The Seattle Seahawks return home to Lumen Field in Week 8 to face the New York Giants. In the continued effort to create initiatives to highlight homegrown Pacific Northwest talent, the Seattle Seahawks Gameday Poster series does just that. Meet Week 8 featured artist, Coby Schultz.

Behind The Gameday Poster

The fourth edition of the Seattle Seahawks Gameday Poster works in partnership with Seattle art pioneer the Ames Bros. This series gives fans the option to purchase limited-edition gameday art memorabilia brought to you by local artists from right here in the Pacific Northwest. The Week 8 beneficiary is is Growing Veterans, whose mission is to empower veterans to cultivate purpose and belonging by growing food, community, and each other.

The Seattle Seahawks Gameday Poster works in partnership with Seattle art pioneer the Ames Bros. The duo of Barry Ament and Coby Schultz are the masterminds behind some of the world's greatest illustrations, created here in Seattle. The pair met at art college in Montana, moving to Seattle to pursue their artistic endeavors in a bigger market. The duo found a niche in poster and apparel artwork for mega groups like Pearl Jam and Metallica. Now they are giving homegrown talent an opportunity to shine on a major platform courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks.

Coby Schultz The Artist

More than three decades ago, Montana State University's graphic design studio served as a meeting place for one of art's greatest duos. Two Montana natives - Barry Ament from Big Sandy, and Coby Schultz, who split his formative years between Kalispell and Livingston. The duo that would pair over a common love for art and drawing in college grew up using their environments to inspire their drive and creativity. In 2011, the duo sat down with their alma mater to discuss their starts and the journey to being one of the country's most-renowned design firms. Schultz discussed his early beginnings and how they helped to shape him.

"We (lived) right in the Flathead," said Schultz. "Kind of at the base of the Swan Mountains, with the Bob Marshall (Wilderness) behind us. And it was really wild. We would pound slats of wood 35 feet up in a tree as a makeshift ladder and build a platform out of some carpet samples and a box, and we would sit up there and just dream. All of that definitely seeped through and influenced me."

While Schultz developed a love for drawing and the arts at an early age, his initial career path nearly prevented the duo from building what we now know as the Ames Bros.

"I actually started as a chemical engineering major," said Schultz. "It took about a year of that to figure out I'd made a big mistake. While I stayed up racking my brain trying to understand protons and neutrons, my buddies were working on art projects and building designs. It made me super jealous... (Graphic design) looked like something I'd enjoy, so I signed up and changed my major. Right away I loved it and stuck it out through graduation. Undoubtedly, the entire education I received gave me some of the skills I needed to head out into the workforce. More importantly it gave me enough structure and time to figure out what the heck I wanted to do with my life, at least part of it."

The Seahawks frequently collaborate with Ames Bros co-founder Coby Schultz. In 2019, Schultz worked with the Seahawks for the 12 Platinum Edition Poster Series, with proceeds in sales donated to The Creative Advantage Foundation.

After meeting in graphic design classes, the duo became inseparable, working together on album covers and posters for music artists. In 1994, the pair founded the Ames Bros design firm after relocating to Seattle. Designing tour posters and album covers out of college may not have been the most-lucrative decision, but it paid off heartily for the pair. The duo had a major assist in finding a major artist to design for, creating works for Seattle-based iconic rock band Pearl Jam. Barry is the brother of Pearl Jam co-founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bassist Jeff Ament. The pair would soon go from designing tour posters and album artwork for Pearl Jam to a bevy of stars across various fields of entertainment. From ad campaigns for the likes of EA Sports and Nike, to t-shirt designs for rappers like Snoop Dogg, the Ames Bros have developed a vast catalog of works throughout the years.

The Ames Bros design duo designed the stained glass for Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture in 2018:

While the duo continues to work just feet from each other in their creative space like they did in college, Schultz has done plenty of work on his own. The Seahawks Gameday poster series is one such avenue of creation that Schultz has used to showcase his individual skills and creativity.

The Artwork

This week's gameday poster differs greatly from those of past weeks, in both colorway and spacing. Blitz, the Seahawks' beloved mascot, is depicted charging down the field, pigskin tucked securely as he prepares to squash the ironically-small New York Giant with his cleats. The poster features the word "Seahawks" emboldened in action green largely across the poster, omitting the nickname of the 6-1 Giants.

In the past, Schultz has used a variety of focal points for the gameday poster, from specific players to clashes of team colors. With this week's poster, Schultz has shifted focus to making this one about the home team.

"On other posters I have focused on a specific player (like DK Metcalf in the Halloween poster last year vs Jacksonville)," said Schultz. "This time around I wanted to make it more team, and even Seattle focused. Us vs them. I like where we're at coming into this one. I think we can all agree our confidence is high right now, so this does a good job of carrying that feeling going into the game."

Schultz broke down some of the dynamics of his design process - in this case, the first steps in creating the gameday poster.

"The first and easiest place to go is the matchup," said Schultz. "I personally like to think of a classic gridiron clash. Icon vs Icon. Mascot vs Mascot. I went straight to the clash. The twist is how small the giant is to Blitz. The mind doesn't have to travel too far to make the leap on how things end up."

This week, Seattle will look to imitate the art and step over the 6-1 Giants, as they fight to secure a tighter grip of the No. 1 spot in the NFC West.

This week's proceeds for Schultz' Gameday poster will go to Growing Veterans, a non-profit created to provide resources for military veterans returning home from service.

Pickup your limited-edition Coby Schultz Seahawks Gameday artwork and find out more about Growing Veterans here.