Penny Arcade is probably one of the most respected, copied and successful web-comics of late. Mike Krahulik (Gabe), and Jerry Holkins (Tyco) are the co-creators behind Penny Arcade. Their unabashed opinions are hurled with ferocious might on a daily basis as they openly attack their enemies with a salvos of biting humor and coarse language typically found on HBO or fervent internet bulletin boards. As all comic characters are prone to, Penny Arcade’s characters have undergone years worth of fine-tuning and their appearances have changed, subtly. This article attempts to trace the PA timeline and study the evolution of the Tycho and Gabe characters from internet doodles – to web mavens.

In my previous article I outlined the inception and evolution of my character, Yoshi, and touched upon Garfield and Penny Arcade as clear examples of character evolution. Garfield started as a very, very, fat cat. Over the years his gut was tucked in and extra rolls removed to produce a still tubby, but more lovable character. Similarly, Penny Arcade’s auspicious start was simply the first step on a long, colorful path to success.

Mike Krahulik (Gabe), left, and Jerry Holkins are the co-creators behind Penny Arcade. Together they have forged an impressive archive of work and created a legion of fans. Lets meet the men and characters behind this success.

Enter the Gabe

Mike Krahulik is the illustrator that brings Gabe and Tyco to life. Just about every day for the last 5 years, he has churned out strip after strip. This is the type of determination required to really make it. Regardless of finances, or circumstances – they put out strips on a regular basis. It is this repetition and high level of production that leads to true character development. Each day Mike drew Gabe and Tyco, he refined the characters.

House of Brahe

Jerry Holkins is Tycho Brahe. Jerry maintains the news on the website and helps write the strips that Gabe draws. He can’t paint, draw or carve little wooden chess pieces. However, he shows his dominion over the English language and mastery over expletives to deliver blows of crushing humor. This is definitely not your Sunday paper comic strip. The language is course, common curse words are used – but delivered in uncommon ways. His writing keeps the strip fresh and current. Often targeting the video game industry they draw upon current events to keep their readership interested. Mike’s artistry is great – but without the content to drive each strip, it would soon grow stale.

The Early Years

It took two years for the Gabe and Tycho characters to evolve into what they look like today. The two you see currently on the Penny Arcade website are not the same two that started years before. Lets take a look at the earliest strips available in their archive. First up are the profile shots.

Gabe’s profile is a good example of character refinement. Early in 98 Gabe’s chin is hard and angular. As he works his way through 98 and 99 the style changes. Style 2 is vastly different from anything you can find in their archives. Clearly a path was taken that the artist didn’t like and we don’t see many other strips with this style. Its important you allow yourself as an artist to fork in this way. Let yourself travel down tangent paths and play them out to their full extent. Only through experimentation can you find your style. Through this experimentation you can see a progression as Mike removes line after line and replaces the hard angles seen in 98 with a softer look found at the end of 99.

Another area of note is the eyebrows. Early strips have very simple brows, lacking in expression. I too fall victim to using very simple eyebrows that consist of basically 3 points. Eyebrows can be one of the most effective ways of communicating expression without words. Gabe’s character develops curvy, expressive eyebrows late in 99.

Tycho too evolves during this period. Again I point out the variant style of 98, style 2. Its just such a vastly different variation – it almost doesn’t even look like Mike drew it. It experiments with facial strokes and a slightly different shade of hair color than we see in other strips. Style 2 also enlarged the head proportion to an even larger state. Tycho’s sideburns were the target of many changes, too. Different sizes and shapes can be seen through 98 and 99. Just like Gabe, Tycho is a lot closer to the present-day version towards the end of 99. Its amazing how much 1 year of constantly working on your characters will evolve them.

PA into the new millennia

The first couple of years featured massive heads. These were tuned down and by 2002 the characters start to look a lot like what we are used to seeing. 2002 also marks the start of thicker stokes.

Another area of note, are the ears. During this time the ears are given several revisions. This process is one of gradual refinement. Hit and miss. Sometimes you like it, sometimes you don’t. Let yourself perform this exercise. If you do, your characters will grow.

Another underlying theme of this process is simplicity. As the years passed, Mike drew simpler and simpler characters. Their expressions grew ever bolder though. Thick strokes give the characters depth and power, without adding too much more detail. The little strokes that can be seen early in 99 and 98 are now all gone. The extra angles and flat lines in the faces? Replaced with simpler shapes. Tycho’s face is consists of a straight line, and a curved one. Gabe’s is a V-shape. Most successful cartoons/comics are simple. Keep this in mind.

Final Thoughts

Don’t try to draw a masterpiece the first time out. Even talent like PA took time to cultivate and grow. Mike is a great artist, but I’m sure he learned a lot along the way. If you ask him today, he’ll no doubt agree that his first strips aren’t very good. But its those first strips that got him to where he can illustrate so masterfully today. Take a look at their site – its chock full of ads he drew. Hang in there and your character will grow.

