3/27/10

cooked veggies






A while back, I was asked to help out with a possible revamp of a local restaurant's logo and mascot characters. Tommy's, located in Coventry Village in Cleveland Heights, is a great place- serving mainly vegetarian fare and killer shakes. (Their coffee yogurt shakes are awesome!)

Unfortunately, the revamp never really got off the ground, but it was fun trying. Here are a few concepts and rough sketches I did for them. I hope you guys like 'em.

65 comments:

salli s. swindell said...

tommy's is great and so are these. radish beard guy is the best! i'm thinking you can turn these into a recipe of some sort and post?

Mikelodigas said...

I love this onion <3 Great style.

yannick zanchetta said...

Congratulations! your work is very interesting...i will come back to your blog often...

damon said...

super cool stuff!

Eric McGrew said...

So very cool!

Jason Dove said...

Michael, Great characters! Your shaoing and color are awesome! Nice Work!

Jmontiel said...

Very cool... ;)

pakoto said...

really lovely characters!!

Dante Terzigni said...

these are great michael! soo many great characters.

Roger Simó said...

Mmmm... I get hungry...
I like specially the roughs, they are just superb!

Brad said...

FANSTASTIC! i would love to sneak a peak in your sketchbook! Such great retro feel that you have made all your own!

Cheers

Dawn said...

OMG! Your veggies are fantastic! I loooooooove beetnik :)

Vanessa Brantley Newton said...

I'm with Brad! FANTASTIC!!!! I love these sketches. They are off the chain amazing and yes dare I say it.... YUMMMMMMMMMMY!!! he he he he he!! You always bring it Michael with each illustration you do. You are and Brad make me want to be a better illustrator. All jokes aside you guys do such stellar work. You , Brad and my brother Eric! I see your work and I just stare and study and want to do better work. As I told Brad this morning, "You guy's work is on such another level altogether. Not to be compare with anyone else's. Completely top notch all of you." I to have talented peers such as yourself ,Eric Barclay, and Brad commenting on my work is indeed an honor. Thanks so much. Really.

lincoln said...

Quite nice! Too bad Tommy's didn't bite on them. I would have loved to go in and see your work in the restaurant. It certainly fits the vibe of Coventry!

Eric Olson said...

Very cool. Especially love the black and white onion on the green background

-Eric

Anonymous said...

mmm...I like so much.
My favorite is the carrot :)

Glen Barbosa de Carvalho Batoca said...

Hi Michael!
Nice work my friend!!!Very interesting use of the elements,your style is really sensational, transmits joy and good humor! :)

Thank you for visiting and for your comment! While you may can see on my blog I did a drawing of the painter Van Gogh.

Abraços do Brasil!

Piroca said...

Michael, I love the sunbathing guys.

Francisco Martins said...

Omg Michael, I loveeee your veggies! You are sooo good with the expressions! look at them, so awesomeee!! the colors are really beautiful as well...any respectful restaurant would kill to have these as their mascots! :D

Cheers!!

anil ks said...

..fantastic characters..always love your designs..thanks for stopping by..

Anonymous said...

Okay, these are crazy amazing. The 2nd one from the top plus the 3 pages of color sketches are so awesome. I mean it. This is the type of post where i find myself saying; "damn, I wish I had drawn these (if I was even able to that is)." Also thanks for the nice compliment about the Proxart magazine cover and article about me. Not a big fan of photos of myself, but oh well. I think I need you to a cartoon of me that I can use from now on. Your work is extremely inspiring. Take care.

Ken said...

I love these sketches mate... who would have thought vegetables could make such cool characters! Great colours and originality here!

R.Dress said...

Yummy Pages!

Joy Steuerwald said...

Love 'em! Sooooo much character in these guys. I wouldn't eat my veggies though, they're too cute!

Unknown said...

I think I missed this post from my updates list! These are super veggies Michael. Thanks for sharing!

Chris Kennett said...

Yeh these are fantastic. Beetnik is a classic! I love a good pun!

Thierry Cattant said...

Excellent serie!
I'm definitively fan!!!!

(it's funny I work last summer for a character called oignon baby I never show my work but he was in the sale spirit of your characters)

justdoodleit said...

Delicious, wholesome, minerals and vitamins filled crunchy fresh goodness...and 'Beetnik' is pretty off-beat ;)

Unknown said...

THese designs are brilliant!!! Love them so much! V FUN and colorful!

paulbordeleau said...

