eminenssi

finnish graphic designer, history buff, aspiring writer, sunday skateboarder and a jolly dude

[eminenssi]

Helsinki Social Karaoke Retrospective 2019

Last year was friday evenings of half-remembered words, hearty performances, heavy growling and street ballads. From cheap swills with friends at Ace of Spades to dozen person performances of Bohemian Rhapsody at Merihaka. For me karaoke is the working class tradition of everyone’s minute of spotlight. 

Turbo Karaoke rocked though. Personal thanks from me to everybody who attended the party in now buried Karaokekellari. We’ll have to work to top that one. Def Leppard - Hysteria.

We’re still investigating into restarting the open events, but arrangements for mics, songlists and cheap bars are underway.  🤘 🎤 🍻

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Helsinki Social Club - 2019 Retrospective

HSC is our Helsinki, Finland stationed afterwork leisure time group. 2019 contained high rise hotel bars, east helsinki park picnic festivals and hazy small xmas parties. Then the inevitable happened and pandemia stopped our party, as our group is officially on hiatus still. Still, bottoms up dear friends. May we find our way once more unto the fray, some day in the future now!  For auld lang syne, my dear For auld lang syne We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet For days of auld lang syne #meetup #meetupdotcom #helsinki #restaurant #bar #picnic

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Dreamcrow

I drew the bird a year ago, or so, early autumn maybe. I had just started my job at the digital design agency I currently work in, and found myself inspired to redesign our company image.

So maybe it’s breaking the magic to reveal that I trace a good amount of my work, but that picture really just sets the basic shape. The detail and shaping of the objects is done by hand drawing just a crapload of vectors. Ever tell you how much I like vectors? No seriously, we should find more implementations for those.

The images stayed there gathering virtual dust, until I was commissioned by my boss to create some company branding material. I went through the existing branding material, which is sparse at best, but provides some traction. Mainly in form of purple color theme, bird imagery and sense of magic. Wheel in the sky keeps burning and avian of dreams keeps flying 🤘

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Because why not? Some sympathy for the devil, old coal shoveler in the cellar.

Also playlists, because Rocktober 🤘

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Highway

I like the feel of good soles in the shoes I wear. I want to feel the massaging feel good bottom layer structure of well built shoe, that rolls off the asphalt when I pace my step to it. It’s just another day, and I don’t need big inspiration for the next piece.

Def Leppard - Rock of Ages

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Inspired by Courtney Barnett's and Tuomari Nurmio's lyrics.

I fall and rest my shoulders on my sofa. I think you were really awesome to remember to ask for her name yesterday, I told you earlier you said some really dumb shit about world not giving a crap. I made a series of pictures today, I was repeating the union states' of my neighbourhood's message, I'm just a series of pictures of my current self. I broke my first set of summer glasses infront of the festival tent, but I got a new pair from the indian shop by the mall downtown.

I keep repeat and shuffle on forwards on the sidewalk with my thousand dollar shoes that don't cost a ton, but they bear the weight. I walk down the sidewalk of Iso Roba and look at the full tables of locals and their friends. They're drinking their long drinks with long faces when a tall MC speaks to the crowd to dance and cheer on. I clap my hands and take a drag while I'm grinning, even though I want to be bawling.

So what's that about playlists? I have playlists for parties and ones that my old friends have made. Some that I just made on a whim when there's a congregation, playlists with momentum, and some stuff I listen on repeat.

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Companion piece

Look, I unapologetically like the KILLER DRIVE logo I’ve made. It just works. It’s Futura, which is always in style, because its geometry never fails, it’s a simple cut. It’s angular and has unpolished corners, it’s kind of the font in the bar that’s standing next to the counter and gives you a wink and nod. Makes me think of myself, on a good day at least. Felt like making a companion piece for it.

Typeface for POWER DYNAMIC is Bodoni, which is elegant and classy in its form. Very french, somewhat art deco. Probably smoking a cigarette. In contrast to futura’s geometry, it’s got curves and sharp edges. You can envisage a beautiful and intensive stare from her in a dimly lit room.

As a special extra, here’s a quick description behind the doors of production room. The guides reveal that while POWER DYNAMIC takes more space, it’s more because of optical illusion. It’s more complex in shape, in contrast to KILLER DRIVE, which has more empty space inside of it. Also POWER DYNAMIC comes before KILLER DRIVE, so it wouldn’t be just reposting my old art.

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HELSINKI SOCIAL CLUB Catering to your afterwork needs since 2017. Check us out at meetup.com https://www.meetup.com/HelsinkiSocialClub/ It brings about the international and jolly crowd of this northern capital of us together accompanied by hearty conversations, sharing of past week’s worries, clinging of drinks and broken hearts. OHHH.

Don’t be a square, be a hip/cool/fun person. Join us.

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Bananabread

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Smoke

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Hustle - Overwatch team

Hustle was my 2nd attempt at running a overwatch team. I was thinking about using the term e-sports team, but I think that term requires some more involved management and active participation to tournaments. Not that there wasn’t effort! 

