My 2016 Best Nine

While these might not be my most liked Dribbble shots of the year, there are no rules to this #bestnine thing, so I picked my favorites from the year. It's always god to look back on a year's worth of work and see some progress and still feel some pride in your work, even long after the fact. I think this year I really refined my style and found my voice as a designer/illustrator. Here's a rundown of these nine:

1. Mario Illustration. My most recent piece here, part of a series of 3 NES prints coming very soon.

2. Adobe Creative Jam Backdrop. Adobe(!) asked me to make something for their event, and gave me a wide open brief. I'm still glowing about getting a job, even a small one, from Adobe.

3. Baseball Risograph. One half of a collab print set with, frequent collaborator, and my design spirit animal @Chris Pecora . We sold some, and sent a few other sets to some baseball loving designers we admire.

4. Elephant Logo. Sometimes things you love don't align with what the client loves. I love this cute little guy. And I love trying to sneak some purple and magenta past the goal line.

5. Sacred Heart. First thing I made this year. Had some stickers made and I still think it's cool a year later.

6. Painted Sky. Logo for a residential community east of Calgary. The most corporate piece in this set, but I believe it's really successful and people here seemed to like it too.

7. Johnny Summers Jazz Poster. Typographic illustration, and the most fun project I did for Flipp this year by far. Thanks @Lyndsey !

8. Bad News. My tribute to the Paperboy NES game artwork, for the This Machine bike poster show. Awesome to have something silkscreened this year, and a real nostalgic piece for me, which led to the NES print series later in the year.

9. Rat Piss! I made something dumb after my September trip to Seattle. A hat tip to an old friend's new nickname. Looks great on a coffee mug.

Here's to a really good professional year, and high hopes for 2017. Let's cross some projects off the bucket list!