ART BACKWASH

Drawsigner.com Launched!

2011-02-22T23:43:00.000-08:00

The new blog: Drawsigner.com

I'm happy to announce the launch of my new blog Drawsigner.com

I will no longer post on Art Backwash but I will leave this blog intact for reference purposes. All future blog posts will appear on my new blog site Drawsigner.com so if you follow me here via Google Friend Connect, or RSS Feed I encourage you to visit my new blog and subscribe.

Lots of new content and a sneak peek at the cover of my next art resource book Border.Banner.Frame along with a FREE sample download so you can check out the type of ornament art it'll contain.

Thank you to all who waited for this new blog, I hope you enjoy it.

- Von

Vector Basic Training

2011-01-04T02:30:00.000-08:00

Vector Basic Training Book.

I want to apologize for the delay in my new blog being launched. It's been designed for well over a month but unfortunately the developer I'm using has dropped the ball so it'll be a while longer, but will launch within January.

In the meantime as a way to say "Thank you." to those who read my blog. I'm going to do a FREE giveaway of my newest book called "Vector Basic Training." (VBT) I'm already doing another FREE book giveaway on the VBT Facebook page and this one is specifically for my blog readers, but don't let that stop you from participating in both if you wish.

I won't bother posting all the details about the book here, you can read about that on my web site. All you have to do to be included in this drawing for a FREE copy of the book is to comment on this post. I'll than draw three winners this coming Friday and will list them at the bottom of this post.

B Level Acting Skills.

When I came up with the idea for the video intros I didn't think the publisher would take me seriously. But they did, and we had a lot of fun with them as you'll see below in this promotional plug for the book. You can view another video posted on my web site here.

So what are you waiting for maggot!? Post a comment now!

Winners of the FREE VBT Book Giveaway!

My oldest daughter Savannah drew names out of a hat and the following three people were chosen.

- Jeff (No Last Name) This Jeff.
- David Sizemore
- Ronda Couch

Each of you have 24hrs to claim your FREE copy by emailing your snail mail to info@vonster.com.

FYI: I'll be doing a workshop at the HOW Conference in Chicago this summer on "Vector Basic Training" so if you're planning on going I'll be demonstrating the methods I cover in the book.

Thanks everyone.

A New Blog - Drawsigner

2010-10-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

New "Drawsigner" blog.

My first venture into blogging happened May 29, 2005. I wasn't sure when I started if it was a waste of time or a practical way to communicate with others on a new level. Thankfully the later turned out to be the truth. (At least for me that is)

Needless to say technology has changed and it's time to say goodbye to the antiquated ways of Blogger and move my blogging over to a brand that better suits my work and the audience I communicate with.

So this post will be the second to the last one I'll make on the Art Backwash blog. It'll remain active moving forward, but all my new content will be posted to the my new blog called Drawsigner.

I'll make one last post announcing when the new blog is live and provide the exact address at that time. Thanks to everyone who has made this blog so much fun and I hope you'll enjoy the new format and look even more.

- Von

Slum Sans

2010-09-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

Photo of some slum typography.

It's been nearly six months since I spent time in the Mathare Valley Slums located on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. My emotions are still raw when I think about that experience and it usually makes my eyes water.

At this time the post production of the documentary is in full swing and in good creative hands as well.

A common site in the slums is hand drawn typography used on signs. They are everywhere you look. For an upcoming collaborative project with Rule 29 I wanted to mimic this aesthetic so we could use it for titling in our project.

Slum Sans on light background.

As you've seen in previous posts the slums continue to be source of inspiration for me.

Slum Sans on dark background.

I drew out the whole set by hand pretty small so it wouldn't be crisp. Then I created a rough highlight you could add to the type to give it some pop. I even used a slum texture to degrade the letterforms as well.

Slum Sans complete set.

The whole set is just a simple vector file with the letterforms on one layer and the highlights on another. So you just compile what you need to create the word.

Slum Sans detailing.

I optimized the texturing as much as I could without loosing that nice authentic feel. The source file in the download below is a CS2 Adobe Illustrator file.

Update: A big thank you goes out to Brian Carroll who took my raw vector files and not only created a working font but also created the missing letter "I" that some how I over looked in the process? Brian is a multi-talented creative who is part of Studio Litchfield so check out their site.

Download Links

- Slum Sans - Vector Art (1.9MB)
- Slum Sans Font (217KB)

If you find this resource useful please consider donating to the work of Life in Abundance who works in African slums helping people improve their lives. Donate here. Thanks.

Ricoh Copies?

2010-09-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Keyboard Characters Set.

Four years ago I created a unique self-promotional product I called Keyboard Characters. It was a fun set to create and worked really well as a self promotion for my business.

I still give them out at speaking engagements even though Apple has changed the modus operandi on keyboards so you can't insert stuff like your use to be able too. And I still have about five boxes of them sitting in my closet at home. ;-P

"Pet Monster" Keyboard Character.

Since I have them posted on my web site I periodically get email from art directors or creative directors who request a set. When I get a request like this I always send them one and include a few tear sheets as well. So in that respect it's still serving as a promotional item for me.

Around September, 2008 I received a phone call from an ad agency in New York. The person asked if I could send them two sets of the Keyboard Characters. I did and included some tear sheets. Nothing ever came from it and soon I forgot all about that brief interaction.

Ricoh Ad showing artwork in question.

Around February, 2009 I received an email from another designer asking me:

"Did you do some illustration for Ricoh?"

I told them I hadn't and they responded "Well I saw this ad in a magazine and it looks just like your character."

When I saw this ad I got that sinking feeling in my stomach, you know the one that happens when you look in your rear view mirror and a police car is right on your bumper.

