Dark Collar Blog

Okay, I've finally moved out.

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:50:18 -0400

Thanks to all of you who have followed me on Tumblr. I have finally switched to a new blog. While it is not finished, you guys can come on over. Introducing, the new Dark Collar Blog.

My Top Ten Albums

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:06:00 -0400

Although it’s very unrelated to most of the posts I’ve added thus far, I gave my wife my top ten albums list the other day. Now, these are not necessarily what I choose to call the “best albums of all time,” but rather the 10 albums I would take with me if I could only choose 10. These albums are more of a narration of my life, as opposed to what I consider greatness. In no particular order, here goes…

There’s actually 11, but Top Ten sounds better.

Weezer - Blue Album
Fiona Apple - When The Pawn
Silverchair - Diorama
Green Day - Dookie
Pearl Jam - Ten
Glassjaw - Worship & Tribute
A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms
Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales
Counting Crows - August & Everything After
Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire
Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind

I just got this piece approved this week. It’s nice, every...

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:22:07 -0400

I just got this piece approved this week. It’s nice, every now and then, when you do a design that you KNOW is exactly what the band is looking for… and it is.

If you’re planning on attending the Weezer / Angels & Airwaves tour, then pick one of these up.

Getting Very Close

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:43:11 -0400

I’ve been frustratingly working on my new blog site, as well as my new portfolio site. I’m getting very close to getting it looking right, but I still have a load of work to add to the portfolio site. I’ll let you know when it’s ready. We got about two weeks, I’m guessing.

Very very sorry for the down-time. I thank you all for visiting...

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:25:44 -0400

Very very sorry for the down-time. I thank you all for visiting this site, hoping to see something new, and I apologize that I have not delivered. I am currently building a whole new blog, via Wordpress (I’ll explain later), and have been adding new stuff to that blog while I continue tweaking it. It should go live pretty soon.

To give you something new, I decided to post the project that I am working on right now. These are a few pieces for High On Fire that I’ve done today, and I think I’m gonna work up one more. These haven’t even been submitted yet, so I’ve probably made someone mad at me by posting these in my blog. Anyway, it’s just a peak.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for the new blog.

Back In The Saddle

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:43:52 -0400

For some odd, workaholic-like reason, I told myself that I wouldn’t take any breaks this year. After spending 2006 recording an album, getting married, and moving to a new city, then spending 2007 buying and renovating a house, I figured 2008 should be my year to buckle down, and see how much work I could actually do.

I’ve taken in a ton of work this year, and couldn’t be happier about it. It’s interesting to analyze what has happened to my brain throughout it all. On average, I would say that I do work for 1.5 bands a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but I would imagine the average would be about 1.5 a day. While this has been fantastic, it has disintegrated my brain into mush a time or two. I can usually stay strong, creative, and fluid for about 4-5 weeks, but then something happens, and my brain melts. I stare blankly at my thumbnail sheets, with zero ideas, and zero motivation.

My only remedy is to take a break. Maybe a day-off, or a morning outside — either riding my bike or working on my house. It’s like I’m letting my brain refill and recharge itself. The problem with this, is that I cannot help but feel guilty for not getting the jobs done that are sitting in front of me. Of course, my imagination is shot, the imagination that would fuel the completion of the jobs. But that doesn’t take the guilt away.

But, that’s the thinking that creates workaholics. I vow to never become a workaholic.

I love what I do. I truly believe I have the best job in the world - for a number of reasons. (I could create a post about why, but that would come off as arrogant, and I don’t want to do that.) I still feel odd calling it work, because it’s still the thing that I love to do more than anything else. But, I’m realizing that it’s not good for a brain to stay in one place all of the time. So, it’s not that I have to ‘take a break’ from work, it’s more like “I need to give my brain some other stuff to do.”

So, two weeks ago, I took a break. My wife and I went down to Nashville to visit our very good friends, and then to a Lake House near Rockwood, TN. My friend knew a family from his church that allowed us to stay in their house. Hopefully Jet Skis, Kneeboarding, and my first encounter with Guitar Hero was what my brain needed to refuel.

This past week was a process of easing back into work. Today, I have a few production schedule, and I’m ready to get on with the second half of 2008. Maybe for the rest of this year, however, I’ll make sure my brain gets a little more variety.

Glory. Glory. Hallelujah. About four years ago, I purchased a...

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:24:22 -0400

Glory. Glory. Hallelujah.
About four years ago, I purchased a 20” iMac. I fell in love with it’s all-in-one, simple design. A few less cords, a little more simplicity, all makes for a calmer, more efficient designer. I was not, however, too impressed with the speed of the G5 processor. That dismay grew into sheer frustration in the four years that followed.

