Hey everyone, happy holidays! As usual, this won't be that big of a blog, just me hoping you have a wonderful time, whatever you celebrate. I'm planning some big changes to my life, although I'm not sure how soon they'll come into effect. Whatever the case I still thank you for reading! See you next year!
In the field of graphic design, or just media in general, nothing can be more fun or challenging that a crossover. Whether it's a promotional event, or working with another artist, crossovers are sure to catch a viewer's eye! Granted, this doesn't mean they'll be an instant success. If anything, you might have made a spectacle out of a mess. This week, I want to go more in depth on this subject, and what makes a crossover work. Without further ado, let's go!
One thing to understand about crossovers is that not everything meshes well. For example, brutal horror and children's entertainment isn't exactly a perfect idea; unless you do it ironically. Even then however, it's a thin line on how successful it will be. At the end of the day, every crossover is conceptual, and it will take a good amount of planning, agreement on both parts, and backing to put it to paper. With all of that to consider, its important that you make sure the two components can provide an idea worth investing in.
Of course, it's one thing to come up with an interesting idea where both IPs work. It's entirely another to actually pull through, and make the idea a worthwhile watch. For example, while two popular comedies meeting up might seem like a good idea, consider what the plot would even be. Also consider things like how much representation both sides get, and how to best present it. This might seem like a mild summary, but it is a good kicking point with whatever project you wish to collaborate on.
Finally, the main thing about a crossover is to make it fun. With all of the rules set before you, and an idea of what you want to do, now is time to just let the words and images flow! That way, when it's finally time for the audience to see it, it'll be great for them too! With all of that said, thank you for reading, and stay tuned!
Hey everyone, it's a bit late, but here's this weeks' Thanksgiving photos! Enjoy!
Sometimes marketing can get kind of bizarre.
Now, most companies tended to play it safe nowadays, but back then things could get really weird in how they presented the product. Granted, that is depending if the ad actually represented the product, and didn't leave you asking what you just witnessed. From ridiculous and naughty scenes like the one above, to the more accidentally terrifying, and then to the plain misleading.
However, a part of me wishes that we still had this type of insanity in marketing. I'm not saying we should be going absolutely crazy and film babies committing war crimes, but at least come up with something memorable. As it was once described to me, 'think inside the box before coming up with the out of the box ideas'. To me, there is nothing more entertaining than controlled chaos; just tying all of the outrageous events together in a neat little package. Yes, I understand that it isn't everybody's cup of tea, but I think even then you could pull something from it.
Another thing you could get out of these oddities was always a nice style to strive for. Uneven fonts, a mix of bright and subtle colors, unique music backing, etc. Again, it's a shame that while most advertising has taken to being safe, going out there with the ideas has left the table. There has to be a good middle ground somewhere. With that being said, thank you for reading, and stay tuned!
At long last, I have finally completed my holiday cards for this year! It took a bit longer than J wanted, but I think they're definitely something I'm proud of. Hope you enjoy!
Well ladies and gentlemen, I think enough time has passed that I can talk about this again.
As some of you may know, I have shared my opinions on the writer's and actor's strike in the past. In short, I still maintain individual artists who work on the projects for big studios deserve compensation. I do believe that it is their prerogative to stand up for themselves as well, and their right to ask for reasonable wages. Now, admittedly, my last post on this was critiquing SAG-AFTRA after they pushed for AI, and I still stand by that it was a less than stellar decision from them. As of writing, another strike is going on, this time for the videogame industry, and also lead by SAG-AFTRA. It is this writer's genuine hope that they maintain the best for the workers this time, and don't backtrack at the end.
With that in mind, I hops that consumers and artists alike maintain wariness, and go into this matter informed. While I do wish to trust the strike, mostly for the individuals, I do have reservations, and advise caution. However, this will probably be the last post I make on this matter. As it stands, I am mostly repeating the same points, and unless a really big development happens, I don't want to keep saying this. All I, and you dear reader, can do is stay informed. There might even be facts I don't understand right now, and I apologize if I have spread misinformation about this.
Once again, I ask that you stay tuned, not just to me, but to the media and creators that you have enjoyed.
Representation in media, an ongoing struggle and issue that really shouldn't be a problem. Over the years, certain minorities were left out of shows, commercials, etc., due to the mindset of the time. Now that things have thankfully been adjusted it should be able to represent these groups, right? Well, not everything is perfect, as there are people who still complain, but there's also people who don't do a good job representing these groups. So, with the topic set, let's get right to discussing it.
Now, A major reason representation has been a problem, hasn't just been a lack of adding a minority in. It has been a negative viewing of those minorities, portraying stereotypes and bad traits excessively. That's why it's become important to feature people of other races, ethnicities, etc., in a better light. They are people that exist, no reason to pretend like they don't, or that they're scum.
