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After 2 years in the making, our Odd Galaxy wooden space toys have officially landed! Beautifully manufactured by Uncle Goose Toys in Grand Rapids, Michigan, our new series includes everything for the aspiring astronaut: Lunar Rocket Blocks, Moon Rover Blocks and Cosmo Kid Blocks. Featuring rounded and classic block shapes, O.G. inspires endless possibilities of stacking, building, and creating your own space galaxy. Combine all three sets and the sky is the limit! Available in the IC shop now or wherever fine toys are sold. Happy stacking ...

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Almost a year ago to the day, I received an email from my friend Josh Dennis at Crossway. He had a new children's book manuscript (beautifully written by the ridiculously smart Kevin DeYoung) based around the story of the Bible. He asked if I had any recommendations for an illustrator that might be a good fit for the project. After pondering his request for a moment, I thought to myself ... "Hmmm, what if I tried it?"

I began the book in November 2014 and wrapped final art in May of this year. 7 months, 10 chapters and 132 pages later, The Biggest Story is finally available.

There were many reasons why I took on this project, but the main catalyst for attempting this book was that I just didn't see any modern Bible storybooks for children that embodied rich story AND artwork. One that sparked imagination and wonder, one that prompted dialogue between parents and their children, one that treated kids as smart people and didn't talk down to them. Most of all though, one that could live up to Kevin's amazing interpretation.

The art is very conceptual at times, much more straight forward at times, humorous, sad ... but overall extremely hopeful. I poured every ounce of what I had into this book, and if anything leaps off the pages, I hope it's the immense joy that I had in creating it.

I honestly can't thank Josh Dennis and everyone at Crossway enough. Josh was extremely gracious from the very beginning. Not only did he give me complete freedom with the overall direction, but he shared in the enthusiasm and support along the entire process. He had wise feedback and art direction every step of the way, but overall he left me to my own devices and just let me draw - which was a bit scary to be honest. I'm not sure if I have ever been trusted with that much creative freedom before - let alone with, well ... only the most important story in human history.

And of course, thanks to the brilliant Kevin DeYoung for completely trusting Josh and I with our vision for your book. Kevin also gave me creative freedom with every brushstroke - I appreciate his trust in allowing me to bring this story to life in a different way.

You can purchase the book through us, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Westminster Books and everywhere else.

Beautifully animated by Jorge Canedo Estrada and his team - and voiced by my pal Propaganda, the folks at Crossway put together a great trailer for an upcoming animated version of the book.

A peak inside the book ...

Each book purchase from IC comes with a limited signed 'Ascension' mini-print and set of 4 double-sided postcards (below).

We've also had numerous requests for prints, so we are currently offering 10 selected pieces from the book. See them all here.

 

We're guilty. Guilty of relying on the quick and easy method of using social networking to update folks on what we're up to. You can see the cobwebs on this very site. I don't think we've updated our work section in over a year. But I can feel it in the air ... 2015 will be the return of the blog and long-form reading on the web. No? Well, we're going to attempt that when we can. Personally, I miss it. I miss putting together (and reading) content that you could spend more than 2 seconds staring at. We'll continue to Insta-tweet, but I don't want to rely on that ... To be honest though, we have been busy. Very thankful for that. But, now is a perfect time to wipe the dust off the site and let you guys know what we've been up to for the last 9 months - and we also want to share some new things we've got cooking.

1. Thanks to the VSCO Artist Iniative, our first documentary film about artists (specifically what drives us and connects us all) begins production in July! We will be hitting 6 cities and interviewing numerous artists from many different industries and walks of life. We're excited to tell this story ... more on that here. We'll be documenting and journaling the entire experience on our VSCO Grid.

2. Last fall, we had the opportunity of a lifetime come our way: To re-imagine the historic Cinerama Theatre in Downtown Seattle - our favorite movie destination since we landed here in 2001. We created 2 massive murals that completely altered the corner of 4th Avenue and Lenora Street. The mural art made its way into a re-brand of the theatre, inside and out. We are currently working on our short film, 'Re-Imagining Cinerama' that takes a closer look at Cinerama's grand re-opening last November - and the art that went into it. We'll also have prints of the mural (and more Cinerama art we created) for sale when we launch the film this summer. Photos above by Benjamin Benschnieder.