Yesterday, I unpacked my new 24” Intel Core 2 Duo iMac. I went to the Apple Store site, and maxed one of these puppies out, and a week later it was on my doorstep. (Actually, I was so excited that I met the FedEx driver at the door, so the box never actually sat anywhere near my doorstep.)

For any of you graphic designers (not video people) who are using a Power Mac, or a tower in any fashion, you are over-doing it. This iMac is a beast. I had a days worth of work to finish by this evening, and I’ve finished it before 1:00. I click, and it goes - no waiting.

I am a much happier and calmer designer today. Maybe you may see a little more flowers and buddhas in my art. I may even take up the sitar.

A quick spin of my home office. The iMac 24” is on...

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:31:00 -0400

A quick spin of my home office. The iMac 24” is on it’s way. The Intel should save me a bit of time.

Client List

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:38:00 -0400

I find myself getting asked “So, what bands have you worked on?” alot. Usually, the best I can do is name four or five of the recent jobs I did, as my brain has a way of blacking out when asked that question. So, being curious myself, I just put together a list of nearly all of the bands, labels, and organizations that I have done work for over the past seven years.

38 Special
A Change Of Pace
A Day Of Reckoning
A Dozen Furies
AC/DC
Acceptance
Access Lakeland
Adelynne Drive
Advent
Aerosmith
AFI
AJ McLean
Alan Jackson
Alice Cooper
All-American Rejects
American Dance Party
American Hi-Fi
Anberlin
Arise & Ruin
Arlington
Armor For Sleep
Article One
As Cities Burn
As I Lay Dying
Aslyn
Atreyu
August Burns Red
Augustana
Avenged Sevenfold
BEC Recordings
Becoming The Archetype
Beloved
Ben Folds
Ben Lee
Billy Joel
Blindside
Bow Wow
Brothers In Arms Band
Burning Daylight
Butch Walker
Carrie Underwood
Chasing Victory
Chimaira
Cinderella
City Calvary Chapel
Classic Case
Clemmer
Coheed & Cambria
Coldplay
Counting Crows
Crash Romeo
Dashboard Confessional
Daughtry
Dav Julca
Dead Poetic
Def Leppard
Demon Hunter
Die Mannequin
Disturbed
DJ Shadow
Dopamine
Dredg
Drive By
Embodyment
Emery
Endurance Skateboards
Envy On The Coast
Escape The Fate
Evanstar
Evelynn
Everytime I Die
Fair
Fall Out Boy
Falling Cycle
Falling Up
Family Values Tour
Farewell to Fashion
Fear Before The March Of Flames
Filter
Five Minute Ride
Fletch Clothing

Flexcore Fitness
Flyleaf
For Evangelene
Forever The Sickest Kids
From Autumn To Ashes
From First To Last
Genesis
Gipsy Kings
Good Charlotte
Gym Class Heroes
Haste The Day
He Is Legend
Hiatus Clothing
HIM
Hinder
Hoobastank
Immortal Records
In Reverent Fear
Inhale Exhale
Instruction
Interpol
Jack’s Mannequin
Jamie Kennedy & Stu Stone
Jamie Randolph
Jennifer Lopez
John Mellencamp
Josh Groban
Josh Moore
Keyshia Cole
Killswitch Engage
Knapsackheroes
Korn
Kutless
Lamb Of God
Last Tuesday
Led Zeppelin
Leslie
Life In The Fall
Lifehouse
Linkin Park
Lions
Living Sacrifice
Lucerin Blue
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Madina Lake
Mae
Man Alive
Manna Skateboards
Marauder Records
Marc Anthony
Mastodon
Matchbook Romance
Matisyahu
Maylene & The Sons Of Distaster
Megadeth
Metallica
MeWithoutYou
Monsterus
MuteMath
My Chemical Romance
My Existence
Negative Nancy
Nine Inch Nails
Nodes of Ranvier
Norma Jean
Number One Fan
One Day Savior Records
Ortega
Outlet
Pale Skeeter
Panic! At The Disco
Papa Roach
Pemberton Festival
Pennyroyal Silver
Perfection Is A Myth
Pillar
Plain White T’s
Plus 44
PrayDreamGo
Priestess
Project 86

Quitter
Rage Against The Machine
Ramones
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Rock Kills Kid
Rokk Clothing
Rolling Stones
Sarah Kelly
Say Anything
Scars On Broadway
Sex Pistols
Shinedown
Sinai Beach
Skillet
Slow Coming Day
Smilin Liar
Snuggle B’s
Solid State Records
Stavesacre
Stilllife Projector
Stone Sour
Stone Temple Pilots
Straylight Run
Taking Back Sunday
Team Sleep
The Academy Is
The Afters
The Almost
The Berkshire Alliance
The Black Maria
The Chariot
The Classic Crime
The Cool Kids
The Distance
The Fold
The Killers
The Offspring
The Pits
The Showdown
The Spill Canvas
The Starting Line
The Underwater
The Uriah Omen
The Used
The Wreckers
The Young
Theory Of A Deadman
Thoughts On Vinyl Mgmt
Thousand Foot Krutch
Three Days Grace
Three Doors Down
Throwdown
To Write Love On Her Arms
Too Late The Hero
Tooth & Nail Records
Underoath
Versus The Mirror
Wallflowers
Walls Of Jericho7
We The Kings
Welton
WhatToDoAbout
Winter Solstice
Yosemite Mudflap
Young & Useless
Young Love
Zen Rizing

My hope is that the new site will show all of this work. This also explains why it will take a while.

