Take a break, join a professional organization!

I have found that taking a break, even from the joys of creating digital artwork, is invaluable. I still have yet to wrangle enough time out of every day to spend what I truly want to on designing and the various projects the studio has at the moment. However, stepping back to catch your breath is healthy and brings other rewards as well. Looking at a work in progress after a bit of a hiatus sometimes results in real benefits and allows for a more honest critiquing of the design (see the previous post entitled "2nd Time's a Charm... at least for now" for another story about this topic). The trick is to not be away for too long though, so that any rhythm in the design work is not lost. So how does one spend all the extra time gained from this venture? By joining a professional organization, of course!

After following some advice from a few classes I have taken recently, I looked into the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and obtained a membership. You can see my profile here. The biggest benefit is the potential contacts within the industry, including from a nearby, albeit a bit of a drive, local chapter. The perks do not stop there, and what I have read so far convinced me that becoming an official part of the graphic art community was worth the investment. Now, while joining a professional organization is not likely to occur every time a break away from designing is warranted, it worked out rather well this time.

Custom Work and Website Additions

The studios just finished up a custom piece of pro bono artwork for a good friend. He was gracious enough to allow the work to be done without any idea of the final product and permitted us to showcase the work here and on Facebook. That image is displayed to the right. The costume work was all his and inspired the overall wasteland theme.

The studios finally has its products and services page up and running. For those interested in purchasing custom art or needing some photo editing done, you now can order directly. We will be running a sale for all photo editing and design work for a good while as a way to celebrate the business launch. Please keep in mind though that all files are digital. We can offer some options to physically print the final artwork, but there are additional charges and the need to obtain information like a mailing address that we would otherwise not require. Please also keep in mind that we need to know what you want done specifically, and that necessitates some communication between us and you. Make sure you provide the studios with a way to contact you. Some services might cost more than listed, but in many cases that is avoidable if we know what you want up front.

Muninn Designs goes live

Muninn Designs is a creative brand of the studios and has released Series 1 of its skateboard designs. The poster displayed to the right is the social media and art website advertisement that showcases elements from the designs and the boards themselves. Muninn Designs also has its own page here to allow everyone to see the boards individually and order them through Zazzle if interested.

Over the coming months, Muninn Designs plans to release a second series of board designs showcased around the raven theme while introducing new creative elements. Also in the works for later in the year is a subset of skateboard designs revolving around a second, unique brand direction. This branding will be revealed here and across social media closer to the release of those designs.

2nd Time's a Charm... at least for now

A fairly productive afternoon spent mostly on the game design aspect of the workload resulted in a redesign of the front and back covers. Stepping away from a project for a while (as mentioned in the previous post) is often therapeutic, but it also allows for the initial "cool factor" of a completed design to wear off a bit. If a design holds up upon return and close scrutiny, then mission accomplished. Otherwise, if something isn't quite right, whether it is a single element or the entire design, then returning to the (digital) drawing board is the only way to correct the issue.

The latter was what occurred, and today was the day to take care of the "problems." Quotes are used there, because the design idea was solid, but certain portions just weren't quite where they needed to be artistically. The back cover was easy, because the original design was simply too bland, but adding a subtle digital art element fixed that right up! The front cover, actually the variant cover, needed cleaner art and required more of a time commitment. A few other interior design elements and pages were also created, and the whole project is once again moving along at a nice pace.

Oh, the places you will go...

Sometimes the creative process takes us in different directions than we originally intend. While this is often not a bad thing, it does make one wonder who is really in charge - the artist, or the process? This began recently while working on the design displayed here. The concept itself was very straightforward, find a theme for this amazing flower found growing randomly in the yard a few weeks ago. All sorts of ideas came to the forefront, including the flower growing in a variety of desolate locations. Then the thoughts turned to the transformation pieces done earlier this year, most notably Muninn. The final result is the Phoenix Flower that has been making its way around the studios' social media feeds and Deviant Art. If this all stopped here, then it would be an interesting story if nothing more. The true revelation is during the review of this art piece, a whole new idea sparked, again based off of the earlier transformation pieces and the Muninn project.