The carrot, love it ! great work....

Kawks! said...

Your designs are very awesome as well :) I'm gonna look through everything. Thanks!

Pupi said...

awesome atr. Love your style :) cheers

Gavin Goo said...

Michael, these sketches are great stuffs on its own! They looked wholesome packed with goodness! :)

Shirley said...

Oh my gosh, these are ALL wonderful, Michael! I hope it does get off the ground someday..these would knock the socks off of any restaurant...way cool. And great to see such a wide array of options for them..I'm sure they were impressed. Love all of them, but I think the top two options are my favorites...hope you've been well!

Lisa Graves said...

Holy awesomeness. I would love to sit over your shoulder and watch you work!!! You are amazing.
Beetnik is the coolest.

Franco Spagnolo said...

Tasty characters! Great blog!

Jason Curtis said...

Vegetables have never looked so tasty!

Awesome collection of characters Michael.

Doodlestreet said...

Hahaha...now shows these to a kid and they would sooo love vegetables forever!

life without novacaine said...

Great veggie illos! All these veggies could use some "dip" over at Illustration Friday! He-he. Love, love, love your illustration style! I'll be lurking...

Thanks for your nice comment on my blog.

Zari said...

these guys are super cute!...now i love veggies! ; )

k.h.whitaker said...

these are really fun

get zapped said...

This is super fun! I love the veggies - they've got real character. Way to go :)

donny* said...

aw, that's a damn shame. these are excellent! gotta love beetnik!

abhishek singh said...

funny and brilliantly executed!!
i absolutely loved your retro cocktail hour post!
wonderful ..
added you as well, so won't miss any of your next new posts:)
regards

Tomás Serrano said...

Brilliant again, Michael.

Jennifer DeDonato said...

Those are so cute! I love them all.

Abz said...

Dude, these are unbelievable!! Thanks for the bday wishes. Your work is phenomenal!

Justin Rodrigues said...

Great characters man!

Jonas Santos said...

hello Michael,
thnaks to visit my blog, your job is wonderful, great colors, sorry for my bad inglish, hehehe,
a big hugh to all friends in Cleveland ( Varejão to), you city is very cool, a day hope be in Cleveland, come back ever!!

Glen Barbosa de Carvalho Batoca said...

Hi my friend Michael!
Thank you for your visit and your comment, posted today a caricature of Miles Davis, when you can pay a visit and see the drawing.
All the best to you!

Abraços do Brasil!

Barry said...

You have some great work, Michael. I really enjoy your take on the modern design look. Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog.

matt dawson said...

SIMPLY MARVELOUS... and their loss if it didn't go ahead! As others have said before me the Beetnik is sublime work....I'd love to see him reappear in an illustration sometime! Really wonderful work in every respect sir!

matt dawson said...

...oh and your cocktails are a great spread... they make me want to make em all... lovely balance of colour and perfect character design....so jealous yet inspired by all your work :)

Roberta said...

Wowser....These are too cool! Tommys missed out on some great designs!!

Maria Bogade said...

Oh they are so cute! I love the design of them but honestly, seeing them makes me not want to eat any vegies any more, I've gor a serious problem here ^___^! Great stuff!

Abz said...

Thank you so much dude! such an awesome comment! :D

Eric Barclay said...

Outstanding... love the little onion with the beard!

Amanda Baeza said...

Hello Michael Robertson,
thankyou for your kind comment on our blog! The blog isn't just mine, it's my brothers' too! I love the second drawing, with the onion :) owww... maybe I love all the vegetables! Saludos, Amba

Marc Monés said...

GREAT WORK YOU TOO!!!!
YOUR RETRO STYLE IS AWESOME!!!

I WOULD LIKE TO WRITE YOU FOR A PROFESSIONAL QUESTIONS VIA E-MAIL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

CHEERS!
MARC M.

kanishk said...

Great characters! Your shaoing and color are awesome! Nice Work!
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Julissa Mora said...

Love how loosely these are! :)

jazzlamb said...

GREAT stuff! I love love love all! I would use it if I had a restaurant! I would!

Rico said...

These are great! Love the retro look! Enjoying your work.

Rachel said...

Thanks for your lovely comment onmy blog... and what a great blog I find here! I love your illustrations, and those sketches even more, very inspiring!

Ridd Sorensen said...

very very cool. i recently had to do some food characters as well. challenging but fun stuff indeed. Great work