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Just in case you missed us in print… here’s a link to a wonderful article written by Molly McMillin at the Wichita Eagle about the evolution of our agency. This piece appeared in the Business section of the paper on Wednesday, May 12, 2010. Check it out!!
One of my artistic inspirations and heroes has died… Frank Frazetta passed away yesterday at the age of 82. To many, Frazzeta is, was, and always will be the father of fantasy art. He inspired millions of young artists and it could be said that there has been no person more influential in the development of fantasy art and illustration than he. He is the man who brought life to the characters we now know as The Death Dealer, Conan the Barbarian, Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, and Buck Rogers. He illustrated book covers, comic books, and magazines such as Heavy Metal, Eerie, Creepy, Vampirella, and Weird Fantasy. He also did album covers for the bands, Nazareth (Expect no Mercy), and Molly Hatchet (Flirtin’ With Disaster). Throughout his career, there were instances where publishers would commission his work, and then ask writers to create stories around it. Sword and sorcery, muscled warriors and buxom women all defined his work, drawing viewers into wonderful pieces of fiction that still influence an industry today. I raise my glass to you and bid you Godspeed. Thank you for the inspiration for the wonderful legacy you have left all of us who are fans of Sci Fi and Fantasy artwork. You will be missed.
This morning, I set out to astound you with my thoughts about the Elton John & Billy Joel concert I saw the other night. I figured what a great thing this is to blog about; two ROCK LEGENDS live on stage, “Face 2 Face,” turning out classic song after classic song, sending every fan into their own nostalgic musical frenzy. After completing what I thought was going to become my blog entry, I passed it on to my lovely wife (the true writer of our crew and whom I dearly respect and love) to get her always honest opinion. “It sucks”, was the response I received. “Too much like a review”. So I sat back down and thought hard about what I was really trying to do. Explain the experience of a concert of this caliber, a musical experience, something that you need to experience with your senses, with a few words on a blog. IMPOSSIBLE! Unable to bring my usual plethora of equipment into this venue-precision lenses, tripods, etc.-I was forced to use my wife’s point and shoot. Once again, I turn to my passion for photography and leave you with a photo from the concert.
If you listen real close you can you can still hear the sound of 15,000 strong belting out “Piano Man”.
The cliché question rings out… Do you want me to draw you a picture? Answer: Yes… please do. With the advances in technology these days, we seem to have gotten farther and farther away from our roots as artists and designers. I see more and more folks who can jockey a computer, but fewer and fewer who actually draw anything on paper. Unfortunately I recently found myself fitting that same description and tried to do something about it. I admit it… I went out and purchased a WACOM Bamboo tablet and have been trying to learn to draw in Photoshop with it. To be perfectly honest, I suck at it so far and it’s a complete source of frustration for me. The feel is different… the pressure of the pen against the texture of the tablet doesn’t resonate with me I guess. So I eventually did what I probably should have done in the first place, and simply picked up a pencil and some paper… and started drawing again… and I remembered how much I liked it! It had been too long since I felt the familiar drag of graphite across paper… watched the shapes evolve from imagination to reality on the page. Within an hour or so, I had put down a concept on paper with hand-skills that would have taken half a day in the computer. It began loosely… gestural and roughed-in… evolving and growing with light pressure. It then tightened up with bold marks and darker lines,eventually finishing with Sharpie Pens and erasers. I hadn’t done that much drawing in years… and that realization was kind of sad. I was the kid that always drew on his homework and that habit stuck with me all through college. I can’t tell you exactly when I put the pencils and pens down this last time, but it’s not something I intend to do again. Since this moment of self-discovery occurred I’ve found myself doing random sketches on napkins and notepads, as well as producing hand-drawn storyboards and ad concepts in the office. It’s great to draw again! As we move further along in the development of our technologies, it seems we are working harder and harder to stay connected to what got us here. As much as I enjoy working with the tools afforded to us by today’s software packages, I have to say that my reunion with the “old-school” tools has sparked a renaissance of sorts. I’m studying and sketching again… not just for work or for clients, but for me personally. I hope that eventually I do improve with the WACOM tablet and learn to have some fun with it, but if I don’t that’s okay. I can still go back to the basics and enjoy every minute of it. So… Do you want me to draw you a picture?
