7 Favorites F.T.M #3

The other entry I was prepared to post is not completed till I receive further notice. But for now... here are some of my favorites I have come across this month.

I will also be including a series of posts under the title of "Dissecting", which will basically describe and break-down the aesthetics, composition, and perspectives of a SINGLE piece in each post. In the post I will explain WHY the image was chosen, and why it's a good example of inspiration. I want this to be more of a- conversation piece, with more interaction, which will compliment the overall opinion of each particular piece in each series.

Basically I want to know and explain why this image works so well and how it translates to us visually. Rather then focusing on a whole collection of a particular artist/creator/photographer, we can focus on a single composition. I will also include notes from the creator/artist/photographer of the image which will aid the examination and opinion.

RICE CANDY will return to its regular schedule posting in the next entry.


From-top-to-bottom. Links to the above photographs are listed as follows :

Photo source: http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Stock-Work/257182

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leandromartinez/2854574494/

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leandromartinez/3395812648/

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_travel_east/2723990204/

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30625014@N02/3680847062/

Photo source: http://goodbyeanimosity.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009'

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeromelorieau/3521300563/

Drops

As liquid pearls descent swiftly -giving into gravity. Your mind is already lip-syncing the “drip” that follows after. But just before that conclusion, Charlotte visually shares a short-story of the drops that where.

In my attempt to bring different styles and techniques to control the variety. I have noticed that sometimes the main attraction can also be the subject and more importantly- what you can create with it (example: the matches/ match boxes used in the Laika video post). In this post Charlotte shares her creative photography captures, which include: timing, color gels, coins, Milk, and paints- that create a colorful display... before, during, and after the splash.

Each shot has its own character. Some droplets play follow-the-leader to a larger drop, while time creates a distance from each other. And in other shots, the arrangements of the drops are somewhat reminiscent of a system in outer space. I can’t help not-be-drawn to these images, as they are quite calming, but at the same time they inspire possibilities in my own creative experiments.

I believe 3 questions are now in order.


(1) I would like to learn a bit about your set-up, equipment and the HiViz quit. And also how all of this comes together to capture these great shots. (I have no idea about any of this nor about the HiViz quit and it would be a great insight for others who don’t either)

C- The basis behind these shots is that you can use the flash pulse to freeze the motion you are trying to capture. A flash can pulse at 1/10,000th of a second or even faster depending on the strength of the flash. This is much fast that most normal shutter speeds. To capture the motion in the manner, you first set-up your equipment (to be described in a moment), turn out the lights, open the shutter, perform whatever action that you are trying to capture and make sure your flash fires while you do it, close the shutter, and see what you have captured. This can be done without much fancy equipment, provided you have enough timing and coordination to try to (if you are going to water drop shots) manually fire the flash at the exact moment the drop hits the surface or pool of liquid. This is hard to do...I’ve tried without much success. The best way is to use some sort of kit to trigger the flash. I use kits from HiViz.com. The one I used here is the light activated trigger kit. Basically, you receive a breadboard and a bag of resistors, capacitors, potentiometers, phototransistors, etc...Everything you need to build a circuit that will trigger your flash based on whatever criteria’s you are looking for. There is also a delay built into the circuit so that a drop falling will trigger the circuit, but the flash wont fire until the drop actually hits. As I said, I used the Light Activated circuit, meaning that when light strikes the phototransistor (provided in the kit) the flash is triggered. I have actually done this the hard way, I should have used a photogate trigger, but I couldn't get it to work at the time...fairly certain I fried either the LED or the receiver when I first plugged it in... So, I had to make due for the time being the light activated trigger. To make this work, I took a Laser pen and aimed it directly at the Phototransistor. The flash fires when the light first hits it, but if you leave the laser light pointed at the receiver, it will not fire again until the light is removed and shot at the receiver again. Then, I set up a turkey baster filled with milk, positioned such that any drops that fell would fall through the beam, causing the flash to trigger. The issues I had were that I could not get the droplets to break the beam long enough such that the capacitor had time to recharge (essentially, they weren't breaking the beam long enough to trigger the flash). So I would have to squirt a big stream of milk out of the turkey baster to get the flash to trigger. I was able to get this to work however, at least to an extent, and I eventually was able to be pretty consistent in getting the flash to trigger when I wanted it to. Once the setup was good to go, it was just a matter of picking out food coloring and trying not to make a huge mess. To get the drops to pick up the food coloring, I would just put a drop of two of whatever color(s) I was going for right where I thought the drop from the baster would hit. The surface I was dropping onto was a reflective piece of poster board. At the end of the set containing the high speed shots there are some setup shots with some explanatory notes that you are welcome to use.

