I can think of no better way to celebrate the second annual Create Upstate conference than rebooting my Freebie Friday series.
I know all you design nerds LOVE beautiful hi-res textures so here’s a brand new 11″ x 17″ layered texture background (.psd format) for you to use in your next project. Enjoy!
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been in a creative rut. Ok. First of all, thanks for putting on deodorant this morning. And secondly, you’re not alone. All creatives have found themselves in a dark place suddenly void of those magical light bulbs that we call ideas.
One way that I like to combat a creative block is by enjoying the work of other creatives. It could be a photography collection, an illustrator’s kick-ass Instagram series, or even some poetry. Over the years, I’ve found and subscribed to a number of blogs that offer an inspiring creative boost in times of need. Here are a few of my favorites.
This is Colossal does an excellent job of covering photography, design, animation, architecture, and street art. Only interested in art? No sweat. This Is Colossal segments their posts quite nicely so you can seek out what interests you specifically. Subscribe to the This Is Colossal RSS feed here.
AIGA’s official design blog is chock full of incredible content. Designer profiles, Design Diary posts, and opinion pieces about a wide range of design topics will get your creative juices flowing in no time. Subscribe to AIGA Eye on Design here.
Founded in 2006 by writer extraordinaire Maria Popova, Brain Pickings shares insights from well-known artists, authors, and other creatives. This post on Mozart’s views on the creative process is worth the read. Subscribe to Brian Pickings here.
I really can’t describe The Jealous Curator any better than founder Danielle Krysa herself:
“The Jealous Curator launched in February 2009, as a place for me to show artwork that ‘made me jealous’… in a bad, toxic, soul-crushing way. I was literally getting stopped in my tracks every time I saw work that I loved. It was awful. But now, almost five years later, that ‘jealousy’ has turned magically, wonderfully, and thankfully into inspiration… but it’s too late to change my logo ; ). In all seriousness though, I’ve realized that jealousy can actually be turned completely on it’s head, and used as fuel to get back into the studio. It can only stop you if you let it. That’s when the magic transformation from jealousy to inspiration starts to happen… thank goodness.
The curated content on the blog does indeed make me jealous and also pushes me to try new styles. Subscribe to The Jealous Curator here, and while you’re at it, check out Danielle’s book, Creative Block.
Typeverything is such much a blog as a collection of really awesome typographic designs. If you’re a type and lettering nerd like me, you’ll love the striking visual style of the Typeverything site. If you think your own typographic or lettering projects would be a good fit for Typeverything, shoot them a note.
If you think gifs are only good for capturing meme-tastic reactions or moments from your favorite t.v. shows, Gif Selections will make you think again. Curated by Skip Hursh, the site consistently melts my face with all its beautifully bizarre gifs. Subscribe to the Gif Selections feed here.
I hope you find these blogs as inspiring as I do. Be sure to tweet me (@lunchboxbrain) with your favorite design/inspirational blogs!
Note: The following post was originally published on Threadless
Who doesn’t love free things? Whether it’s free parking, free wi-fi, or free waffles, free things bring a smile to your face and a sigh of relief from your wallet.
Throughout my years as a digital designer, I’ve discovered a treasure trove of sites that offer high-quality, free design resources. Below are some of my favorite free sites to wet your freebie whistle.
Image credit: Dimitar Tsankov
Image credit: Six Revisions
Image credit: Blog Spoon Graphics
Image credit: Lost and Taken
Image credit: Font Fabric
Image credit: Anna Ivanir
Image credit: Tranmautritam
In addition to these tremendous sites, feel free to check out my own design freebies. Email me at lunchboxbrain at gmail dot com if you think I missed some killer go-to resources for design freebies.
2014 was a great year. Scratch that…the GREATEST year in the lunchboxbrain galaxy. The year got off to a great start with my Lost In Illustration (aka Eat, Drink and Bill Murray) print over at shirt.woot. It was well-received across the interwebz and I’m incredibly grateful for all the BFM love. The team at shirt.woot have seen fit to include Lost In Illustration as part of their year-end Let’s Party sale. If you missed out on getting this design on an apron, here’s your chance!
The year kept rolling strong with my latest Threadless tee, Abide. I was over the moon when I found that Abide had been selected to print as part of the Threadless Big Lebowski collection. Lebowski is, dare I say it, an iconic movie. To have one of my designs associated with that movie still blows my mind.
One of the truly awesome highlights of 2014, was the effort to help Nebraska-base designer Adam White in high fight against MS and paresthesia. A group of talented folks, mostly from the Threadless community, banded together to create the Help Adam White store. Adam receives 100% of the proceeds from that store. The good folks at Threadless followed suit by setting up a MADE collection for Adam. Again, 100% of the proceeds were donate to help Adam pay his medical bills. I was one of 30 artists who contributed work to Adam’s MADE shop. My design, Go Craze, was inspired by Adam’s unique style and his Craze One brand.
