Cardboard Chromatics: An Economic Draftsman Story

  
Peculiar was the day in the Pacific Northwest.  Ordinarily consisting of the perpetual peppering of a light and misty rain, this day, the heavens opened up as a torrent of thick showers coupled with the ever elusive thunderclap.  The artist was feverishly working in his lonesome studio, with a thought slowly creeping up his spine...climbing and retreating...ebbing and flowing...alas, lurching into the back of his mind settling into a parasitic slumber leaving the artist had no choice but to stop working and track the order online.

Where are those supplies I ordered last week?

A moderately melodious, cannonade of click, tap tap, click clack emanated from the studio walls until a diminutive denouement...click.  A gloomy animated GIF performed its stationary spiral routine on the unnatural glow of the computer's bleak and vacant display of a browser window.  Loading...loading...loading...

The artist, all too familiar with the temperamental nature of his internet service during inclement weather, began cursing it under his breath as he set out for the journey down the hallway to reset the modem.  Creaking sounded with each step as if the floor boards were caught off guard by the sudden and unexpected burden of carrying the inhabitant of the house.  With the modem reset -and router for good measure- the artist began to make the trek back to the studio, floorboards groaning all the while, until an unfamiliar noise came from downstairs.  The artist stopped cold in his tracks effectively ceasing any complaints from the ground beneath his feet.

Footsteps!

ClinkClunk...ClinkClunk...ClinkClunk...CLINKCLUNK!  THUNK...BuMMP.BuMMP.BuMMP.BuMMP.BuMMP!

Another soul was rapping at the door.  The artist shook himself from the temporary paralysis that came on like a freight train with the sudden surprise of the pounding, nimbly tip-toeing to the asylum of his studio where his computer was just now re-establishing its internet connection.  Click...refresh...and the tracking information was promptly displayed......

Parcel delivery confirmed (left on front porch).

The artist, laughing at himself, calmly descended the stairs to retrieve the delivery, and rescue it from the deluge, peeking though the door's window along the way.  The truck (assuming that a delivery truck would deliver such things) was no longer present as the artist reached the door.  Clunking the deadbolt to rest, a new creaking sound introduced the sonorous storm, formerly known as the repressed resonance. Lightning flashed and a thunderclap (in full surround sound) engulfed the mere humanity of the artist as he gathered up the inanimate packages that lay at his feet.  Awestruck by the sheer force of a sound's ability to shake the seemingly solid earth beneath him, the artist slowly closed the door and punctuated the action with the re-clunking of the deadbolt.

With the storm effectively muted once again, the artist retreated to his studio with the three packages where he gleefully (almost too gleefully) sliced the packing tape with his box cutter to reveal the spoils of his new inventory.  Everything he ordered was laid out systematically across the work bench in neat piles contrasting the slapdash remains of the packaging materials on the floor behind him.  A growing sense of agitation, both at the mess he made and at the wasteful nature of the delivery industry, began to creep up the same avenue of his previous nagging inquiries.

Now what am I gonna do with you?

Box cutter in hand and a full-on maniacal sneer gracing his face, the artist approached the cardboard boxes and began to plunge the blade into the outer seams, slicing downward until the boxes lay splayed open on the work table.  The artist proceeded to methodically cut and slice the box into stacks of smaller pieces.  The cardboard squares and rectangles were organized, precisely stacked and filed away deep in the artist's hidden supply closet where they would stay until the artist called upon them...one by one...to be reused...as paint palettes.  One last burst of lightning fought its way though the half closed blinds of the studio; a distant roll of of rumbling carried the heavy rains out over the deeps of the ocean.

The All-Seeing Eye: More Cones, More Colors! (no more disagreements)

Have you ever found yourself in the age-old argument with a friend, loved one or stranger over the color of a random object?  Minor squabbles over hues may become a thing of the past as a small percentage of people have been found to actually utilize a fourth color receptor in addition to the red, green, and blue cones that the rest of us can access.  Unfortunately for men, this extra retinal receptor is almost exclusively associated with those who also have an extra X chromosome (i.e., women).  Check out this article at the Colour Lovers blog to get the scoop and for goodness sake, stop fighting about colors.       

