Café Zen Coffee Bag
Illustration & Design
The objective of this piece was to create a digital illustration in a chalk/pastel style for a gourmet coffee bag. The faux client was a café in Stratford.
For this illustration, I started off with doing some research about Stratford. I found that one of the things that the city is known for is all of the swans that arrive there annually. They even have a swan parade. So I decided I wanted to use a swan as my subject. I found some reference photos and created a line drawing in illustrator. I then brought that line drawing into photoshop where I coloured it in using a variety of pastel brushes. I chose to use colours that reflected the flavour of the coffee, blueberry vanilla. I then added the illustration to the layout of the coffee bag with the required copy and logo, also created by me.
-Illustrator
-Photoshop
-Indesign
Book Cover Redesign
The objective for this project was to create a book cover for an existing book that fit the themes and tone of the book.
I started with researching my book of choice, ‘Sharp Objects’ by Gillian Flynn. I used this research to inform a variety of rough concept sketches. I combined a couple of my ideas to create the final design. I chose to draw the letters for the book title myself and manipulate it in Photoshop to fit the specific vision I had and create something unique to make the cover stand out.
-Photoshop
Event Pass
The objective of this piece was to create a mock event pass for a special event. The event I chose to use as inspiration is a drag show for Violet Chachki.
To begin this piece I sketched out my idea and once I had something I was happy with I moved to illustrator to create the main illustration used. I then brought that illustration into Indesign where I used it to create the unique shape for my event pass dieline. From there I arranged the other elements of the even pass using blocks of colour, lines, and different fonts and font weights to effectively divide the information in a visually appealing way.
-Illustrator
-Indesign
Hot Sauce Labels
The objective of this piece was to create an illustration for a hot sauce that showed the two main flavours and create a box and bottle label to apply it to.
I began the hot sauce label by creating illustrations of peaches, jalapenos, peach flowers, and a skull, that I could arrange together for the main illustration but also keep separate to use for different parts of the labels. I created these illustrations with Illustrator and Photoshop. The dielines for the box and bottle labels were already provided so from there I added all of my design elements to them and arranged all of the required copy.
-Illustrator
-Photoshop
Digital Portrait
This is an illustration I did in my free time. I am always trying to refine my skills and experiment with new techniques.
I created this illustration in Photoshop. Starting with a line drawing and then using a variety of textured brushes to achieve a more natural media look.
-Photoshop
The New Yorker
Cover Illustration
The objective for this piece was to create a mock cover illustration for The New Yorker that effectively reflected the content of a magazine article, using photographs to add texture. The article that I drew inspiration from was ‘Does Your Pet Really Need Cat TV or a Dog Playlist?’ written by Laura M. Holson.
To begin creating this illustration I read the article and did a few different sketches of possible ideas. Once I decided which idea I wanted to go with, I finalized the line drawing of the illustration in Illustrator. I then brought that line drawing into Photoshop where I filled in the different elements with various texture photographs I had taken. I added different colouring and shading over the photos to complete the final look of the illustration.
-Illustrator
-Photoshop
-Indesign
Digital Portrait
This is an illustration I did in my free time. I am always trying to refine my skills and experiment with new techniques.
I created this illustration in Photoshop. Starting with a line drawing and then using a variety of textured brushes to achieve a more natural media look.
-Photoshop
Concert Poster
The objective of this project was to create a concert poster using digital illustration (without illustrating the artist themselves) that captured to mood of a specific album. Using the album that was number one the week you were born, in my case ‘Jagged Little Pill’ by Alanis Morissette.
For poster I started with research. I listened to the album and made note of the different themes and imagery in all of the songs. The themes/images I chose to go with were female empowerment, woman scorned, and a jagged little pill of course. I chose a hyena to represent female empowerment because female hyenas are bigger and stronger than their male counterparts. I chose to use an angry ferocious expression on the hyena to further show the mood of the album. I originally illustrated the hyena in natural colours but ended up altering that to be more attention grabbing and better suit the album. I created the line drawing in Illustrator, completed the illustration in Photoshop, and laid out the poster in Indesign
-Illustrator
-Photoshop
-Indesign
Digital Portrait
This is a digital illustration that I created in my free time. My reference was a photo of Phoebe Waller-Bridge from the series 'Fleabag'.
To create this illustration I made an outline of my subject and then coloured it in using a variety of textured brushes in Photoshop.
-Photoshop
Tourism Poster
The objective for this piece was to create a poster to promote London Ontario’s tourism for the Fall months using mainly photographs that I took.
To begin this piece I sketched out possible layout ideas along with some different ideas for photos I could take. Once I decided on a layout I organized times, locations, and people to photograph. I created the layout in Photoshop and added in my photos, the required text, and additional textures and colours to pull the poster together.
-DSLR Camera
-Photoshop
Portrait Photography
In my spare time I enjoy refining my skills with studio and natural lit portrait photography and experimenting with different lighting and retouching techniques.
When setting up a portrait shoot I typically will look at inspiration images and establish styling and lighting choices. Once I have set up the lighting, I photograph the subject in a variety of poses until I’m sure I have multiple options to work with. From there I choose the images I want to retouch and do so in Photoshop.
-DSLR Camera
-Studio Lighting
-Photoshop
About Me
Hello! My name is Kyle VandenBerg. This collection of illustration, photography, and design, highlight my skill level in these fields at the moment. I have always been drawn to the arts and have studied Photography and Graphic Design at Fanshawe College. At Fanshawe, I was able to refine my skills, expand the mediums in which I express myself creatively, collaborate with others, and learn to incorporate my art into commercial settings. In my free time I enjoy painting and drawing with traditional and digital mediums. I am always looking to improve my skills and experiment with different techniques.
Get in Touch With Me!
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or are interested in working together!
