http://www.blackhoundblue.com Wherein blackhound relays his views on expressive frippery & designer tomfoolery with utter nonsense to an assorted assemblage of both well-wishers & neigh-sayers. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:48:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I dashed together this illustration today for TakePart on the news that an iceberg was headed to Australia. This illo is free to be reused under a CC license with the stipulation that you provide credit/link to TakePart. Isn't that considerate? http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/12/a-titanic-continent-or-steer-this-nation-away-from-climate-change-or-some-other-pun/ Donato Sansone shows his dedication to the craft with this clever piece about the flipside to losing one's head in an argument. VIDEOGIOCO by Donato Sansone http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/12/videogioco-or-the-flipside-of-animation/ Never let it be said that I don't take my pie seriously. Pie, like most of the food I make, I like to make from scratch. Call me a slow foodie, call me obsessive compulsive, just don't call me late for pie! So here, days before Thanksgiving, I start my ... http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/11/pumpkin-pie-spices-or-how-to-roll-your-own/ I was looking around for some papercraft animation and stumbled upon... well, exactly what I was looking for. Johnny Kelly's The Seed follows the life cycle of a single apple seed. Nice handling of the excretion transition, you sly devil. Another by Mr. Kelly, too. http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/08/follow-the-bouncing-seed-or-some-animation/ A bit of cooking, a bit of typography. Next meal will likely have a more elaborately written and designed menu, but this was just a bit of fun. I was, however, playing with a new approach to faux letterpress shading that I'm fairly pleased with. It's delicate, but decidedly letterpress in ... http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/06/a-spot-o-luck-or-fridays-menu/ In order to avoid shilling for Frito-Lay, I will refrain from delving into this animation's raison d'être. But really, what a treat of little animated shorts these are. I saw the first in an online video ad, looked around for a YouTube copy, and stumbled across 4 more. Has Frito-Lay ... http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/03/fritos-adimation-or-the-animation-stimulus-package/ I've spent the better part of my creative career trying to hone my skills at crafting designs that appear to come from another era. In fact, I'm in the middle of trying to game AfterEffects and Final Cut Pro to produce believably 70s videos (or at least believably borrow the ... http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/02/watch-the-watchmen-or-anachromisms-finely-crafted/ Blambot has a fantastic breakdown of how type conventions work in comics and graphic novels. Full of things that are news to me, like the use of breath marks. Great as a supplement to the always relevant work of Scott McCloud and Will Eisner. Comics Grammar & Tradition (via BoingBoing) http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/02/typographic-conventions-in-comics-or-typocomicon/ For designers (and others) interested in making metal business cards that fold up and out into interesting shapes, I have some notes to pass along. I can't help you design a card, but I can help you avoid some of the pitfalls. In no particular order, then, some tips: Score your ... http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/01/metal-business-cards-or-how-to-do-them-part-2/ After getting BoingBoing'd the other day, I've been inundated (or something similar) with questions about how you make, acquire, or design for metal business cards. Here are some answers: How were they made? The cards were produced using a process called photochemical etching. Where did you get them made? The Hand + ... http://www.blackhoundblue.com/2009/01/metal-business-cards-or-how-to-do-them/