It turns out that the agency (I'm purposely not naming names) I had sent two sets of Keyboard Characters too was the same agency that handled the Ricoh campaign for the C900 in September, 2008.

They didn't simply copy (pardon my pun) my art and use it, that would be easy enough to deal with. What they did is borrow the concept and equity (segmented multi-colored monster) of my art and exploited it for their own work. And they didn't even do a good job at that.

Ricoh "Scary!" campaign for C900.

I've talked to my copyright attorney about this and he agrees that it was definitely derived from my work but I have no way to prove it. In other words if I would have sent the Keyboard Characters via UPS with a tracking number and receipt that would have sufficed to prove it.

Since I posted this I've been contacted by a lawyer explaining my opinions and I'm now pursuing that course of action. Thank you for helping me understand how I can address this through official circles, I appreciate it.

I think anyone with an ounce of common sense can discern the source however, so I'll leave it in the court of public opinion.

Hostage quality photo of Ricoh brochure.

This summer I got another email from someone containing this image of a Ricoh brochure showcasing this character art again. Every time I think about this it pisses me off. I know someone, some where had to reference my design in order to create their own B movie version of it.

I debated whether to even post about this or not. But over the last year I've had numerous other people email me who have seen the original ad and thought I had done the monster art. Its like having a scab that just begins to heal and than gets snagged on something and ripped off again exposing the original wound.

So I decided to post about it, and see what others thought.

Chumlee

2010-09-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Chumlee on Black.

My family and I enjoy watching a show on the History Channel called Pawn Stars. It's a reality show centered around Gold and Silver Pawnshop located in Las Vegas.

Our favorite personality on the show is a guy by the name of Chumlee. (Austin Russell) He's a lovable buffoon with just enough of a cool hipster vibe mixed in to surprise you at times and make you laugh the rest of the time. The old man is a close second.

Chumlee on White.

I've been inspired to do other pop culture centered artwork like Billy Mays and Twitter. BTW, you can follow Chumlee on Twitter here.

I think it's pretty cool when an average joe like Chumlee gets to enjoy the lime light for a while. Unlike the elite Hollywood centric stars that tend to irritate me more than they entertain me. So think of this creative exploration as my personal attempt to extend da Chum's 15 minutes of fame.

Go get 'em Chumlee! You can help expand the chum-centric universe by voting for this design on Threadless.

PDF Art Downloads
Chumlee on Black
Chumlee on White

This artwork is Copyright © Glitschka Studios. You can use these PDF files for personal viewing and to print out and hang in your work area. No other usage is granted.

Slum Textures

2010-09-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

"Slum Textures" 35 Royalty-Free Textures.

Back in April and May I spent 10 days in the Mathare Valley Slums located on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. It truly was a life changing experience.

The slums consist of a vast network of small corridors that weave their way through haphazard constructed shacks. While there I took a lot of pictures capturing the daily life of those who call the slums their home.

Many of my pictures documented textures I came across while walking through the slums and this set represents the sensory experience I visually encountered during my time there.

Source photo and resulting texture.

The best things about textures is they never go out of style unlike other resources such as fonts, stock art or even photography. A texture that looks crappy now will still look crappy 50 years from now. And that's craptacular!

All "35" Textures in set.

I've put together this set of "Slum Textures" so you can use them in your own projects. If you don't like the way I created the PSD file or the bitmap tiff file no worries, you'll be able to create your own versions using the original source photo included for each. So the possibilities are endless for your creative needs.

Source File Specifications.
Each Texture Includes the following formats for each of the "35" textures.

- Original Source Photo (Hi-Res, RGB jpeg)
- Layered Grayscale PSD (Hi-Res, 10x13 @ 315 ppi)
- Bitmap Tiff (Hi-Res, 10x13 @ 315 ppi)

Also included in the download is a bonus PSD source file for you to deconstruct and see how to put the textures to use.

(All PSD Files are CS4 but will still open in CS3 or CS2 without any problems.)

Download Links
The whole set is broken into four manageable downloads.

- Slum Textures 1 (192MB)
- Slum Textures 2 (173MB)
- Slum Textures 3 (169MB)
- Slum Textures 4 (168MB)

If you find these textures useful please consider donating to the work of Life in Abundance who works in African slums helping people improve their lives. Donate here. Thanks.

Surreal Email

2010-08-19T03:32:00.000-07:00

Over the years I've had all kinds of illustrative requests. Tonight I was up late working on a deadline due tomorrow morning, and the following email showed up in my inbox:

Strange but true illustration request.

At first I thought it was spam, followed closely by my suspicion that a friend was joking around with me, and ending with the thought of "How can anyone think this is a good idea or an appropriate solution?"

Needless to say I wasn't interested in doing these illustrations (Despite the very tempting $150 budget) and turned it down with a reply email that read:

Sarah,

This project wouldn't stimulate my interest.

Thanks.

Von

Call me a creative prude I guess.

Graphic Heists

2010-08-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

The original "Tribal Face" illustration.

Recently I've had a handful of infringements take place regarding my tribal artwork shown above. These types of situations tend to happen in clusters for some reason?

My tribal art hacked and sold on Shutterstock.com.

This is now the second time shutterstock.com has been caught selling my artwork on their site without permission. Last year the same thing happened with my hawk illustration and it turned out to be some design weasel in Serbia.

At least this time shutterstock.com removed the art pretty fast. But it makes you wonder what their vetting process is.

If you're curious what if any recourse there is, there isn't. This is due to the inadequate and weak DMCA. Corporations like shutterstock.com can hide behind it and as long as they remove the content when notified, they don't have to reimburse the copyright owner. (Thank you very little President Clinton)

Tribal art tattooed on some dudes arm.

