I’m an illustrator from Saint Paul (Minnesota), now living in Northeast Minneapolis (also Minnesota). My degree is in Comic Art, and I currently sell art supplies.
In my art, I pursue a balance between old-world craftsmanship and digital refinement in the spectrum of character design, pictorial narratives, and print illustration. With any project I am working on, I approach it with creativity, curiosity, commitment, and communication.
So what have I been doing for about a year? I've been making a card game called Ad-Man!
Ad-Man! is about advertising characters/mascots. Playing the role of an advertising executive, you use mascots to gain the product accounts from clients to sell things like soda pop, baseball teams, and fabric detergent. A round has cumulative turns, so players add more and more mascots into the mix with the hopes of getting a high number, which will win the product. There are a lot of opportunities for creative decision-making.
It is my goal to raise (at least) $8,000 to print one thousand decks of this game. And then, to put forth a quality, entertaining product with lots of replay-ability and balance. The majority of the monies raised through Kickstarter will be used for the printing costs, with additional money being used for things like covering the cost of copyright registry, leasing a UPC, and buying a full year of hosting for this site, which will be used to sell decks and promote other gaming concepts.
The winner has the most Product cards at the end of the game. Product cards have a symbol, and only mascots with that same symbol are of use in winning the account for that product. Mascot cards have three symbols, each with a value: they’re best for some products, but can be used for others, where that mascot has some appeal.
Players take turns playing mascots with the appropriate symbol, until no more can be played in that round. Depending on choices made, players either refresh their hands by 1 or 2 cards at the end of the round.
There are many opportunties for creative decision making, and an unexpected level of balance- it is difficult to run away with a crushing lead! There are also additional rules for playing with children, extremely large groups, alone, 2-player, and in a college setting.
"What Can I Do To Help?"
Great question! with an easy answer. When the Kickstarter is live from May 1st through May 31st, go to the site, find my project, and pledge as little as $20. You can back more money if you want, and there are premium incentives to do so.
After you pledge at least $20, tell your friends! Tell anyone you think would either enjoy helping out an independent artist or enjoy independent games, or both! As I say in the video, "the goal is so do-able. Let's make this happen... together!"
... SO! That's what I've been working on. Now here's some mascots.
More coming soon!
TTYL!
This is one character that'll appear in my upcoming project, of which I hope to Kickstart very soon. I still need to get some prototypes printed, and of course protect what I've been working on for the better part of a year. But hopefully I'll be able to film the fundraising video soon, and get the ball rolling so I can start selling online without using my regular website.
Whew! It's been quite a fun little experience making this. A lot of great beta testers have helped
me perfect
this game, and I'm very grateful for their assistance!
Trust me, when this is ready to be unveiled, I'll be telling you so much more...
(even though I'm a day late, and about 2 months from my last post- so much for keeping on track with blogging...)
The little snowman above me here is a part of a card game I've been making. There's so much more involved, but I thought he'd make a cute little mark and establish a little bit of what I've been keeping in darkness...
Nothing big to report. I did this diagram to explain how to set up a stick-your-head-in-here photo-op stand for the Harriet Alexander Nature Center, which used it for their annual Wild Rice Festival. Here's what it looks like:
Not my best work (I cringe when I see how poorly I did, and still do somewhat, with arms and hands), but it's a cute little thing to do while learning about wild rice harvesting, shopping craft tables, and taking in some Ojibwa dances.
I've been toying with writing a Ghostbusters RPG scenario ever since Gen Con this year. The movie had such an impact on how I look at pop culture, and I shudder to think it might be sequel-ized [poorly], or remade [also poorly]. But the possibilities are endless!
Halloween is coming up, so I thought I'd celebrate a little early with this little animatic from a (gosh) four years ago (?). I think it's pretty fun.
OH! How could I forget this?! I was asked to contribute to the MCAD: The Gathering card game, which was given out at the MCAD reunion party earlier this year. When I get a physical copy, I'll be posting it on my website.
So what have I been doing for about a year? I've been making a card game called Ad-Man!
Ad-Man! is about advertising characters/mascots. Playing the role of an advertising executive, you use mascots to gain the product accounts from clients to sell things like soda pop, baseball teams, and fabric detergent. A round has cumulative turns, so players add more and more mascots into the mix with the hopes of getting a high number, which will win the product. There are a lot of opportunities for creative decision-making.
It is my goal to raise (at least) $8,000 to print one thousand decks of this game. And then, to put forth a quality, entertaining product with lots of replay-ability and balance. The majority of the monies raised through Kickstarter will be used for the printing costs, with additional money being used for things like covering the cost of copyright registry, leasing a UPC, and buying a full year of hosting for this site, which will be used to sell decks and promote other gaming concepts.
The winner has the most Product cards at the end of the game. Product cards have a symbol, and only mascots with that same symbol are of use in winning the account for that product. Mascot cards have three symbols, each with a value: they’re best for some products, but can be used for others, where that mascot has some appeal.
Players take turns playing mascots with the appropriate symbol, until no more can be played in that round. Depending on choices made, players either refresh their hands by 1 or 2 cards at the end of the round.
There are many opportunties for creative decision making, and an unexpected level of balance- it is difficult to run away with a crushing lead! There are also additional rules for playing with children, extremely large groups, alone, 2-player, and in a college setting.
"What Can I Do To Help?"
Great question! with an easy answer. When the Kickstarter is live from May 1st through May 31st, go to the site, find my project, and pledge as little as $20. You can back more money if you want, and there are premium incentives to do so.
After you pledge at least $20, tell your friends! Tell anyone you think would either enjoy helping out an independent artist or enjoy independent games, or both! As I say in the video, "the goal is so do-able. Let's make this happen... together!"
... SO! That's what I've been working on. Now here's some mascots.
More coming soon!
TTYL!