The crowd arrived early Saturday night, ready to storm the new Intrust Arena with enthusiasm for their own Wichita Thunder as they set out to wipe Tulsa off the weather map. The shiny new arena sports huge screens, bright lights and notable venders including an Irish Pub stand and more tasty morsels than the avid food junkie can sink a tooth into. Only a few red padded seats remained after over 13,000 fans aging from 3 months to 93 years poured into the arena, filling it nearly to capacity and waited in anticipation for the competition to commence. Donning Thunder jersey’s old and new, with Guinness’ and pretzels in hand, fans were eager to roar when the Thunder made their entrance. It all set the stage for a remarkable fight (better make that several fights) and a superior show for all! The Squid showed his face from the start, featuring an exciting video introduction on the Big Screen, welcoming the Thunder onto the ice, while preparing the crowd to fire up for an extraordinary contest between these rivals. Before the game got underway, the players began their first scuffle, a carry-over from 24 hours earlier, where in Tulsa this same match-up ended in a huge Thunder win! No doubt, some obvious unfinished business was in need of settlement. For the Squid, these brawls translate to enticing video clips, edging on the feisty crowd and giving us a chance to show off our creative genius each time the Thunder rolls out another fist or slams another opponent’s helmet onto the frozen tundra. Are we encouraging physical endangerment to human kind here? You bet your sweet funnel cakes, we are! Hey, we’re not even sure if these guys are human in the first place. What man withstands obsessive nose gashing and head bashing abuse to lift himself up off the ground and go back for more? Thank you Sir, may I have another? The Squid had his hands in all kinds of great video throughout the night, from the intro up until the very end. This arena is alive with stimulation down to every last detail, including a video ribbon which encompasses the entire perimeter of the stands, where Squid Ink producers had the privilege to create some fantastic plugs for Thunder and Intrust Arena sponsors as well as some amazing close-up shots of each player as they were introduced onto the rink. We showed up on the big screen during icing penalties, in between periods and each time the Thunder scored. Unfortunately for most, a bittersweet ending would wrap up the night, with only one video clip revealed to celebrate a goal scored for our mighty Thunder. Not enough to beat Tulsa this time around. Overall though, Wichita put up a snarling fight, entertaining and full of heart was this Thunder team in their snazzy new home. If you missed it, I encourage you to come out and support the Thunder (and us) this week or every week if the mood strikes you. They’ll be plenty of excitement to make it worth your while and win or lose, I can promise you this. This Squid certainly knows how to play the game! Come to the next Thunder game to see more great Squid work just like this.
Hockey in Wichita has a new home! The Wichita Thunder are moving into their new digs at the downtown Intrust Arena this weekend, and the Squid will be swimming among them. Our multi-talented, multi-armed cephalopod has created some outstanding work to be featured during Thunder games. I won’t drop the puck just yet… wouldn’t want to spoil all the fun! You’ll just have to check it out for yourselves. So far, 8000 seats have sold for the event but by face-off Saturday night, we’re hoping for a full house to hear our Thunder roar. We are honored that the Thunder asked us to be part of the move to the new arena. You can imagine our excitement to share the Squid’s creations with you on the big-screen! Support for our local events is important to our economy, not to mention a fine excuse to have a good time! So we look forward to seeing many of our fellow Wichitans out there this weekend, cheering hard for our Thunder as they take on Tulsa and break in the new ice. Keep your eyes on the bright lights, folks. There’s a whole lotta’ squid work coming your way this weekend!
