Find out more at: AugsDraws.com

Find out more at AugsDraws.com

Here are some preview shots from the Ironlak USA team in Chicago. Finished production photos and video coming soon. Find out more at: kcortizphoto.com, Ironlak.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find out more at AugsDraws.com & Ironlak.com

Photo credit: Noah Banks

Augor - So Called Artist book. Set to be released in December by Upper Playground. 96 page hardcover. A collectors item for all true graf heads and illustration buffs.

Cover photo credit: KeeganGibbs.com

Order your AUGOR print HERE

Augor MSK and Japanese cap manufacturer, Saiko collab to make this awesome ” ZOMBIE PIMP “ fitted hat. The only shot available and is expected to release sometime next month.

By now, you’ve probably peeped the cover stories from our annual Style & Design issue (Kid Cudi x Augor Cover | Keri Hilson x So-Me Cover), but do you know the full story? Los Angeles graf artist Augor, who collaborated with Kid Cudi to create one side of the issue’s striking visuals, took to his blog yesterday to give the world a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process, including a gang of exclusive sketches that led him to the final product. Take a look at some of the images and artist’s insight below…

It all starts with sketches. On his blog, Augor writes,

“Going along with the ideas herd in KID CUDI’s music a couple drawings were done on the plane ride from LA to NY in prep for a meeting that was to be held at the COMPLEX office about what ideas Augor had for the photo shoot.”

We’re not sure why the third person is needed, but hey, he’s good with the pen, so his choice! Check the preliminary ideas that Augor brought when meeting with Complex’s Art team and Cudi:

“After a few crude sketches were produced the realization that maybe the all grey toned approach wouldn’t catch the impact Cudi was trying to get with the shoot…Once back in LA Augor took screen prints and got to work with a 2 week deadline laying the base plans down of how his imagery would fit with the photos.”

Augor was on hand to help art-direct the cover shoot with Cudi, and following some input from the musicain and Complex, Augor began going in with color and some heavier line drawings:

It’s a step by step process, with many rounds of sketches. On his blog, Augor continues:

“After getting a solid idea of how the interior illustrations were going to fit, development took place on the finals.”

“After doing the analog part of the illustrations it was time to move onto the digital bond. Along side with co worker Sram we tossed around a few ideas on what would suit Augor’s illustrations the best. Here are some in process pics of making it happen.”

“After the hard part (of figuring out what was going to be in the illustrations) was done another hard part surfaced….how do we make the background pop without overpowering the monster and Cudi? A couple background elements were drawn and scrapped but one made the cut that was used in sections throughout the spread”

“With all the elements into play the final interior illustrations were produced”

“After knocking out the interior the hardest part is saved for last!!
Developing a cover. A cover itself is extremely crucial. It is what catches the eye and draws a customer in. So in developing this a few ideas were passed on before the final came out. The first idea was to have Cudi as some sort of sorcerer in the woods. Very Halloweeen like.”

“Even though it was a cool concept the first cover attempt didn’t mesh well with the summer heat the issue was due to drop in so it was back to the drawing board. Here are the ink drawings used to compose the final cover”

“After trial and re trial this is what came out of the new set up.”

“The background cover kind of felt a little mack and cheese and the snake man was clouding Cudi’s flow so the final cover that will go to print has a very aqua splash feeling… “

“Hope everyone enjoys the issue”

For Augor’s full behind-the-scenes look, be sure to visit his blog.

Back on his first (and only) official mixtape Kid Cudi rapped, “They say I’m Complex like the magazine, I want my closet complex like the magazine.” A bit of foreshadowing? Perhaps, because the G.O.O.D. Music MC is now a Complex cover star, appearing on our August/September 2009 issue, the annual Style & Design special, which officially hits stands on August 11.

The self-proclaimed lonely stoner is currently on The Great Hangover Tour with Asher Roth, and has fans eagerly awaiting his debut album The Man On The Moon: End Of Day, which is now set for September 15. His melody-heavy raps bring an innovative sound to the game, which is why we paired him up with graf artist Augor for some illustrations that show Cudi battling his demons. We just put the whole story up online, and you’ll see that Cudi really invited us inside the mind of Scott Mescudi. You think you know, but you have no idea…

Find out more at: Complex Magazine and AugsDraws.com

Yes thats right. This fall Augor is putting out a 96 page hardcover book through Upper Playground. Here is afew spreads that can be shown now, start saving your pennys this items going to be out the door fast.