It took 5 years of work to produce that before and after shot. That’s 5 years of near-daily drawings. Five years of drawing these little cartoony characters and waiting. Some may call that silly. I say that’s perseverance, a trait few people have.

Bum Lee’s website is chock full of great art. Besides being a talented illustrator, Lee also features a fine body of animations and shorts. I love the hard contrasting style he adopts in many of his animations. Its got a very euro-feel to it. He even has a Flash game. We all love those. Throw in some zombies and very smooth animtions and you have Deanimator. An online game and parody of Herbert West: Reanimator, serial short stories by H.P. Lovecraft.

Put away that protractor, its not that kind of geometry. This third installment of 5 Tips for good logos isn’t going to teach you how to obtain the cosine of the adjacent angle but a simple knowledge of the four basic logo structures, how basic shapes can convey emotion, and proper logo proportions can go a long way towards a successful logo. Math wiz or not.

Define your logotype

Its important to understand what kind of a logo you are designing. It doesn’t matter if its your personal logo, or that of some high-society organization. Will your logo have an icon or symbol? Do you prefer an emblem with elaborate illustration? Is your company name recognizeable and short? All valid questions you should be asking yourself or the client. Here are the basic four logo structures commonly used. There are pros and cons for each type, and the style that will best suit you depends wholly on the type of business you are in.

Wordmark Logo

A more widely used of all logo types, the wordmark focuses on text and typeface but can incorporate other elements as well. A wordmark is often text only or can contain small typographic treatments. The Yahoo! logo is a good example of this type of logo. It is pretty straightforward text with the exception of slightly raised and lowered letters that appear to get smaller the further away from the prominant Y. A great visual representation of sound leaving a source and getting smaller or weaker as it gets further away. These logos use no symbols, icons or illustrations other than those found affecting the lettering of the company name. These logos are typically used to push name recognition but require the company name be something memorable and short.

Lettermark Logo

The lettermark is a wholly typographic mark, usually involving initials or abbreviations but does not spell out the entire company name. Monograms and anagrams are lettermarks. The composition of the letters becomes a symbol of the company. These logos are typically used when the company initials look better than the actual name. Unless your company is well known like IBM, chances are those 3 letters wont mean squat to the public. In this case, if you intend to use those initials, you will have to provide supporting text to further define what your company does.

Brandmark Symbol

A simple but strong graphic symbol, often abstract, that complements an aspect of a business or service and represents a company by association. Nike has spent years and millions of dollars in advertising to associate the Nike “swoosh” with “Nike”. Only after many years and countless cost, can Tiger Woods don a black hat with a simple, elegant white stroke and have the entire gallery instantly recognize that white mark as “Nike”. Apple has done the same with their Apple icon. It takes a well-established company and identity to be able to use solely a brandmark with no supporting text.

Iconic Logotype

Iconic logotypes are also known as combination logos. These generally include a brandmark symbol with a wordmark. The combination can be loose or integral. With a loose combination, the elements can be used together or separately. A well designed iconic logotype can effectively communicate what a company does as well as reflect the company personality. Since Iconic Logotypes communicate more readily than other logotypes, less marketing is required for the logo to be effective. Therefore, iconic logotypes are the most cost effective type of logo design available and are ideal for startups or small businesses with limited marketing budgets

Use appropriate colors, fonts & shapes

Back to the geometry. Font geometry is something to consider when evaulating your company’s identity and what kind of message you want to send consumers. Serif fonts tend to be traditional: you’d use a serif font for a lawyer, doctor or bank. Serif fonts are popular in print as they enhance readability. Sans serif fonts tend to be more modern and are often used for computer and technical companies. Serif fonts are easier to read on the screen. Handwriting, script or calligraphy fonts tend to be used for more artsy companies, child-related companies or sometimes feminine and traditional sensibilities.

No logo should be considerably wider than tall nor taller than wide. It should serve as a unit. Logos that are larger in either direction become hard to scale, both up and down. A look a major logos will reinforce this. Their average proportions are approximately 1:1.5 in either direction. This means that most sucessfull logos have one side about 1.5, or less, times taller or wider than the opposite side. This is logo proportionality.

While I downplayed color in the last tip, it was merely in light of the basics. Color cannot make up for poor geometry, shoddy font selection or overall crumminess. But, color can play an important role in logo design. Your customer doesn’t want to hear that you chose that blue because it looks cool; they want to know what why you chose blue. Below are some common color associations:

Blue: trust, loyalty, water, relaxing, power, dignity, technical
Yellow: energy, joy, light, hope
Pink: calming, cheery, feminine
Green: life, growth, money, jealousy, nature, fertility
Purple: wealth, royalty, power, love, sophistication, elegance
Brown: credibility, stability
White: purity, cleanliness, innocence
Red: heat, passion, danger, power, force

More geometry that affects your logo design: Basic shapes. The simplest of shapes can convey worlds of emotion. Adding curves softens a logo, presents a sense of caring and warmth. In contrast a very blocky or square logo conveys a more traditional, stoic sense. The kind of feeling you would want to emit from a bank or doctor, square regimented, business-as-usual. Sharp corners and pointy peaks can feel more GenX-ish and edgy.

