ALUMNI FOCUS: Derek, Alisa, Charlie, Melissa, Talin & Lauren

Derek Ballard

“MAUDE SQUAD, my contribution to @spoke_art’s “Coen, where art thou?” group show. Opening tomorrow at Spoke Art NYC. To use the parlance of our times, this show is gonna be a fricken’ banger!“

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Alisa Bishop Bradley

“I had the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing web comic Warm Blood, different artists do every 4 or so pages, so it’s a neat project! I did the first 4 pages of the newest chapter, 6. It’s a comic about some supernatural weirdness and a high school murder mystery. These were fun to work on, and challenging, comics are tough, haha.”

“I painted some little portraits for some friend gifts! They’re off on new adventures together.”

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Charlie Cressall

“The Valentine towels are printed and hot pressed. $5 each. They would be a great addition to a box of chocolates or a bottle of Vodka.” 

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Melissa Healy Turner

““Put it on my luggage!” – Prince John (animated Robin Hood). Illustrated a bunch of luggage stickers for Crate Paper’s Here + There line.“

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Talin Wadsworth

“Preview of my #risograph print for http://www.booksofsomesubstance.com (Go check out their excellent podcast and maybe sign up if you dig reading good books with cool people like Nathan Sharp and Eric Heiman.)” 💀

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Lauren Waters

“Happened to see this phrase somewhere yesterday and couldn’t get it out of my head. So here it is in red, purple, and green.” ❤️💜

PRINT MAGAZINE FOCUS

Why you should make time for creative side projects

By Dom Carter 2 hours ago Graphic design  

Top creatives share how they turned side projects into careers.

Making time for a side project is an ambition lots of creatives strive for. After all, design is a broad discipline with plenty of different skill sets working together and overlapping, so it makes sense to want to master everything – and passion projects are a great way to do that.

To read more:
http://www.creativebloq.com/features/why-you-should-make-time-for-creative-side-projects

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New Comics Anthologies!

A Visual Sampling

Highlight Below: Marc Bell

From Print Magazine:

Best New Comics Anthologies: A Visual Sampling
By: Michael Dooley | July 20, 2017

So many outstanding comics anthologies, so little quality eyeball time. But worry not: Print’s come to your rescue. Last year we surveyed “wonder women artists” nominated for San Diego Comic-Con’s Eisner Awards, located here. And on Tuesday we provided you with a visual sampling of this year’s top nominees, and you’ll find that here. And today we’ll wrap up with a design-based survey that highlights some of the more graphically striking and skillfully adventuresome artists within the “Best Anthologies” book category. The winner will be announced at tomorrow’s presentation ceremony.

To read more:
Best New Comics Anthologies

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Derek Designs Album Cover!

FROM BIRDWATCH:
“Excited to announce our album cover for our new record OLD SCIENCE. This design was created by the amazing Derek Ballard. Along with the artwork he gave a detailed explanation of the design. The meanings he attached to this idea, and the thoughtfulness he put into it mean the world to us. Better than anything we could have hoped for. Here is his description for his work. Thank you to everyone for the support. Album out Friday.”

FROM DEREK BALLARD, VAD Graphic Design Alumnus:
“Everything in the gold overlay is represented in an art deco style, with confident lines, clean type, and strong iconography. I created a symbol based on the sextant, a dynamic tool used by explorers, and a personal point of interest. Travelers, sailors and explorers found an invaluable advantage through celestial navigation. Looking to the stars with the use of reflections, angles and the horizon replaced their dependency on the fickle method of dead-reckoning and gave them a better understanding of their current position and desired destination. I feel the functionality of this ancient tool (looking forward through use of reflection) can be strikingly emblematic to the emotional themes woven throughout the album.

The background image is a hand, subtly illustrated. At first glance, it looks as though the fingers have dipped into the water below, implying purification. However, on closer inspection, it’s clear that each fingertip has been lacerated for the purpose of bloodletting – and the pool below is the consequence of which. This OLD SCIENCE was chosen as a poignant way to suggest pain, tribulation, and release. It connects with the physical discomfort most musicians feel after spilling their souls into the writing of music, playing until their fingers erupt. It’s my hope that this synthesis of imagery will visually echo the themes of hurt, reconciliation, and growth revealed through the audible and lyrical content of this album.”

CONGRATULATIONS DEREK!

STOCK IMAGE LICENSES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!

From the Graphic Artists Guild:

The Restrictions in Stock Image Licenses Illustrators and Designers Need to Know Posted by Rebecca Blake on October 06, 2015

“Microstock websites – websites that purvey low-cost photos, illustrations, and icons – have become a standard image source for designers with small budgets and undiscriminating clients. Illustrators have also used microstock, either in the creation of collage or montaged imagery, or as reference material for illustrations. However, both designers and illustrators are cautioned to read through the licenses employed by microstock sites. The low fees and ‘royalty free’ label extended by microstock sites do not translate to unlimited use of their images.”

To read more:
https://graphicartistsguild.org/news/restrictions-in-stock-image-licenses

INK encourages membership in the Graphic Artists Guild:
https://graphicartistsguild.org/about/cat/overview

FUN: Chocolate Roulette

 

Would you dear to play?

Original Post – http://9gag.com/gag/a2PPPZd?ref=fbp

 

FUN: Makers of Amusing

 

 

The Crib Dribbler is the perfect Prank Pack for that friend or family member with a baby in their life or on the way! With the Crib Dribbler feeding system, baby will have the alone time it needs and its parents can enjoy some quiet time without having to tend to a hungry baby.

To see more funny pranks please visit – http://www.30watt.com/

ARTICLE: Custom-Made Helmet Designs

Dubai-based artist Jyo John Mulloor has used his photo manipulation skills to create an interesting series of custom-made helmet designs that look like shaved human heads. The entire collection of photos are available to view on Mulloor’s portfolio website and on Behance.

To see the other helmets he designed please visit – http://laughingsquid.com/

ARTICLE: Limited Time Type Offer

To purchase this pack or download the free trial please visit – https://www.inkydeals.com/

Typography Creation Kit worth $7,285 – Only $34

There are Vector images, textures, PS Brushes, TYPEFACES, and a few other things. Heads up, it only lasts for 39 more hours at this price.

There’s also a free trial download!

ARTICLE: The Analog Origins of Google’s Material Design

To view this article and its examples in its entirety, please visit – http://gizmodo.com/

As part of I/O, Google is giving us a closer look at the fairly old-school tools and ideas behind Material Design—and for anyone with an appreciation for a good X-Acto knife, a color wheel, or a crisp fold of paper, this is going to be deeply satisfying.

Google also posted an update on Roboto, its system typeface, and how it’s evolved over the past year. “We also wanted to add the typographic niceties we’re used to seeing in print,” says Christian Robertson. That meant refining not only the characters, but providing more weights, widths, and newly refined italics—drawing from traditional typography to add depth to a digital typeface. It’s “a living typeface,” he says, “a step beyond what we see with a lot of linotype systems.”