SimCity 3000 Test Press
After being tasked with the art direction for the unofficial SimCity 3000 vinyl release that was an homage based on one of Keith Haring’s screenprints from his “Lucky Strike” series and finishing the art from the regular release, I then had to do the art for the test presses. I carved two 12″x12″ linoleum blocks and planned on doing oil ink and watercoloring inside the lines after printing, but unfortunately the oil ink never dried (still to this day! Years later!!!!) so I pivoted to acrylic blockprinting ink and hand painted the color with acrylic gouache.
Before painting, I put masking fluid on all the black linework so I could have more flexibility when painting, then peeled away the masking fluid when I was all done which created a delicious “old outdoor poster” look. I selected a limited color palette and then mixed and matched where those set colors went on each piece to not get overwhelmed. This way each one had a unique look and color combination without going too crazy with colors.
A handful of masking fluid that I peeled off after painting.
All the front sides of the test press jackets, printed on brown uncoated blank jackets.
The back side colors corresponded to the front side; I determined this by creating my own guide based on what the original art colors were for.
Art and Design by Ernie Wood 