(2)Why photograph- drops and liquids?

C-Why not? It’s pretty what happens in such a small length of time. You can't see this reaction with the naked eye and it’s a lot of fun just to see what cool things you can capture. The bright colors and how the milk reacts with them are also very interesting. Also, I am an engineer by profession, so I love projects like this that require me to think outside of the box and figure out how to do things.

(3)The best experience through experimenting so far has been?

C-The best experience is probably going through all of the setup and work, and then sitting back and looking at the LCD screen after every shot to see what I have captured. Every shot is different, some work and some don't, but it’s always a surprise.


Charlotte-23 years old
Equipment: Nikon D60 with 18-200mm lens, SB-600 speedlight
Currently living in Florida

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nsaplayer/sets/72157619551482184/

Chiara Bautista

Dream-weaving via her imagination into a graphic illustration- is the work presented above by Artist/illustrator Chiara Bautista.

Although it might appear that Chiara’s work seems to root from what is meaningful to her at the moment of creation. Her unique style, references, and symbolic details are what really interested me the most.

Chiara infuses several elements with its own personality and charm that definitely changes the entire theme of the art piece. From a heart-shaped cassette, to octopi tentacles.One cannot ignore these meaningful details in her art, as they add a lot to the total value of her composition.

To know a little more about what goes behind the mechanism of Chiara's creativity, I will share with you the few thoughts I stole from her in response to my questions.


(1)How much does your personal life and emotions affect or influence
your artwork?

CB-... A fair amount, I usually add and take out pieces, or change the composition of an illustration depending on the things happening around me while I'm working.... like the songs I'm listening to, or how good or bad my day was. I think this kind of stuff happens to everybody. At the end we all put a little (or a lot) of ourselves on everything we do.

(2)What is the meaning behind the birds in your art? (I noticed 2
types, can you please tell me what they represent)

CB-The black ones, showing their skeleton, are all those doubtful thoughts that cross your mind when you're about to make a relevant decision. The white one is that thing -or person- you want the most.

(3) Which are your favorite colors of inspiration?

CB-I like black, green, blue and brown. I usually start working with a basic palette of matte colors, and then add some contrast with a bright color, and for this, my favorite is pink.


Chiara Bautista- 33 years old.
Art tools-Adobe Photoshop, Adobe illustrator, Freehand MX, Ink, Pencil, and acrylics.
Currently living in Tucson, Arizona.


Source: http://www.myspace.com/logyu

Guillaume Blanchet

As photography and art continues to get amplified by the internet, great creative videos are also being hatched by the dozens every month. One of the main platforms for this immense wave of new creations being shared on the internet is due to the incubation from sites like Vimeo.

For me Vimeo is like a vitamin that jolts my creativity whenever I need it. But in the other hand, there’s also an overflow of repetitive work displayed there, which gets me a bit hesitant about hitting that play button on new videos that get uploaded constantly. But once-in-a-while I am glad to hit that “I>” button because it’s such a joy for me to find a hidden jewel amongst the many. Such a find can be quite exciting and exhilaration for me, and can quickly turn into a small addictive viewing session. One of those recently fabulous finds comes from French creator- Guillaume Blanchet, in a stop-motion animation video.

Laika- is a 3 min animation Guillaume Blanchet created using matches & match boxes; this video was produced to celebrate the 10th birthday of a famous bar in Montreal (The Laïka). For those of you who may not know- Laïka originally was the name of the first earthling ever sent to space (a female dog). This was in Russia, back in 1957. Not only did Guillaume create a fun animation video, but he also unified the meaning behind the name, plus an actual object from the bar, which then coordinated with the song perfectly.

