So! I was making up a sign for the new Webkinz on sale at work today, and realized I was all by my lonesome in the back office, with some spare time. I pulled up my recent favorite things I've made for work, and saved jpgs, so I can show them off to everyone here finally. :) *bounces!*


What really got me started on this sleek, professional but pretty kind of look, was the labels I did for some plastic champagne glasses. Chad wanted something similar to the rather simple but somewhat elegant labels on some plastic silverware we had around, so I followed the general idea for the layout, but, more colorful. :) The product shot on the company's website had this odd but rather nice green background, so I ran with that.

Not long after, I got to make the paper labels that I was spazzing about on here awhile ago. Again, Chad had an example of the style he had in mind, simple and clear. The line near the bottom is for us to write whatever type of paper it is on there, Natural Parchment or Gamma Green Astrobright or what have you. I played around with borders of some of Corel's default textures, but, they're really pretty awful, and I realized I knew what I really wanted. I ran out to psdtuts <3, and found some free brushes of pretty swirly things. 'Bout two minutes in Photoshop, and I was good to go.

Aaand my latest assignment from Basil's. It looks rather dark and the text doesn't stand out well on screen - the colors are set up to work happily with our giant printer, and the light tan outlines on the lettering doesn't show up in the reduced size (this sucker's really 24"x36"). I really can make way awesomer paper than that, ditto on the nails, but Chad gets annoyed with me if I spend more than half an hour on any one project. Which I understand - something like this is plenty enough for what the customer wanted. Damn am I happy with the fonts, I lucked out, we had a couple of really good Western fonts on the system.

We sell coffee at the store - but the company we've dealt with for basically forever has gone steadily downhill lately. They discontinued half to three-quarters of the coffees we carried, and turnaround time on orders was awful, customer service went to hell when they got bought out... so there were an awful lot of black scribbles over our old coffee list. Also, it was printed in a largely illegible curly font, very small, probably five years ago or more. On neon green paper. It kind of hurt. So! Since the number of types of coffees had gotten drastically cut, I had room to play a bit. I am really happy with this, it's simple and clean yet has personality to it. (It's the font the coffees are listed in that I'm happiest about, for some reason. Cambria I think?)

Aaaaand, because I can't resist: my piñata sign. It is so ridiculously bright - though, again, the colors were set to make the printer happy. "All Piñatas" is actually basically magenta on the banner - which wound up being about 18" x 24", I think? Given that they wound up hanging from the ceiling pipes in the basement, it could have stood to be a bit larger, but that's what Ann suggested I do. Anyway! The photos on the piñata company's site were FREAKING TINY, and not the best quality, so I knew I was going to have to be creative. Thus, the confetti, and the (vague) appearance of it being smashed open. I am in love with this font for this banner, first time I've ever actually used it. First time I used that perspective effect too, I think. Could've done a much better job with the piñata itself, had I been on my own computer and taken more time, but as is I think I spent about an hour on this one. (Chad wasn't around. ;) Did I mention I giggled for five minutes straight when I finished this thing? I seriously did.

 
Last time 'round, I dyed my hair a darker, pretty vivid red. Tom wanted brighter. On further investigation, I discovered that he wanted what I refer to as "crayon red". Kari from Mythbusters gave me confidence that I might be able to pull it off. Also one of the girls I work with is a serial hair-dyer, is nearly as pale as me, and said the color'd worked for her.

The last vivid red I did, didn't stick around long. After three weeks, it wasn't a whole lot more than a reddish medium blond. This time, I am taking measures - inasmuch as I have shampoo for redheads. Possibly color-saving conditioner, though I still have a decent stash from my last handful of hair-dyings (I usually go with L'Oreal, who give you a tube in every box, but this time I used Garnier, who were not as generous).

It is pretty damn red.



(Also frizzy, but I like to let the dye finish settling in and dry on its own, without putting any goop into it. It will be better tomorrow.)

I am so entertained.

...

...

...okay honestly, it is no freaking wonder I'm in a Phisto mood lately. (I've still been thinking about making my hair do the color-changing look I always draw on them, I just need to work out how I want to go about doing it.) Or maybe this is just reflective of it. I'm definitely digging up the Amaranthus binder tonight, anyway.

 
While picking up some things at Rite-Aid, I spotted U2 on the cover of Rolling Stone, and of course had to snag.

