A while ago, my friend's boyfriend thought of the slogan "burn carbs, not coal" as a way to promote cycling over using cars and trains. He liked the idea of turning it into a sticker, but never really pursued it.
His girlfriend then decided it would be a great birthday gift to finally turn his slogan into a actual sticker, so she commissioned me to design one!
Here's the initial sketch:
I split the sticker into two scenes: a pleasant nature road and a coal plant. I liked the idea of adding a drawing of Mt. Hood in the background since they both live in Portland Oregon.
My friend loved the concept and design, but her only note was that she felt the upside down smoke stacks looked like mops. Once she said that I immediately saw it too and flipped them. It's a good reminder to myself to always grab a pair of fresh eyes before going too far in a drawing.
Overall it was really fun to work on this illustration, especially with a good friend.