From the very beginning of the video there’s hints of a visual fun ride. It starts with one creation- creating another, and another, which takes you step-by-step through a small voyage. Guillaume also displays various stop-motion techniques which makes him look like a magician by using basic, and hard-to-figure-out animation tricks.

Whether the internet has created a platform for a new “creative renaissance” or if this is simply the age of the “click-shoot-n-post” generation, I am glad that creativity overall is in a good positive evolving phase. It could get better; it could get boring, overdone, damaged or ruined. But I have confidence we are headed in the right direction. And someone like Guillaume is proof of this.

Now to learn a bit more about the process from Guillaume.


(1)Can you tell us the average amount of pictures and hours spent in this project?

GB- It took me about a month to run some tests, including the on-and-off time. But overall I would say it took me between 40 and 60 hours. For the record, I had the “chance” to have my tonsils removed. Therefore, I spent two weeks out of the agency, at home. As for the pictures, it is tough to estimate as well, I believe it was about 3000(The original version is a little bit longer).

(2)What was the main approach and idea behind Laika?

GB- I live above the Laïka bar. It’s like the extension of my own apartment. The owner (a friend of mine) once had those genuine match boxes sent from Japan. And since he decided to celebrate the 10th birthday of his bar, I asked him to give me ten of those boxes (one for each year). I first tried to see everything that I could do with them in a technical way. Then I followed by writing a script, and after that… it was all just patience :-)

(3)The most important perspective you strive to demonstrate people who view your work is…?

GB-This video was actually very simple and low-cost: 10 boxes, maybe 200 matches, a blue paper and a pair of scissors. I love to be impressed by things that are technically over my understanding - like 3D animation – On the other hand, I also love what comes out of simplicity: everyone understands how it’s made. Simplicity in execution has a nice sharing dimension, because people end up realizing that somehow, they could have done it too.


Guillaume Blanchet- 32 years old
Equipment- Canon Rebel XTI
Materials- Match boxes ( made in Japan!!)
Currently living in Montréal, Canada


Video source: http://www.vimeo.com/4949624

Steve Wilson

Some dishes are best served cold. And some photos are best served- resisting stability (or full definition). A sample-taste of this type of delicacy is today’s special, which is a colorful interpretation of- an evening at the carnival, by Steve Wilson.

During the day I take several breaks to get away from the desk and my work. I walk around, stretch and view other things completely unrelated to my work. It would be nice to have a daily break where I can just open a door (secretly, hidden in my closet) that gives me immediate access to a fun night at the carnival (especially ala Steve Wilson’s perspective).

The common quality presented across all of these photos are enticing enough to day-dream for a few minutes, at the very least. Each photo well describes the fun factor experience in a carnival. And punctuating the visuals are sprinkles-of-light, where one can measure the speed of joy.

The main appealing substance of this set was that it never lost focus of the theme. And even though that door doesn’t exist, I will settle for the visual play-escape Steve has offered in his photography.

To complete the inspiration and see it through Steve's point-of-view, he was kind enough to answer the following questions.

(1)You work creating graphic illustrations and 3D designs.
Are there any qualities in all of this that influences your
photography?

SW: I think the creative “eye” is present for both my illustrations (3D and 2D) and my photography. That being said I feel that my 3D design work (day job) actually benefits more from my photography than the other way around. Working in 3D you use a lot of virtual lighting and cameras to get the “shot”.

(2)The punch of color you expect from a carnival was
present in this set. What other elements where you attracted
to at the carnival?

SW: The lights and rides was what first attracted me to shoot at the small carnival. It was set up close to my mom’s house (a very small carnival with only a few rides) but a lot of fun to shoot. The most important thing is that it's fun. I just enjoy photography.

(3)What interests you the most about photography overall?

SW: B&W, IR and extreme color is what excites me in photography. I am drawn to images that are there, but are not something that can be seen with the naked eye.

Steve Wilson-49 years old.
Equipment- Canon 5d Mark II, Lensbaby Composer
Currently living in Fort Worth,TX and working as a 3D Graphic Illustrator.


