Dexter Morgan, Bay Harbor Butcher?

Tonight’s the night. And it’s going to happen. Again and again has to happen. Nice night. Miami is a great town. I love the Cuban food. Pork sandwiches. My favorite. But I’m hungry for something different now.

Dexter, everyone’s favorite serial killer. Living by “the Code” from his adopted father, to help him cope with his dark passenger. While wrapping up season 4 this last week, I was inspired to draw this lovable anti-hero. I’m going to go through the entire process, but if you just want to skip all this blathering on, click here to skip down to the final.

Getting Your Hands Dirty

For me, starting traditionally is always the way to go. It’s so much easier to be fluid and discover happy little mistakes.

Starting to ink the pencils

Using a few reference shots, I sketched out my idea on an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. Doing this let me rapidly prototype a few ideas, also refine just enough to be sure I could in fact draw Dex. Then moving to the drawing table, I started on the large paper.

I wanted to make Dexter big. Drawing on a poster sized paper I was able to get some great detail in the line work. Also, this enabled me to be set up for a large enough resolution for prints later on (If there’s any interest).

After getting my rough sketch down, I tightened up line work and started inking. I used Micron pens for this piece. By the end, I managed to have 3 pens in my hand at once. I primarily used an 01 size to do the edges of the inked areas, and filled in the blacks with an 05 or brush tip.

The Transfer

Scanning this thing was a bit of a bitch… my scanner really only has a usable area of about 8.5″ x 11″. I ended up scanning in 8 parts and Frankensteining together in Photoshop. You can see the results below:

Trying to align scan collage

Annnnnd the cleaned up version, ready for color…

Dexter line art - completed inks

Blood Never Lies.

Time to add a little color! After learning about the new CS5 mixer brush from Russell Brown @ HOW, I was really excited to use it again. Using a solid base color for each section, I started laying down flats. Then using the same color with the opacity dropped down to around 20%, I repainted over sections to begin shading in.

After creating basic blocks of color, I went in with the mixer brushes that John Derry hooked us up with at HOW. These helped blend and add little bits of brush stroke texture.

Not Quite Right…

My initial drawing kinda bugged me because while it looked like Dex, something was off. I was hoping that after the shading/coloring in, this problem would fix itself. It didn’t. There is something to be said for taking time and coming back to things though… after finishing more of the season and looking at more reference photos it dawned on me. It was a combo of his brow not being large enough and his nose being too long. Dexter has those classic “criminal” facial features… square jaw, low brow, etc. I just shifted his eyes and brow down about a 1/4th of the way and BAM! Hello Dexter Morgan.

Starting to color Dex

After finishing all of the primary Dexter coloring, I added a background. This helped give an abstract setting and bit of horizon (although you really can’t see it now with all the texture added in there). Then, using some of the texture overlay techniques from Flypaper Textures I added the grit.

After texture work on the background, Dexter himself, then the entire piece… all that was needed was a bit of final polish. By polish of course, I mean blood splatters. Because really, what’s a blood splatter analyst/serial killer without a bit of blood.

The Dark Defender

Dexter: the Dark Defender

texture detail

You can see some great detail and texture in this image. The new CS5 mixing brushes are really quite amazing. I love how it can even pick up “paint” from other sections and remember what side of the dirty brush it is on for later.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little recap. I’m seriously thinking of making prints if there is any interest, so let me know if you’d want to pick one up! Also, if ya dig this… check those little ‘like’ and ‘tweet’ buttons down there at the bottom. Cheers!

UPDATE: I re-sized this into a few wallpaper sizes… most popular sizes based on traffic stats. If you’d like a size I don’t have up there, let me know. Download yours now!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Looks like he has some discs out. If you dig him, spread the love or pick an album up to support him. Dub FX

Joaquin Phoenix "I'm Still Here" movie poster

I’ve been growing a beard the last 2 weeks. For some reason this morning, carving it in a bit more (shaving) got me thinking about another famous beard we hadn’t heard from in a while.

As some of you may know or may not know, Joaquin Phoenix retired from acting in 2008 and decided to re-invent himself as a hip-hop artist. HUH?

Yes.

A while after the announcement, video surfaced of his attempt at rapping that was pretty awful. Also came news of his brother-in-law Casey Affleck directing a documentary about his journey. A hah! Maybe this was a publicity stunt? Or some sort of social experiment? Rumors flew, but many signs pointed to it being the real deal.

Sometime later, he appeared on David Letterman… giving a super-awkward appearance, showing that he had either was long gone, or really good at staying in character. (click here or image below to watch on YouTube). Side note: Now that is a mighty beard he’s been cultivating there.

Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman

I soon forgot about Captain Crazy-Pants, knowing that news of the documentary would surface sometime later on. Well, now is that later-on. It looks like the documentary is complete and releasing in September. The solid poster design above was just released to begin marketing the film. I love the clean, simple design… the fragmented typography should be very telling of what to expect.

“Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, and always riveting, the film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.”

