Ad-Man! Card Game!

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!

Minneapolis Indie Xpo!

Minneapolis Indie Xpo is happening on August 21st at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis! Come and see me IRL, and see some neat comics!

So this upcoming Saturday is Minneapolis Indie Xpo (MIX). I've got table space, and I'll be selling some mini-comics, a board game, and possibly a music CD. And a slew of prints. It's going to be pretty awesome.

The following is a selection of what I'll be selling. I do plan on adding some prints to the collection, and if I'm lucky, a quick mini or two. So enjoy this preview:



Remember when I had a series of LEGO Mans on this blog? These three minis are collections of these, plus a special non-internet one. Has a full colour cover.


Childhood trauma and drama set against used video game retail.


The silly little comic about solving your problems.


The Burrowed: a story told in pieces of how a monster causes a war in a small rural town.



Back Pages: the journey of self-promotion in a cold and heartless world; collection of my comics I used to advertise my website though a local weekly newspaper.



A linoleum-block printed comic of the reviving effects of art after personal turmoil. Each cover features a unique paper as its cover.



Some old comics from my college days. Not the highest of caliber of my comic work, but hey, someone might be interested. Basically a back-up...



I'm selling an actual board game that I constructed and designed. It's called Hush Fund, and it's like playing Monopoly with nothing but Chance Cards. I've only got ten copies... I'll have a sign-up sheet if anyone's interested, and I've run out...


A shot of what I've got so far...

Whew! That's a lot! So come to MIX! It'll be a hoot!

TTYL!

Baseball? Monsters? Businessmen?

Wow. I've not updated this for a while. Well, I've been working on things for MIX!



I can't go too detailed about some of the things I'm going to be selling at MIX, but I can sure as hell hint at some. This picture's from a board game....



This is from the most recent piece I'm working on. There's a major element I've blurred to keep some of the surprise...



About 2 months ago, I did this illustration for Twincy, a marketing/branding agency. It was a fun project to make their faces work with the Twin's logo.



The last week was a little nightmare-ish. My website appeared to be be clogged with malware. No idea how, but Google put a flag on it, and would alert viewers that looking at my online portfolio might infect their computer with vicious pornography.
I can say with supreme confidence that that's cleared up, and visiting my website is safe.

Well, I'll try to start updating more frequently. It's been a rush, having something to focus on to get an incredible amount of work done. Stimulating to say the least...

TTYL!

Post 100! Also, some colour illustrations!

Wow! I've just posted my 100th blog post. I started this blog a year and a few months ago, and in that time, I've worked some amazing freelance, spent the summer as a cashier at Linder's, and begun a terrific job at Wet Paint. I've also had a few life changes that have shaped my perspective, and look forward to another 100 posts!



This is what I can show you of a speculative piece I've been illustrating with Pamela Gerke, a writer, teacher, musican/singer, and arts educator in Washington state. It's also a piece that shows the water colour painting I've been doing in the last week or so.


Some of the colour was made with Daniel Smith Water Color Paint. It's amazing, and I guarantee that I'm going to describe this amazing paint (that we conveniently sell at Wet Paint...) in my next post.



This character design is just for fun, based on a German art materials company logo that I'll keep nameless...


I have no idea. I'm going to start posting old sketchbook drawings, and I could see no other than this to start it off. Comments?



Hope you had a happy Easter!
TTYL!