Photo Source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11879543@N06/sets/72157619042829040/

Shuo Cheng

Unspoken words, silent lights, blurry reflections and retired Deja Vus- come together in a play that our mind sets a stage for. If the eyes blink, the curtain falls. But somehow at the end of that second we are able to save it in our memory, picture frame included.

An example of someone who has a visionary quest to capture these moments (in photograph form) is Shuo Cheng. Just slight suggestions of people present is his photos are obvious, but in return this accommodates a better focus to other qualities. And displayed above is a small collection of his photos, which is more of a visual soundtrack then anything else.

The attractive simplicity of the everyday life, plus the mood of the photographer reflecting on the captures- is something my attention enjoys when searching for photos. And Shuo's photography projects some of these qualities very well.

To learn a little more about what goes behind the mind of the photographer, artist or designer (plus any tips explaining their personal approach). I am adding a 3 question part to each post from now on, hopefully this creates a better harmony to each composition.


(1) Can you remember the first photo you took that meant something to you in a creative point-of-view? And why was this significant to you.

SC- It was years ago, when I was still enrolled at the university. I decided to register in a design course (my major was in MIS), which meant I had to stay one more year at the university. During that time, when almost all of my friends were going to graduate, I felt a bit lonely, and uncertain.

One day I climbed to the penthouse of the building, and took some photos. It was a hot day, with not a not cloud in the sky. And I guess something told me to remember the day, the sunshine, and the heat of summer.

(2) How different is your initial vision from your ending result?

SC- I think that's the interesting part of digital photography. You never know what the picture is going to look like. If you don't like it, you just delete it. Sometimes I think a lot before pressing the shutter, and sometimes I don't think at all.

(3) What advice can you give a person like me, who appreciates your style and is starting to experiment with photography?

SC- As Nobuyoshi Araki said: Photography is life. Taking pictures is a way to record your life. I think it's great if you learn something from it; if you don't, that's fine, as long as you enjoy it.

Shuo Cheng- 30 years old.
Currently living in Taipei and working as a designer.


Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28718028@N00/sets/72157605057509859/

Happy Up Here

I know I am late on this but this is such an interesting video it is worth mentioning, for those who haven't seen this video yet.

Not only is this a fantastic creative video but it is a joy to watch, especially if you love 80's Video Games. This is such a happy and fun music video that anyone can enjoy watching. The special effects are on target! along with the camera direction, lighting and concept.

I've had the "Junior" Cd for about 3 weeks now, but I did not see this video till last week. I am loving the song even more now since ive see this. The video fits perfectly with the song!

Source:royksopp.com/music/happy-up-here

MY ART

In the last blog entry I mentioned that I was working on an drawing based on the sketch I did to accompany the "triangle" post. I mainly draw realistic style art, but I wanted to try a different approach and style just to mix things up a bit. Also because I need the drawing practice.

I have included 2 versions of the drawing because I would like to get an opinion on which one looks better (I haven't decided on a title either). But the concept in one is: the hummingbird is about to take the nectar from her lips (instead of a flower/rose). And on the other one the small hummingbird is building her. I like both ideas, the first Idea was the main concept behind the art but in the process of cleaning up the line-art, I thought about the idea of a "gentle" piece-by-piece built by the little bird.

I would love to read your thoughts on this! Thank you.

Shahrul Nizam Selamat

Today I share with you the wonderful fantasy/sci-fi art of Shahrul Nizam Selamat.

It comes in a good time that I find Shahruls fantastic imaginative art, because this past week I have started to draw again a bit more then usual. I normally just have a typical quick sketching that only happens about every 3 to 4 months. But I should keep consistent with the practice, because I am extremely rusty at this point.

I am amazed that artists like Shahrul exist, as he is so effective to project a fantasy world in every piece. I have no idea how anyone can have an imagination where they can create so much detail and create a picture perfect surrounding that fit his characters. All the elements in his pieces are always cohesive with his compositions.

In my case I can create the main character, or the main focus point and concept, but I was never good at drawing a background or surroundings. I would not know where to start. But in the other hand you have Shahrul who has so much to offer in this aspect, and give you more then enough of it!.