The new direction the studios is currently undertaking is a series of skateboard designs based around Muninn and some banner designs that have cropped up after completing Phoenix Flower. In the coming weeks, the studios will be showcasing the entire range of skateboard designs created from this spark of inspiration. The total number will be quite hefty and may warrant a separate page on their own.

Stay tuned...

Checking in

The news section has been quiet of late, but that does not mean nothing has been going on behind the scenes. The studios have been very busy the last few weeks working on the first game design that will be released later in the year. While no release date has been firmed up, design efforts have been progressing nicely. The covers and title page have been completed, and quite a bit of preliminary digital artwork has been completed. Several more art pieces are getting prepped for completion and the writing for the main body needs some editing and transferring over. Once everything is closer to completion, there will be a product page created and an advertising campaign kicked off. Until then, however, continue to look for information to be posted on this page.

The studios are also working on another digital art release. Once that is completed, it will be available for viewing on our Facebook and Pinterest pages and possibly for sale at Deviant Art and Zazzle. Not everything that is created ends up for purchase because there is a level of quality that must be maintained. Some projects are a lot of fun but just do not make for good sellable offerings. However, consideration will be made if there is interest in one of the showcased projects, so always feel free to reach out through comments or emails.

Busy, busy

As we wrap up this week at the studios, significant progress has been made with working on the first game release. The cover design is all but complete, with an unexpected occurrence during the creation of the cover art. Completely by accident, as with so many efforts - especially in art, the original design gave way to a second variant that will be used as a special edition once the game is released. This creative side journey delayed the completion of the original design, but the distraction was worthwhile.

Also earlier this week, the studios created a new spring/summer inspired design that was added to a number of products to be sold over on Zazzle. The storefront is still a bit sparse, but anticipation is there for more unique artwork as we head into summer. Stepping away to allow for creativity to happen at its own pace rather than through deadlines and commitments is therapeutic. As time gets closer for product launch, these diversions will be harder to accommodate, so they are best enjoyed while the opportunity exists.

Photo Editing and Logo Design

Original photo

Finished photo

This past week, the studios have settled in to begin working on larger projects. However, there was a prior request for cleaning up a photograph that was also successfully accomplished (see before and after images to the right). Removing something out of a photograph can vary in difficulty depending on the size of the intruder and the complexity of the image. For the power lines in the original image, the issue was not their size but rather that they stretched across the entire photograph. Still, they came out with a minimum of fuss.

The logo for the game design brand of the business was completed over the past weekend, and initial reviews were very positive on the final result. The logo will be rolled out later this year on the first (and future) game release. The next step is designing the product layout and putting together the cover. While these two steps will require a significant investment in time in the coming weeks, updates on the progress, along with other news, will continually be shared here.

The raven Muninn and more

Muninn

The studios just finished another piece of art. This one is entitled Muninn, which for anyone unaware, is one raven of a pair within Norse mythology. Muninn represents memories, while the other raven, Huginn, represents thought. They act as advisors for the Norse god Odin.

Memories are a powerful thing, and is the main inspiration behind this newest artwork. Two versions of this artwork have been created, one with an original poem (displayed here), and the other without. Both can be found at Deviant Art here or Zazzle here. Both pieces are available for purchase (without the watermark).

Another topic of note is that we now have a presence on Instagram and Pinterest. This is in the effort to allow everyone to follow what is going on with the studios through whichever means they prefer. While not everything will make it onto every site and source, following one or more of these social media outlets will certainly keep everyone up to date as more products, designs, and information emerge.

Up and Running

It has been a long and exciting trip to get to this point, but the webpage now has enough information and visuals to stand on its own. The main page banner was the last major hurdle, but now it is up and greeting everyone that drops by. Additionally, we are linked to Facebook with a page over there as well. Now that the preliminary work is complete, it is time to take a step back, breathe, and...

...jump right back into the thick of it! These games and other projects are not going to design themselves! Even though the focus will be on preparing product releases, there will still be updates happening around the rest of the site. As inspiration hits and ideas pour forth, they do not always nicely into whatever is currently being worked on, but they still deserve to be completed and shown. That is what will happen from time to time is a random image or website update will occur for no other reason than it needed to be done because the idea did not want to remain confined.

Stay tuned...