Normally, a burger made out of your favorite cartoon characters would sound kinda morbid. But the winner of our Bob’s Burgers challenge Simon Carpenter has made Bob and the gang become the burger in a design worthy of being considered the “literal Bob’s Burgers Burger of the Day“. And we love it as much as Tina Belcher loves butts and Jimmy Jr.
We talked to Simon about how he came up with this design, his process for drawing all of those characters from the show, and about his amazing movie poster art. Check out the interview below!
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Tell us a little bit about yourself! Where are you from? Do you do art full time? Favorite kind of burger?
I’m an artist based in Torbay in the UK and I am lucky enough to work in the crazy world of design full-time. My main work consists of graphic design and website design, but illustration is my first love and is something I have pushed more and more over the last year or two to get back into.
My favourite burger would have to be a BBQ Ranch Burger from my local takeaway. 100% beef burger, bacon, BBQ sauce and onion rings. Great, now I’m hungry!
First Threadless grand prize win! Excited?
I’m still a little shocked to have been chosen as the winner. I have to keep pinching myself to check that it’s not a dream. I had a design included in the Star Trek range but to win this one is truly an honour. How exactly do I feel? Hopefully this gif explains it a little better…
What attracted you to this challenge?
I’m quite new to the show and had only just recently started watching it. When I saw the design challenge on the website, it just leapt out at me and it was something I just had to have a crack at.
How did you come up with this design? How long did drawing all of these characters take?
The process of getting to my final design was surprisingly quick. I sketched a few ideas that weren’t working out then this design idea just popped into my head. From start to finish after, I had the concept layout. It took about 8 hours to draw and colour. My wrist was a bit painful after all that linework.
What character from Bob’s Burgers do you relate to most and why?
It has to be Bob. I’m just a regular guy running a business. I have four crazy kids which keeps life VERY interesting!
If you could try one of the burgers from the show, which would you most want to try?
It would have to be the “Take Me Out To The Burger”, which comes with peanuts and crackerjacks. It sounds disgusting but could be one of those awesome combinations that you would never normally try, but actually works really well.
Your movie poster and comic book cover art is amazing! How did you get your start in this area of design? Do you design movie posters/comic book covers for a living or for fun (or both)?
I do this work mainly to boost my portfolio and get my name out there. I’ve been fortunate enough to get a few commissions off of the strength of my work in this area. The long-term plan is to work as an illustrator full-time and less so as a graphic designer/web designer. I’ve always loved creating art, so that is where my true passion lies.
There seems to be a horror theme in your other works! What movies, TV shows, and art styles inspire you most?
There does seem to be a theme, but that is not a conscious decision. I feel I’m just drawn to that kind of imagery a little more than other genres. I love shows like The Walking Dead, Twin Peaks, Ash Vs Evil Dead and Game Of Thrones. They each have their own strong visual identity and that’s something that really speaks to me as an artist and inspires me to do work based on those themes. Don’t get me wrong, I’d happily do a poster inspired by a Pixar or Dreamworks animation. It’s just not something I’ve gotten ‘round to doing yet.
What’s your design and art philosophy?
Love what you do and work hard at it. Never be ashamed to ask for help or advice.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Just a huge ‘thank you’ to the Threadless team for giving me the opportunity to produce some cool art for people to wear. Also, thank you to the Threadless community for the positive comments and great scores they gave my design. Finally, a big thank you to Loren Bouchard who made this all possible by creating a great TV show that inspired me to create some fun art that people seem to like. Without him, I wouldn’t be talking to you guys.