Shahrul's color choices and accents are on-point. I can look at the water reflection in the first picture and separate myself from whatever I am doing at the moment. It is a joy to see his color combinations and perfect shading.

I will update you with the latest art piece I am working on in the next blog entry. I am trying a new style which was inspired by my experimention of the sketch in the previous post. So far it is coming out pretty good. But in the meantime I suggest you continue observing the rest of Shahruls artwork displayed in his website or Deviant account. He has many wonderful pieces to spark a pleasant distraction.

PS. don't forget to click on the images above to get a larger view as they are savored better this way.

Official Website: http://kloverfx.blogdrive.com/

Diviant Gallery: http://syarul.deviantart.com/gallery/

Brancolina

Angle-tracker Brancolina wants to obtain poetry out of geometry as much as she can, one frame at-a-time.

Brancolina- Photographer based out of Antwerp, Belgium has amazing geometric captures that can be best described as abstract art. While she exploits the best spaces and angles in a shot, she also manages to attain a visual-escape in the linear world she presents.

Rectangular shapes, soft touches and delicate-color-rhythms become great accessories to a minimalistic composition. Her pictures can easily be mistaken for an effortlessly approach, and that she happens to have easy access to these surroundings. But a picture of the set of- red card invitations (third to last picture) can dismiss this thought and prove she can definitely project her creativity through her photographs. As she easily traps the angles of her liking.

More geometric poetry at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22284792@N08/

Focused Blur

Leave it to a freshly-made-look, or a rained into an out-of-focus visual, is sometimes the decision the photographer takes at the very moment before clicking away. And some photographers can already know this approach will work in the composition as soon as they see the very object they are about to shoot.

An unfocused image can get lost in the surface or in the background with no regards to a clean-and-clear shot. But sometimes it is good to conserve a well focused blur and just show the inspired beauty that cannot be presented- by not displaying every-little-detail.

Whether it's the foreground or background, this style (if its well done) can definitely present a beautiful balance and make the leading role in the photograph stand out even more ( take a look at the last shot as an example, which is closer to a Bokeh style photo)

If you did not notice before, by now you can already tell that I love these visually tricky "I'm going blind" style photos. To me these focused blurs can be perceived as a smooth, dreamy, or a cotton-candy-like-texture. But in the other hand I can also see it as a smeared-focused shot with a will to run riot (in a imaginative sense). Both aspects combined explains why I like these spot-on images.


Above are 7 photographs I have encountered recently that is true to my focused blur taste.

Photosource from top to bottom:

1.http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_travel_east/3469966999/

2.http://www.flickr.com/photos/32068797@N04/3514119483/

3.http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerryseinfeld/3515032926/

4.http://www.flickr.com/photos/prettydreamyforagirlfromrhodeisland/3514896514/

5.http://www.flickr.com/photos/22284792@N08/2527619697/

6.http://www.flickr.com/photos/22284792@N08/2658197591/

7.http://www.flickr.com/photos/gizlife/3548334036/

Andrew Archer

Andrew Archer is this months incinerator of my jealousy, when speaking about-the talent I wish I had. His work displays one of the best artistic talents I have seen in years.

Based out of New Zealand and only at the young age of 23, Andrew has already racked up a very decent list of clients. Ranging from: Vogue Fr, Penguin Books, Elle, New Scientist and Emi Music to name a few.

I am surprised that his work never came to my attention before. But I am glad to know about him and his art now, as this will also serve as a motivation for me to kick my self into gear and re-sharpen my drawing skills.

Another good thing to point out about Andrews art work, is that he mainly hand-draws and paints a large percentage of his work. This presents real talent in my opinion. Plus the style and color palette he chooses makes-it-all close to flawless in my eyes.


The first picture is extraordinary! the accents and colors are visually effective. But the second picture... wow, it is just poetry to me, there's glamour, there's darkness, there's perfection in the brush strokes. It's insanely amazing! I am very drawn to it!.

I highly suggest you click each image to enlarge for a better view!

NOTE: Regarding the last image- I am not PRO smoking/cigarettes. This is just for the sole purpose to display the variety of work by the artist.

