From Roughs To Rad. Josh Cooley & Bill Presing's 54 Intercontinental Cuties.

Both Josh Cooley and Bill Presing are super talented storyboard artists at Pixar Animation Studios who have recently joined forces on this creative project.

Most recently, Josh received lots of blog and press attention for his Movies R Fun/ Inappropriate Golden Book and Emeryville-based Bill Presing is especially known for his pin-up girl-like illustrations.


above: Movies R Fun by Josh Cooley is available for purchase here

Together the two have designed and illustrated a new deck of sexy and sassy playing cards. Their collaboration yielded 54 Intercontinental Cuties, a real playable deck of cards, with a unique pinup girl on each face representing different places.


above: one of my fave pieces by Bill Presing, Ergonomic Delight

The majority of the 54 Intercontinental Cuties deck represents various countries, but they've taken some creative liberties and added unusual locations, some of which are fictional. Eden, Pangea, the Bermuda Triangle, the North Pole, the South Pole, The Forbidden Zone and The International Space Station are represented in the deck, alongside other countries and places.




I've been following the process by both of them on their own blogs as they created the deck, featuring their respective illustrations. Both Cooley and Presing have blogged about their collaborative efforts since early May and the finished deck of cards was just revealed at Comic Con, soon to be available online.

It's more fun to see how they went from sketches to the final art, than just looking at the final cards, so here's a look at the roughs and finished art of some of the cards in the deck.

First, from Bill Presing.
Bill's thumbnails in his sketchbook:

and his process of getting to the final Egypt card:

the final Egypt card:

sketch and final of the Russia Card:

the Vietnam card:

and the Greece card:

and more of his sketches:





and a few of the finished cards from Bill Presing:




Josh Cooley's process actually seems to involve bathing in macaroni and cheese to get inspired, but you can read about that yourself here.

Josh's rough and final of the Cuba Card:


And Josh did not post as many finished cards as did Bill, so you'll have to see those when you buy the deck. For now, here's a bunch of the sketches for the soon to be released cards by Josh Cooley:






(yes, Josh is aware that Texas is not a country)

The deck will sell for $25.00, soon to be available on Josh's online store.


I spoke with Josh on Saturday (he and Bill are both enjoying well-earned vacations) and he says the cards will soon be available for purchase in his online store. I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Josh 's blog, Cooley!
Bill's blog, Daily Peril

Another Vodka Tries Attracting Women. Introducing Van Gogh Blue.

In today's New York Times, Stuart Elliott, in his campaign spotlight column, wrote about Van Gogh Blue, a triple distilled wheat Vodka that specifically targets women.

Having previously written several posts on this blog about premium vodkas, including other female-targeted brands like Diva and Igor Velodin's Damaskaya, both of which seem to have gone by the wayside* after a very short period of time, I was intrigued to say the least.

*Both the Diva and the Damaskaya websites have disappeared and neither can be found on the web or in liquor stores anymore.

above: Diva Vodka was packaged with real Swarovski Crystals emulating a stripper pole in the middle.


above: Russian brand Damaskaya caused nothing but headaches for the brand.

Will yet another "Ladies Only" Vodka make it? Van Gogh Blue does have the social media support behind it (a facebook page and twitter account) that the other two lacked and an advertising campaign with an edgy sense of humor. Diva and Damaskaya went the ultra feminine route with butterflies, diamonds and a nod to Marilyn Monroe.



The ads for Van Gogh Blue:




On their website, they the lure ladies to the liquor with the following text:

"Come unbottled with the only premium triple wheat vodka that’s guaranteed to be smoother than most of the men you meet out at the bars. Okay, all.

Sometimes a girl just wants to shake things up a bit. And we think there’s no better way to do that than with a great cocktail and some great friends. That’s why Van Gogh Vodka has been serving up five-star rated flavors that are smoother than silk sheets for…well, the exact number doesn’t matter. But let’s just say it’s been a while. And now we’re introducing women everywhere to Van Gogh BLUE, the first premium, triple wheat vodka made from three international sources (France, Germany and Holland). It’s 80-proof. And already proving to create some of the best ladies night memories. Ever.

So, leave the kids with the babysitter, and join the party on Facebook and Twitter. See you there."

So, what makes this one women-targeted vodka different from the other two?
Well, first of all, Van Gogh Vodka is already a well established brand. This particular release is the eleventh vodka from the distillery. Secondly they have a very large US distribution, not to mention ad advertising budget of one million dollars, which both Diva and Damaskaya lacked. These facts coupled with the social media efforts may just make this female-specific vodka work.

So, put away those wine spritzers, girls and raise a glass of Van Gogh Blue.

info and images courtesy of the NY Times and Van Gogh Vodka