Inspired by work of the likes of Saul Bass and Keith Haring, Dennis started this series as his own personal study on the usage of geometric shapes in illustrations. I have known Dennis for a while now, and it’s great to see his obsession with pop culture icons mixed with his signature minimal textured illustrations finally making a splash. 

He has been extremely prolific with this project, samples of which you can see on his tumblr. All together, Bare Essentials features 50 illustrations of some very recognizable cartoon, video game and comic book characters in their “barest essentials.” 

What I really like about this series is the sense of nostalgia that it invokes in the character selection. What I love about the illustrations is how they explore the line between recognition and detail.