3. Stack And Scare! is coming to Shanghai in a massive way. The Shanghai Times Square Mall will feature a large Stack And Scare! exhibit next month. Giant sculptures, play areas, toys, posters, etc. Curated by APPortfolio. We are very excited for this - much more info coming soon.

4. Wine Meets Design. We are thrilled to be the inaugural designers partnered up with the talented winemaker Aaron Pott for Bare Bottle's first release. We were first approached for this project a few years back from our friends Katie and Nathan at Eight Hour Day. We've had a blast working with them, Marta & Josh Harding - and Corey Miller, the man who dreamed this extremely cool idea up. A quick bio from their site -

Bare Bottle curates the pairing of winemakers + designers and provides them with a blank canvas through which to create. Each unique collaboration opens a window into our makers' creative processes, their inspirations, and their worlds.

The dedication to craft, quality and presentation comes across so clear with Bare Bottle. If you love wine ... and design ... it's worth every penny. I was floored when I saw the finished shipped piece ...

5. Blast Off! After a 2-year hiatus, we are back with our good friends at Sasquatch! Music Festival. We had the pleasure of creating all of the Festival art, merchandise and even the Lineup Video this year. As per usual, the lineup is amazing (Kendrick!) and happens to be going on THIS weekend. We'll have an in-depth look into all of the assets we created (including another collaboration with Ebbets Field Flannels and Theo Chocolate) soon ...

6. The amazing opportunity to illustrate my first Children's Book came up last September. We had gotten book offers in the past, but nothing quite felt right and some of the projects just plain fizzled out. When our friends at Crossway approached me about a Bible Story by Kevin DeYoung, it was a big decision. In the end, It was a project I wanted to personally see done right ... and one that I wanted to see on the shelves myself. The Biggest Story was the most intense project I've worked on to date, and also the most fulfilling - in ways I could never have imagined. I cannot thank Josh Dennis and Crossway enough for allowing me to run with my vision and aesthetic for Kevin's beautifully-written book. The Biggest Story is hardbound, 10 chapters and 132 pages. Available in August and up for pre-order on Amazon now. Below are a few sample spreads from the first two chapters.

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7. Our Odd Galaxy wooden toy line with Uncle Goose is finally in full production mode and will be released in the next few months. There will be 3 products to start: Cosmo Kid, Moon Rover and Lunar Rocket, each sold separately - but of course much more fun when you own all 3. We have some fun OG launch (get it?) projects that will be released around the same time, including a window display at our favorite space store ...

8. Two years ago, we bought a 10-acre ranch, turned a 50-year old barn into our studio and then made a toy out of it. OK, so that's the short version. We'll have a nice process post on this (way over-budget and panic-attack inducing) project on our new ... well, see #10. For now, you can check out some great photos of the shop by Joshua Harding over at Bare Bottle.

9. Last, but not least, we are finally working on a new website. One that we will update. One that will work nicely on your phone thing you carry with you. We promise.

Trick or treat! We were tasked with an amazing opportunity earlier this year: Designing and illustrating the Halloween seasonal art for our favorite clients over at the Bullseye. Affectionately known internally as "Harry and Buzz", our dynamic duo of a spider and his fly sidekick were put in various fun and spooky scenarios throughout the store. Scroll down to see a sampling of what was created in the US, Mexico and France.

Target Credits: Eric Vermilyea — Creative Director, Kelsey Ciatti-Miller — Art Director, Mike Greenwell — Art Director, Jeff Barbian — Copywriter, Erika Bryant — Producer, Dave Daily — Creative Strategist, Philip Eggleston — Art Director

Huge, huge THANKS to the above list of folks that made this all possible. We had so much fun working with this team.

Today is the last day to see this all in-store - and remember - tonight is the ONLY night it's OK to take candy from strangers.

It's that time of year! SDCC is upon us, so let the mayhem begin. LEGO has officially announced their exclusive minifig offerings this year, so we thought it'd be a good time to show some of the packaging and interiors we had fun with. Each clam shell opens up to reveal Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, Bard The Bowman, The Collector and Uni-Kitty in their own element. Oh, and if you have $4,000 burning a hole in your pocket ... grab one of ours from last year with some guy's name scribbled on it. Thanks to our AD's Joseph Galluccio and Jennifer Healy! Happy collecting.