Most of this arts infringements come via tattoo applications. The majority of these type of usages never get my permission, but thankfully some do.

Tribal art tattooed on some persons calf muscle.

I'm often asked "How do you locate these?" Well, most of the time I don't. For example with this specific tattoo my fellow design friend in Portland spotted this tattoo on a guy in the same store he was shopping at and asked if he could take a picture of it with his iPhone. He then emailed it to me.

Talk about walking portfolios.

Tribal art ripped and bedazzled by Diamante Transfer.

I've seen this art stolen in almost every way imaginable in the last five years but this was the first time any of my art has been bedazzled. When it's a company infringing I have to send out an official DMCA Infringement Letter. This usually does the trick without any further followup.

If some of these companies would just approach me I'd be willing to work out a fair licensing agreement with them. And the price I charge for tattoo usage is very reasonable.

In 2009 I had to deal with a total of "72" individual infringements. It got old quick. Thankfully 2010 hasn't been quite as bad, but it's still higher than I'd like at "33" infringements to date.

FYI: For information about my stock tribal designs or to have me create a custom tribal design for you visit VonsterTattoos.com.

The Designers of Summer

2010-08-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

"Hard Ball" Back print on white shirts.

Being a hired gun (creative pinch hitter if you will) means I do a lot of exploratory work that will never be used and tends to serve the purpose of helping an agency focus in on final solution. I'm not complaining, that's just the reality of the game.

Recently I was hired by Red Jacket Clothing to create a tribal tattoo themed baseball design. I love baseball, I think it has a lot of great metaphors that one can play off for all kinds of various concepts.

My client gave me full control of this project so of course I picked my favorite team, the Boston Red Sox to use in my design.

"Hard Ball" Back print on colored shirts.

I decided since this had a tribal tattoo look I'd play off of that theme with the term "Hard Ball." I also created a modular design that could be adapted for any of the MLB teams. This way the design would have a broader potential for the marketability and be relatively easy to customize by merely shifting ink and shirt colors either dark or light.

The hardest part of this design though was creating the baseball. The first one I did looked horrible. It didn't read as a baseball, it read more like a Klingon jig-saw puzzle instead. So I had to re-draw it a few times before I struck the right balance.

Logo front print on colored shirts.

The main design is a back print and this is the front center chest print. The team logo would be dropped into the middle of the tribal ring for each team.

It took roughly two months for the design to make it through MLB licensing circles and ultimately got benched. No reason was really given? But I've dealt with MLB licenses before and they are somewhat finicky IMO.

I'd be curious what others think regarding this designs marketability, so I created a simple poll you can vote in here.

Personally I like the design, it was fun to create so I'm just bummed it got put on waivers before it even had it's first at bat.

Maybe I should buy a steroid plugin for Adobe Illustrator? Hmmmm.

Vector Build Methods

2010-07-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

Deconstructing my vector build methods.

If you follow my tutorials on IllustrationClass.com, than you're generally familiar with my creative process when it comes to building vector shapes.

I've been creating a lot of content for my new book lately, and decided last night to test a screen capture application I purchased recently.

I recorded the entire creation of an ornament design, documenting the vector build methods I use every day.

Final graphic ornament.

Above is an old school animated gif version of my process, and below is a condensed video of me building the ornament art shown in this post. The video is sped up so as not to exceed the 10 minute threshold YouTube mandates. It's about 5 minutes long, but in reality took me about 24 minutes to build. (Not including the initial drawing)

If you enjoy this you'll dig a project I'm working on that will be released in early 2011 that dives deep into the whole subject of vector build methods. But more about that later.

Drawsigner

2010-07-23T02:13:00.000-07:00

"Drawsigner" Logo Mark.

I've been calling myself an Illustrative Designer for about six years now. It fits the type of work I do on a daily basis the best. A good mix of design oriented projects needing to be leveraged with an illustrative flair.

But over the last year I've condensed the term "Illustrative Designer" down to an even more simpler term of "Drawsigner." Once again it defines what I do on a daily basis. (Yes, I've secured the domain name)

I first revealed this new definition when I spoke at the AdFed group in Acadiana. My topic was named "Drawsigner" and I created the above logo of myself for it.

Tight refined sketches of ornament designs.

Earlier this year I posted about the new book I'm creating for HOW Books, now officially titled "Flourish.Banner.Frame."

I've spent the last year creating over 400 pieces of artwork for this volume of ornaments, borders, frames etc. My creative process for the creation of this content is all about being a drawsigner.

Frame motif design.

I draw out all my ornament designs, scan them in and build them out in vector form. I've spent a lot of late nights finessing bezier curves and wrestling with anchor point handles in order to create artwork that is precise and beautiful.

Ornament design.

Like my other two books, this new one will include artist features showcasing some of our industries best talent utilizing a piece of art from the book in their own unique way. It's been a blast seeing how incredibly creative the approaches have been from the featured artists.

Graphic ring design.

Those who follow me on Twitter are well aware of my rants regarding Adobe Illustrator at times.

I really can't complain though. On a project like this I'm essentially getting paid to create what ever I want. Of course I've been art directing myself along the way and I'm creating more content than what I need so I can isolate the very best for the book.

So enjoy the summer, and as the days roll along I'll continue to get frilly with it.

Volume 1 PDF Tutorials

2010-07-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

"Alien Skull" PDF Tutorial cover.

I'm happy to announce that I've finally produced my first collection of self-contained tutorials called "Volume 1 PDF Tutorials."