Muchas Gracias.

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:39:49 -0400

I want to thank all of you who keep checking this blog. I definately am more motivated to post stuff, because I’m getting feedback, so thank you.

I’m still in the planning stages of the new site. I won’t have anything new until I feel like I’ve created the exact type of site that I want.

If there’s any web people out there who are skilled with TextPattern, please drop me a line. I could use all the help I can get.

Linkin Park I did these earlier this year for Linkin Park. I saw...

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:35:00 -0400

Linkin Park
I did these earlier this year for Linkin Park. I saw a girl in the grocery store the other day with one of them on. Weird.

Billy Joel Event Merchandise for the Piano Man himself.

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:59:41 -0400

Billy Joel
Event Merchandise for the Piano Man himself.

Arrow’s Myth. I was pumped to be able to add these to...

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:02:00 -0400

Arrow’s Myth.
I was pumped to be able to add these to Aerosmith’s summer merch.

Norma Jean I enjoyed doing these little diddies for my dudes in...

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:56:00 -0400

Norma Jean
I enjoyed doing these little diddies for my dudes in Norma Jean. Look for the new goods this summer.

Commentary

Wed, 21 May 2008 12:25:03 -0400

I’ve added comments to this blog, which may have been one of the main reasons I didn’t use it. Without comments, you can’t really tell if anyone is listening. I’m still tweaking this blog a bit, not everything is exactly how I want it. But it’ll do. Maybe.

Project Eighty Snakes I did this one for Schwab for his book...

Wed, 21 May 2008 01:53:22 -0400

Project Eighty Snakes
I did this one for Schwab for his book tour, then we decided to use it for a Project 86 design instead.

Up Yours Norma and the boys asked me to do this little number....

Wed, 21 May 2008 01:47:11 -0400

Up Yours
Norma and the boys asked me to do this little number. Hopefully Lars doesn’t sue us.

The Fraz My buddy John Frazier from Seattle is getting hitched....

Wed, 21 May 2008 01:40:00 -0400

The Fraz
My buddy John Frazier from Seattle is getting hitched. He asked me to create a monogram for letterheads and thank-you cards. It turned out pretty rad. Now him and his new wife have a friggin’ logo.

A.J. Who?So, I had a first today. It was only a matter of time....

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:59:00 -0400

A.J. Who?
So, I had a first today. It was only a matter of time. One of my contacts called me up to commission work for a few of her artists. One of which was A.J., of Backstreet Boys fame. When she said his name, my response was “Oh, is that the goatee guy?” and that was the extent of the identification process.

So, this morning I got to work on a merch design for A.J.. I thought the design called for a tattoo scripty type, and I got out my pen and got to work. When I finished the type, I thought it would be nice to post on this blog, along with some of the hand-drawn typography that I’ve been meaning to post. I scanned in the script, and implemented it into the design. I submitted the design about an hour ago, and was very pleased with how it turned out.

I got a voicemail back. “Hey Brandon, we just got your AJ design, and it’s rad, and we love it, and we want to use it… Except… you got the last name wrong. [Chuckle] It’s A.J. McLean, not McQueen. Um, I’m gonna email you back the right spelling. If you could revise it, and send it back, that would be awesome. You really need to catch up on your Backstreet Boys trivia. Call me back.”

I hung my head in embarrasment, and got my pen back out. Fixed the issue and re-submitted.

I just thought it would be nice to document my first mis-spelling in all my years of design. Oh well.

New Site Update

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:59:09 -0500

So I found that a few of you are following this blog. I appreciate it immensely. I am still hard at work bringing you the new Dark Collar site. I have finally found a CMS that seems to be what I have been looking for. I am currently reading up on this new system, trying to get a broader understanding of how it works, before diving into construction.

I cannot wait to get the new site up and rolling. I have never had a true web presence since I began Dark Collar, and I am taking steps to make it as easy as possible for me to establish and maintain connection with those of you that care to see my work, and to hear what I’ve been up to.

The hope is to provide a website that has a extensive portfolio of nearly everything I have ever done, as well as a worthwhile semi-daily blog.

I’m working on it.