Pardon our dust/lack of updates. We're currently hard at work on our new website, launching in early September. We can't wait to show you what we've been up to the last few months...
Filtering by Category: Animation,New Stuff
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.
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.
We are excited to announce the launch of a fun new project we just finished up with the kind folks at Deutsch NY. Deutsch commissioned IC to create 12 unique character toy designs based on the classic song "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" for PNC's infamous annual PNC Christmas Price Index. Beyond the task of creating 12 original characters based on the song, we also designed multiple interchangeable parts for each character - over 100 pieces in total. Partridge In A Pear Tree, Turtledove, French Hen, Calling Birds, Golden Rings, Geese-a-Laying, Swans-a-Swimming, Maids-a-Milking, Ladies Dancing, Lords-a-Leaping, Pipers Piping and Drummers Drumming.
The PNC Christmas Price Index site is loads of fun and allows you to create your own toy by selecting various heads, legs, arms, bodies and accessories. When you are done creating your character, PNC calculates the total cost of what your selection would be in 2013, as well as how much it has gone up or down since 2012.
But the coolest part? For 12 days, PNC is selecting 24 lucky winners per day to receive a 3D-printed gift in time for the holidays! Using Makerbot desktop printers, winners will be chosen randomly and selected each day. The more gifts you build, the more chances you have to win. Read more about that here.
We had so much fun with this project, now it's your turn!
More about PNC Bank's Christmas Price Index:
The PNC Christmas Price Index® shows the current cost for one set of each of the gifts given in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
It began 30 years ago when the chief economist at PNC Bank decided to figure out how much it would cost to buy each of the gifts. Little did he know, he was starting a holiday tradition that continues to this day.
The PNC Christmas Price Index® is similar to the Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in prices of goods and services like housing, food, clothing, transportation and more that reflect the spending habits of the average American.
The goods and services in the PNC Christmas Price Index® are far more whimsical. And most years, the price changes closely mirror those in the Consumer Price Index. It’s a fun way to measure consumer spending and trends in the economy. So even if “pipers piping” or “geese-a-laying” didn’t make your gift list, you can still learn a lot by checking out how their prices have gone up and down over the years.
Deutsch Credits:
Partner/ Chief Creative Officer: Kerry Keenan SVP, Group Creative Director: Jeremy Bernstein Senior Copywriter: Matt Moyer VP, Creative Director: Qian Qian EVP/Director of Integrated Production: Joe Calabrese SVP/Director of Digital Production: Suzanne Molinaro VP/Executive Digital Producer: Jennifer McBride Senior Art Producer: Hillary Jackson Producer: Jillian Cornette
Production Companies:
MediaMonks (creative digital production) Invisible Creature (toy design & packaging) 3D Printer Experience (3D printing the toys) ShootersNYC (intro/outro video production) Director/DP: Craig Needleman Executive Producer: Jim Huie Senior Editor: Anthony Marinelli Account Director: Amy Sweeney
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:
We may or may not have a big announcement residing within one of these wax packs next week ... Stay tuned.
DrilOne x Invisible Creature presents Leroy 'The Destroyer' Box Set!
Leroy 'The Destroyer' Box Set will be available online in the IC shop and at San Diego Comic Con Dragatomi Booth #4935. 12 sets were made and 10 will be sold.
DrilOne x Invisible Creature Leroy 'The Destroyer' Box Set includes:
1 - Invisible Creature Leroy C. customized by DrilOne 1 - 11"x14" print by Invisible Creature, numbered and signed 2 - Leroy 'The Destroyer' Vinyl Stickers 1 - Leroy 'The Destroyer' 1" Button 1 - Set of dogtags that are numbered to match the box, Leroy, and print
Price: $250
Release times:
Friday 07.06.12 / 1PM PST - 4 will be available in the IC shop Thursday 07.12.12 / 2PM PST - at DrilOne's signing SDCC booth #4935
If there are any left, they will be available here:
Saturday 07.14.12 / 11AM PST - at DrilOne's signing SDCC booth #4935 Sunday 07.15.12 / 1PM PST - online in the IC shop
Design Bureau Magazine asks us a few questions in their latest issue. Featuring K-Rash like a boss on the cover.
Goats, phones & fries. The best part about our job is we never know what's coming next. Here's a fun piece we recently finished for the fine folks over at Publicis and T-Mobile. We were asked to create character and BG illustrations for this 15 second spot while the talented peeps at World Famous handled the animation/post. OK, now I'm hungry.
Credits/Publicis: Kristi Flango: Art Director, Jenn Maples: Copywriter, Marisa Schoen: Executive Interactive Producer, Todd Bois: Creative Director
Extra special thanks to the talented and gracious Mr. Foster for featuring us in his beautiful new book, New Masters Of Poster Design, Volume 2. Available now!
Well, it appears someone ate the yellow snow. Our brand new Winter White Leroy C. is now in the shop. Get 'em while he's cold.
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 ...
Wow, we're 5. Officially out of the toddler bed but still able to pee in the yard. Not bad. It's been an incredible journey thus far ... thanks to our amazing clients and you (of course). To celebrate the holidays as well as our half-decade, we're offering free shipping on all US orders through December as well as a new 5" x 5" mini-print (with any Leroy C. figure purchase) to hang next to the awkward family photo of that one acquaintance from high school that still sends you Christmas cards. You know the one I'm talking about.
Thank you so much. And seriously, we can't wait to see what happens in the next five ...
You may have seen a fairly vague posting regarding this last week, but here's the lowdown: Low & Behold is a new project band that J Martin and I have been working on for a few years now. In a nutshell, it's really stripped-down classic goth/new wave- for those of you that dig on the likes of Depeche Mode, Sisters Of Mercy, etc. The first release, a 12" single titled Blood Red, is available for pre-order now here. The record features the title track, plus a b-side (Violent Sound), packaged in a gatefold sleeve, with a 11" x 11" 2-sided art print. So, yes, $9 is a steal.
Have a Blood Red Halloween.
The latest edition to the Leroy C. family is here. Cast in pearl grey vinyl highlighted by bronze and grey sprays. Heavy!
It's 100% official and tickets are now 
Ahhh, the first day of pre-school. Today was a biggie for my son - definitely a few tears. Continuing tradition, here's a quick drawing I stuffed in his lunchbox to ease his first day jitters. Also in the shop for $12.
Time flies. Today is my little girl's first day of first grade. Just like last year, I decided to make her a quick treat for her lunchbox. Many of you asked for prints last time, so we added an 8.5" x 11" print to the shop for $12. All proceeds benefit her lunch fund ... and I'm happy to report that there were less tears this year ...