This first collection was derived from our top “25″ downloaded tutorials. Each tutorial comes in an easy to access multi-page PDF file format. Each PDF tutorial includes creative process images and exhaustive text embedded with links to referenced software, books, and resources. You’ll be able to view and read them on-screen or print them out for hands on reference purposes.

"Alien Skull" PDF Tutorial interior pages.

For more information visit my "IllustrationClass.com" web site.

Vonster Tattoos

2010-07-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

The original "Tribal Face" illustration.

Over the last six years I've had a lot of interesting things happen surrounding my tribal artwork. Some of it has been flattering copyright infringement which over time has created a rogues' gallery of those using my artwork without permission.

Most of the time it's just individuals who want to use my tribal art for a tattoo, so last year I did a simple post asking people to please ask permission first and it's paid off.

My "Tribal Face" on Mark Charles, UK.

Over the last year on average a couple people every month have requested permission to get my art tattooed. My terms of usage are simple:

- I grant usage rights for a tattoo application for a flat rate of $40
- I provide a hi-res PDF of artwork so they can scale it to size
- PDF includes thermography version for transferring tattoo

Over twenty individuals have officially and legally purchased the rights to get my tribal art tattooed over this last year. So I was chuffed when a purchaser of my tribal face art out of the UK, emailed me a picture of his new calf tattoo.

Vonster Tattoos Flash Sheet.

I have a total of "8" tribal designs available for purchase.

- Tribal Face
- Tribal Bat
- Tribal Lion
- Tribal Bear
- Tribal Phoenix
- Tribal Heart
- Tribal Sun
- Tribal Ring

I can also create a custom tribal design for you. So if you'd like to become a walking portfolio and get one of my stock tribal designs tattooed just send me an email and I'll give you all the information you'll need.

FYI: For information about my stock tribal designs or to have me create a custom tribal design for you visit VonsterTattoos.com.

Lost Ideas

2010-07-01T02:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was skimming through some old archived files and stumbled upon a lot of what I call "Lost Ideas." Most are design options presented to clients but never used, and some are ideas I played around with during the creative process but never presented.

All of them sit lonely amongst the 0's and 1's, in long forgotten files collecting dust on my HD.

I've been working digitally since 1991 so my archives are filled with graphic elements like this. I probably have thousands of things I can't even remember and I'm not sure if I could open some of them anymore? (FreeHand version 2.0) If I was smart I'd go back through everything and catalog all the art. I'll get to that Someday. (Yeah right.)

Perusing through these lost ideas from both the recent and long past was cathartic and nostalgic. So being a fair graphic warden I decided to let a handful of my designed captives out of their solitary confinement so they could see the light of day once again.

Collection of Lost Ideas.

Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts

2010-06-05T01:49:00.000-07:00

"Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts" Presentation.

FYI: This presentation has been updated since I posted this. The content linked to this post is still good but the updated presentation is only available through in person speaking engagements. If you'd like to invite me to speak at your event contact me here. To see dates and locations of where I'll be speaking next visit the Glitschka Studios facebook page.

Over the last three years I've had the privilege of speaking at the HOW Design Conference.

My two previous presentations were:
- HOW 2008, Boston: "Illustrative Design"
- HOW 2009, Austin: "Living a Creatively Curious Life"

And this year I'll be doing a presentation called "Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts" which goes into how designers should think and always be expanding their knowledge base in order to facilitate original ideas.

Lots of notes, writing, and re-writing to refine the message.

Because of my trip to Africa I started my presentation production about a month late. I've been cramming non-stop for the last three weeks straight pulling all the information and research together I've collected into a coherent narrative. (At least I think I have?)

I take a lot of notes and over the last ten months or so I've been jotting down my thoughts and interviewing others about the whole realm of idea generation. How one goes about conceptualizing an effective design solution.

The end result is a folder jam packed full of chicken scratch notes and marked up print outs.

Frazzled.

I'm not sure why, but my mind as I work on a project like this often fluxuates between thoughts of "I think this is coming out pretty good." and "You're going to clear the room, or put everyone to sleep." In other words a lot of doubt pops up. These self-inflicted head games make the whole process harder. I suppose it's fear of failure?

A long time ago someone gave me some very wise advice when it comes to relaying information to others. They said:

"If it doesn't challenge and compel yourself, don't expect it to resonate with or compel others."

That has proven to be very true in many areas of my life.

In previous years I've had the audio supplied to me after the fact. The first time it worked out OK, the second time it was hostage quality and I just couldn't use it. I'm done relying on others for my content.

Whether you were able to make it to the HOW Conference or not, you can experience the presentation now. Download everything listed below, go through it at your own pace and hopefully glean something you can integrate into your own creative pursuits. (If I manage to get an audio recording I'll update the download but at this point no audio exists)

Files included in download:
- "Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts" Presentation (PDF Format)
- Conceptual Method Diagrams (PDF Format)
- Complete outline notes of presentation (PDF Format)

Download "Creating 5ive-Alarm Concepts" Package (76 MB)

If you'd like me to speak at your local AIGA group, AdFed group, design event, school, in house art department, or side show circus just shoot me an email and lets talk.

Drawing Conclusions

2010-05-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

One memory from the Mathare Valley Slums I'll never forget is the day I took about 60 kids and did a drawing exercise with them.

I had packed a bunch of small blank sketch pads and a box of pens in my suitcase. We headed to a small grass field in the slums so we'd have room for everyone.

David Theuri drawing a taxi van.

To help them get into it I started to draw a few pictures as they swarmed around me. (A friendly dogpile if you will) They laughed as I drew out funny faces and characters.

Ndanu Musill drawing of a church.

