Blog × K.Ringstad

A collection of previews, projects, work and thoughts. Oh and the occasional inspiration posts.

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Pixelart Invitation

In March there's a one day seminar about IT and Game Development in Hamar, Norway.  They wanted to have a cool little invitation they could send out to people. Seeing as I've lately enjoyed the very time consuming, but fun art of doing graphics pixels by pixels I thought it would fit the theme perfectly.  This is the result. There will also be three teasers with each of the speakers and their talk that will be dropped on Facebook in the coming weeks.  Live in Norway and want to attend? Go here, it's free!

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Music and Images

The Leavers Dance (by The veils) Last year I decided to go all black & white on my Instagram. I set the project because I miss photographing and Instagram is an easier way to be creative with photography. I got some shots I liked. I enjoyed the challenge. This year I have gone back to colour. Instead I've been focusing on music and images. So every photo on my instagram will come with a song, which in one way or another I feel relates to the circumstances around my photos.  If you're interested feel free to follow me @kringstad

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You guys already know that I like to make stuff. You also know I love to draw, even tho I'm not technically very good at it.  I put some of my awful drawings up for sale at my new shop, you can get them as prints or t-shirts. Will continue to add more stuff consistenly. Follow this link

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Pixel me this

I have always had an interest in motion graphics, it takes me time to get better at it, it's quite extensive to learn everything, but it's fun! Loads of fun.

This is my first vignette where I did the pixelart and the animation. It was for a show on Twitch.tv/YouTube called #AnIndieGameLunch

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I'm one of the countless human beings that kind of need their daily (somewhat large) dose of music to survive. Music is where I find a lot of my inspiration, because music often pushes out visual images, but also it's just purely amazing to hear all the creativity and talent out there. 

So without further ado I present you with my 10 "top" (always too hard to choose really) tracks of the year that now has come and gone. 

10. "Hurricane" by MS MR

9. "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" by Arctic Monkeys

8. "Awake" by Tycho

7. "Mind Mischief" by Tame Impala

6. "10 am Gare du Nord" by Keaton Henson

5. "Bad Habit" by Foals

4. "Smother" by Daughter

3. "Berlin" by RY X

2. "This Is The Last Time" by The National

1. "GIANT TORTOISE" by Pond

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God Jul / Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays! I wish my clients, my family and my friends a very good week of joy and fun! Thanks for all the support in 2013 - I hope 2014 will be the greatest year ever! 

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The end / The beginning

For the last four years I have been working as a communications advisor in Kongsvinger municipality. I had the honor of being lead of Design, web and social media. 

Today is my last day. It's a bunch of very mixed feelings. It's mostly two things, emotional and exciting.  Emotional because over four years you definitely get to know people and grow attached to people. I have had the opportunity to work with one of the best teams I bet I will ever work in. My boss has been an inspiring man to work under and has definitely had a part of pushing my boundaries and making a better professional creative than I was before. My two other colleagues in the team has worked with me on so many cool ideas and stuff and thought me the value of teamwork and pushing stuff further by it.  There's also a number of people I worked with outside that makes me proud to know, because they are so talented and awesome in their own fields - add to  that being people I will miss.  These last 4 years has been invaluable for me as a professional and as a human being. And I will definitely miss the people, my job and workplace.

Exciting because after today I stand on my own two feet. Although I have applied for some odds job here and there which will be good to further my career, my main goal at the moment is to try to see if I can make my dream come true: Being a 100% freelancer through my own little company.  I'm working hard to acquire clients and balancing budgets, also balancing the cool projects I want to do outside of work.  2014 is most definitely, one way or the other, going to be the most exciting year of my life so far. So thanks to my old co-workers, thanks to my family and supporters, thanks to all of you who drop by and watch my work or read my stuff.  May you all have a Happy happy holiday! - Yours truly

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My brother of six said he had to teach me how to draw something cool. This is what he made me draw

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I have a tendency to draw calm looking people. Now this is a self-portrait I did by hand in connection with something I'm applying for.  I love drawing, but personally feel I'm much better at drawing digitally. So after handdrawing this, I did indeed digitalize it. Of course.

