Outer Hand Studio

10/22/2025

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

07/26/2023

(Illustration Series - Boo Bash, Downtown Midland)

Let's talk character design! Downtown Midland needed a brand and some accompanying graphics for their Halloween block party, Boo Bash, and it was the perfect chance to create a whole ecosystem of characters and settings that the event could draw upon. So what goes into effective character design?

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Whether you're working on a single protagonist or, as in this case, a whole cast, your characters need a stylistic resemblance to one another as well as the "universe" they live in. If your characters exist in a summery pastel world, they probably wouldn't wear super saturated neon tones. If the whole cast has wacky, noodly limbs, then maybe rethink that character with a set of muscular anatomically-correct arms—well, unless it's just a one-off gag. In that case, it's actually pretty funny.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Basic emotions can be conveyed fairly simply. The difference between anger, sadness, or surprise is often just a matter of where your character's eyebrows are. But what about subtle, more specific feelings? Glee? Mischievousness? Mild disappointment? For that, you need to pay close attention to what the character's entire body is doing. The placement and dilation of their pupils, the openness of their mouth, their posture and so forth; these are all places where an illustrator can offer little cues to communicate emotion, reaction, and personality.

And speaking of personality...

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: A well-designed character will have the viewer imagining their backstory, their voice, their general demeanor, often without much to go on other than the design itself. Drawing the viewer in and getting them invested in the narrative requires an illustrator to take care with the character's wardrobe (or lack thereof 😬), anatomy, stature, etc.

The common thread here is that character design is about storytelling! A character with a cohesive, dynamic, and meaningful design will always be a reliable messenger for your narrative.

And if your brand has a story to tell, reach out to me any time! Take it easy in the meantime, and let's talk again soon.

—Drew

07/12/2023

Hey everyone! Drew, here.

If we didn’t get a chance to meet face-to-face, let me introduce myself. I had the honor and good fortune to co-found Aberro Creative alongside my partners, Steve and Dustin. I’d been our “art guy” from our first clients who graciously took a chance on a new agency, to the cloudy December afternoon when we closed our office door for the last time.

This felt like the perfect platform to let you know that, while the blackbird has flown the coop, I’m continuing to serve our region in my capacity as “art guy”. I’ve narrowed my focus, somewhat—I find myself making less prop butterfly wings for the Tapped Fairy these days—and am concentrating more on identity design and illustration.

In the coming days, this page will undergo some changes. Big ones. Enormous ones! Alright, maybe not enormous ones. But the name and profile image will be different! I hope you’ll follow along to see some of the cool stuff coming out of Outer Hand Studio.

And if you’d like to work together, please reach out to me on this page or at the email address in the image below!

Thanks for reading. And if we had the chance to work together during Aberro’s run, thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I’m incredibly proud of everything our little agency did, and it couldn’t have happened without you. Take it easy in the meantime, and let’s talk again soon.

—Drew

06/11/2021

Yes! We're super thrilled to have Tapped back in Downtown Midland later this summer.

Tapped tickets are now available! Pre-sale tickets cost $25 while tickets purchased on the day of the event will cost $30. Each ticket includes admission to your choice of Wave 1 (2-4PM) or Wave 2 (5-7PM) of the event, a commemorative 5oz tasting cup, and six drink
tickets. Additional drink tickets can be purchased during the event.

Check out TappedBeerFest.com for more information or click the link below to purchase your tickets today.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tapped-midlands-craft-beer-festival-tickets-156108273047

01/06/2021

Gain fame and glory from the comfort of your own couch. Enter the 2021 American Advertising Awards. Entries are due by January 14th. And get this...no physical entries needed! Easy, peasy.
http://aafgreatlakes.org/American-Advertising-Awards-awards

09/29/2020

06/18/2020

Welcome back, Downtown Midlanders! The long wait is finally over and your favorite shops, restaurants, and outdoor activities are coming back. Stay tuned to this feed to learn more about how and when Downtown will reopen, and, as always, be safe!

04/16/2020

$47k down, $63k to go! This is a great way to support local businesses throughout the Midland community!

03/27/2020

Check out this awesome campaign Red Threads is launching in Midland! This is a great way to help support local businesses.

I am midland. T shirt campaign fundraising to raise money for small businesses in Midland michigan. Buy t shirts to support small businesses during COVID19