If You Haven't Read This Yet...

The most recent issue of the Guild News quarterly newsletter included an essay by Dave Malouf titled Design Education of the Future.  Being a college educated designer myself, I have to say that I personally endorse the opinions and observations presented by Malouf and consider this essay a necessary direction for our industry: encouraging unity among designers of all disciplines and productive collaboration with each other, educating people inside and outside of the design industry and universally forging a progressive advocacy of our profession.  I must also add that my personal higher education experience materialized many of the ideas and environments proposed in this essay and, in addition, while formally completed in 2007 (Go Peacocks!), my educational program prepared me for a lifetime of continuing education and development as a professional.  In this spirit I am currently reading the Design Education Manifesto in it's entirety, including the pages that are in other languages where I may not understand what the words say, but can still appreciate the design of said pages.   

 
Design Education of the Future is just one of many essays in the Icograda Design Education Manifesto 2011, which can be downloaded in PDF format at the Icograda Website.         

The Art of the Economic Draftsman: Light Box

The wallet-centric light box (electricity not included)

Behold...the ingeniously crafted (low cost) light box for illustrators seeking to draft their images to perfection: 

Base made of sturdy cardboard (empty twelve pack of beer bottles) weighted with simple butcher tray and paint roller combination.  Portable work lamp (seven to eight dollars at the local hardware store including light bulbs) clips on easily allowing customization of light directional preference.  Utilize transparent flat surface as a lap desk for the proper allowance of light to pass through drawing surface, original drawing and new draft paper surface.  Develop thumbnails, create multiple compositions and refine drawings to produce stunning visual solutions!  

 *WARNING*

     1.  If using for period of time lasting longer than 4-6 minutes, be cautious NOT to touch any metal surface of the portable work lamp, whether accidentally or intentionally, including actual light source (i.e. light bulb), as said surfaces tend to reach extreme temperatures while in service and immediate moments after power is off.
     2.  DO NOT look directly into light source (i.e. light bulb) while operating portable work lamp.  Failing to do so may result in temporary blindness, spotty vision, and possible irreversible retinal damage thus leading to deterioration of an illustrator's most vital resources.
     3.  NEVER use this product to copy, trace or plagiarize the work of another artist or photographer because plagiarism is both illegal and unethical. Dishonorable violators will be punished to the full applicable extent of the law.   

Happy Mother's Day

You have been my mom for 27 years, but you seem to have perfected it long before I was born. Love ya mom, I hope you had a wonderful day and thank you for always being my biggest fan!

Book Review: Crush it! by Gary Vaynerchuk

Compared to most business books, Crush it!: Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion is as exciting and enthusiastic as it gets.  This book is a quick read in which Gary Vaynerchuk doesn't waste any time throwing you into the deep end of marketing and promotion methods that will cost any business virtually little or no money to apply.  Strategies include constructing Facebook fan sites, writing expert context through Twitter, Wordpress and Blogger to effectively gain the respect of your peers and community, ultimately driving traffic to your website. Theoretically these tactics will lead to your prosperity, opening the door for you to "cash in on your passion" (as the title implies).  As said before, the book is a quick read (good for an airplane) and reads more like a motivational speech or pep talk before the big game than it does a business book.  As far as writing goes, this isn't a literary masterpiece, and Mr. Vaynerchuk loses a few points for not writing, but rather dictating the entire text.  However, he does fully disclaim this fact, adding that writing isn't his strongest attribute (a subliminal point perhaps: knowing your own weaknesses through perpetual and relentless self critique). Some reviews of this book will tell you that the author is preoccupied with telling stories about himself and his own success.  Nonetheless, if this is the only lesson you take from this book, you probably shouldn't be trying to run your own business, for without creativity and ingenuity (i.e., tailoring these lessons to your own scenario) you will inevitably Crash it!   

#The50 Things Every Creative Should Know

#The50 Things Every Creative Should Know. 

Here is a little gem I stumbled on earlier today.  Simple, to the point and motivating.  Sometimes it just takes somebody pointing out the obvious (with kick ass stick figure illustrations) to make you realize you are doing all right.  Enjoy!