The Numericon logo, The Pogo logo, Jumping For Chicken Feed, Trip Around The World, Cast Iron Cook (I animated the logo), Coffee Plant (Starbucks Parody), Gotcha and Extra were all in Sesame Street episodes. Buns on the Run was for a friend's mom hot dog business. The last line art was for STEERBUX in California.
These books were all featured on Sesame Street episodes. Some of the sleeves have descriptions and antidotes solely for the entertainment of the actors between takes.
This is a sneak peek at what the normal home viewer can't read. These are normally regarded as "eye wash". The main purpose for the snide humor again, was solely to entertain the performers during the long takes. I have to admit it was fun watching their reactions.
The wrap party posters are a tradition on Sesame Street. Often they would focus on current events or goings on in the studio. Holiday parties also had their own posters. When Big Bird turned 80, I designed this birthday card that was signed by everyone in the production staff. The two memoriam posters in the end were for Jerry Nelson the memorable puppeteer and Bill Kellard a much loved wardrobe designer.
Here is another example of some of the inside humor we had on set. Eventually word got out and whenever a new product arrived Hooper's Store became a library. As the workload piled up it was harder to maintain the humor at a high level. On a serious note we had to make certain the products would not take away from the puppets performing in front of the shelves.
The paintings were part of the "Cookie Thief" episode. They played however they were not the "heroes". Once again they were place holders. In total I had 22 paintings luckily the props were auctioned and the money went to charity. The scrolled maps were all part of CRUMBY PICTURES. They were actual props and CGI. A little known fact is the pirate map was purposely shaped like Maui. Wonder why?
All these graphics appeared on Sesame Street episodes. Keep in mind the amount of work and yes, we were busy right till the wrap party.
These were all drawn by me. Crayons and construction paper still work. The paper was doubled so that the puppets could better handle them without it flopping on camera and all was coated to prevent fur smudges. In the PLANET G episode Elmo draws his own live action storybook. The Elmo recycled piggy bank still exists in the Art Department.
The websites played live on camera as I used After Effects to make segmented movies and animations which we later tweaked in post production with the usual great sound effects. Oscar does use a "rotten APPLE" and when necessary a blue "plug" is attached so post can add images as needed.
I helped introduce After Effects to our department and eventually we had the great opportunity to do the counting animations on Elmo's World. I did the ones shown here. I designed the lower third for "Sesame Extra" with it's animated pop. The page of graphics were for G words that appeared on a Sesame episode. "The Cookie Fairy" was my first attempt at 3D animation. The float in and out of the HUGE cookie were done on Strada. In the opening credit animation of " Law and Order", look at the last letters flying through, you'll see my initials. The last frame was a character called "Safety Shake" which I designed for a cooking pilot for kids. He would appear whenever part of a cooking project might become a bit dangerous for little ones.
Every celebrity gets a custom made sign for their dressing room door as well as a goodie bag (well deserved). It's considered an honor if they take with them upon leaving.
From logos, signage, monitors, photos to logos made for apparel. It is necessary to be up on the current shows and movies because the writers certainly are. And truthfully it is ALOT of fun. The monitors for HOMELAMB were just duratrans from Illustrator and Photoshop files to look like surveillance and back lit by the lighting experts.
These large drops were not easy. I really had to make it look like something put together for a school play. In the end everyone was happy. The groovy tye-dyed look was a learning curve plus it had to be high resolution or it would be mud on camera.
Almost every morning for the 40th season I was greeted with "what's the gem?" We had archives being pulled from all over to fit all the show needs as well as preventing them from being to obvious. The best part was making duplicates of the TEENY SUPER GUY and owning a little history.
I've been fortunate enough to have been awarded 4 Daytime Emmy awards, for Art Direction in the years 1994, 2005, 2006, 2011. Additionally, here is a gallery of some of the clients that I have had the pleasure of collaborating with in the past.
