Mimicking Vintage Magazine Spreads, Books and Maps

Illustration ©2017 Carta Bella Paper Company

One of my favorite things to do when creating a paper line is to mix things up. For the paper I created a series of boarder strips that mimic pages from vintage travel magazine, maps and books.  It's always a challenge to get everything to look as if it was pulled from an actual page of an atlas or magazine.

American Panoramas

Illustration ©2017 Carta Bella Paper Company.

Growing up, Disneyland California was just a 20 minute drive down the 57 freeway. As a teenager I visited the park countless times a year thanks to a buddy who worked there. The art and design showcased in the park definitely was instrumental to the forging of my illustration aesthetic.  Early in my career I was fortunate enough to work as an Art Director producing licensed artwork for Disney Parks and Resorts and the Disney Consumer Products Group. Such happy memories.

Are We There Yet? Stickers and Ephemera

Illustrations ©2017 Carta Bella paper Co.

When I design a line of papers for Carta Bella Paper Co. one of the most challenging parts of the process is the design and illustration of the accompanying stickers and ephemera.  In some cases its easy to just pick up an element out of one of my paper illustrations. But in many cases I have to create something new that works with the entire line.  This can end up taking hours of research, illustrations and design. But in the end it's always exciting to see how everything comes together in a cohesive and stylish manner.

Sequoia

Illustration ©2017 Carta Bella Paper Company

I was fortunate enough to grow up in Los Angeles. California. Growing up my family would take fishing trips up to the Kern River, always with a visit to see the Giant Sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park. We'd have the top of our station wagon packed high with fishing and camping gear. To this day I'll never know how my dad would navigate the car though the Wagon Tree Tunnel.

National Parks

Illustration ©2017 Cata Bella Paper Company

Recently Carta Bella Paper released my line of 24 papers entitled "Are We There Yet?".  It's a nostalgic line of papers that were inspired by travels across the US with my family circa 1960's and 1970's.  A view of the United States from the back seat of my parent's station wagon.

For this paper I wanted to showcase some of the amazing US National Parks that I've visited. I spent a lot of time making sure that the illustrations we're true to the look and feel of historical travel posters and advertisements of yester-years.  The illustrations were rendered using Adobe Illustrator CS.