Circle: connection, community, movement, safety
Rectangle: solid, security
Triangle: exciting, powerful, aggression

Sometimes you create a logo so whacky it sticks out like a sore thumb. Other times its something that looks just like other companies in your field? How do you strike a balance? Next article we’ll be discussing standing out vs conforming to the industry.

Color is not the answer. When designing your logo dont get hung up on color. While color is important, a good logo starts in black and white. The test of a good logo is stripping it of all its embellishments and color and resulting with a logo that is just as recognizable as before. Before you start trying Pantone after Pantone looking for the magic color that will “look right”, try reducing your logo to just black and white.

Forcing yourself to work with this pallete will help you create a logotype or symbol that is strong enough on its own, that color then serves to strengthen logo recognition. Take McDonalds golden arches, for instance. The arches, a clean symbol, are further recognizable when given the famous yellow, or “golden” color. Look at the variety of things McDonald’s can now do with their logo. From a simple, black set of arches and the word McDonald’s, to a colored reverse, to a full-on 3D logo – a strong foundation allows McDonalds this freedom.

Larger corporations have already taken into account that their logo will undergo faxing, emailing, scanning and reproduction by many authors and using a plethora of tools to do so. How often do you think about how well your logo reproduces when faxed to someone in black and white? Does it turn into a duotone splotchy mess? If so, back to the black and white drawing board.

The big companies also incur larger advertising costs and are always on the lookout for ways to cut down on these costs. This plays into logo design more than most people realize, or give credence to. A two-color logo is far easier to print and reproduce than a 4 color job. Increasing the number of colors used ramps up printing costs exponentially and can inhibit you from creating certain promotional products. Glows, fades and other transparency based color tricks dont reproduce well when it comes to putting this logo on shirts and hats. Multi-color print jobs might also force you to find a printer than can accomodate your needs. The local printers in my area are pretty chimpy and many cannot even handle 4-color jobs!

Throw away that color wheel, burn that pantone chart and most importantly, have fun with your logo!

Logos are seen everywhere. Everyone’s got a logo. A company logo is the first line of communication with potential clients and peers, yet many logos just plain suck. This begs to ask: How do the popular brands everyone is familiar with come up with their logos? What makes a logo eye-pleasing? How can a logo created in the 1800′s still stand for a carbonated, delicious and refreshing soda? This is the first installment in this “5 tips for good logos” series.

First lets transplant our brains. As designers we can get caught up in the “coolness” of our own personal taste. Just because we “get it” doesn’t mean others will. So before we continue, lets take our brains and place them into the heads of your average consumer. This is now the point of view we should be looking at our logo from. I find it relaxing to imagine my brain floating away landing with a slight “plop” into someone else’s head. Anytime you critically look at your work, do it from this perspective – the mind of an average consumer.

Now that you are in the right frame of mind its important to understand the value of a proper logo/identity. I include the term “identity” because your logo is integral, if not the focal point, of your corporate identity. Primarily your logo acts as a communicator, your first salesperson. Its presence on your business cards, letterhead, website etc, means your logo will speak to more pepole than any form of communication you do business with. Your company identity is already defined, it is up to the graphical representation of your identity (your logo) to properly convey what your identity is to the masses. Your logo is your company.

Read that again, Your Logo = Your Company. This simplistic view allows you to realize that the masses equate your company, with your logo. They become one. Synonymous. Interchangeable.

Tip #1.) Font First
The font you choose is probably the most important decision you will make when designing your logo. You want your company name to stand out in that consumer’s mind, right? Well, when Joe Sixpack looks at your logo, the first thing he does is scan it from left to right and read it. Your company name needs to be legible! I don’t know how many logos I see that commit the fatal mistake of using some overly curly script font that is not instantly recognizable. Take a look at some of the prominent brands we all know so well. Sony, Times, Ford all use the way that their name is displayed, as the logo. Do you see some odd shape next to Sony’s name? Not all logos have a shape or symbol. In fact, more popular logos do not have a symbol or icon next to the company name.

A potential client should be able to quickly look at your logo and read it. The second he or she has to pause and try to read it – you’ve lost them. Legibility applies to color and script fonts, too. The Ford logo above might look a little light in the loafers with dark text on a light background – but the reverse adds legiblity to a typically harder to read script font. If your logo has a strong emphatic font, but is lightly colored, it too will be hard to read. Sony opted for no color. Contrastingly, Time goes with the most eye catching color, red. Color is up to you – as long as it does not affect how easy to read your logo is.