Post by Death by Pickles! on Dec 24, 2011 18:02:01 GMT -5
We now know who's responsible for the sick gear Daniel Bryan's been wrestling in lately, it's none other than comic book artist (and wrestling fan) Jill Thompson.
There's more at the source, including some awesome pictures of Jill's designs.
Blog@: Who approached who on designing Bryan’s ring gear?
Jill Thompson: Bryan approached me. I would have never thought to do it if he hadn’t contacted me. I ‘armchair design’ some gear during shows, you know…you see someone who could use some pizazz or some color….everyone ‘s got black trunks because they are a tough guy…which gets a bit boring for me as a viewer… However I’ve never sought out anyone to ask them if I could redesign their gear.
Blog@: Bryan has a history of pretty simplistic attire, Jill what was your artistic approach to his designs?
JT: He asked me to design something cool, but to continue to use his colors of maroon and white. He said “Make me look like a superhero.” and, as far as superhero gear goes, I’m a fan of stuff that looks wearable. I like to make things that look fashionable and functional, based on real world clothing. So, I took my cue from Bryan’s name, “The American Dragon”. I thought to myself, what’s an American Dragon? A mythic powerful beast? Yeah, but taken to another more symbolic level? It’s a Hot Rod. A Muscle Car. Something that has great power and is uniquely American that the rest of the world still looks at and goes, “Aww Yeah! That is awesome!”
And Bryan has a classic American guy look. Like a Paul Newman. He’d look just fine sitting behind the wheel of a ’67 mustang or something. White t-shirt and jeans kinda timeless American style. I wanted to mix all of those elements up with a little bit of Evel Knieval thrown in for good measure. The first gear I designed for him was the boxer style hoodie jacket with the white stripes and flames. Just like the hood of a Mustang. The Dragon logo is an homage to the Mustang grill ornament and the lettering style is based on the Ford Mustang logo. I added hot rod style flames into it because I love how those things look and I thought it added another subtle Dragon-y element to it. I also design with the idea that these jackets (not the trunks or kick pads) could be worn outside the ring. I want Bryan to look at it as something he could wear as civilian clothing.
Jill Thompson: Bryan approached me. I would have never thought to do it if he hadn’t contacted me. I ‘armchair design’ some gear during shows, you know…you see someone who could use some pizazz or some color….everyone ‘s got black trunks because they are a tough guy…which gets a bit boring for me as a viewer… However I’ve never sought out anyone to ask them if I could redesign their gear.
Blog@: Bryan has a history of pretty simplistic attire, Jill what was your artistic approach to his designs?
JT: He asked me to design something cool, but to continue to use his colors of maroon and white. He said “Make me look like a superhero.” and, as far as superhero gear goes, I’m a fan of stuff that looks wearable. I like to make things that look fashionable and functional, based on real world clothing. So, I took my cue from Bryan’s name, “The American Dragon”. I thought to myself, what’s an American Dragon? A mythic powerful beast? Yeah, but taken to another more symbolic level? It’s a Hot Rod. A Muscle Car. Something that has great power and is uniquely American that the rest of the world still looks at and goes, “Aww Yeah! That is awesome!”
And Bryan has a classic American guy look. Like a Paul Newman. He’d look just fine sitting behind the wheel of a ’67 mustang or something. White t-shirt and jeans kinda timeless American style. I wanted to mix all of those elements up with a little bit of Evel Knieval thrown in for good measure. The first gear I designed for him was the boxer style hoodie jacket with the white stripes and flames. Just like the hood of a Mustang. The Dragon logo is an homage to the Mustang grill ornament and the lettering style is based on the Ford Mustang logo. I added hot rod style flames into it because I love how those things look and I thought it added another subtle Dragon-y element to it. I also design with the idea that these jackets (not the trunks or kick pads) could be worn outside the ring. I want Bryan to look at it as something he could wear as civilian clothing.
There's more at the source, including some awesome pictures of Jill's designs.
