The Bhai character for Saavn

Long long time ago, I was trying really hard to become a cartoonist. But its not as easy as getting a degree - You have to go out and get work. That's when I found my first creative break, it had nothing to do directly with cartooning, but it was a creative job nonetheless.

It was at HIT 95 FM, as a copy intern. This was a radio station that used to play both domestic and international hits. and here I met Kirthi Shetty. He was from Mumbai, had this bada bhai persona and had worked every job there is. Kirthi was a producer, he was not getting used to Dilli, and he had started work as an RJ. I was an insignificant intern. insignifentern?

Important fact: Kirthi introduced me to Old Monk. 

Some months ago, fellow comics person Kailash, who produces this comic anthology series called pulpocracy and is an advertising professional - called me to check if I would want to make a mascot for Saavn. Some days later I realise that I have to draw Kirthi.

So, what has happened is that Kirthi Shetty, went back to Mumbai, did lot of things and slowly started to do sketches in this tapori bhai character. Which people have really come to like. and now he is at Saavn, doing lot of things, including doing podcasts as this loveable bhai called BHAI KE RAPCHIK REVIEWS.

Kirthi as the Bhai

For the podcast, they wanted to create a character, a mascot and then implement it in different poses so they could also use it as album art.

The reference

Thoughts and scribbles

Taller version

Slightly shorter version

Starting to get there

We arrive at the final look

The key art

Posture no.2

Posture no.3

posture no.4

posture no.5

Posture no.6

The client was nice enough to send me the final billboard designs too - But the files were way too big for me to store. The timeline of this project was stretched but it happened smoothly.

Lampooning the RB interns

There's this big company RB - they make Durex, Dettol, Strepsils, Veet and lot more. Every year, like the TV series SUITS, they take in interns from the top MBA colleges. 

They usually make social media creatives introducing them to the world. 

This year they wanted to do something different to announce the interns to the world - Cartoons.

I suggested three different approaches

1. a simple cartoon version of them

2. we could render them in the style of simpsons or

3. radically different: The interns share this trivia about themselves and we use it to make funny illustrations.

They went for the third

Me, and two interns of my own - Ankit Mundu Kapoor and Harish Passionate Iyer - worked on these and wrapped them in three days. Intern drawing intern. INTERNCEPTION.

Some rough sketches.

And then we would send them idea dumps. they chose, suggest changes and after doing all of that, the agency designers improved upon our illustrations by matching colors and composing text better.

And my favourite. This was Harish's idea. Hahaha came out epic. 

DRUMROLLLLLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSS