Jeff's Logo

After Jeff made the previously mentioned logo, he asked me to return the favor.  It had been some time since I'd last did any kind of visual art, so I wasn't sure what would come of it.  Being obliged to produce something brought out the best in me, I suppose.

I had never used a digital drawing tablet.  My knowledge of photoshop was (and still basically is) limited to arranging layers and using the brush tool.  And, like I said, it had been a long time since I illustrated anything.

When I thought of "A logo for Jeff", Grizzly Bears immediately came to mind.  The bear in general is the most awesome of animals, Jeff is a big lumbering kind of guy, and it was a simple enough concept that I wasn't jumping into waters-too-deep.

Here is the first version of the logo I sent him, click to make bigbigbig:

 Three bears, three variations, and simple text.

It turned out just as I'd hoped, which surprised me, really.  And it was easy.  That's the craziest part, I was actually satisfied with something I'd created, and it was easy.  It took an afternoon to do.  I sat in bed and watched a movie with Amanda while I did it.

While I was drawing, I realized that this new digital medium allowed for variations on a theme with just a small amount of effort on my end.

Variation number 2:

Simple idea, satisfying results.  My friend Wade said it looked like he was wearing, "revealing biking shorts"

You see what you want to see.  I see a colorful bear, Wade sees sexy biker shorts.

Variation number 3:

This one is kinda boring compared to the previous one.

And finally (so far), Variation number 4:

 

This is probably my favorite.  I had a lot of fun putting it together, and I think it suits his visual style.

Working on Jeff's crest was an eye-opener.  It forced me to explore a new medium that probably would have remained unknown to me for a long time.  All of my friends, and especially Amanda have been extremely helpful in giving me technology advice.  Thank you to everyone for being inspirational and supportive.

Please leave a comment with your thoughts.

Next post, Luke's logo.

Repurposed

I'm a designer by nature and by profession.  While writing is a new and exciting passion, visual design is a warm and familiar one.

I haven't taken on an 'art' project in quite some time.  A couple years ago I bought some paint, canvas, and brushes.  That last a a few afternoons before I lost interest. 

Recently, I made the request of a graphic designer friend of mine that he should create for me a kind of logo that I can use for my social media profile pictures.  He obliged.

His name is Jeff Schwartzbauer.  He made this logo from the comment, "maybe it should have one animal eating another animal".

So, after the ball got kicked down the hill, he and I started creating these personalized pieces of art for all our friends.  What started as logos has turned into something more akin to a family crest.  My friend Drey said, "It's something I'd hang above my castle gates."

I will be uploading the 'crests' I've done so far over the next couple days, and hopefully continuing to post about creative projects on a regular basis. 

It's My Damn Blog

So, the experiment didn't go anywhere.  It's a lot to ask of people to be constantly vigilant about a project that have no vested interest in.  But that isn't why I stopped posting.  I realized that every section I wrote was in a constant state of revision, and the very first draft was nothing more than the ugliest it would ever be.  So what I was really doing was polluting people's idea of what the story would eventually be.

The truth of the matter is that some of the story just needs to be belched out and left bare and abrasive until some future bit is written that allows it to be more fully formed and brought up to snuff.  So, I'm not posting sections of the story as I write them any longer.  I am still writing, have been the whole time.  The last part of the story I posted was Chapter 3, Part 3.  I am now writing the end of Chapter 5.  If you read the story, and were hoping for more, let me know.  I still need beta readers for particularly tough problems I run into.

I will post updates on my progress, and maybe some more of the story that I feel is appropriate for this forum.

I still don't have a title.

Distractions

Man, I get distracted easily.  I purchased two new books as research material, What if the Earth had Two Moons, and Don't Know Much About Mythology.  They're both interesting so far, and giving me some good ideas.  Therein lies the problem, though, I find myself reading all these books and writing less.  This has probably been the least productive writing week since the beginning. 

Between those two books, the Breadmaker's Apprentice (which is fantastic) and The Name of the Wind, I'm full up with words and finding it difficult to make scenes coalesce on the page.  Oh well, I got a good conversation started this morning. 

I'm eagerly awaiting the end of this chapter.  It should be cool, and it will mark the end of Part 1, at which time I'll really be able to start the big edits.  Once part one is in good shape I will be contacting my novelist friend and crossing my fingers that she'll take a look at it and give me some pointers.  We'll see.

I'll post Chapter 3, part 3 today, which is a departure I'm experimenting with, trying to let the narrator break the structure up a bit. 

Song

Chapter 3, part 2 is up.  It is brief conversation between the girl and Feast as they reach the edge of the spire plateau and leave the monastery behind.

I have, in two places so far, little bits of song or poetry injected.  They are tough to write.  The first one had sound a bit lurching and ponderous because it is sung by a lonely, half-drunk man.  This second bit is Feast (having that damned song stuck in his head) recalling the chorus to himself.  I'm not at all happy with these bits at the moment, but I'm sticking with my decision not to edit myself during the initial stages.  I know that something like a bit of song or poetry can easily be returned to later and revised, or even changed entirely.  So I left the songs as I they flowed out during those writing sessions, but I'm sure they'll change and grow eventually.

I've gotta come up with a name for the girl that Feast is traveling with.  I know what I've been calling her in my head, which might work, but you never really know until you've put it on the page and see how it looks.  Any suggestions?

I've written the third part, which is just a few hundred words long, and will post it soon.

More Peril!

Chapter 3, part 1 is posted.  I wrote the last sentence, reread it once, and then posted it.  I didn't even run a spell check.

Its actually somewhat freeing. 

I loved writing this part.  I was getting tired of the gloomy confines of the monastery.  I'm really excited for the next bit of writing that will finally take us off of the spire plateau and give us a view of where we've been exploring for twenty-thousand words.

What I'm realizing is that I need to inject more action into the story.  I've been making rewrite notes as I progress.  Most of them concern two things:  Add more peril to specific scenes, and add more emotion and affection to interactions between characters.

Well, Amanda is doing her yoga, so I'd better start writing the next part.  Thanks for reading.

All caught up

So, I posted the end of chapter 2 yesterday. 

The way it worked, was that I started this blog while the second chapter was out being reviewed by my brother.  So, by the time I really got it rolling, I had two complete (but raw) chapters to post.  By posting one section a day, I was able to take about a week to get them all up and readable.  This meant I could get a little jump start on the third chapter.

Now that the blog is caught up with where I am actually writing, my plan is to post more frequent entries about the progress and process, and every few day post a newly complete section.  This means the actual story will come a little less frequently, and in smaller parts, but it will be hot off the presses and completely unedited. 

Thanks to those that have been reading so far.

What I need from YOU now, is to comment, anything that strike you.  Comment on whats works, what is funny, what is groan-worthy, what is shit, or what is flat out plagiarism.  The whole purpose of this blog (for me) is to get feedback. 

Look forward to Chapter 3.Part 1 tonight or tomorrow.  Thanks again!