We're extremely excited to announce that our first line of toys with Uncle Goose is now available! Over a year in the making, Stack And Scare™ is a series of 4 stackable wooden monster block sets. Each Roar! set contains 14-18 pieces in various shapes and sizes. Featuring eyeballs, teeth, horns, arms, rounded shapes for shoulders and eyes, monster heads, hands, feet, legs, torsos, patterns and more. Mix and match shapes or combine with other Stack And Scare™ sets to unleash endless (and taller) creature combinations! Beautifully and meticulously crafted by our friends at Uncle Goose in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Made from FSC certified basswood, using non-toxic inks. Purchase Stack And Scare™ from us, Uncle Goose or independent toy stores everywhere. We designed Stack And Scare™ for everyone at any age. We can't wait to see what you do with them. Share with us at #stackandscare.

And of course ... we thought it would be fitting to create a short "IC Filmmercial" featuring our wooden critters in action. We enlisted our friends in Portland, Beautiful Eulogy, to create a score using the blocks themselves and the result is pretty fantastic. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see how we (and they) made it all happen ...

Roar! Set One:

Roar! Set Two:

Roar! Set Three:

Roar! Set Four:

... And check out how we (and Beautiful Eulogy) made the film ... Then go grab their new album Instruments Of Mercy, out today.

Missed our original teaser? Check it out.

We are extremely excited to announce our new partnership with Uncle Goose Toys. Made in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the past 30 years, Uncle Goose is the world's premiere manufacturer of wooden blocks. We've partnered up with their amazing team to bring the highest quality and most creative wooden toys and playsets to the market. With new products and creations lined up through 2015 and beyond, we couldn't be more thrilled to work with such a passionate company dedicated to their craft.

Hot off their debut at the NY NOW International Gift Show, our first product is titled Stack And Scare. Crafted from replenishable basswood and printed with non-toxic inks, the Stack And Scare series contains four stackable block sets that allow children (and you!) to create and configure hundreds of possible monster options. Before we let too much out of the bag (or box), we've put together a teaser film announcing the new line.

Stack And Scare will be available in retail locations worldwide and through our shop beginning in October. Stay tuned for the big launch ...

We were in the big apple for their debut at the NY NOW show ...

... and we visited the UG workshop in Grand Rapids this month to check out the progress.

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Heyo! It's hot and you need T-Shirts! All adult and kids sizes of last year's T's are on sale for $15. We don't have a ton left, so grab them while you can (and help us make room for the new IC wearables coming soon). Tell the world!

We're excited to announce the launch of Heartwork 2013! We're so thankful to all of the artists that donated their time and talents this year.

What is Heartwork?

Heartwork is a project designed to raise money for art supplies within the art room at Target House — this wonderful home-away-from-home for the families of children facing long-term treatment at St. Jude® Children's Research Hospital.

The whole idea started simply enough. We, along with a few other creative individuals, were asked to work on various design projects for the St. Jude Target House. But, in the process, we were so deeply moved by the experience that we didn't want it to end. We witnessed firsthand the special connection the kids had with the art room in particular. It was a place where we saw kids at all stages of health just being kids. So, we began to wonder, "What if we could create a ongoing way to support more and better art supplies for these children?" It was then that Heartwork was born.

Every year, a group of talented artists create a series of 11" x 14" giclee prints to raise money for the art room. Each of the prints feature an interpretation of the word "Hope" and each edition is limited to only 10 pieces and signed/numbered by the artist.

Print details:

Archival giclee - printed with pigment inks on archival cotton rag paper Size: 11 inches x 14 inches with a 1" border for framing Signed & numbered editions of 10

Purchase the prints here.

2013 Artists:

"Hope" by The Heads Of State

"Black Rhino's Forge Ahead" by Always With Honor

"Wild" by Jolby

"Flower Friends" by Tad Carpenter

"My Robot Friend" by Kevin Tong

"Thick-Lined Valley Of Love" by Aaron Draplin

"Growth" by Mike Perry

"Create Yourself" by Don Shank

"Upswing" by Invisible Creature

"Hope Mobile" by Julie West

Our latest product for Target is in stores now ... and it's a fun one. Captain Bullseye's Build-A-Plane! Gift Card is a whopping 21 pieces of snap-together awesomeness. Complete with accents of metallic silver, a spinning propeller and a display stand that doubles as a cloud/Gift Card holder. See more here and purchase here. As always, big thanks to our A.D.'s Ted Halbur and Brian Holt. You are now free to move about the toy shelf.