Once I was done drawing I began handing the sketch pads to kids along with a pen and they'd take it and go off and sit down and draw a picture. It was fun to watch them draw and even better when they got excited to show me what they had created.

If there is a universal creative attribute it's drawing. All kids love to do it. It's only as they get old and fear sets in that they give it up. It's the fear of what others may think of their work that causes many to stop drawing as they get older. No one was timid in this group, they had a lot of fun and no fear.

A little girl draws a person.

Watching some of them draw reminded me how much my own daughters love to draw, and how much I love to look at their artwork. It struck me that none of these kids have a refrigerator to hang a drawing on, or paper or a pen for that matter.

Cliff's airplane drawing and Elizabeth Njeri's girl drawing.

These kids may live in a slum but they have the same childlike fascinations that any other kid would have. That much was evident in the drawings I collected.

Cliff has probably never flown in a plane, but he could sure draw one pretty well. He's obviously seen them fly high above in the sky and remembered what they looked like.

Denis and his sports car drawing.

It doesn't matter where in the world you live, or what community or culture you're part of, there is always someone with an artistic bent. A raw talent if you will. And I had hoped to discover one such kid within the Mathare Valley Slums and along came Denis.

He was eager to get a pad and pen and quickly started drawing. When he brought the drawing back I looked at his sports car drawing and just smiled saying "Wow!" bumped fists with him and said "Good job Denis! This is awesome!"

Drawing by Denis. Sports car and a dragon.

Denis didn't stop with a sports car he also drew a dragon, a caricature of Kelsey Timmerman, a cartoon man, and myself.

I wanted to encourage him to keep drawing so I gave Denis a few pads of paper and a couple pens and told him to keep drawing cool pictures. I hope he does.

Young boy observing other kids.

While shooting in another slum location for the documentary I spotted this young boy watching something through the hole in the fence. He sat there for a good ten minutes before he noticed me watching and moved along.

Kids in a slum school.

I walked over and looked through the same hole and spotted what had captivated his attention. It was a slum school and he was watching the kids in the school yard playing.

Not all kids in the slums can afford these private slum schools, many don't have any schooling. Not because they wouldn't want to learn, but rather their parents either can't afford it or don't enroll them or teach them any schooling.

This of course compounds the problem they'll face in the future.

Slum kids playing in an abandoned van.

After I finished the drawing exercise with the kids, they made their way over to a gutted out old van sitting in the field and it instantly became a playground. Fun is fun no matter if you're in the slums or not.

Wire Bike sculpture created by a slum artist. (Click picture for larger image)

While driving out of downtown Nairobi one afternoon there was a slum artist selling wire sculptures he created on the street. I bought this cool motorcycle for five dollars, and others in our crew bought the rest of his work. I'm amazed at the level of detail and ingenuity that obviously went into creating this art. Amazing!

I enjoyed my time in Kenya, but you don't have to go to Africa in order to help others out. Look for things you can do locally to improve the lives of others and share your time by investing in their well being. It's fun and you'll never be the same again.

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts over the last several days. The experience in the Nairobi slums has forever changed me and when the final version of the documentary is released I'll be posting about the premiere locations.

I'm sure the documentary will be a powerful film and it was a privilege to be part of it's production.

Safari Day

2010-05-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

Attack of the Killer Monkey!

While in Africa we did manage to take one day off from working in the slums and drove about two hours northwest of Nairobi to the Lake Nakuru National Park for a Safari.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the park we spotted a handful of monkeys hanging around. I've never seen a monkey face to face, but never in person.

So like an idiot I decided to get a close up video of one monkey. At the time I thought it would be a good idea to make chirping noises at the little dude while I was filming.

Well, I must have said something offensive in Monkey talk because he turned and started chasing me and I ran like a little girl as shown in the video above.

Our safari vehicle.

Like a clown car we packed 12 people into this small van. The road we traveled wasn't smooth either. If you didn't watch yourself one good pothole could easily bruise a kidney.

Baboons among us.

There were several baboons walking around the parking area at the safari also. Knowing these creatures could easily tear off a scrotal sack, or suck out one of my eyeballs if provoked, I made sure to keep Justin Ahrens between me and the roving beasts.

Stereotypical Africa Tree.

I captured a lot of texture images in Africa and will be releasing that to the design world as a new set of design resources later this summer.

Rule29 and Glitschka Studios will be teaming up on a cool design project inspired by our time in the Nairobi slums, but more about that later.

Waterfall in safari.

As we drove the safari we came upon this cool waterfall that spilled out and flooded over the road we had to drive through.

Staring at this waterfall I thought it looked like chocolate milk and I envisioned large Oreo cookies bobbing in the water below it. (These are the type of thoughts I usually never tell anyone about, and for good reason.)

Strange plant and bug.

As I was heading back to the vehicle I spotted this plant with a colorful bug on it. I set my camera to macro and got in really close to capture a good picture. (1 inch or so) That's when our guide leaned over and said pointing to what I was shooting "That is poisonous."

I wasn't sure if he meant the plant or the bug, but that was all I needed to hear and skidaddled.

Zebra butt.

I would have liked to get a better picture of a Zebra but this was the best I could do. Shooting pictures with several pro photographers means they get the best angles, and for good reason I suppose.

During the safari I did manage to see a Monkey, Wild Boar, Flamingo, Ostrich, Giraffe, Rhino, Water Buffalo, Impala, Gazelle, Millions of Butterflies, and even a Lion sleeping in a tree.

So why am I not posting pictures of these animals? Well the fore mentioned shutter bugs all got great pictures of most of these because they had sniper quality lens, and my point in shoot is good for textures and up close like the lethal plant I shot, but not so hot on the zoom.