The rest of his work at: http://www.andrewarcher.com/

Face

I am loving the overall work from Face design group -based out of Mexico. Most of all I love the first sample you see here(Border Noise poster design). Although the Border Noise design represents a quite manic and frenzy look, it definitely co-ordinates with the identity of the project. The poster just demands a lot of attention immediately when you first view it. Also the sharp edges and shapes seem to replicate and represent a "noise" level visually. The vivid colors in all the right places adds to it, and it seems like you can almost hear the design break-out into pieces.

I had seen some of their work about a year ago in the Los Logos book ( I had come across it at Barnes & Noble) but I was not aware they did more then just logos. The consistent level of execution in their portfolio, with the projects that tie-in with the identity of their clients, seem to be their strong point. If you're looking for extra visual inspiration, take a look at the rest of their work displayed in their website.

click images to enlarge!

PS. The second image is art direction for Lola De Alejandro. I just thought it was a good example of beautiful typography.

Their portfolio at: http://www.face-face-face.com/#/home/portfolio

Chocolate Dreams

I am currently working on a design that involves a "chocolate" theme, and funny enough I happen to stumble upon this piece today. I am a chocolate addict and this piece (much to my delight) is filled with chocolate goodness.

"Chocolate Dreams" is the work of artist/graphic designer Rik Oostenbroek - based out of Netherlands. I have seen Rik's work before but not quite in the direction he is taking now. The previous work I viewed was more generic and commercial. It seems now that Rik is in the upwards hill of progression ( Though he was only 18 when he started to get a lot of buzz for his work). Now that he is 19 (turning 20 shortly) Rik seems to show a new direction of creativity and his art is evolving quite well. Rik's work will be all over the place before you know it.

I love his signature melted/distorted detail in the shapes, and the shine effects that add an edible/visually-tangible quality to-it-all.

click image to enlarge!

Source: http://nkeo.deviantart.com/art/Chocolate-dreams-121060579

A Touch Of Yellow

My attention in photography that I have been browsing through lately seem to mainly focus on the color Yellow ( for some reason it currently stands out to me in the composition).

When I think of yellow, it reminds me of the hot valley sun here in southern California... and I feel as if it slows-me-down a bit (much like the Yellow in a traffic light) Yellow also reminds me of summer and things related to summer.

Yellow can also make me feel outgoing, and very alive. It depends in what tone. A bright (somewhat fluorescent) yellow against a black background can become very vibrant and alive. It also very much reminds me of the beautiful Yellow that nature brings.

Above are some cool Yellow tunes I have come across in the last few weeks.

Photosource links from top to bottom:

1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/35645520@N02/3506708549/

2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/94422515@N00/3514225439/

3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/eduardos_pictures/3501919363/

4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilrobbins/3515027806/

5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/faithannyoung/3505454936/

6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucidpieces/2262837948/

7. http://victoriabennettbeyer.blogspot.com/2009/04/daffodil.html

Shinichi Maruyama

Pieces of work like this reminds me that there's always a new angle to be found when you are trying to look for a new creative point-of-view in your own work. This is probably the best water photography I have seen to date. Shinichi Maruyama's approach is extremely inventive, but most of all, it seems that he has a love-connection to this natural element and the art of: finding the beauty of imperfection (Wabi-sabi). He exploits all his views and does a good job to present it in a beautiful manner.

Just the simple addition of black dyes to the water creates an amazing contrast I would've never thought about doing. Shinichi can afford to do without additional colors, keep it in a black & white format, and still hydrate our perception one-picture-at-a-time.

The rest at: http://shinichimaruyama.com/

Rice Candy Magazine UPDATE#2

It has been a while since I talked about the magazine and everything else related to the magazine.

I will tell you in this post everything that is going on with the magazine. Also fill-you-in with information about my other projects that have taken me aside from Rice Candy.

Okay first... when I initially had decided to start the magazine I was getting help from a couple of people but that is no longer a fact. Later through the waiting period of collecting the content, I started to loose interest. Everything was taking too long and I wanted it done right there-and- then, I also felt I did not have enough content, and that was adding to it. Another thing that was floating in my mind alot was the thoughts about the economy and how I kept seeing magazines drop like flies left-and-right.

