I was invited back to help Matt Siri and Hyzerbomb create a Limited Edition disc for Nick Hyde Memorial fundraising efforts. I wanted to continue things that helped make last years stamp successful and put them into this years design.
While I don’t want to rely heavily on reference, It was definitely needed this time around. While having experience shooting various munitions in the Marine Corps; I didn’t want to mix in wrong parts or screw up small details about the weapon the Marine is shooting. I found a fantastic image from John M. McCall that captured a Marine engaged in a firefight with an M249 Semi-Automatic Weapon. The overall shape worked well for stamp layout and would allow the signature clouds/ smoke from last year to make an appearance. It was important to me to keep this scene vague. No targets or houses to show where in the world this Marine was fighting. It leaves the design open to interpretation. Having the helmet overlapping the “Marksman” text toward the far right kept the legibility intact and allowed that interaction.
Why a machine gun over a sniper rife? - This is something Matt Siri asked me as well. While every Marine is a rifleman, I felt like the sniper rifle and knowledge was out of range of my understanding. I do know that Scout Snipers in the Marine Corps shoot outstanding Expert scores at the rifle range. I felt keeping the weapon a machine gun keeps the gunner feeling like the common Marine. It added action to the scene and allowed the opportunity to add some flying “brass” shell casings coming out of the ejection port cover.
In the end, my goal was to create something that felt similar to last year. Keep the continuity going. I want to thank Matt Siri for giving me an opportunity over these last few years to create something to help raise funds for the Nick Hyde Memorial. That’s what it’s all about. If you’re interested in purchasing one, they are available here:
Hyzerbomb-Mortar
I was reached out to by the owner of Hyzerbomb Discs to create a special stamp for the attendees of the Nick Hyde Memorial. This design was going to be on Swirl and Glow "Mortar" discs found in their players packs. While military and pre-production experience is a huge plus, I can't stress enough how much reference gathering plays an important role in the final image.
Starting out, I really wanted to emulate an inspirational Marine Corps war propaganda poster that featured a Marine charging over the hill with a mortar gun painted by John A. Coughlin. It's such a powerful image. I love the silhouette and action within this shot.
I've had my share of firing .50 cal's, M249's and M203 Grenade launchers... Mortarmen require a special ability and something I never trained in. After doodling out those initial ideas with the poster reference in mind; I took to YouTube to find footage of a Mortar team working in harmony and really got to know an outside looking in view. I found a great video reference "Mortars Fly in the Hills of Ft. Carson" and knew this would be the center point of the design. A loader took a pause with a mortar shell primed with a cheese charge. I instantly thought: "Whoa.. who does that? This dude is a bad ass!". It gave me that same type of feeling that the poster did and worked a bit better because he's somewhat in a pause before firing the round. For stamp simplification, I chose to show the loader. This idea felt straight forward and could be easily understood by people who know nothing about mortar firing and or history.
Lastly, I chose to chisel him up a bit. Create edges and bold, sharp angles to show a more aggressive vibe. I kept shading pretty even and clean to pair with the overall style of the stamp. Smoke in the background clears out a bit of business to frame him up in the foreground.
All in all, seeing the reactions from Nick Hyde Memorial tournament goers and from Matt Siri is what it's all about. I want to give a huge shout out to Hyzerbomb Discs, their supporters and everyone who signed up for the Nick Hyde Memorial. It was a great pleasure being able to do a military themed stamp.
Unique Hyzerbomb Mortars are located here while supplies last:
http://hyzerbomb.com/pro…/swirly-frontline-mortar-mortarman/
