Viva Brighton Issue #80 October 2019

DESIGN
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Will Blood
Crafting an image
Creating visuals for the craft beer realm plays
to the strengths of Brighton-based designer,
illustrator and muralist Will Blood. His
fantastical, playful, intricate illustrations with
a nod to the macabre, express the individual
streak of industry that sets itself apart from the
mainstream.
“I think Beavertown played a huge part in
the way cans look now,” says Blood. “They
were one of the first to make beer exciting and
interesting. A lot of breweries tried to copy
that, or at least it made them think differently
about how to package their product. Now,
more of them take the time to tell a story.”
Blood cites the early masters Doré and Durer
as influences on his style – artists famed for
their illustrations depicting epic biblical scenes.
“I loved their precise cross hatching and the
way they could create such depth,” he says. “I
was also obsessed with insects as a kid, so insect
anatomy books played a large part, too.”
The alternative nature of craft beer labels –
with a nod to heavy metal – is an authentic
medium for Blood. “I came from being in
bands and skateboarding, so a lot of my early
work was within those fields,” he says. “I
became known for my pop character skeletons,
which continue to be my main income
to this day, selling prints
and merchandise.
Right now, I do a
lot of dot shading
– it works well
with bones as
it lends itself to
the texture. I’m
creating more
and more with
brushes and spray paint as I progress, and am
introducing a lot more bright colours.”
Blood has designed packaging and logos for
about 15 breweries internationally. Here in
Brighton and Sussex, he’s created special
edition bottles for craft beer companies
including Bison Beer and Sussex Small Batch
Brewery. “The Bison Beer See Side APA bottle
was for an exhibition of work where I made
cartoons out of Argus headlines,” says Blood. “I
took their bison and gave him a deckchair on
the beach reading the Argus. And for the Sussex
Small Batch brewery cans, I used the base of a
traditional English crest and incorporated the
ingredients of the beer’s flavour.”
What needs to be considered when illustrating
for a craft beer can? “Font is really important,
from font choice to kerning [adjusting the
spacing between characters],” says Blood. “It’s
often overlooked by illustrators that just want
to push their image or drawing. I use a mix of
set fonts, generally hand-drawn.”
Want to see more from Will Blood? “Brightonwise,
you can see my work in Brush on
Gloucester Road along with some other great
artists and also at Studio 45,” he says. “I’m
working on a new body of work called Neon
Futures – I update my instagram daily
(@iamwillblood), that’s a pretty good way
to keep up with me! I had a solo exhibition
in Brisbane recently, and I’m also part of a
big Expo called ArtNext in Hong Kong in
November.”
Rose Dykins
willblood.com
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