US folks: Place your holiday orders by Wednesday, December 18th to insure delivery before Christmas. We won't be shipping between Dec. 19th-January 6th.

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 had the pleasure of working on a number of User Profile and Achievement illustrations for the brand-spankin' new Xbox One, which happens to be out today. IC was commissioned by Xbox to create 30 gamerpics for users to choose from on the new system. Monsters, space scenes, animals, objects and more. We were also asked to create 5 achievement illustrations that would be displayed once a user accomplishes a specific challenge. 10 Hours Of TV, 25 Hours Of Movies, etc.

This project was a blast, and it's exciting to see some of our gamerpics end up in the Xbox One: Invitation spot (see below). Big thanks to our A.D.'s Ramiro Torres and Michael Guss for the opportunity. Now I just to need to get my hands on one ...

To commemorate Demon Hunter's ten years, we've created a silkscreen poster featuring imagery from all six studio albums. This is a limited pressing of 100, signed by Ryan Clark (me), and is available in the store now. Order by December 20th for holiday arrival! (orders for this poster do NOT include IC Holiday Giveaway print)

As we celebrate IC's 6 year anniversary, we are thankful for 2012 (our bestest year yet!) and the amazing projects we've had the pleasure of working on. So we thought we'd spread the joy a little by creating "The Lookout", a sequel (of sorts) to 2010's Snowballer print. With every purchase over $25, we'll be sending out a signed 11" x 14" giclee print until December 20th, which also happens to be our last day of shipping before Christmas.

Special note - International orders: Due to shipping costs, we are only able to send "The Lookout" with poster and print orders. Offer doesn't apply to T-shirt or toy orders. Sorry!

We'll have the set of 2 available to purchase after the holidays. Go in peace!

Mark your calendars. This Friday from 6AM-Midnight PST. Use code BLKFRI at checkout.

This past week, my wife and I had the pleasure of celebrating our 10 year anniversary in the land of the rising sun. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, did lots of shopping, lots of walking, took lots of trains, drank a lot of coffee, learned the correct way to say "thank you," and got tattooed. This was also Leroy's first trip back to his birthplace.

So it's kind of a long story, but when my buddy Vijay, who owns and operates Artist Series Guitar, mentioned that his good friend, Ryan Hurst, would be doing a photo shoot for his custom Demon Hunter and Throwdown guitars, I had to make sure I was there. For years now, people have said I look like Opie, a character that Hurst plays in the always-enthralling Sons Of Anarchy TV show. All of us in Demon Hunter have become huge fans of the show over the years, so this was a really cool opportunity. Oh, and my wife made the dope leather vest Hurst is wearing in the shoot. Checking off that bucket list, one day at a time.

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 ...

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.

Woo-hoo!

I was recently turned on to Showtime's amazing series, Dexter, and my wife and I are doing our best to catch up in order to be prepared for the 3rd season, which begins September 28th. In watching the opening title sequence for the show, (which is phenomenal) I couldn't help but assume, by the beautiful macro shots and clever insinuations, that Digital Kitchen might've been responsible for this. Alas, I was correct: "Entertainment" section, row 2, column 3 here. Oh, and in case you don't know anything about this show, and just so the titles make sense, Dexter is a forensic scientist/serial killer.

The 2nd season of Top Design starts tonight on Bravo. Todd + company are back for more interior design mayhem. I'm hoping it's better than the current season of Project Runway, which is (without a doubt) the worst season yet. OK, OK ... Suede is kinda cool, although I think Joe is going to take it.

Demetre told me to check this show out a few weeks ago and I finally got around to it. Wow, I didn't realize how late in the game I was, but I guess the best do come to those who wait. Mad Men is brilliant on many levels - and EVERYONE is raving about it. It's shot perfectly, the era (1960's) is executed beautifully and the story ... well, it's great in a way that only cinema can pull off. Double lives, crooked ad men, drinking and smoking on the job, racism, sexism. It's like The Soprano's meets Leave It To Beaver, but without the killing or June Cleaver. 

Season 2 just started, but the entire first season is available on Comcast On-Demand HD (!) for 5 more days. However, if you wanted to purchase it, the packaging looks pretty killer.