When it came around to getting all the content gathered-up I had already spent part of the money that was set aside for printing and other expenses the magazine could have.

Through the constant doubts about Rice Candy... I decided to take a break and focus on my other project that's been going on for some time as well. This other project is about a small line of eco-friendly designs, ranging from: shirts, bags, accessories etc, etc. (still in on the works and line slowly growing).

Through that period of time, I started to get a lot of recognition about my work /designs and started to get a lot of buzz from design websites left-and-right and then followed by a feature in world report design review (a European publication of innovation design from around the world) then days later another article in a design magazine in Istanbul, and then another magazine... and another.

Basically it took a design curator to show it to a few design websites and then it spread out. Also... I almost entered an international design contest, but I was honestly afraid of loosing and not getting any recognition for it, I did not want to feel that let-down (especially now since I was feeling justified for the work I was currently doing, plus all the positive attention). I spent a good time working on the competition but at the last minute decided not to go through with it. Everything was going good and I did not want to get distracted or feel down about my work (there is always next year) .

Overall... my website from my personal designs went that month from about 50 hits a month to 4,000 to 5,000 hits a month and people were actually buying my designs and for about a week I couldn't keep up with the production and decided to raise the price... but that only slowed-it-down, it never stopped it, It was crazy... ( it has slow down now).

Then I remembered how long I had been trying to get my designs viewed by others and how I had doubts about my ideas and concepts and thought maybe they where not as-good-as I had believed the whole time. This leads me to a similar role to the whole current phase of Rice Candy Magazine.

My line of designs was just like the making of Rice Candy Magazine: It had a couple of people or more involved at the beginning but later on that all fell apart, a lot of doubts in my designs and ideas, The money saved was somehow spent, It had gone through many changes and through 2 names and websites. A lot of times I lost interest and was just about to close it all down.

NOW... due to the personal and recent experience (mentioned above) I am more comfortable with the ups-and-downs and the rejections life will give you through these realms, along with the doubts and uncertainties. Plus the recent video of Jacek Putko (3 posts earlier) opened my eyes and refreshed my ideas behind this project (it was very much needed).

The magazine will get done but it will be done when I feel that is good enough to print. It is another task that will be done all by my self again... but I have no problem with that now.

If you want to know about my other work you can email me and I will give you the link along with all the information and names of the magazines and publications I purposely did not mention. I never wanted to mention my work/designs here on Rice Candy because I did not want to mix the 2 at all... (and in case someone types it in a search engine) one project has nothing to do with the other.

Why I'm I telling you all this? I felt I needed to be honest and inform you what was going on. And also in case some of you thought I did not want to make the magazine now.

My main idea and concept for Rice Candy still stands... I want this to be a very positive magazine... I don't want it to be about pretentious artists or designers; I don't want it to be about promoting non-sense or products for the sake of making a company rich, I want this to be AD-FREE. Also I don't want to present crazy, bold, visual content that some photographers do just to get attention to their work,its absurd (I don't care how "trendy" or popular it is). You can be creative without the need of gimmicks or controversial art.

If only 12 people will subscribe and/or buy the magazine, then I will only print that small amount. I am not afraid of the popularity so much now... just concerned that the actual final work comes out to my expectation and I am satisfied with it. If the first issue falls short... then I will work harder for the next issue and so on. I am not worried about selling a large amount of copies. I just want to continue making more issues because my mind and efforts is in the right place and this should be a fun experience. I can't go wrong if I have good intentions behind-it- all.

And now since I have giving you all this info about what happened in-BETWEEN- it-all I shall now show you the cover for the first issue. I wanted everyone to see the cover ONLY when the magazine was actually completed, but now I want some input about the lay out of the cover. The actual graphic design will stay the same but the titles of the articles and content can be moved around. I also want to start a short story right on the very COVER (per say a paragraph) and then continue it inside. I already have amazing ideas for the cover of the second issue... but I really can't change this one since the graphics have already been done. Any other inventive ideas for the cover are welcome if its amazing enough I will apply it and you will definitely get credits in the magazine.

