O Canada – Royal Canadian Mint

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Last year I illustrated this 2016 O Canada Gift Set for The Royal Canadian Mint. How I forgot to blog about it is beyond me, as it is one of the coolest projects I’ve ever worked on. The sets are distributed through Canada Post outlets across Canada. I designed and illustrated both the packaging and the loonie for this set. We wanted a very Canadian package with a more hip and indie vibe to it. It wasn’t possible to actually print on Kraft paper so I included a Kraft paper texture that printed looking just like the real thing.

I also designed the packages for all of the other Gift Sets which included Baby, Wedding, Birthday and Holiday sets. I illustrated the loonie designs on each of those sets as well. Shown here are the images of my O Canada set, as it includes the most illustration and it’s the one I’m very proud of. It was my first time designing packaging. I spent a lot of time tweaking die-lines and colours to make sure everything worked out. I’m incredibly happy with how they turned out.

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Holiday Toy Box – Royal Canadian Mint

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I am really happy to show the newest coin I created for the Royal Canadian Mint. I was tasked with illustrating a Holiday Toy Box. The coolest part of the project was that it was to be a lenticular coin, where two images are printed on the coin and when tilted the image becomes animated. Pretty awesome technology! So I ended up painting two pieces, one with a closed toy box and the other open – showing a brand new scene with new toys, unwrapped presents and Christmas trees lit up outside.

I also wanted to add a bit of an animated element, so the rocking horse rocks and the little toy top spins around. For me, it’s pretty amazing to see my paintings printed on a tiny little coin (35mm). I put a lot of detail in there so you really have to spend some time flipping the image back and forth to see it all, especially at a small size. And of course I put a basketball in the toy box. I know it’s a Canadian coin and people are expecting hockey sticks and skates, but hey, this was my design and my Canada is all about basketball, robots and rocking horses.

If you’re looking for a last minute stocking stuffer, this could be a good one! Check it out over at the Mint’s website.

The coin in its maroon clamshell box (photo by the Royal Canadian Mint)

The coin in its maroon clamshell box (photo by the Royal Canadian Mint)

Italian Campaign WWII – Royal Canadian Mint

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I illustrated this coin for the Royal Canadian Mint, commemorating the Italian Campaign during World War II. This scene depicts a Sherman tank and Canadian soldiers moving through the rubble in the town of Ortona after a battle, watching for snipers. I did a ton of research for this coin about the Italian Campaign (December 1943), reading first hand accounts of the battle, researching historical photos, tanks, uniforms, guns and bombed-out buildings. The engravers did an incredible job capturing all the tiny details of my drawing.

It is a 38mm silver coin and came in a really cool pop-up box that doubles as a diorama. I can’t claim the credit for that design, that belongs to the talented team at the Mint.

For more information or to purchase a coin, visit the Mint’s website.

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The Italian Campaign coin, for the Royal Canadian Mint

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The coin box

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Box opens to reveal a pop-up diorama and a spot for the coin

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From original drawing to final coin

FIFA World Cup 2015 Coin – Royal Canadian Mint

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The FIFA Women’s World Cup concluded last night with a victory by the United States. I worked on this coin last year for the Royal Canadian Mint and and was excited to see it released before the games started a couple months ago. Of the coins I’ve worked on for the Mint, this is the largest mintage yet at 200,000. At the time of this post, they have sold 76% of these! It also helps that it’s my most affordable coin at just $20. (You can buy it here)

It’s amazing to know that so many people have a souvenir of the games with my artwork on it. Below are a few more photos of the coin as well as an animated GIF showing the original drawing. It really is incredible what they can do with a simple drawing.

The packaging for the FIFA coin

The packaging for the FIFA coin

The interior of the packaging shows a full image of my original drawing behind the coin.

The interior of the packaging shows a full image of my original drawing behind the coin.

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The unveiling of the FIFA coins (Photo by the Royal Canadian Mint)

The unveiling of the FIFA coins with members of Team Canada (Photo by the Royal Canadian Mint)