Matchbook design is extremely interesting, especially since it’s (potentially) a limited space to design. As I researched images, I was impressed with how illustrators could utilize their space in a particular way to push home their concepts. I’m so used to seeing simplistic and practical matchbooks, so this is an exciting project. Especially since I’ve seen how many different styles could be displayed.

The illustration style that I will pursue is 1930’s animation, “rubber hose animation”. It's an extremely charming style that lends itself to a lot of different concepts, and I’ve never done a project in this style before. My signature style is more semi-realism, and often is detailed and people oriented. The style of 30’s animation is different because it is more simplistic and stylized, and has recognizable features of the cartoons of that era. Characters like Betty Boop are typical of this style. Doing a project like this will help me have skills in different illustration styles, and grow my skills as an artist. Stepping out of my comfort zone will broaden my horizons.

Two illustrators that have produced work in this style are McBess and Chad Moldenhaur. While these are recent artists, they capture the Rubber hose animation in a modern way. McBess is a french illustrator and musician that mixes influences of rubber hose animation, specifically Fleischer Studios cartoons. He animates his own music videos, sells prints and has even written his own book with his work. There is something hypnotic about the way that his work took off and how he uses form in his compositions.

Chad Moldenhaur is one of the founders of Studio MDHR, and is also the head artist of the video game Cuphead. Cuphead is based off of the Fleischer Studios style and was wildly popular due to the modern depictions and nostalgia of the illustrations. No one had done anything like this in the game space on this scale.

My concept is relationships, intimacy, and “finding your match.” I love the exploration of how human beings work with each other and how they interact. Intimacy is shown in many ways, and it doesn’t always have to be romantic. I want to depict platonic, romantic, etc. relationships kindly, and in a cute and charming way. 

My conceptual research helped me explore the psychological aspects of relationships. On my PDF, I only put pictures that I found, but I also did a lot of reading. I deep-dived into articles about how the brain works when in love, when friendships are created, and how emotions play into actions. This allowed me to gain a better understanding of how I want to use rubber hose animation to show this – cute and charming.

I want to impress my audience with the fact that I’ve never done this style of work before. I want to learn a new illustration style and be successful with it. Especially with the concept, love, which is an overcrowded concept.

After writing my proposal for the matchbook, I made a template for my matchbook and test-printed it to check the size. I got proposal feedback from my peers, and started on my illustrations. I continued to study the history of rubber hose animation, and applied that to my illustrations as I continued laying them out. A work in progress critique allowed me to shift some of the text down, and move a few elements. Revisions continued until I printed and formed the matchbook. Throughout, I utilized Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop.

Keeping to a template is more difficult than it seems, especially when having to test print. A lot of things went wrong – somehow elements weren’t aligned properly and caused size differences, etc. So, learning how to deal with those issues between design and print taught me a lot.