Development: Salaryman

Salaryman is the first t-shirt to be designed; way back in late 2010. This was (at the time) a test of my abilities and to experiment with some new techniques I picked up in Illustrator. In 2010 I was in two minds about the direction that I wanted to take for what would later become Mountainman- I was more focused on the web design then the actually product that would be sold.

Screenprint of the design.

The design is of course inspired by Japanese culture. My interest in Japan comes from my father who has worked for the Japanese for about 20 years. He always tells stories (along with photos) about his experiences working with the Japanese. I was also obsessed with Poke'mon- like most young children at the time. One of my main future plans is to spend sometime in Japan and see and experience it for myself. 

Development and refinement of the character. Started with a brush pen
image, then moved into Illustrator. The whole development of this design
spans over a year.

So, the image is of a Salaryman (サラリーマン), one of the primary workforces in Japan. What really drew me to do this design is the contrast in Japanese culture. Japan has this quirky persona and I really wanted to capture it. It's laden with tradition and a strong work ethic that surpasses many, but they have developed some of the greatest leisure and entertainment products of recent time. I spent most of my spare time as a child either playing on a Nintendo Gameboy (Poke'mon of course) or watching early morning anime (again Poke'mon). All my early drawings were of anime characters and also created my own Poke'mon cards. This was an obsession that was driven by my father's experiences; especially for someone who hasn't really ventured far from Adelaide. 

Early development.

The character was (at times) difficult to draw as I wanted a sly personality. Another aspect of the design I wanted was a brush pen look of manga- not sure if I achieved it, but fairly happy with the final result. One of the aspects I really like from the design is how the bottom half has merged with the character. As you can see from the development sketches It was something that was going to be troublesome. 

Screenprinted tee.

Anyway, I'm really proud at how the design tuned out as it has lead the way for my other tees. It stands as one of my milestones and a beginning in what would be the direction Mountainman would undertake. It would also be the first to be developed into a screen and printed. 

Thank you for reading.

The next article will either be about the development of the Launched! Poster (2012) or an insight of Mountainman.