Bono has apparently been spending WAY too much time with Billie Joe (from Green Day). Smokey-eyes and eyeliner work for Billie Joe. Not so much for Bono.
(On reading the interview, I discover that it's partly him poking at a new character, currently named Jesse, Elvis' dead twin brother. He admits, "which maybe is in poor taste". My guess is that he's unconsciously dredging up Salman Rushdie's "Ground Beneath Her Feet" references. Which is fiiiine by me. <3)

I am bouncing off the walls with anticipation for the "sequel" album, which supposedly already has the set title of "Songs of Ascent". I've heard late this year, and I've heard early next year... but it's going to be the album of "future hymns" that "No Line" was originally conceptualized as, and I absolutely cannot wait to hear it. U2 is capable of creating the most beautiful, ethereal, vast textural landscapes of soundtrack - but they've always run away from it. "Passengers" let some in, and a B-side or two escapes, and things like "Being Born" and Unfire's-- well alright basically all of "Unfire". The Spiderman musical really is still forthcoming, with its music by Bono and Edge, supposedly debuting next January, and I'm curious as all hell.


But.

I don't know whether I'm getting twitchy to write fanfic again because of all the provoking tidbits in the interview, or if I actually feel like I don't *need* to, because the band are far too entertaining in themselves without being fictionalized:

"Interviewing Bono is like taking an Alaskan husky for a walk - you can only suggest a general direction, and then hold on for dear life."

Re: "Moment of Surrender", which apparently materialized all at once in an improvised session: "Eno fought hard to keep the band from messing too much with the original track. "These fucking guys," he says with a smile, "they're supposed to be so spiritual - they don't spot a miracle when it hits them in the face." "

Re: Larry Mullen Jr. "He's dressed all in black, still as lean-cheeked and handsome as in his 'Rattle and Hum' days, somehow managing to project an alpha-male swagger even while leaning back on a fluffy couch pillow at the band's waterfront headquarters." ---I think I hugged myself in a fangirling gigglefit for about five minutes. DID THAT NOT HAPPEN IN A FANFIC?!? Actually the fanfic had him curled up in a fuzzy purple sweater, an image which stuck in my head so hard that I wound up actually drawing it. bwahahahaaa.

"[Larry says:] "We spend a lot of time trying to hold Bono back from doing the maddest things possible. I just don't understand where he gets the energy." After this discussion, I develop a new theory about Bono's activism: He does it because convincing George W. Bush to give $15 billion to Africa is easier than getting Larry Mullen Jr. to do anything. Presented with this idea, Bono explodes with laughter. "I love him so, but that's an understatement," he says."

...honestly, expose me to about two more interviews, and work might very well resume on the (long-abandoned) U2 comics I have lurking around here somewhere.


edit: I just discovered (and really, should have realized on my own) that Anton shot the cover photo. That explains pretty much everything. I can't get that blue photo of B wearing a sombrero and a curly mustache smoking a cigar out of my head now.

 
- Tom and I went to see "Watchmen" Monday evening. It was good, but not OMFGMOSTAMAZINGMOVIEEVAHH!1!!1! like we'd been made to believe. Wonderfully believable characters, in real situations and relationships. Way too much info to fit into a movie, so while the depth of the characters was great, it all felt incredibly thick. (I would like to read the actual graphic novel now.) Soundtrack: Tom did well to say they were trying to make it "stylized", like the movie, like comic books. This worked for the opening credits. It did NOT work to play "Sound of Silence" during a funeral scene. omfg I wanted to beat someone.

- While at the mall to catch the movie, I made a pit-stop at Teavana, and bought more tea. <333 I have a growing suspicion that it is indeed Japanese-style green tea that Tom and I like more than the Chinese-style, but I'm not 100% on that yet. Herbal tea really is *way* weaker than other types, I'm definitely going to have to use more - well, not really leaves, mine is mostly fruit bits - in than the suggested amount per pot. Tonight I mixed some of the strawberry-slightchocolate-bit'o'cayenne herbal tea with some of the Japanese green tea, and it's quite yummy.

- Prior to said trip, Tom and I met up with our Media Arts buddy Graham, who's working on a really cool thesis project for grad school. I can't wait to see the end result. My pulse rate was abnormally high, probably because I was thinking about it. (Also, I'd just been over a hot stove in the kitchen, making a fantabulously delicious dinner of soba + shittakes. Which, I would like to reiterate, was freaking DELICIOUS.)