On the flipside, there are times when people force representation, if only to try anything get more eyes on their product. Usually these come as a result of playing up a character's traits, only for it to be no big deal. Another example is when they add a character of another race, or sexuality, and proceed to make that their entire personality without much thought into the matter. In a sense, to these people, it's just an advertisement, and they don't care about actually representing these groups in a natural manner. This is something that should be best avoided, should you actually care about the minorities.
The best way to include minorities, in my opinion, is to actually understand and include them. They are real people, who have a had real struggles. It shouldn't be that hard to casually have them around in a setting, or to research a bit of their backstory. It's not about putting them on a pedestal and flashing them around for their color or sexuality. It's about just letting them join in, and celebrating actual accomplishments.
With all of that said and done, thank you for reading. I hope that my argument was strong enough, and that you stay tuned!
Hellow everyone, just a quick update to my followers that I will be taking this week off to relax. Personal life has kind of gotten tense, and I just want to release some tension. With that said, I hope you stick around for what's to come. Stay tuned my friends!
So, you made a logo to be proud of. It has good color coordination, it's perfectly aligned, and can be used on multiple formats. Then, before you know it, it's all for nothing as the person you made it for falls into controversy; or they don't use it like they're supposed to. Having your logo overshadowed by another isn't exactly a fun thing to happen. It can easily be demotivating, especially if you're just starting out.
Once again, it can be very possible for a certain event to distract people from your logo. Perhaps the algorithm wasn't too kind, or perhaps a piece by someone else gets more attention. Either way, it can be disheartening to feel as if you're not actually making anything worthwhile. Bear in mind, there are times when your work just isn't the best it could be; however, it would at least be nice to get feedback. That does still beg the question; how does one overcome being overshadowed?
Well, I can't say for certain there is a right answer other than to learn from the experience. How do you beat the algorithm? Learn! How do you balance audience and your own preference? Learn! What direction do you want to take going forward? Learn! It is always better to put at least some work in before giving up entirely!
With that out of the way, I hope I was at least able to offer decent advice. Thank you for reading, and stay tuned!
Before you put anything out in the world, it starts off as an idea. After which, you flesh this idea out, shaping and melding it. Eventually, you'll have a few concepts laid out. From there, you can present the idea to others, pick and choose what you want and don't want, shape it out, etc. Now, there are multiple levels to a concept, from uncolored sketches, to fully formed products; as you can imagine, I wish to talk more about this today, and get a grasp on what happens with concepts.
Now, not every idea we like is going to make it to the final product. Sometimes things are going to be too expenseive. Other times, you can't just find the right materials. You could come very far to seeing this concept being made, but still have to pull it, simply because things won't work out. Sometimes, you just need to work around the constraints life gives you. Don't let that get you down however, you can always go back to the drawing board, and try again!
One of my favourite things about concepts however is how we can see the evolution of a project. You see ideas that were scrapped, or different designs for characters before the ones you eventually received. Were they radically different? Were they similar? That's what's fun about them.
As you can see, a lot of these designs were used for the same season of Kamen Rider, before they were eventually turned into Kuuga. Some elements may have been used for other riders later on as well; what's really important to observe however is just how drastically different some of these designs are. For context, here is what Kuuga became.
Graphic Design can take ideas from, and influence many things. One of said things can be a specific location. What can start out as a flattering photo of Hawaii, can turn into multiple people visiting there. Although, one can also try and mimic the feel of the location in mind. With the blog topic chosen, let's go in.
So, as stated previously, graphic design can attract people to different areas; that's how tourism works after all. How does one go about making a location attractive though? Well, the best way is to explore and learn if you ask me. Even where you live, there's an interesting view, or tidbit to learn about. Go around, explore, and find what's most appealing to you. Afterwards, take the best pieces you could find, and arrange them into a commercial, trifold, or post card to greet people.
Now onto the case of mimicry, as mentioned before, you have post cards. In this case, let's look at it like finding the right colors for a picture. If the area has a lot of snow, perhaps a holiday red, or a cold blue could match. Add some shapes as well, like palm leaves for a place with a lot of palm trees. Finally, find a font that matches the feel of the city or state; street sign font for a place known for races, or a cursive font for a high class town.
The options are limitless when it comes to designing for someplace. So go out, explore, learn, find what fits your creative needs. Then, once you have what you need, build around it! Thank you for reading, and stay tuned!
Ladies and gentlemen, and update concerning this post from a few years ago.
https://h8l0v.blogspot.com/2022/08/preservation.html
To summarize my thoughts, this post was about the preservation of media, and needing to keep these images in one's mind. The reason I brink this up again, is because Warner Bros is unfortunately, at it again. This time however, they're not just planning on not releasing the movies, but deleting them entirely! As you can imagine, there's been a bit of an upset for the viewers, and one can't blame them. After all, when such a big fuss was made when they weren't released, for a fairly ridiculous reason mind you, the fact we may never see them is even more frustrating!