Find out more at: AugsDraws and Keegan Gibbs

Click photo to enlarge.

Graffiti artists in L.A. and elsewhere are paying tribute to the King of Pop and his legacy with both colorful murals and simple messages.

Michael Jackson stands in his signature pose: hips popped to the right, left arm raised in the air. His gloved right hand sits on his hip and out of his mouth he exclaims, "Hee-hee!" It's the King of Pop as immortalized in the parking lot of Mid-West Wholesale Lighting on Hollywood Boulevard by L.A.-based artists "Jersey Joe" / "RIME" and "Augor."

The pair incorporated Jackson's image into a rough graffiti sketch by New Zealand-based artist "Askew," and the portrait, although cartoonish in appearance and featuring a medley of Jackson's trademark looks -- styled hair, red leather jacket, sequined glove and tight pants -- realistically captures the legacy of the famous (at times, infamous) pop star.

"It was all very sudden," said 30-year-old "Jersey Joe" / "RIME." "We were working on this sketch as part of The Exchange," a project through which top-notch graffiti artists swap work, "and a friend of mine called and told me Michael had died. Ten minutes later, we were adding his image to the piece." The mural is just one of a number of tributes from street artists that are popping up on walls across the United States and afar in the wake of Jackson's death June 25.

In Tulsa, Okla., an artist named "Big N" painted a likeness of the young Jackson on the side of a building near 11th and Mingo, adding the message "Rest in Peace, King of Pop" next to the image. In Tokyo, a side-view caricature of Jackson pays homage to the late singer.

He can even be found on the side of the Kokua Market building in Moiliili, Hawaii; there, 808 Urban’s design showcases Jackson with an open shirt flowing away from his body, his hat slightly cocked to cover his face as a spotlight shines on him.

"For us, as artists, our contribution to his legacy is visual," said "Prime," founder of 808 Urban, a group of artists working in low-income neighborhoods. "Michael made a huge impact on the world. People have turned the mural into a vigil. They go there to pay tribute, to see an image, since we don't have him here. It adds comfort to the community to see him."

Closer to home, on Melrose Avenue, near Heliotrope Drive, local artist "RABBI" of dtladesigns painted a realistic portrait of Jackson from his "Thriller" days -- sporting a red leather jacket, brunet curls cascading over his forehead -- with the words "Rest in Peace."

"He made such great music," said "RABBI," 24, of Los Angeles. "The Michael Jackson who made you dance, who made you sing along . . . that Michael Jackson has been gone for a while. I wanted to capture that Mike. Everyone wanted to be that guy."

The piece, done with spray paint, took roughly eight hours to complete.

"I hope when people see it, they just smile and think about the days when they were just dancing to his music," "RABBI" said. "People don't do enough of that."

Motorists driving down La Brea near San Vicente Boulevard might catch "Mr. Brainwash’s" contribution. There's no sequined glove. No portrait of the icon. The black and white mural simply reads, "MICHAEL JACKSON: YOU ROCKED OUR WORLD," with "The King of Pop" splashed across the bottom right corner in red paint.

Jackson, certainly, isn't the first icon to be immortalized in such a fashion. Portraits of Marilyn Monroe, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X can be found on alleyways and buildings throughout Los Angeles.

"Murals are, in some way, the autobiography of a city," said Jane Golden, executive director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, which has received a few Jackson mural requests. "When someone dies, you often see memorials happen right away. Art is cathartic that way. What we're seeing with these murals is an incredible outpouring of appreciation and support for a singer who influenced many peoples' lives.

"People are not only remembering him through the murals, they're reliving memories they have in relationship to his music."

yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com

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Find out more at: AUGSDRAWS.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Augor brings you The sequal to last month’s installation show. This week Augor presents  ”So Called Artist”  A new collection of paintings created since last months show ended. The conclusion to this 2 part art show should be quite  interesting. If you were not able to make it to Augor’s installation show last month this is a great  time to see it in it’s full form the way Augor intended.

7 pm to 11 pm 

125 E 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 623-430

for more info go to www.upperplayground.com