Time warp…back in the 70’s, Evel Knievel was at the height of his popularity and was a marketing machine. Ironically, he built his daredevil legend not from a successful jump, but one of history’s most famous un-successful jumps, the infamous Caesar’s Palace jump over the fountains in 1967. The result was a crash for the ages, with Evel famously twisting head over heels down the landing ramp. The other irony was that his other most famous failed jump, the Snake River Canyon jump, signalled the beginning of the end of the Evel Knievel era. Not discounting his motorcycle prowess, he really was a master at his craft, he built an image and mystique that led to an entire Evel Knievel industry and product line. Which brings us to the toy… This was a gift that was completely out of the blue. I had no clue that it even existed and Santa was on top of his game when he picked this one out for me. I ripped the gift wrapping off, set GI Joe aside (see earlier post), snapped the launching kit together, strapped Evel onto his bike and it was go time! My brother and I made a makeshift ramp from a shoebox lid and stacked some Encyclopedia Britannicas neatly together to resemble the buses that the real Evel would jump. I grabbed the handle, started turning the wheel, and the bike make an evil whirring noise. Turning the wheel faster, the deafening roar of the bike soon drowned out the Mills Brothers Christmas music playing softly in the background. And then it happened… the bike shot off the launcher, went screaming down the hall, hit the ramp and shot over the Encyclopedia’s – ending in a perfect landing. SWEET!!!! I quickly retrieved my daredevil and launched off two more jumps. Then I discoverd the true ‘nuance’ of this toy, the design flaw that a generation of boys would come to call “the knuckle buster”. As you can see in the photo (taken by yours truly) the handle isn’t very large, and after a few exhilarating launches, we would grab that handle with our now sweaty hands, crank the gyro, then WHAM! The hand would slip off the handle and…CRUNCH! A little hydrogen peroxide, a band-aid, a kiss on the knuckle from mom, and it was back at it! A busted knuckle wouldn’t keep Evel down, so it would’t stop me either. So now here we are in the electronic age, the games are everything that we wished existed when we were kids, but the games come and go quickly in this highly competative market. They might be really cool, but nothing can compare to the toys of my youth like my Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle and a lifetime of fond lasting memories (and scars!) . Merry Christmas!!! M
From all of us here at Squid Ink Creative, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May all the blessings of the season be upon you, and may the new year greet you with bright promises for the future. Enjoy a bit of holiday cheer from our office to yours… Happy Holidays! Try JibJab SendablesR eCards today!
Over the last few days we’ve sent out several copies of our press release to local and regional publications, and will be sending out more over the next week or two. Please enjoy, and be certain to share the news with your friends! A new advertising firm has been formed in downtown Wichita. Wichita, KS, December 2009: A new creature is now prowling the dark sea where fierce design solutions lurk in the shadows. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the studio, we would like to announce the monumental discovery of Cephalopoda Incaustum Creativia, better known as Squid Ink Creative. Squid Ink is a full-service agency, meaning they can provide in-house support in graphic design, photography, video production, web design, and multimedia. The ability to achieve this array of service under one roof translates to shorter time-to-market, lower costs, and a more intimate experience for clients. “This is a flexible and dynamic agency, capable of handling any design project and any client. The fact that we can handle all disciplines here in the studio means fewer hassles and less worry for our clients, along with lower overall costs. We are a single-source agency ready to handle whatever the client throws at us,” says Derek Pletcher, Creative Director for Squid Ink Creative. Ultimately, their objective is to become a trusted part of a customer’s marketing team, forming long-term relationships and focusing on the client’s needs. In today’s rapidly changing marketplace, they will be the creative support staff a client relies on to remain unique and visible in a sea of mundane identities. Squid Ink Creative invites you to dive into an ocean of possibilities and discover all that lies beneath the surface. They have their tentacles into everything, and are prepared to serve up a plate of creative calamari that’s in a league of its own! For more information visit www.squidinkcreative.com or call Derek Pletcher at 316.260.3805.
In the 14th Century, churches celebrated Miracle Plays which were a means of bringing religious education to the illiterate. One play, The Paradise Play, was presented each December 24th and was the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. As there was no way to provide an apple tree in the middle of winter, a pine tree with apples tied to the branches served as the Tree of Good and Evil. This became a popular prop among the many churches and soon it became a tradition. In Germany, the Paradise Tree was so popular that people began erecting pine trees in their homes and decorating them with apples. Soon this tradition spread as well, giving birth to our modern-day Christmas tree, and the colors of red for the apples and green for the pine tree became a symbol of the Christmas season. In the Christian faith, the color green is a symbol of hope for eternal life that Jesus Christ offers. Evergreen trees, which remain alive and green throughout the year, expand on that representation. The color red is intended to symbolize the blood of Christ, which was shed for all people so that they could be saved. The holly berry, with its green leaves and red berries is meant to symbolize both life and blood and as such has become a popular Christmas staple.
Whatever the reason, and for more centuries to come, the colors red and green will always be associated with the Christmas season. |
