See more photos below, and be sure to check out the Illustrator Highlight interview we did with Mike.

Mike Perry

We’re so excited to work with Mike on the newest edition of Scout Book Illustrated!

Read our interview with Mike and see more pictures below!

Reaching for Something Larger Than You Will Ever Know Photo Gallery:

Your work straddles the worlds of art and design in a really awesome way. Do you consider yourself primarily an artist or a designer, or a little bit of both?

Lately I have been calling my self a Maker. Not for any good reason other then when I think about the way I spend my time it really comes down to that. I sit around and make things. Sometimes its for an exhibition some times its for myself and other times its for someone else. I think all of these come together to inform each and every side.

Pattern design for Nike 6.0 shoes

You live and work in Brooklyn. Do you absolutely love it?

I am a huge fan. I believe in my neighborhood. And we just purchased a home in Brooklyn and it has elevated this love to a new place. I actually admitted to my mom that I think it would be great to run for a small form of public office in Brooklyn. That would be at a different place in my life but that is my level of conviction for my home.

You do a lot (like, a TON) of hand-drawn work. How did you get your start in this vein of creative work? Have you always been into drawing?

Yeah I have been drawing for ever. My mom jokes that I was born with a pencil in my hand. I don’t remember ever not drawing.

Illustration for Vibe Magazine

How does sketching play into your creative process?

It is essential. But not in the way that I am sketching for a particular project and more in I am aways drawing and that process informs all of the work I am making.

Mike Perry at the Grass Hut last summer, right here in Portland!

Are you a notebook kind of guy or do find yourself drawing on anything you can get your hands on? (Napkins, paper scraps, etc.)

I went through a phase where my sketch book was loose sheets of paper but I got so fed up with having piles of loose paper everywhere that I threw it all away. Before that and again now I am a hardcore sketchbook keeper. It gets more complicated then that though. I have a hard bound book that I take my time and fill every page. I have a soft bound book that I am super loose in and do a lot of scanning from and I have a back pocket one that I use just in case.

Illustration for Nickelodeon Magazine

Your work finds its way into all sorts of formats and onto all sorts of products: books, printed matter, prints, clothing, shoes, appliances, and even a trash can. Do you have a favorite type of project to work on, or is it all fun?

Its almost all fun. I love what I do and try and put that love into anything that comes my way.

Amsterdam Part 1 Illustration

You self-author a lot of work in addition to working for clients. Why do you think making personal work is important?

Well for me I just need to make this stuff. So it is important because I have no choice. I would say your desire to make personal work should be a personal thing.

All images © Mike Perry Studio.

Yum.

Society6 is an online platform for the international artist community to share, promote, and sell their work. Tomorrow Society6 presents The Portland Prints Show, their first ever not-on-the-internet gallery show, right here in our fair city. The show, held at the 19TEN Gallery on N. Killingsworth, will feature Portland-inspired large-scale prints from awesome artists like Gemma Correll, Denis Carrier, Aurélie Grand, Christiane Engel, and Blaine Fontana! If you can’t make it to the show, be sure to check out the prints online!

And, special edition Scout Books will be there too! Head down to the opening tomorrow from 7-10pm to check out the prints, and be sure to arrive early to get your hands on a Scout Book.

Scrappers is also the Art Director at the Portland Mercury. He says he distracted himself at work in order to fill up this Scout Book. But we’re not supposed to tell his bosses, so shh!

Check out the images below!

We’re please to announce that we’ve added a new style of Scout Book to the shop. The DIY Scout Book is a blank slate. Featuring 32 blank interior pages and a blank chipboard cover, this Scout Book is just begging for your crafty customization. Available in a three-pack for a sweet $8, the DIY Scout Book can be used to create lovely retail products or personalized gifts. Or, keep the cover blank and enjoy a moment of tranquility every time you pull it out of your pocket.

Creating your very own custom pocket notebook just became even easier and more accessible.

Grab a three-pack and get started today!

We just released an updated design and colors of our classic Composition Scout Book and we’re really excited to get some multi-packs made up! But we want to know what color combinations you want to see. Take a look! What do you think? We’ll release the winning combination into the shop next week! See more images and cast your vote below!



Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

We’re pleased to release a redesign of our Composition Style Scout Book, complete with new colors and improved features! Black, red and blue got a spruced-up design, and green and violet burst onto the scene. New features include a swap from grid to lined paper, larger fields to record information on the back, and a spiffy new striped spine!

The Composition Notebook is an update on the classic lined notebook with the marble cover that we all know so well. Boasting 32 lined pages, the Composition Notebook invites all shapes and sizes of writing. Fill it with fiction, fill it with poetry. Fill it with lists and plans. Craft your debut novel inside these solid-colored beauties!

Check out the new Composition notebooks in the shop, and stay tuned for the release of fun new multi-packs featuring your favorite color combinations. See more images below!

A show of Luke’s work is currently up in Vancouver, B.C., to coincide with the 2010 Winter Olympics. Showing at the El Kartel Gallery through March, the show is called Pretty Problems and ruminates on the government, the Olympics and finding comfort for the mind and heart.

I ran into Luke  last summer at the Portland Zine symposium, and he was drawing in a Scout Book! I quickly gave him another and asked if would share the results with us when he finished. He filled it up quickly, and at long last, here it is.


32 pages of pure goodness. I feel lucky to gain a glimpse into the creative process of one of my favorite illustrators. Hope you enjoy the peek! Thanks, Luke!

Want to Make Your Own Scout Book? Follow us on Twitter and be entered to win a free order of 50 Make Your Own Scout Books!

Starting now and lasting until March 1, if you follow @scoutbook on Twitter, you will be automatically entered in the drawing. 50 free custom pocket notebooks? Awesome!

We’ll announce the winner on March 2.
Better get scheming on that design…