So to reiterate, media must be preserved for future generations! Record it, catalog it, whatever, so long as it's preserved. Especially if it is a movie an entire team put blood and sweat into, that won't be released because of ridiculous legal issues. So with that in mind, I hope Warner Bros. Gets the message soon, because even if the most we get is someone making ridiculous edits with the material, at least it's still out there. Thank you for reading this shorter blog, and stay tuned!
If by the chance this material is deleted by the time this post has been uploaded, I will update it with an edit, and I apologize.
What do you want your final product to look like? Perhaps you are trying to create a vivid landscape of trees and lakes? Perhaps it's a gloomy skeleton, that shows signs of decay and rot? What do you think will look good to you depends on what you define as 'good'. Good as can be, good enough, good for nothing, it's all up to you as the creator! So, please read on, and find out what you think is 'good'.
It goes without saying that you want to put effort into whatever you make. The quality you insert into any production will always shine through, and customers will be aware of that. For example, when making an animation, you want poses and proportions to be consistent; if a character who's supposed to be the shortest can wind up grabbing a larger character with one arm, and no explanation is given, people will notice. Then of course you have bad video quality, audio quality, grammar quality, and so much more to handle. Sure, there might be people who can look past one or two of these flaws, but very rarely look past all of them .
The second thing to consider is, 'does this look good in context?' Say you're making a cutesy children show, and one of the characters is an unsettling flesh demon; chances are, no matter how well they're animated, or presented, it will make children upset. Context is everything when designing, be it for twists, colors, meaning, etc. So long as you know your general context, and can spin off from it correctly, you'll be golden!
While what looks good, and what doesn't is up for debate, there's a certain level of skill and understanding one must apply when making their projects. If you can't at least work on charming your audience, then you won't wind up with many positive feedback. So, with that being said, thank you for reading. Hopefully this article looks 'good' enough for you, and stay tuned.
Ladies and gentlemen, I feel silly.
Now, as my readers would know, I made my stance supporting he writer's and actor's strike last year. In turn, I did support SAG-AFTRA as well, using their logo as a main photo, since they were a main figurehead in the strike. Come some time after, and things have, supposedly, been settled. Studios gave into their demands, and hopefully this means they'll receive better treatment and pay. However, we still need to be very wary of things going forward; both parties are apparently hard to trust.
In case you didn't notice, the above tweet is Sag-Aftra visibly approving of AI voice acting; an strange stance to take considering what the strike was about. I know that there are more problems I could go over, but those were more before I made my original post. That post was one of passion, and want to see the creative side treated more appropriately. As such, I went in with not that much information; a mistake I will rectify going forward. Right now though, my main problem is with that tweet, and its deeper meaning.
It goes without saying that this author is disappointed. In a nutshell, this is a betrayal of what a lot of the protesters wanted, AKA, don't replace them. I'll still keep my previous post up, because it still reflects my beliefs on creativity, I still believe that the individual artists should be given proper dues. With that said, it's clear that even the people in charge, even when claiming to be on their side, need to really be checked up to see if they're trustworthy. I will be linking this post, because of the update, and I hope that this issue is rectified soon.
Why do scripts exist in the first place? Well, it's so writers and designers have an idea beforehand of what they want to do. It helps lead a team on the directions to take and reminds them of the main events. While it's alright to improvise sometimes, it's nice to have a plan for what you want from the end product. As such, today's topic shall be about scripting, drafting, and in general the early parts of the design process. Without further ado, let's head right in.
One of the reasons making a rough draft of a story or art design is important is so that you can get feedback first. Many clients are going to want a say in how things look, so it's best to not give them a final design right away. On top of that, you'll want to give them a clean, neat process of how you manage your tasks, so they can see you as organized. Remember, there is also still a good portion of time between the start of the project to the end; if there was an element of a story or picture that you originally wanted in, but isn't working, you can always cut or change it.
Of course, we also need a script so we have an idea where the story can go. You don't really have room to improve a scene if you don't know what's going to happen there. Sure, it's easy to have moments in your head that you play out, but you need a way to connect them. If you're working with a team, then you need a way for them to connect the moments. This is another reason why it's important to have a draft, or script ready.
To finish off, I want to clarify that just because the first draft wasn't good, doesn't mean changing it will be a hassle all of the time. Sure, there might be times where footage can go to waste; however in today's era, making edits will be as simple as heading on your computer, and plugging them in! With all of that said and done, thank you for reading, and stay tuned!
