Number 67

Edit: Fixed the symmetry in the robot's face. I'd absentmindedly forgotten to align everything completely before I posted the image below. Oops!























Number 67 - Robot Extraordinaire!
(Be sure to click on the image for a larger version)

- Jeff Andrews

"RED"

More Recent Work...

There seem to be a number of monsters and robots running around in my head these days, don't be surprised to see more here soon. :)

scribble?

When I'm bored, or contemplating something, I tend to scribble like this. Thought I'd share this guy today, he looked like he had something to say.

Hmmm...not to mention his right hand kinda looks like mine right now. ;)

Need Some Good Inspirational Instrumental Music?

I've found that I am much more creative when I am listening to good music. It's something about the stimulation the brain receives. In any regard, without delving too deeply into the why's or how's of it, I wanted to point out a great resource for some fantastic "free" instrumental music you can listen to online.

the music is from the soundtrack of the recently released movie Pan's Labyrinth. A fantasy described thusly: Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro delivers a unique, richly imagined epic with PAN’S LABYRINTH, a gothic fairytale set against the postwar repression of Franco’s Spain. Harnessing the formal characteristics of classic folklore to a 20th Century landscape, del Toro delivers a timeless tale of good and evil, bravery and sacrifice, love and loss.

Though I have yet to see the film, I've recently discovered that the entire soundtrack is available for listening right on the official website. until I'm able to download or buy the music outright, I've found it particularly worthwhile to visit the website and peruse the soundtrack there.

Here is the link to the official website, once you're there, click on 'interact' and then 'soundtrack' at the bottom right. there are a number of other great features and downloads on the website as well, I urge you to explore...and see the film when you're able, if you appreciate this genre. From what I have gathered, it has received a number of very positive and favorable reviews.

Enjoy!

http://www.panslabyrinth.com/

Free Graphic Design

My buddy Cal over at Mayhem Studios found this great post on Craigslist in LA. How completely true! I love this...read on true believers.

Edit: Well apparently the post on craigslist was removed, fortunately however we've managed to copy the letter in full before that happened and you can still view it below.

Date: 2007-01-22, 2:55PM PST


Every day, there are more and more CL posts seeking "artists" for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they're NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are "seeking artists", let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? ...none?

More than likely, you don't know any. Otherwise, you wouldn't be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics.
There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the "opportunity" to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him "a few bucks" for "materials". What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered "yes" to ANY of the above, you're obviously insane.

If you answered "no", then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me... why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a "great opportunity" for an artist to have his work seen on your
car/'zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a "great opportunity" for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a "student" or "beginner" in an attempt to get work for free. It's ignorant and insulting. They may be "students", but that does not mean they don't deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a "student" once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world?

Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it's one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their "portfolio". They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It's not compensation. It's their right, and it's a given.

4. Stop thinking that you're giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need "experience". But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the "experience" they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother's house when they were seventeen?
If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would
be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to "submit work for consideration". They may even be posing as some sort of "contest".
These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the "contest", or be "chosen" for the gig, and find what they like most.
They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or "spec", work. It's risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely.

For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are "spec" gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free... please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you're accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

Edit: A little more on this subject.

Design Inspiration Receives Mention on Imagekind

Design Inspiration, the blog I've developed to interview both established and up and coming artists, designers and illustrators received a mention today on the Imagekind blog thanks to a recent interview with my friend Mike Cressy.

From the website:

Design Inspiration, a wonderfully informative blog that profiles individual designers and illustrators, is highlighting the same artist we have on our homepage! That lucky illustrator is Mike Cressy, and to celebrate this happy coincidence, we thought we’d take the opportunity to point you towards the article which gives some uniquely detailed perspective on our featured artist of the day!

Design Inspiration does a great Q&A, previews some of the artist’s work, and provides you plenty of links to follow up with. In general it’s a really unique and interesting format for a blog about art, and well worth checking out. And, Mike is a perfect artist to learn more about - he has a clever and playful style, is incredibly productive (check out his “Live Scetchbook”), and his comments on freelance success are truly inspiring!

Renaissance Robot by Mike Cressy

Link to article.
Link to imagekind.

Orville Redenbacher Loves His iPod!

Have you seen this latest commercial with a creepy computer rendered Orville Redenbacher? Somehow, despite what I've read, I can't believe ol' Orville would have approved.

IMO, some things are better left alone. Personally I've been loving the retro ads they've been playing lately with the old commercial footage and the new packaging inset. That was much cooler!

Hey, that's one of mine!!!

I was absentmindedly browsing through my friend Cat's Designer's Who Blog site early this morning when I came across a post there entitled Logo Design Trends 2007. Of course that piqued my interest, I clicked on the link and was enjoying the article, written by the people at the LogoOrange Design Group, when lo and behold I came to the fifth design trend listed '3-D Puffies' and was surprised to find one of my own logos (Tacos El Caminante) displayed there as an example of said trend. Needless to say it caught me a bit off guard, but I am none the less honored by its inclusion.

Here is a link to the page, check it out for yourself.

Introducing the iPhone

I would buy one of these in a millesecond! Or rather I will, when they make them available for T-Mobile.

iPhone combines three products — a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching — into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone also introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting you control everything with just your fingers. So it ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, completely redefining what you can do on a mobile phone.

In the meantime, I'm buying this one.




Related Links:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/
http://www.t-mobile.com

iFrogz iPod Cases

Got an iPod? Then you're gonna wanna check out these great iPod cases. Totally cool!

From the website: iFrogz patent pending 3-part design allows customers to create the case that reflects their individual style and personality. With thousands of design options and growing, customers are almost guaranteed to build a unique iPod™ case. Each iFrogz case is made of 100% polished silicone for superior quality and no link pickup. Each case also offers unrivaled protection due to a proprietary
manufacturing process. An iFrogz case protects the iPod's body, screen, and wheel - as well as all inputs when they are not in use.

Thanks to my buddy David for the great find. I'm getting one of these...as soon as I can replace my iPod that is.

Related Link: http://ifrogz.com/silicone-ipod-cases.php

Another...

Experimenting a bit with my new little character. A new forum avatar. Whatyathink?

Happy 2007!

I, for one, am DONE with 2006, bring on 2007!!!