My kingdom for some junk

I waffled on whether to post this or not, it seemed so obvious. Anyway, This cd cover is at the front of a row of my cds and I see it several times a day, seven days a week. When I first saw it, I thought, "That's fine if you have a huge illustration budget." I could visualize a bunch of guys in the photographer's studio building this thing over the span of a few days, then getting the light just right, taking a bunch of different angles and making it beautiful. About $10,000 worth of beautiful.

Then the other day, I looked at the base of the assemblage. It looks like a small cafe table base, and it occurred to me that most of the stuff was junk that even I could find around here for under $100.00. Put it together, clamp it to the table top, making sure it is balanced, prop up the Cello behind everything and shoot away. There is a lot of duct tape and non-audio stuff thrown in. It must have been fun creating this.

The upshot is that it is an idea I would have dismissed out of hand as too time consuming, too difficult (after all, where would I get a Cello to tear up), too "out there" to be worth the effort. Another example of defeating oneself before you get started. I would have ended up with some series of flat cut-outs, overlapping, wild colors, boring but effective. Or should I say that the other way 'round?

Even the photographer must have had some input about lighting, color and placing the highlights, dropoff, everything. The photography merges the layers with even lighting so you can put a real Cello up there and "suspend disbelief" when the camera flattens the assemblage. I think I could pull it off for under $2,500. If I were a student, my labor would be class/grade driven and I could probably drum up a garage in which to shoot it, maybe having to pay a studio for a cast-off seamless. Or I could build a real cove. Then turn it into a skateboard ramp when I am done.

Putting a little distance between the creative burst and the execution allows the idea to gestate a little before you get into logistics. Creative execution is necessary too, but the difficulty shouldn't stem the creative tide before it has time to crest.

Mana from Heaven

I look for unconventional sources of inspiration and this book falls into that category. Besides the rich colors and unfamiliar combinations, the way another culture portrays imagery is fascinating. And 140 pages of matchbook themes ranging from serous religious images to daffy illustrations of common situations is a lot of stimulation. I know, you're now thinking, "Stimulation? Thompson get a life!"

This is my life.

The top picture is the cover (enlarged, the box is roughly 2 x 3 inches) of one of two boxes of matches that turned up in my brother-in-law's golf bag. He bought it at a thrift store and it came complete with an empty pint booze bottle, some rolling papers, a little golf towel and these matches. Go figure. Endless possibilities.

The book is compiled by Warren Dotz, published by Ten Speed Press. Measures 8.5 x 5 inches and is softcover with a hard slipcase. $16.95 as of this post. Look for it used on Amazon, or better yet, Alibris.com.

Somebody else's site, but useful and entertaining

Eric's site in About.com

Although he posts about as much as I do, he finds a lot of valuable, quality design material both in samples and news. His references are simple and accessible.

Eric also has many posts that pertain to the basic stuff of plying the design trade. Check it out.

Inspiration again

Some interactive fun: A little romp
And something from Adobe

And a personal journal in text and images. The power of wonderful imagery.

Apologies if I mixed up the links. But you still get the point.

Inspiration

Just a quick post

Good music, good type

Back from five days in Chicago. Fun? Greek food, Millers Pub, the Art Institute and the grubby, noisy pool of humanity that inhabits most urban cores. I stayed in the 'burbs, which, with unusual snowfall, limited my travel options.

I did get to see the Edvard Munch show that opened there recently. Munch succeeded in building an image of a tormented, mentally ill aberration. His portrait, above, with the light source below, highlighting his craggy features, was done intentionally to promote that image.

Some of the most striking pieces, beyond his famous and much manipulated "The Scream" are his woodcuts. Most are four color prints made with two blocks. His use of stark contrast and large solid areas of black and white made it possible to ink only certain sections and use one block for two colors with amazing effect.

It was inspiring to see so much emotion derived from so little line and form. The most exquisite work, obviously, was in the creative thought prior to the first cut.

I sound like a boring textbook, don't I?

On the music front, I was having a chicken Caesar in a sports bar in the B concourse at O'hare and there's my playlist, at least a lot of it, on the background track. Even down to the old, 4/4 Der Kommissar by Falco. This isn't high art, just some tech-ish, funky 80"s shit.

It was a little scary to know that I must have things in common with some unknown sound company out there. Maybe these tracks are created with some complex algorhithm that goes through protocols matching age/income/mental stability with cheesy radio playlists and comes up with weird tracks. Anyway, it seemed like a sign, that is if I were into superstition.

Oh, were you waiting for the good type? My older brother teaches typographic design, history of design and something else I can't remember. He designs fonts and they are for sale at several of the on-line font sources or at his site, Nobodoni.com. Check it out.

Sorry George for the miniscule plug, it just got buried under the Chicago blather. Your site looks very nice.

More later.

Good music, bad type

So far, the highest number of comments has been for music recommendations. Next are fonts, then design. Be sure to read the comments for ideas on new music. Fuels the creative spirit and gives you something new to listen to.