This should be a very interesting one. No one seems to be sure if it’s a documentary or mocumentary, If the man has actually lost it… or if he’s channeling Andy Kaufman and staging an elaborate hoax. I’m looking forward to checking it out for myself and seeing if he really is Still Here.

UPDATE: Teaser Trailer is out…

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is such a good video. It’s been out for a while, but I figured I’d dig it up again and post on the blog. Creatives and Managers having to deal with creatives should all watch this.

Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories — and maybe, a way forward.

Original link is here

Training

I was a bit worried that 5 weeks wouldn’t be enough time, but luckily I had a decent base. To train for the Copper Triangle I tried to get out on at least some sort of ride 5-6 days a week. I combined 1 “big” ride every week with base rides.

Cherry Creek Bike Path by Jessica Reeder

Base Rides
Seeing as I have a day job, I had to fit in rides where I could. My normal evening spin turned into shooting out from my house in the RiNo district of Denver, out on the Cherry Creek Bike Path to Wash Park, where I’d do a few laps and head back. On an average these rides were 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Since the distance and time were short, I generally tried to hammer it pretty well and ended up burning 800-1000 calories each session.

Big Rides
The 1 day I was able to do a substantial ride, I usually shot for distance and a good climb. A few of the rides here were:

• Superior -> Super Flagstaff and back
• Denver -> Evergreen and back
• Bergen Park up Squaw Pass (fantastic group ride with Shawn Phillips)
• Amante -> Ward and back

Started to feel pretty good in the last few weeks of it, but I really had no idea what to expect for the Triangle.

The Triangle

I sure am glad I stopped at Turin to grab some extra clothing before the drive up Friday evening… it was chiiilllly at 5am. Luckily we started climbing pretty quickly, so there was a chance to get the blood moving; otherwise the first descent would have been miserable. It was a nice little warm up and at the first aid station (pictured below) I didn’t need to do much other than a quick stretch and regrouping.

Sunrise at aid station #1

I felt pretty good for most of the day, and having the supported aid stations (and 3,000 cyclists out too) definitely helped.

Heading up Vail pass was the toughest bit of the entire ride. It was fun bombing down the bike path, until coming around that corner and seeing the Wall that someone placed on the way. It was very similar to “the Wall” in Superior, part of the Morgul-Bismark loop. Short and steep. I stood the entire time to make it up, and even sprinted up the very end (really, because I knew I was shot and needed to get up before my brain registered this fact).

With my heart trying to punch its way out of my chest at the top, I tried to spin it out after to bring my heart rate down. We were right around mile 65 or so though, and my body always yells at me around this mileage. Feeling my hamstrings beginning to cramp, I pulled off to rest and loosen them a bit. The rest was pretty easy sailing though, and that last descent through the bike paths was a blast!

Riding into the finish at Copper was great… the bells and people cheering helped pull it all together. It was a fantastic feeling making it through… and feeling pretty strong during. I also enjoyed seeing all the shapes and sizes during the course of the ride.

Final pedal time was 5:19 for 78 miles worth of Vail Pass goodness.

Tiki Bar in Dillon

Afterward Ols, Mary Beth and I enjoyed the scenic view from Dillon’s Tiki Bar on the lake. Enjoying a few beverages and some much-needed carbohydrates. I ended up burning around 4,700 during the ride!

I’d have to say the ride was a blast and very well-organized. I’m looking forward to doing it again… maybe the Triple next year instead though? What do you think?

1. Allow events to change you.
   You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
2. Forget about good.
   Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you’ll never have real growth.
3. Process is more important than outcome.
   When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child).
   Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
5. Go deep.
   The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.
6. Capture accidents.
   The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.
7. Study.
   A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.
8. Drift.
   Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
9. Begin anywhere.
   John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
10. Everyone is a leader.
    Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.
11. Harvest ideas.
    Edit applications. Ideas need a dynamic, fluid, generous environment to sustain life. Applications, on the other hand, benefit from critical rigor. Produce a high ratio of ideas to applications.
12. Keep moving.
    The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success. Resist it. Allow failure and migration to be part of your practice.
13. Slow down.
    Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.
14. Don’t be cool.
    Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.
15. Ask stupid questions.
    Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.
16. Collaborate.
    The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.
17. _________________.
    Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas of others.
18. Stay up late.
    Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.
19. Work the metaphor.
    Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.
20. Be careful to take risks.
    Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.
21. Repeat yourself.
    If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.
22. Make your own tools.
    Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.
23. Stand on someone’s shoulders.
    You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.
24. Avoid software.
    The problem with software is that everyone has it.
25. Don’t clean your desk.
    You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight.
26. Don’t enter awards competitions.
    Just don’t. It’s not good for you.
27. Read only left-hand pages.
    Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room for what he called our “noodle.”
28. Make new words.
    Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands new forms of expression. The expression generates new conditions.
29. Think with your mind.
    Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.
30. Organization = Liberty.
    Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in context. That context is usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because his studio can deliver it on budget. The myth of a split between “creatives” and “suits” is what Leonard Cohen calls a ‘charming artifact of the past.’
31. Don’t borrow money.
    Once again, Frank Gehry’s advice. By maintaining financial control, we maintain creative control. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s surprising how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many have failed.
32. Listen carefully.
    Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.
33. Take field trips.
    The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.
34. Make mistakes faster.
    This isn’t my idea – I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy Grove.
35. Imitate.
    Don’t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You’ll never get all the way, and the separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp’s large glass to see how rich, discredited, and underused imitation is as a technique.
36. Scat.
    When you forget the words, do what Ella did: make up something else … but not words.
37. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.
38. Explore the other edge.
    Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot. Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic cycle but still rich with potential.
39. Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms.
    Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces – what Dr. Seuss calls “the waiting place.” Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference – the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals – but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.
40. Avoid fields.
    Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.
41. Laugh.
    People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I’ve become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.
42. Remember.
    Growth is only possible as a product of history. Without memory, innovation is merely novelty. History gives growth a direction. But a memory is never perfect. Every memory is a degraded or composite image of a previous moment or event. That’s what makes us aware of its quality as a past and not a present. It means that every memory is new, a partial construct different from its source, and, as such, a potential for growth itself.
43. Power to the people.
    Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can’t be free agents if we’re not free.

