To me, the most impressive thing about design work is when
you are not sure how the artist did it. You know you have done good (or at least interesting) work when a
classmate asks, “how the hell did you do that?”
However, even more impressive is when an artist shows you step-by-step
exactly what they are doing and you still cannot believe it. This is how I feel
about basically everything DKNG has ever done.
DKNG is a studio in Los Angelos, California. It is run by
two guys, Dan Kuhlken and Nathan Goldman. It has been them since the beginning,
and they don’t appear to be interested in expanding their staff, unfortunately.
They are often approached by awesome bands to create gig posters – and they
often document their process.
There is a lot to learn from the way they work. Sketching
and strong concepts are always the first step. Even though their style is very
geometrical, it is crucial to get composition and ideas down on paper first.
It is so awesome to see the way they work in illustrator.
Massive art boards with references littered around seem to be the trend.
WATCH THIS PROCESS VIDEO!
As someone who nerds out on learning key commands and
shortcuts, I love watching how efficient they are at creating shapes. Sometimes
I find myself watching the video frame by frame to see exactly what they are
doing (I even read their emails that they don’t edit out of the video because
I’m creepy like that).
The amount of detail in everything is amazing. Even more
amazing is that it is all designed to be screen-printed, usually 3-4 colors.
Not only is screen printing an awesome medium, but the effect and texture you
get from half toning everything is great.
I took this skillshare to learn their techniques on how to separate colors and achieve this screen printing technique, and it was definitely worth it.
HOW THE HECK IS THIS AN ILLUSTRATION?
Overall, their attention to detail is insane. They spend so much time on every pixel, it is quite admirable. From sketching to completion everything is meticulously thought out.
Hi Nick. Great stuff. I love seeing your humor present in your writing. Some small points for you to edit: Los Angeles is spelled incorrectly, halftone is one word, "It has been them since the beginning, and they don’t appear to be interested in expanding their staff, unfortunately." Rewrite. With only the two original founders, they do not appear to be interested in expanding their staff.
ReplyDeleteAlso be careful not to overuse the word awesome. AWESOME!
Nick –
ReplyDeleteThis is a cool review of DKNG’s process. I would change the title of your article to reflect that it is about their process, not just process in general. It is interesting to hear about how they have inspired your work; perhaps you can expand on it a bit and talk about what you have learned from observing their work and taking their skillshare class.
I would also rewrite the end of your article:
“The amount of detail they spend on each pixel is quite incredible. From sketching to completion, (every aspect of their artwork) is meticulously thought out.”