Here are a few other metric highlights from 2014:
I won’t bore you with details of my 2015 plans. Here’s what I’m focused on in a nutshell: make more rad stuff, more quality time with my family and friends, get fit, read some books, make even more rad stuff.
If you’ve read to this point, let me take this opportunity to say THANK YOU. I am very grateful for the kindness and words of encouragement that I’ve received from LBB supporters in 2014. I hope that 2015 brings you lots of joy, wisdom and pizza.
Brief intro note: The following essay is based on a presentation concept that I advanced for consideration for the upcoming TEDx Albany event. My proposal wasn’t accepted but I believe that there’s a good idea in here that may be of value to you. Happy reading!
Life is not without challenges. From the little things (getting your kids ready for school in the morning, finding a good parking spot and fixing a leaky faucet) to the big things (losing your job, coping with the death of a loved one and battling a serious illness), we all face what feels like an endless river of challenges during our lives.
This river ultimately presents us with two choices: swim or drown. While quitting is the far easier choice, it’s also the weaker and less rewarding one. Swimming, on the other hand, is harder and more rewarding. I don’t know about you, but the notion of death by drowning is a terrifying prospect.
So now that drowning is out of the picture, the question is this: How can we survive the raging river of life’s challenges? Where do we turn to for help as we’re heading downs stream and getting thrown against the rocks?
My answer is simple: Adopt an underdog.
An underdog is a person or group, engaged in a competition, that is expected to lose. And yet, against all odds, the underdog finds a way to overcome all obstacles and win the day.
History has seen it’s fair share of underdogs. Joan of Arc, Nelson Mandela, Frida Kahlo, pre-traitorous Benedict Arnold (before he became a traitor) and countless others found the strength to preserver and conquer the challenges before them. These underdogs are all extraordinary individuals but I’d encourage you to adopt an underdog that carries a deep personal connection.
My underdog is the 2007 New York Giants.
I’ve been a Giants fan my whole life. I grew up watching Giant legends like Phil Simms, Mark Bavaro and Lawrence Taylor. I also endured the post-Parcells era in which the team had a cumulative record of 45-41. I also suffered through Super Bowl XXXV in which the Giants, who had a 12-4 record in the regular season, were blown out by the Ravens, 34–7. While childhood friends latched onto Joe Montana’s 49ers and Jimmy Johnson’s modern Cowboys, I was True Blue all the way.
Flash forward to 2007. The New York Giants were underdogs in every sense of the word. They were coming off a mediocre 8-8 season. They started the 2007 season 0-2 but still managed to scrape together 10 wins. They secured #5 seed in the NFC after beating the Buffalo Bills 38-21 in a wild, wintry game in Buffalo.
For the record, I was at that game. The bus ride from Albany to Orchard Park was long, the weather was miserable but the victory was incredible.
After a close loss to the New England Patriots in week 17, they then went on an improbable playoff run beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers – all on the road; winning each game by a margin of 10 points or less.
The New England Patriots were a perfect 16-0 in the regular season. They had the NFL’s #1-ranked offense and #4-ranked defense. Their average point total for the season was 35.6. In short, the Patriots ruled the league that season. Know-it-alls across the sports world were ready to crown them the greatest NFL team of all time. Tom Brady and Co. were simply destined to win Super Bowl XLII.
On paper, my underdog Giants looked more like garden gnomes compared to the mighty Patriots. The Giants had the NFL’s #14-ranked offense and #17-ranked defense. They had just 1 Pro Bowl player to the Patriots’ 8. The Giants scored more than 35 points only once in the entire season – during their wildcard clincher against the Buffalo Bills on December 23. Even with their magical playoff run, they were the clear Super Bowl underdogs.
In the interest of time, I’ll get right to the good part of Super Bowl XLII. The Giants are down, 14-10. There’s 1:15 left in the fourth quarter. It’s third down with 5 yards to go. Eli Manning takes the snap and within 3 seconds, he’s completely engulfed by the Patriots defensive line. He’s drowning in a monstrous wave of pressure.
Sound like a familiar feeling?
Through what I can only believe was a combination of athletic ability and sheer will power, he escapes from the pocket, rolls right and throws a 32-yard pass to David Tyree, the team’s third-best receiver.
Manning’s escape was magical. But Tyree’s catch was miraculous.
Battling Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison, Tyree jumped, somehow caught the ball against his helmet and maintained possession of it while falling to the ground.
Four plays after that historic Super Bowl moment, Plaxico Burress caught a touchdown pass that put the Giants up 17-14 and won the game.
At some point in our lives, we’ve all felt like our pocket was about to collapse under the weight of the Patriots defensive line.