 

We love our clients. We love Lego. So why not combine the two? For our annual Client Holiday gift this year, we decided to design a custom Eye Creature Lego kit. Edition of 6 sets. 444 pieces. 4 instruction booklets. 8 different mouth combinations -  and a hinged top that allows the owner to store all kinds of fun items (as shown below). We even found 2 extremely cute kids from 1972 in my house that wanted to participate in the box design. Disclaimer: This product is NOT affiliated with Lego, folks - this was a gift. Oh, enough already. Check out how we made it below:

Back To School? Naw, forget that. It's an endless summer. Soft inks printed on American Apparel Tri-Blend T's. Ships on or before September 18th. Grab them all here.

Spirit Of '77 printed on Tri-Indigo Blue.

Mummy Jr. printed on Tri-Black.

Leroy's Boy printed on Athletic Gray.

Respect printed on Tri-Black.

Mummy Classic printed on Tri-Coffee.

Live To Draw printed on Tri-Black.

Mummy Jr. (Kids Sizes!) printed on Tri-Black.

If you have a son between the ages of 4 and 10, you probably know all about Hexbug. We've had the Nano habitat fired up at our place for awhile, so when our friends at Target asked if we'd like to design our own, my son (and his dad) gave an ecstatic and audible thumbs up. The Hexapillar Gift Card goes from caterpillar to butterfly in seconds flat and comes alive with one flip of the switch. In stores now. See it a tad larger here.

As always, extra big high-fives to our A.D.'s Ted Halbur and David Ledsinger for making this all happen.

Well, we've been hard at work for over a year on this next project (and have many more months to go), but we are excited to preview the logo and name of our first interactive children's book The Uproar!, arriving on iPads everywhere via the Apple App store this fall. Lots of fun announcements coming in the first half of 2012, but for now - a quick synopsis:

"Journey into a world of sound and wonder in the interactive musical story The Uproar! Join a bizarre band of misfit monsters to explore a sprawling story from the mind of Invisible Creatureʼs Don Clark."

We are honored and proud to be working with our new favorite publisher + partner: Space Dog Books. Please do yourself a favor and download Space Dog's first chapter book Treasure Island, illustrated by the amazing Matthew Cruickshank.

It's going to be a fun year. Much more soon ...

Ahhhh, our favorite time of year is back. The two Frank's (Sinatra & Capra), Yuletide logs, eggnogs, and Lord Of The Rings DVD extras in our pajamas. And of course, the great seasonal goodies at Target. We were lucky enough to work on two fun stocking stuffers this Holiday season. Last year, the LEGO Build A Bullseye set was such a hit, we were asked to come back for round two. And to make the kids (and us) even more ecstatic, you can create a polar bear and snowman in addition to Bullseye dog. It all folds up into a gift-able size for that special someone. Sequels are supposed to be better, right?

And the gifts keep coming ... We were also asked to design and illustrate a super-fun (and addicting) interactive game featuring our favorite pooch. The big idea: Can you pat the dogs as quickly as they light up without losing your cool? Oh, and each level gets more and more insane as you continue to play. Lights, barking, action. Find them both in-store or online now.

Art direction: Brian Holt, Rob Weaver and Ted Halbur. Once again, extra special thanks to the team at Target.

Kids. We love 'em. Teenagers ... well, we love them too. With both in mind, we're excited to offer 4 new stretched canvas prints and posters through Wheatpaste Art Collective. The stretched canvas prints are a whopping 24" x 30" and the uber-cool removable non-toxic "sticky" posters are an even more-whopping 28" x 35". We've got a few samples of both formats in the shop and we aren't afraid to tell you the quality level is perfect-o. The colors are rich and just as vivid as you see here. You can purchase them individually or collect the whole set. Seem them a tad bigger here. Enjoy ... here's to the kids.

"Afternoon Snack":

"The Visitor":

"High & Dry":

"Neighborhood Cookout":