Original is here

Luke and Wedge

I grew up watching many a Sci Fi movie on the family Betamax. Movies like Willow, Labyrinth and Star Wars were always in rotation — and even though they were recorded off the TV with those little bits of commercials in between, I loved them.

One of my other favorite pastimes growing up were LEGOs. I’d spend hours putting together intricate models from those huge glossy instructions. I even remember creating my very own X-Wing, and without all those fancy custom pieces they have now a days.

File that away, under “influences that made me the nerd I am today.”

Fast-forward to last year when I came across Avanaut’s photostream on Flickr. Nostalgia instantly hit. Star Wars… LEGOs… and Photography! Genius!

Hold your fire. There are no life forms.

I emailed him and found out how lighting and atmosphere in his shots was achieved. Avanaut actually has a clear tank and submerges the toys in water for alot of the photos. Not willing to get that crazy (just yet) I set out to take my own photos on a mini seamless backdrop I created.

By attaching curved white printer paper to foam-core and a leftover canvas; I was able to create the seamless background. Adding strobes, PocketWizards, LEGOs, light modifiers and a Macro lens… we we’re ready to rock!

Luke Skywalker headshot

Darth Vader headshot

Luke in his X-Wing

Han Solo and Leia

Luke Skywalker

the crew

My afternoon was filled with hours of geeking out with toys, light modifiers and everything I’ve picked up from David Hobby’s site. I’d have to say a big chunk was spent on this last shot.

The Dogfight

I tied the ships, one at a time, to a ceiling lighting fixture with fishing line. My initial concept was to have then flying in front of a planet or star, and get the strobe right behind a ship — hoping to get a really cool lens flare. None of those shots turned out the way I envisioned though, so I scrapped and just went for lighting the ships well. After several configurations and playing with gels, I got a number that seemed like they’d work well together. A few hours in Photoshop later, after cutting the ships out and creating space, planets, lasers and motion blurs we have…

Dogfight

This project was a ton of fun, and actually a great lighting learning experience. I’m definitely looking forward to getting the toy photo shoot itch again. Desktop wallpaper is available for the Star Wars LEGO Dogfight here.

Liven Up The Logo

First order of business was to freshen the previous logo up a bit. It had been designed a few years earlier and just needed a bit of maintenance.

I decided to update the logotype into a friendlier/rounder font, Gotham Bold Italic. By giving the type more presence and adjusting the mark to be smaller, we gave the important part more visual weight.

Updated logo

Previous logo

On top of making the feathery swoosh mark smaller, I finessed it more to complement, not overpower the type. We fused it in with the ‘R’ and gave it a stronger starting point and interaction with the ‘i’

Last but not least, the color palate. We needed to build out an entire course of multiple DVDs and workbooks, so we livened up the previous logo’s gray and blue, and added more to the family.

Below are mock-ups of the course and the expanded color palate:

Rapid Results DVD case

Full course

Gorgeous footage in this documentary from Rapha. Four riders take the same route as le Tour took 100 years ago… the first time they went into the high mountains. Love the DoF! Not finding info about the equipment used… if anyone see’s it, let me know.

The 1910 Challenge →

Feltron Report 2009

Nicholas Feltron is a designer, he specializes in data… and designing meaningful ways to digest this data. He’s had a personal project for the last few years, of creating a sexy, letterpressed, annual report on himself.

“Each day in 2009, I asked every person with whom I had a meaningful encounter to submit a record of this meeting through an online survey. These reports form the heart of the 2009 Annual Report. From parents to old friends, to people I met for the first time, to my dentist… any time I felt that someone had discerned enough of my personality and activities, they were given a card with a URL and unique number to record their experience.”

Using this data, he creates these gorgeous reports, that are available for purchase. I finally pulled the trigger last year and picked one up. The photos don’t do it justice, but serve up a great taste. To read more from Mr Feltron, or to pick up your own (while they’re still available), visit his site here.

Report Cover

Interaction card

Feltron interior page

Feltron Report interior page

Feltron Report interior page