Seriously though, how many times have you seen a good photo of a Zebra butt? Bet you didn't realize all the stripes pointed to the pooper did you? See, it's educational.

Traffic in Nakuru.

Whether you're in Nairobi or in this case Nakuru, traffic is absolutely chaotic.

Lets put it this way, if you owned a company that painted road lines you'd go out of business fast. No one cares about lanes, right of way, or paint jobs for that matter.

Come to think of it I don't think I ever saw a speed limit sign the whole time there?

My travel hat.

I've worn this hat all around the world now. Took it with me when I went to Israel and Jordon and now it's been to Kenya as well.

When we were leaving and heading back to Nairobi we stopped to get something to drink. I was in the passenger seat and a street vendor was trying to sell me some home burned CD's of African pop music. (I'm a sucker for African pop and bought two) That's when a younger street urchin walked up to our vehicle reached in through the window and nabbed my hat sitting on the dash board and took off running.

I was too tired to respond. I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and thought "I guess he needs it more than I do." But our driver within seconds, put the car in park, set the emergency brake and exited the vehicle in a blur.

All of a sudden I felt like I was watching an African episode of Cops. He caught the kid, hog tied him, retrieved my hat and the whole van applauded. (OK, he didn't hog tie him, that was writers embellishment)

It was an entertaining way to end the day.

Slum Kids

2010-05-10T03:55:00.000-07:00

A happy little girl.

The kids in the Mathare Valley Slums probably gave me more than I was able to give to them.

Wherever we'd go in the slums groups of kids would inevitably gather around us watching, laughing, talking to us and asking me to take their picture. The kids loved to see themselves in these pictures and a local worker for Life in Abundance told me it's because many of them rarely get to see themselves in a mirror on a daily basis.

Big sister and little brother.

A common sight in the slums is kids taking care of kids. Many parents are single parent families and most of the parents time is either outside the slums working in the city or just trying to take care of the essentials and the kids are the ones left to fend for themselves.

A little girl.

I enjoyed interacting with the kids in the slums. They made me laugh and I was able to make them laugh. But it was hard not thinking of my own daughters when I'd meet a little girl like this. It would just make me well up with tears if I dwelled on it.

A boy and his wire toy.

Despite their living conditions the slum kids are very resourceful and creative. This boy created a toy car out of wire. This became a common sight in the slums among the kids. Hand built toys, many of them out of mere junk.

A wireframe ford bronco?

I was so impressed with this wire toy built by one of the young boys. The details and proportion was incredible, it even had a steering mechanism you controlled with a steering wheel at the end of the long extended wire. The recycled bottle caps as the tires was brilliant.

Childhood friends.

When we first arrived at the slums the kids would come up to me point and say "Muzungu." This is the swahili name for "White Person."

After a few days of this, I pointed to my t-shirt design which had white ink in the design and put my skin up to it and said "White?" shook my head and said "No. Pink!" then pointed to a little girls shirt with pink on it. They thought that was pretty funny.

Marble eyed.

This boy hung around one of our shot locations for a few days. He didn't speak a whole lot and I did most of the talking. Unfortunately I lost the paper I wrote his name on but the day we left he came up to me and showed me two marbles he had brought with him and wanted me to take his picture.

He then grabbed my hand and put one of the marbles in it and closed it saying "For you." I thought that was precious and knowing these kids have next to nothing it meant a lot to me. It now sits on the shelf in my office.

A young boy with his juice box toy.

We've all heard the idiom "One man's trash is another man's treasure." Well that saying really came to life in the slums. Empty cooking oil containers became water pitchers, discarded water bottles became shoes, and in the photo above a small boy found a used juice box in the garbage and turned into a toy for himself.

When I saw the toy he had created I called it "The Mango Mobile!"

The Mango Mobile in Action.

The moment I saw this kid having fun playing with junk it crushed me. I also knew the next time my own kids complained about not having something I was going to tell them the story of "The Mango Mobile."

This whole scene made me think of a quote by Chuck Swindoll.

"Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.”

Scooby-Doo in the slums.

One day we were shooting by a railroad track and one of the kids in the crowd had a Scooby-Doo shirt on. I pointed at his shirt and said "Scooby Dooby Doo!" in my best Scooby-Doo voice. He along with the group of kids started laughing.

I noticed later that day that someone had painted Scooby-Doo on the side of a slum house. I'm not sure how much if any of the actual TV program anyone in the slums had seen since a TV is a very rare commodity for most living in the slums.

A sick young girl.

Many of the kids I'd talk too were obviously sick. Much of this is facilitated by the poor living conditions and diet. Most of the kids we found out only have one meal a day and that is pretty meager in and of itself.

This little girl came up to me and smiled and wanted to bump fists which I had been doing with all the kids. And when I looked into her eyes I lost it. We talked to the local group and a pastor to see if we could get her into a clinic and find out what the problem was.

In the slums resources are tight and this was one of the reasons why we were filming the documentary to help Life in Abundance reach out to these local communities and help people like this little girl through a wholistic approach.

A slum coffin builder.

Unfortunately the reality of the slums is that infant mortality is very high. One of the days were shooting in Kibera we spotted this local man building a child coffin.

It was a grim reminder of what kids living in the slums face.

Slum Life

2010-05-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

I'm struggling with knowing how to write about this experience? I want to share it with everyone, but I feel wholly inadequate to do so. I'm not even sure where to begin?

The last week and a half I spent in the Mathare Valley Slums in Nairobi, Kenya was an experience that has touched me deeply. And writing about it now brings me to tears as I think about the various interactions I had with the people there.

So I hope what I'm about to share will give you a new perspective on life in the slums.

