.

Non of this work is available for commercial use. All of the copyrights are retained by myself, Bizhan Khodabandeh. Enjoy downloading them here.

Richmond Monuments

2011-10-10T13:31:00.003-03:00

Click to enlarge images.

Richmond Monuments launched October 2nd with an incredible amount of success. The first few days received over 3000 visits thanks to all of your support of use of tumbler, twitter, facebook, blogs and more.

I haven't been too active on my blog lately because a lot of my time has been dedicated to designing this site, learning ComicPress and making comic strips.

The comics can be viewed at richmondmonuments.com. Enjoy.

CultureWorks Playing Cards

2011-10-10T13:26:00.003-03:00

Click to enlarge.

This piece was designed to emulate playing cards. The cards will be used by juggler and magician Jonathan Austin to promote Richmond's CultureWorks. The concept behind the piece was to utilize Austin's card tricks as a point of departure to promote the arts non-profit.

Wayside Center Art Auction

2011-09-20T20:25:00.002-03:00

Support the Wayside Center with me at their art auction.
Saturday, October 1st at 9PM
Hosted by The Celler Door and Team Totally Awesome
located at 1600 Monument Ave
Richmond, VA

Artists donating work include:
Walker Allen
Amy Black
Wil Blanton
Rober Cataldo
Scarlett P. Diaz
Thea Duskin
Lana Gentry
Dave Gustine
Mattie Hinkley
Adam Juresko
Bizhan Khodabandeh
Grieg Leach
Aaron Samsel
Virginia Samsel
Oura Sananikone
Diana Vincelli
Lauren Vencelli
Eric Wolfe-Hanson
x370724
and more!

No You Can't Go To The Bathroom...

2011-09-20T20:04:00.005-03:00

"No You Can't Go To The Bathroom, Because You're Bored and Don't Really Have To"
-Taylor Mali

Appomattox Regional Governor's School Teachers Art Exhibition

I will have various illustration pieces in this exhibition. You will also be able to see a sneak peak at some original art of my comic adaptation of "The Little Black Fish"

Artists:
David Bartlett
Patricia Lyons
B. Khodabandeh
Susann Whittier

Opening 6-9PM Nov. 11th at
Petersburg Area Art League
7 E. Old Street
Petersburg, VA 23803

Up through December 3rd

October 2nd The Richmond Monuments are watching you...

2011-09-09T14:57:00.002-03:00

Richmond Monuments, a webcomic, will launch October 2nd with a bi-weekly schedule on Sundays.

Richmond Monuments is illustrated and written by Bizhan Khodabandeh, a graphic designer and educator that works under the name Mended Arrow.

Richmond Monuments is about anthropomorphizing Richmond, VA monuments as if they were objective observers of the populace. The intent is not to overtly make political commentary on the historical figures that the monuments were intended to represent. Nor is the strip intended to delve into esoteric Richmond politics or ethnography. The mission of the strip is to find humor in our own humanity through the eyes of voyeuristic monuments – something people from most cities could relate to.