Also I am looking for anyone who is good using Adobe in Design to help me out on a few pages of the magazine and possibly lend their ideas about the overall inside layout. Email me if you have any other ideas.

The last and final thing I would like to take a note from you is just get a general idea of how many of you would be interested in buying the magazine. If I know ahead of time it would be easier for me to crunch the numbers. I know there's quite a few of you already who have emailed me asked me to save a copy and I have a mailing list for those (but that list was from about 2 months ago). Therefore when you leave a comment on this post please place a "+1" if you are interested in possible getting a copy. The magazine right now as it stands will be $12.95 ( yes I know the image it states $13.95 but that's incorrect). The price could possibly change because I might LOWER it, but it wont be any higher.

Thank you for your time in reading this long BORING post... I look forward to your comments.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE!

PS. any of you hear the new remake of "Marjor Tom"from Shiny Toy Guns?... I can't get the song out of my head.

earth below us -

drifting falling

floating weightless

coming coming ... home

( click here to download it)

Simon Priestly

3 wonderful shots from photographer Simon Priestly based out of the U.K.

I enjoy the calm that's being translated in his pictures along with a good-enough-touch of shadows that absorbs some of the edge and creates slight mystery to-it-all. Just the addition of a chair in large empty room with high ceilings sprouts a whole different feeling to the shot (that wouldn't have been there without it). This also amplifies the emptiness.

Also in the first picture you have the product of an experiment using several coloured torches fixed to a pin wheel (which reminds me of those old-school multi-colored lollipops) that sum up to compose a pleasant colorful shot.

More at: http://www.simonpriestleyphotography.co.uk/

Is "PRINT" dead?

Once again I ask myself the question about the death of: printed printed publications. I am glad I came across this short symposium on the subject.

Here Jacek Utko talks about the death of newspaper but at the same time talks about strategies that can definitely be applied in many areas of design and art when it comes to deliver a product or final finished piece. It is very uplifting and motivating to listen someone talk about different solutions in a logical method. It's also reinforces ideas I've had about my personal work when it comes to pushing my own abilities.

I think a lot of times we lower the bar for ourselves and never really get to taste our potential AT ALL, a lot of times we think we are going to walk right into a launching pad rather then work-to actually create it and construct it ourselves. I am extremely critical about my designs and art, but a lot of times I feel I bit odd about having such a strict discipline when it comes to my work and designs.

I think he said it best in his closing sentence "good is not enough"( now I don't feel that bad or odd).

PS. printed publications would not be an endangered species if more people approached things like Jacek.

Hawaii

I recently found this graphic art piece by design group Hawaii which immediately reminds me of liquid glass... If you can picture it- when it's in that toffee-like-state, a little after they have placed the dyes, and right before they stop for cooling.

The second one looks like to be an aerial view of a terrain shaped in a form of a rose. Very well done as an advertisement poster for Land Rover. And the in the last one I can't seem to make out what's going on in there, but it is interesting enough to mention. I do like the linear graph and the sense of a carbonated-wavelength in the frequency.

If you look at Hawaii's folio you will see they have so much more to offer. Not only are they good with graphic design but they are excellent in other areas of design including interior and identity design.

More at: http://www.hawaiidesign.co.uk/main.html

Heist-Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer- Is just one of the many pieces to summarize the work from Phil Dunne. This is from his latest series titled "Heist". I see the style of this particular piece as a character I would've seen if someone ever produced a BLADE RUNNER Anime movie. I also have respect for Phil's work ethics behind his art, because not only does he create computer graphics but he also takes it back-to-basics with a direct approach of a pencil & paper to illustrate. And this is something I very much criticize in new era of artist who are slaved to just using the power of a computer graphic software.

Since I have not posted here on on Rice Candy for about a month or so I will just start with quick posts here-and-there of a few things that captured my attention amidst all the madness that I was busy with in the last 2 months or so. I will also share with you some of the work I have been occupied with the whole time I was M.I.A . I also want to thank you all for your kind comments and emails. I will check my email box soon to repond to as many as I can asap.

click picture to enlarge!

More of Phil at: http://www.lovetherobot.com/