Mathare Valley Slums Nairobi, Kenya.

The population of Nairobi, Kenya is around 3 million. And the slums which the city encircles both in the Mathare Valley and Kiberia makes up 80% of that population. So the majority of the Nairobi work force comes from the slums.

I was part of a team of around 12 people filming a documentary about the work that Life in Abundance is doing in the slums in Nairobi. My roll was mostly related to grip and gaffer duties but I was able to work with the kids from the slums too which I'll share more about later this week.

Our days shooting were spent in the heart of the slums interacting with the people and traversing their daily environment.

Descending into a labyrinth of slum corridors.

The slums are a labyrinth of interconnected corridors between the haphazard constructed homes that align them.

We spent most of our time in the Mathare Valley Slums but someone has managed to map the Kiberia Slums which we shot in as well.

A river runs through the Mathare Valley slums.

A river slits the Mathare slums into two sides and crossing the water can be somewhat dangerous at times depending on the weather, bridge construction and of course motor skills. I almost fell in once while crossing.

Most of the Mathare slums are on a grade, so when it rains water can literally cascade down the valley through the poorly built slum homes and drain into the river. This of course makes life a lot harder and dangerous for it's residents.

A drive through the Mathare slums.

There are only a handful of paved roads in the slums and most areas are just hardened dirt. When it rains many areas become a muddy mess.

Daily life in the slums consists mostly around the essentials. Food, Clothing, and Shelter. The main street entering the slums is a vibrant marketplace of small shops such as Salons, Butchers, Repair Shops, Groceries, Food Markets, Cell Phone Carriers, and I even noticed a slum movie theatre playing boot legged Bollywood videos.

The slums have no formal grid of electricity, although some have managed to tap it both legally and illegally. I was told that the local power company in collaboration with the police do raids into the slums every six months arresting people for illegally tapping the power lines in the area.

The irony is the power company charges too much for most slum people to afford, so because they need electricity they steal it by hiring off hour power company employees to hook them up, but than they risk being arrested and fined more than what they can make in a year.

Politicians in Nairobi give lip service to the slums in order to get their votes, (somethings never change) but in many cases these same politicians make money from the slum lords that demand monthly rent from slum dwellers. To say the least this whole situation is a very vicious cycle.

A slum home.

Construction in the slums follows no building code. The homes are constructed from whatever is available and what ever will work. Most are made from scrap wood and corrugated tin roofing material that is patched together like a junk yard quilt.

The home pictured above is about 10 x 10 feet square, dirt floor, no running water, no electricity and is lived in by a lady named Irene, her daughter, and her mother.

We interviewed Irene for the documentary and as a way to say thanks we visited her home a few days later and ten of us crammed into the small space and brought her a bag of groceries. The thankfulness and gratitude this women showed us that day rocked my world. Her hospitality and faith was nothing short of amazing.

It struck me how easy it is from a western point of view to think we got it all together. Or think "They should be more like us." At best this type of mindset is arrogant.

This lady despite her nasty geographic reality and the poverty she finds herself in was far more balanced than a lot of people I've met here in the states.

That said, I can't say I've fully comprehended this paradox yet, but it's the one thing from this whole experience that has shifted my own perspective completely.

My new friend Kelsey Timmerman was part of our documentary team and the group that visited the home of Irene and he wrote a great post about his experience in the Mathare slums.

A slum community.

Despite the obvious poverty and living conditions the slums have a very close knit community. This is most notable in the market places. But within the various areas of the slum are distinct individual communities. I can't say I fully understand why a community would openly toss garbage and waste out into their streets, but this is a common sight in the slums.

Areas not only look gross, the smells one encounters in the slums often trump the visuals you take in and make the experience a full sensory overload at times.

One area we walked through I had to hold my breathe for about a minute, not wanting to breath in the smell I had encountered. I was forced however to abandoned my breathing prohibition only because I feared passing out and rolling into an open sewage canal. (My buddy Justin Arhens who invited me on this journey did manage to dip his leg in one which of course was funny.)

Open sewage canal and children.

Everywhere you walk in the slums you'll step on trash of one sort or another. You can't avoid it. The slums themselves in many places are actually built on top of old dumps. In places you can see the strata layers of refuse that makes up much of the slums foundation.

One day we shot near the river and this open canal running through a local community had all matter of sewage run off and waste trickling through it. The children of the slums are literally walking through this, touching it, sitting in it etc. on a daily basis. To say it is merely unsanitary is just too tame of a term to use in describing it.

A young boy who asked me to take his picture.

The slums are filled with children so it was impossible to navigate the slums without the constant interaction from kids. Wherever we would go they would gather around to watch and say to us "How are you?" and if we asked them in return "How are you?" they'd reply "Fine." In all honesty most weren't fine, they were almost always dirty, sick, and hungry.

It was very difficult at times interacting with these children only because I couldn't help but see my own kids in them and it broke my heart knowing how they were having to live as compared to my kids safely back home. This would be the hardest part of this whole experience for me.

But the slum kids also proved to be the most rewarding as well.

Leaving My Comfort Zone

2010-04-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

"Comfort Zone" design. (View Larger Image Here)

In a few weeks I head out of town, out of country, and out of my comfort zone.

As I shared in a previous post, I'll be headed to the Kibera Slums in Nairobi, Kenya.

My friend Justin Ahrens invited me to help in the filming of a documentary about the work "Life in Abundance" (LIA) is doing in that area.

It's a lot easier to just write a check to help a cause like this. I've done that before. But the more Justin told me about what they were doing and after talking to their founder I knew I wanted to do more than that.

As I thought about everything today a thought crossed my mind and it inspired the above design.

"Adventure never happens when you're comfortable."