We played in first draft of OW Contenders and alot of grassroots-level Discord community ran one off tournaments. Our practice schedule was 2-3 times with full roster each week, spent a good amount of time discussing strategies and team compositions and just lounging at our Discord server commenting on OW pro scene. Overwatch League launched at around same time we started, I was fan of LA Gladiators’ because of their double finnish support setup (I played support myself).

We had 50/50 distribution of management duties with my buddy Christian, with players from England, Norway and Switzerland. We originally had troubles finding 6th player, which caused some friction but was handled with garrulous merriment in the end. Weird to think how time has passed from those good times, so much good time was had then, but eventually all good things came to an end when I had a OW burnout in early 2018. Despite the end time blues, I wouldn’t change those times to anything. Overwatch peaked for me when the hustle was on.

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Helsinki Croquis at Cable Factory 04.02.2019

I was drawing with more confidence today. I received a meaningful recommendation last week by a person of status to keep drawing so maybe that’s it. I keep searching for “power lines” with 8B pencil, just trying to catch those big sweeping lines and keep it stripped down to barest essential that still conveys the pose and interplay of our models, who by the way are also delightful hosts. There’s always tea, coffee and sweet bun-bread, that’s so good that I’ve gotten over my dislike for cardamom in bun.

Drawing is my meditation, it’s my own time and it’s meaningful for me because it counterbalances my very directed office hour work. I enjoy both tremendously, but obviously for different reasons. Both affect eachother though, my penchant for minimalism is obviously dictated by our fast paced work and my drive to tell the story clearly and with determination inside the set parameters.

Detailed work will have to wait, there’s too much beauty and power lines for me out there still.

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I wanna start a synth/rock/pop band called KILLER DRIVE. Can someone teach me to make music?

Or I will just make a t-shirt, I guess. Hey I finally lowered my shirt one size down. With hard work. Where do I get the energy?!? I don’t even know. Maybe I’m born with it, maybe it’s my insatiable lust for life.

But yeah, alot of synth music that I’ve been listening to lately. Did you guys know Neil Young made a synthpop album in ‘82? His bandmates and record label were absolutely confused about it, but it’s really rad. Also, I was recommended a really cool/hot/new finnish band Ruusut. Gonna see them live, w00t! 

Pictures posted: KILLER DRIVE (own work). Neil Young - Trans (artist unknown). Ruusut - Ruusut (Can’t find the artist name, plz halp).

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First Croquis session of 2019

It’s a mad blizzard, workweeks are long and Tumblr keeps trying to classify these drawings as porn. C’mon, this is fucking classic art.

Live model drawing has become a meditation for me. I find it a really welcome moment to quiet down with other artistically minded folk of my city. In my typical manner I keep being the annoyingly talkative one there, much to others chagrin.

I keep honing my style, which I’ve now dubber POWER LINES, inspired by another much more talented illustrator. Today was pretty high in expression but I clearly am not super keen on representational style.

I stopped trying to waste my time on drawing arms and legs, inspired by the lunch conversation with coworkers. We were talking of antiquated asian women beauty standards and the custom of foot binding. Disgusting custom, that disfigures women, but I have to admit that there’s something to the artistic quality of such minimalism. Let’s just keep in on paper, alright. Don’t tie women’s legs, stick to hugs and kisses.

ps. Locals: Support your friendly neighbourhood art circles and join www.helsinkicroquis.com

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Spark of Enlightenment It’s AUM in the middle. Significant symbol in hinduism. I’m not a real expert of subject, but I do enjoy discussing spirituality. It’s the OMMM sound you start the meditation with. I guess I’m back at it, seeking for balance these days.

I made the symbol originally for a friend, more involved in yoga. I used to do astanga yoga a long time back, so I have some connection.

Technically it’s a illustrator piece with background graphics inspired by Civilization-game series by Firaxis. They have a really neat symbol for one game mechanic involving religion, called Spark of Imagination. I copied the doodle, changed colors and slapped the hindu symbol in the middle of it. Imagination is a concept that’s still more meaningful for me than religion will ever be, so I’m kinda happy of the symbiosis.

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Let’s call it Camelia-almond. So I’m sitting here in my place in sunday evening and drawing flowers. Why you might ask? Because there’s symbology to them and I had a good weekend. Some joy, some sorrow and alot of laughter.

So on technical side, it’s made in Adobe CC Illustrator. Hand drawn shapes repeated and overlaid on top of basic geometrics with repeated gradient with different variations. Clipping paths to hold the larger patterns inside elements. I meant to add pistils on the almond flower, the one above, but couldn’t get them right.

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I liked past summer. In my impromptu summer vacation I only travelled inland, but met new friends and reconnected with old ones. And Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky was summer jam #1!

Mostly original artwork. I think the crown needed some more work but what the hey  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