Please keep calm people. 

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Hey Canon, I've missed you

For the last few years I've been meaning to pick up my camera again. Other than my black & white Instagram project, it hasn't really happen. I am after all a designer first, photographer second. So on a otherwise slow, but really nice Sunday, we headed out with our cameras, just for play. It was good.

At the dock

Where they live

Lost at sea

Scouting (Lasse)

The shot (Thea)

Happy (Lasse)

Outtake: Me and Lasse

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Just a little something I've been playing around with. If you want to see what it was used for just follow this link. It's a gaming and fun related project.

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Dear clients

I’m a freelancer. I make a living off working with cool clients like yourself. When you contact me and are in need of my services I get very happy. This means you appreciate the quality of my work and would like me to do the same quality work for you. As a freelancer, rather as a worker in general, I strive to make the best work possible for my clients. I often go the extra mile for my clients. Just because I like to be a nice guy/girl and if I can help you, my client, just a little bit more I’m happy and you’re happy. When we make a deal and I start working for you, I expect you to have the same attitude towards me. You see, the second we make a deal I accumulate how much time I will spend on your project. I accumulate how much I will charge you. To put it simple I budget time and money. After this is done I put the project in my monthly budget. I know that I will approximately spend this much time on a project, which again tells me when I’ll send your invoice and when I can expect payment. Our project, which I put much craft and love into, is now also how I’m going to afford food and rent the next month. I understand however that sometimes things can happen and you miss the pay date. Then I’ll contact you, with a nice outgoing attitude, because I do believe you didn’t do this on purpose, maybe it simply got lost in a stack of other bills. I understand. No worries. However when I do contact you I expect to hear something like this: - Oh! I’ll fix this ASAP! I’m really sorry! I do not expect this: - I’ll do it within the next two weeks - I’ll do it when I have the time for it - Sorry, I’m on vacation for 4 months, I’ll get back to you then - I can’t really pay you as much as we agreed

And yes, these are excuses I’ve actually gotten from other clients, who I thought where as cool as you.

I love all of my clients. You give me cool new projects to work on. You let me do what I love for a living. But when I suddenly barely can afford to live, because you didn’t have the “time” or “willingness” to pay me for my work, that often brings in more money for you, I become a very sad and hungry designer.

So dear clients, make sure you pay your designer on time so he/she can eat and sleep happily in his/her bed. If your clients stopped paying you, you wouldn’t like it either. Yours truly, Any freelance designer

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This is what I might have looked like if I was an oldschool video game hero.  Something to do while my allergies are keeping me from doing much else

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Meet Sad Bearded Guy's younger brother. He's not sad, not particularly happy either, but he definitely is a chill and calm guy.

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 I'm happy, but I miss you like crazy

The stages of moving on. 

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Just wanted to wish everyone a good weekend! 

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Instagram

"Escape" 

As everyone else I'm also on Instagram. At first I took all kinds of photos, from what I was doing and things I found beautiful. Again, as everyone else. Random images where taken, filters where added. Done. While I was having a break from design I got into photography and actually worked proffessionally with that for a few years, as a photojournalist and a portrait photographer. I can definitively say that I have a passion for taking pictures as well as making imagery from scratch. For the last couple of months I've quietly started a small project on my own on Instagram. I'm only doing black & white photography.  There's a own beauty in doing photography in black & white. It's also a challenge. Not everything works well in black & white. I always make a b&w version of any photograph I take. More than less I go with the color version, not necessary because color makes it more lively, but because the picture just doesnt work in black and white. I've been meaning to pick up my camera and take more photos again. I still love it, I'm just so caught up in my design work that I sometimes even forget that I own good camera equipment.  For now tho, Instagram is where it will happen. Want to see? Click here