- The company The Paper Factory gets its piñatas from raised its prices, so to help beat the new price into everyone's head (and for customers, who prior to this always had to ask, since our piñatas live hanging from ceiling pipes), Ann asked me to make up a sign. She specifically said I could be "creative". I honestly literally giggled for five minutes straight when I printed out the result. I have no idea if I'll still like it in the morning, in fact I'm rather worried about it. It is very silly looking, but bright and fun, so we shall see. (I have a tangible copy on me, but not a jpg. One of these days.)

- I also got to make an old Western "WANTED" poster for, my favorite people, Basil's. (They're the car dealership whose ads with 5pt font were my responsibility at the Penny Saver. They also don't pay their bills, and ask for annoying things, and drive everybody bonkers.) BUT, I *love* making things look old. Five minutes in Photoshop, I had some awesome looking torn-edged parchment-y paper. Five minutes later, there were nails stuck through the corners. Probably ten minutes later, I was done with a freaking awesome design. Chad complimented me on it! The guy at Basil's was not in his office today, so I have no idea what they'll think.

- Chad also complimented me on the (first of the season wooo) graduation banners I did up the other day. Chad compliments are pretty rare things. I was a very happy little thing this afternoon. (Though I am still a lil nervous about the piñata sign.)

- Tom has been marking an "x" on the calender every day that I am "sick" this month. He feels that "sick" is my normal state of being. I continue to point out that randomly feeling like I'm going to throw up for five minutes out of the entire day does not count as being "sick" that day. I do feel tired a lot, but I'm pretty sure a good chunk of that is, y'know, winter. I do get headachy, or feel bleary a lot, but that's largely in the mornings, or when I do something stupid like spend half the day in front of a glowing screen. I mention these things to Tom in exactly the same way everyone comments on, say, the weather: "It's cloudy today." "I have a bit of a headache this morning." Or, I mention it by way of suggestion: "My stomach's feeling off, could you please OH GOD SLOW DOWN WHEN YOU TURN OR I WILL PUKE ALL OVER YOUR CAR."

- When Graham asked for a souvenir from each of us for his project (just whatever random thing we had laying around that we could part with, which I think will be interesting enough to see the results of), I gave him the green pen Tom had been using to mark the calendar.

- I actually finished something in Photoshop. I was listening obsessively to the new U2 album, and I forget what brought Mackie to mind, but lots of things always do. My drawing goal in Photoshop is to have it *not* look like computer-artwork, I don't want everything airbrushy. I want things to feel tangible, to have that depth and variation that comes from natural materials. (But Photoshop lets me change my mind halfway through and edit things - like make them look old and stained - without actually spoiling them. <3) I've been thinking while looking at other art lately, and realized that you can leave things looking sketchy in places, you don't have to overwork every last pixel of a thing, and it can still look finished - and even have a bit more life to it because of that. This is not something that I find easy to do, and I've realized that half the reason I don't make more art is because I fear my own attention to detail. I don't start a drawing because I know that I'd have to spend like six hours straight, and then another six hours the next day, before I was anywhere near happy with it. And I really don't have that kind of attention span, at least not predictably.

- So! With this drawing, I kept all this in the forefront of my mind. I wanted a slightly rough look to it. I wanted a finished sketch. I also wanted a more painterly look, so I did something I very rarely do, and the first few layers had the shadows drawn in red, middle ground in orange, and highlights in yellow. Not like reddish skin tone, but like, RED. That was toned down as the layers built up, but I wanted to keep a slightly unreal palette to the thing. Yes it's a very cliched palette, but this is Mackie, he loves the overly-dramatic. <3

- Mackie, drawn a little large, followed by a desktop-sized version (with a touch of one of the AMAZING stock patterns I picked up around Deviant Art the other day).

   


- I finally broke down and cleaned out my Photoshop brushes. The list was literally covering my screen, and I had more I wanted to get, and knew if I did, I'd have to start scrolling. I do not want to go that far. So I cleared out all the silly little tiny things (grunge-y texture that's like 300 pixels? uh, no. I am spoiled now, the interwebs are full of 2000x3000 ones thx), and the cheesy ones I never use, and the ones I'd always meant to delete but always forgot to...

- ...I of course followed this up with a brush download binge. But I only added maybe six or so, and got rid of like 40! 0:)