So even though It stretches my comfort zone I look forward to the experience that lays before me and I want to thank those of you who have helped to support this cause because without that it wouldn't happen.

If you'd like a t-shirt of the above click here.

If you'd like to help the LIA team you can donate via paypal by sending your payment to: liasupport@liaint.org
Include in your notes "Von Africa Trip May 2010."

Thanks.

Von

iSurrender

2010-04-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

A downcast Kindle ponders his future.

The dawn of the iPad is quickly approaching and it made me wonder in an anthropomorphic way how the Kindle would respond? This is my answer to that question.

Since the Kindle is a native of the PNW where the phrase "Skid Row" originated from, I thought it was an appropriate metaphor.

Download Larger Image Here.

Cheese Weasel Day

2010-03-13T01:45:00.000-08:00

"Cheese Weasel Day" Logo.

My friend Chris Forbes is the driving force (evangelist) behind a real holiday that started on the internet sometime in the last 15 years called "Cheese Weasel Day." (CWD)

Like other honored holidays like Festivus CWD is most often celebrated within the tech industry. (Visit the site for the full story)

I first heard about it last year when Chris posted it on his Twitter feed. I thought the logo was a bit moldy, so I told him to contact me next year and I'd create a new logo for his curdled masses.

"Cheese Weasel Day" T-Shirt.

The official, authentic, and certified CWD t-shirt! Ferret out your bad fashion and gird your loins with the weasel. Even a lactose intolerant person can add this cheese to their wardrobe.

- View and Order Shirt Here.

Does rodent and cheese apparel design grate on you? No worries, just download a CWD print to hang up in your office. Or just point that IT specialist that scorns your Mac over to this post and let them embrace the wonder that is Cheese Weasel Day!

Download Cheese Weasel Day Print

Happy Feet

2010-03-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

"Happy Feet" shoes by Savannah Glitschka. (View Larger Image Here)

The Work
My good friend Justin Ahrens has used his creative talents for outreach for the last few years and he's been a huge encouragement to me. Last summer he invited me to be part of serving on the same outreach and I wanted to share with you some exciting news.

From April 26 - May 5 I'll be traveling to the Kibera Slums in Nairobi Kenya.

For about two weeks I'll be part of a team working on a documentary film about the work "Life in Abundance" (LIA) in is doing to help Kibera which is considered the biggest slum in Africa and one of the biggest in the world.

LIA facilitates and supports microenterprise efforts in the Kibera slum to empower primarily women with income generating opportunities, support and care. The film will be shown throughout the year at selected independent movie theaters, LIA fundraisers and education functions.

Left Foot: Side One (View Larger Image Here)

Supporting Non-Profit
Each member on the team has to raise $4,500 for this outreach. So as a way to help me do this I gave my daughter a new pair of white Chuck Taylors to illustrate on.

This post is to show off the design my daughter created and facilitate a silence auction for the shoes, with the winning bid donating their amount via Paypal to LIA.

Left Foot: Side Two (View Larger Image Here)

I plan on taking a lot of photos while I am there and will be sharing an online gallery like the one I did for the Israel/Jordon trip I took a few years ago.

Right Foot: Side One (View Larger Image Here)

I think Savannah did a great job. I didn't give her any direction what so ever, I just said "Make it look cool." I think she hit the nail on the head and created some very fun kicks!

Right Foot: Side Two (View Larger Image Here)

Show Specs
Design: "Happy Feet" by Savannah Glitschka
Size (US): Mens 11, Women's 13 (Unisex)

Detail of Design. (View Larger Image Here)

This shoe design has it all. References to pop culture, social networking, and my favorite zombie vegetables.

Detail of Design. (View Larger Image Here)

Never underestimate the creative power of a teenager.

Detail of Design. (View Larger Image Here)

How to Place Your Silent Auction Bid
These shoes are being auctioned off to support the LIA outreach to the Kibera Slums in Nairobi Kenya.

The silent auction will take place over the next two weeks.

Just email your bid amount to: info@glitschka.com

I'd appreciate your help to get the message out by sharing a link to this post.

If you're not interested in the shoes but would still like to help support this outreach you can visit the LIA web site and make a donation online. (Uses Google Checkout) In the subject field just write “Von Africa Trip May 2010.” If you prefer to make a donation via Paypal.com you can do that too. Just send it to "liasupport@liaint.org" and include “Von Africa Trip May 2010.” in the notes section when paying.

All donations need to be received by April 15th. (Remember your donation is tax deductible.)

Thanks everyone!

No Way

2010-03-04T00:35:00.000-08:00

Original concept drawn on a creative brief.

Creativity is kind of strange. I never know when an idea is going to spawn, I've just learned to act on it. Such was the case here.

I sat through a two hour meeting at a local design firm going over a new branding project and someone voiced an opinion about something and the term "No Way" popped into my head. So I just kind of doodled what came to mind and the above is the end result.

"No Way" design on yellow and black background.

Of course later that same night I couldn't help myself and decided to flesh out the idea. Still don't really understand what it means, but that doesn't stop me from liking it. I find that odd. I suppose it can mean what ever you'd like it to mean and there is "No Way" of convincing me otherwise! ;-P

"No Way" T-Shirt design.

There is also "No Way" I'm not going to put this design on a t-shirt either! (Stop rolling your eyes)

"No Way" T-Shirt Designs
- View / Order Black Shirt Here
- View / Order Yellow Shirt Here

"No Way" Sign mocked up.

One of the commenters below suggested that "No Way" would work for a sign too. I agree. If I ever built my own house on some property I'd get this sign made to be on the street leading to our house. Very cool. Thanks Brian.