The Great Diaper Rodeo

Notes on the design:

Digital illustration done in Procreate with various ink pen and gouache brushes.

The second design in a series of card ideas for camaraderie with fellow Dads.

The overall idea and layout was inspired by vintage rodeo posters and classic western fashion. The styling is a little more modern, using texture and shading to create farcical movement and playful dimension without being too concerned with accuracy. The characters are intentionally vague and a little amorphous so the features aren't overwrought. The color is kind of a lot (and maybe too busy) but it certainly is visually interesting. I'm inspired by the work of a phenomenal illustrator @jaromvogel and this kind of nods to his style of flow-y organic shapes and gradient textures.

I'm also challenging myself to get better at hand-lettering so this was a first attempt at 3D display type. The name of this piece is a riff on the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo known as, "The Daddy of 'em All!"

The story behind the piece:

My boys are out of diapers now but a few years back I was really in the thick of it...

During one particularly wild round of diaper-changing, there was bucking and kicking and poop flying everywhere, and I remember thinking to myself, "Holy sh*t this is like a rodeo!" *My wife may not approve of her representation as the rodeo clown, but she has an incredible talent for wrangling these rank beasts and always bails me out when I'm in a jam!

Advice for new Dads: Not much else you can do but lean back, hang on for dear life, and enjoy the ride!