And you’ve probably seen opportunities come your way that seemed so far out of reach just like that throw to David Tyree.
We all live with the constant reminder that time is against us – much like it was for the Giants in the fourth quarter.
But as the 2007 New York Giants – my own personal underdog – showed the world on February 3, 2008, you can overcome anything.
You can start slow and finish strong.
You can be thousands of miles from home and still get the job done.
You can defeat the undefeated.
You can win.
Your underdog is out there – ready to be adopted and help you through tough times.
November is officially upon us. In honor of this month’s focus on facial hair, I’ve posted a new design to my Society6 shop. Moustaches Are Amazing is available as an art print (frame or unframed), a canvas print, t-shirt, hoodie, tank top, iPhone case and even a mug!
Moustaches Are Amazing features the likenesses of Hulk Hogan, Lionel Richie, Tom Selleck, Prince and other magnificently moustached gentlemen. Order your Moustaches Are Amazing item to ensure delivery for the holiday season.
FaBOOlous news, everyone! The good folks at shirt.woot have reprinted my Ghosties design on tees ($12) and pullover hoodies ($25). The Hallowoot sale runs through October 13 – so get busy buyin’ before these Ghosties are gone for another year!
As some LBB supporters may have seen on my Facebook page yesterday, a lululemon store in Centery City Philadelphia featured a poorly-designed rip-off of my Rock On design in their window display. If you missed it, here’s a side-by-side comparison of my design and the rip-off.
I was notified of this situation by Corey Everett, an extraordinarily talented designer from Philly. Recognizing the design (and its poor replication), Corey snapped a photo of the window display and emailed it to me.
This isn’t the first that my work has been used, modified, ripped-off without my consent. In fact, it seems like it’s a rite of passage for up-and-coming designers to have their work stolen. However, virtually all of the previous instances of stolen art work occurred with other “designers” and their online shops. Yesterday’s incident involved a major retail chain – which, as you could imagine, got my blood boiling a bit more than usual.
I did what other artists have done – I took my grievance to the internet! I published that Facebook post along with a few tweets which some folks noticed and then kindly shared (THANK YOU!!) their mutual attitude toward stolen art work.
Lo and behold around 5:30pm, I received an email from a lulullemon east coast community rep. In the email, she said she had seen my tweets and asked if I had a few minutes to discuss the issue at hand. We agreed to a phone call early this morning. Remember kids, it’s better to be a diplomat than a dickhead.
Sure enough, my phone rang this morning and we had a 15 minute conversation. Here’s the Reader’s Digest version of the call:
Me: What happened here?
Lululemon Rep: We’re very sorry about this. A Philly store employee saw your design on Pinterest and thought it would be OK to use it to promote an upcoming Rock and Roll half-marathon.
Me: Yeah but that’s definitely NOT OK.
Lululemon Rep: Agree 100%. As soon as I saw your tweets, the store was contacted and then display was taken down immediately.
Me: Doesn’t the chain have a process in place for window displays?
Lululemon Rep: Not really. Each store does their own thing re: displays.
Me: You should recommend a company-wide policy that ensures that employees don’t steal artwork from designers in the future. It’s simply unacceptable. How about working WITH local artists to do the work?
Lululemon Rep: This incident will spur some policy changes. Again, I apologize.
Me: Sounds like an honest mistake but please do something to ensure that this doesn’t happen to other artists.
Lululemon Rep: Will do.
Me: Good day, madam!
So there it is – a prompt, believable explanation from an official company rep. I believe that it was an honest mistake. In fact, I think it’s great that lululemon gives each store the creative freedom to design their own window displays. However, it’s not great that there’s no basic do’s-and-don’ts about what can be used in those window displays. C’mon lululemon, get it together!
(Soapbox session commencing in 3…2…1…)
I really hope that lululemon and other stores get their act together when it comes to procuring artwork – whether it’s for window displays or actual merchandise. Over the years, I’ve seen numerous designers have their work used without consent or compensation. And quite frankly, it’s bullshit and it needs to stop.
If you’re doing creative work for a company – small, medium, large, mega-large, etc. – DON’T STEAL FROM THEM, WORK WITH THEM. The end result will only lead to good things for everyone involved.
If you buy just one of my designs this year, please make it Go Craze. 100% of the proceeds from this tee and 29 other Threadless tees, will go directly to Adam White, an artist who recently was diagnosed with early stages of MS and paresthesia.
Pick up Go Craze and some other rad shirts in the Made collection today!
P.S. – You can also buy some amazing artwork at the Help Adam White store.
With summer in full swing, I thought it would be fun to offer up a fun Freebie Friday. This week’s Friday Freebie is layered, hi-res summer grunge poster background. Colors are easily changeable to match your next poster project.
Check out the sample below and download the file. If you dig this week’s Friday Freebie, please share the word via Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks!
