ELECTROMAGNETIC INK

A love letter to art and design.

[nataliehall]

An hour using the time lapse on iPhone 6 camera 👍

[electromagneticink]

Ooooooo, what a lush inking technique. Lovely work!

[genevieve-ft]

My 2 cents on… cheap commissions…! 

[electromagneticink]

Hear, hear! Don't undervalue yourself or your work. It's a big world, and there are plenty of people who will recognize value in paying what you're worth.

[unkn0wncryptid]

LOOK WHAT I GOT IN THE MAIL TODAY :D

[electromagneticink]

Nice shirt! :)

[electromagneticink]

Jackson Alves is a type designer from Curitiba, Brazil. He is specialized in calligraphy and lettering with an amazing set if skills.

Via @Logo_Geek.

Neat idea. Logo and calligraphy sketchbook. I fear mine would be far too incomprehensible to do something like this though.

[electromagneticink]

The Dark Art of Main Menus

An in-depth on the dark art of main menus. How do you take the mundane and make it great? And just what happens when our deepest menu fears are realised?

I have long thought that the graphic and UI design of games doesn't get nearly enough attention (beyond complaining that there's no FOV slider or the menu doesn't run at a full 60 fps or something equally critical) in all of the gaming-related commentary generated these days. It kind of gets trampled in the mad rush to let's-plays and extended reviews. 

This examination by Angus Morrison over on his YouTube channel, RE:roll is like a welcome glass of cool, articulate water, with an accent. 

Which is the best kind of water, of course.

[electromagneticink]

On August 5th 1946, two years after Paris was liberated from the Germans, a young American soldier named Jerome Seckler visited Henri Matisse. Seckler had a passion for modern art. He made it his mission to meet with, and interview, some of the leading French artists of the time: Matisse was on his list. Until now this interview has never been published.

[electromagneticink]

Monument Valley in Numbers

Want to know how many copies Monument Valley sold? How much money that translated into? What the most popular levels were? Wonder no more.

An inside look into the commerce of one of the most beautiful games I've ever purchased (it looks fantastic on a Retina iPad). Design doesn't exist in a vacuum and even less of it will exist if it can't contribute to the survival of its creators, which on this planet means money.

If you like good design and art in games, and you don't already have it, Monument Valley is highly recommended. 

[electromagneticink]

Apple video showcasing the calligrapher who created the mural on the Apple Store-in-progress in Hangzhou, China. Asian calligraphy is one of  the most sublimely beautiful art forms made by humans, in my opinion. Enjoy.

[electromagneticink]

Comics apparently have an Event addiction and I'm over it

So, today I read WIRED's article about DC's Convergence Event.​

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What Is Going on With DC Comics' Super Confusing Convergence? | WIRED

DC Comics recently announced Convergence, a new crossover event slated for 2015 that, well,… Read on wired.​com

I admit, this is the first time I'd heard of the Convergence. Maybe I just didn't get the memo because DC kind of lost me with the New 52. But this seems to suggest they might be going back to the pre-Flashpoint universe — or at least giving us a nice, nostalgic look at it before implausibly powerful Braniac destroys that particular universe.

It's that last bit that is the source of my side-eye. The premise of Brainiac collecting pieces of the multiverse and then destroying the remainder would require ridiculous power levels — but also, say he nukes the pre-Flashpoint DCU. The characters in that universe have dealt with universe-ending threats before, successfully. Why wouldn't they succeed now?

True, the New 52 itself is the result of an unprevented timeline change — but the nature of a multiverse indicates that for every disaster averted there has to be a branch where it went through.

But to me what's really at issue is that over the past several years, when has DC not been in the throes of some kind of Major Event? All of which for some reason revolve around the number 52? Don't they get tired of that shit?

Don't we? I know I'm tired of it. It's got to the point where even the TV shows have little winky references like Paul Blackthorne's call sign on Arrow: "Delta Charlie 52." Haha, I see what you did there, show.

Marvel isn't immune to this either, and I'll be honest: I stopped going to the comic shop for about six months, and when I returned, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on with anyone.

I get it, Big Two. You've got to keep things shaking, got to keep things moving forward and encourage everyone to Buy All the Things. But I can't afford to Buy All the Things. I'm lucky if I can pick up a Hawkeye trade when it comes out — a comic I like because artistic but also because it's completely self-contained.

Universe-shaking Events are all very well, but for the casual reader and the impecunious fan, how about keeping in just a bit of status quo, huh? Give us something familiar to latch on to.

[electromagneticink]

Marvel's New Movie Logos

Well, here's a neat discussion of the recent trend in logo designs for Marvel's recently-announced movie slate, over at comic letterer/designer Todd Klein's blog. The point is made that there's no guarantee these will see actual theatrical release, but it's interesting to note how closely they're following the comic designs on which they're based. A lot of good, solid, underrated design work goes into comics sometimes, and it's nice to see the Hollywood end of things paying attention. Any trend that reduces the use of Trajan, I'm a fan of.

[electromagneticink]

WHAT IF: Comic Crossovers Were Done By Other Publishers

This is entertaining. Over at Comic Book Resources, the question was asked what would it look like if famous crossover "event" stories happened at different companies.

For instance (and one of my favorites of the bunch): DC's Kingdom Come, but in the Marvel Universe.

Go check it out!

[electromagneticink]

Breaking Pacific Rim 2 News

Mainly because I know it is very relevant to my cohort's interests, but also because I haven't posted in a while and this might salve any irritation.

As part of the press junket for Book of Life, director Guillermo Del Toro has told Collider (full article at the link) that production on Pacific Rim 2 will begin in late 2015, for a release date of April 2017. I think we can all agree that that date is approximately three years too far away.

[electromagneticink]

Apple Watch: What Your Favorite Apps Will Look Like

It all makes sense now.

Intriguing set of mockups adapting app designs for the new small screen.

[electromagneticink]

Adam Hughes Fairest Cover Collection

All good things must come to an end, it seems.

In this case it's Bill Willingham's amazing fairy-tales-meet-the-real-world comics series, Fairest. And with it, the stunning cover art run by Adam Hughes. All of the covers have been collected together in a gallery on AH's own website, here. Go take a long look at the work of a genuine modern master. 

[electromagneticink]

Designing Website Text for Readability - Designmodo

Readability is an essential part of web design. If you can’t read and understand what’s on the website, it will never be relevant and important to users.

Nice overview of handling the design for the Web. Some useful recommendations in there as well, though they don't mention one of my recent favorite sans serifs, Proxima Nova (it sets really nicely as body copy at larger sizes, say 16 to 18 points, and comfortable leading, 1.5 or 1.6).

[electromagneticink]

Meet the Ipsums!

Looking for a little variety in your Lorem Ipsuming? Look no further than MeetTheIpsums.com!

Coffee ipsum, Cat ipsum, Zombie ipsum, even Doctor Who ipsum, and so many more, to compliment my personal long-time favorite Bacon ipsum.

(cheers to @AdamLevermore via @jessicahische for tweeting this to my attention)

[electromagneticink]

INSPECTING YOSEMITE'S ICONS by Nick Keppol

Since a good number of designer types are going to be upgrading to the next Mac OS soon (or cautiously waiting to upgrade after all of the inevitable kinks have been ironed out because our livelihood depends on our machines working predictably and stably) I think this article is good timing.

It’s an examination of the icon design in Mac OS X Yosemite, and Keppol digs into just the right amount of detail to make me feel like a real design nerd reading it. 

He even includes a PSD file of the icon grid and shapes to help others get started on their own icons. Thoughtful!

Here’s the article. Enjoy!