St. Petersburg & critters

Till the 14th February everybody (and their mum...if they have an email address) can vote on the final base color of the new St. Petersburg box Irene and me are currently working on. I started the project last year and it's mostly still in the conception stage. So many material and a lot of math, color decisions and finally the little hope even the hardcore game nerds will like it.

You can vote HERE
It only takes a minute and I'd really appreciate if we get as many votes as possible. :D

More information can be found here:
my Deviantart journal
and on the official Hans im Glück facebook page:
Hans im Glück

*Update 13.02:
And because I realized some people who actually really want the game (or are simply curious about it) might read this: The illustration(s) will look like the Carcassonne Winter-Edition cover. So every "Oh it's Disney!" comment is frustrating because we 100%ly don't want or will run into that direction. Both Irene and me dislike "Anastasia" as well (no offense... but the movement animation is simply creepy), so you might enjoy reading that's out of discussion as well.
And as we played the new version just yesterday in Munich... Oh my.... the new version is so good. It's a tad more complicated but soooo good. I want it badly getting into print.
*

Last week-end Saskia, my hubby, his brother and me visit my family for the annual wood cutting. Since the "girl duty" only consisted of dragging haul 2-30 kg pieces of cut wood from one place to another on the yard we used the rest of the time to visit the wild park nearby.
Sadly the prairie dogs didn't want to cuddle this time (these are so fluffy and soft!). But they nommed away walnuts like the rest did. At least the deers and goats loved the nom+ attention.

 It's a small park but since some animals have no restricted area you might end up being stalked by deers, goats and occassionally by some pot-bellied pigs. Entry fee is only 2 Euro and we normally end up visiting the park every time I'm in my home-town. I wish some cages were bigger but I think that practically depends on donations.
If you're ever in Brandenburg: Wildpark

 Left my highly wrapped up self and right girl is Saskia :B As you can see it was still snowy but such a wonderful sunny day. Still too cold for my taste. My collection of thermal clothes grew a lot over the three years. I freeze so fast it's not funny =.=

 As you can see... stalking deers. I think in summer I will grab my sketch book and spend some hours there. Forgot to do it in summer and it's high time.

My favourite part: The prairie dogs. These were restricted to a pretty spacious area to beginn with but I think they will soon rule the complete park. This year the park guys finally gave up and removed the fencing. The fences were a joke to begin with... the clever critters simply digged deeper and ended up popping up at the other side of the meadow. :D

New Stuff!

Einhornzauber Puzzle Set

Mensch ärgere Dich nicht- das Kartenspiel

Mauerhüpfer

Webrahmen Set

Some more things to come. Last year was so packed...

Oh December...

... and I still haven't managed to get all presents for Christmas. I guess we'll do last minute packing with awfulsome help of the cats who tend to be more or less pretty unhelpful.

I had some strange weeks. A lot of stuff's going on at work and though I thought the end of the year would be totally relaxing... it's not. Dang. I always wonder why this year was/is so strange.


But... things to look forward: January will be a month I like. I already know... since the Nürnberg board game fair is coming up and I busted my booty for it and I hope people will love the games. Ha!

Winter does something strange to me: I turn into a soup monster. I think I cooked 7 different soups in the last 7 days and I'm still not fed up with... soup. Gods, I love these. So many options. Having somebody at home who mostly eats everything (except the really wonky tests- Azuki beans... we both hate you) helps a lot.

Don't think I can post something without the cats. Today's weird cat picture....

Why do cats like freshly used sport clothes so much? Tretel's love for sweaty clothes is simply disgusting but since Hantje turns into a purring jellyblob when she finds a stinkin' shirt I can't point fingers at him. It's weird. Seriously. Our dog loved to roll around in cow patties and the cats crawl into the sports bag stinking like rotten eggs (thermal water- it smells strongly like sulfur). Sometimes I have no idea if I should be offended or laughing.

 Aaaand a new mug motive with Kulla. Didn't forget my little bunny girl. Especially since she'll turn 10 next year. Already. Oh noes.

You can find the illustration here on Deviantart if you want to have a closer look. I'm a bit depressed I still haven't done the fourth book but at least one children's book will be out next year... even if it's not for Tokyopop. And not even in Germany. Well, not really depressed about that part but I promise more bunny illustrations next year.

no con for me...

This week-end the MMC rocked Berlin and I couldn't be there :< Honeymoon, wedding and the car accident my parents had took away too much time and I'm still trying to catch up. Meaning I spent my week with wombats, weird orange birds, several mugs of black tea and coffee and Ane Brun. Her interpretation of Jóga (Björk) rocks but if you have never heard of Ane Brun, click here and enjoy.

Thanks god at least somebody thought of me *yes, totally lamenting* and Marina aka the really nice Yumkeks spent some evening hours with me. I think I babbled about ten million boring things whereas I really wanted to know how the con was. Arg! I'm getting old.

KAJAK merch @ Plötzlich am Meer

 

Jakob and Kaja prepare for the "Plötzlich am Meer" festival and we finally picked up the shirts and totes from the print company.
You can check out all different shirt and tote options on their facebook page:
Kajak-Music

and have a look at the awesome Phat Cat video:
YOUTUBE

Shirts and totes will be available at the festival. If you're not attending but want some goodies anyway poke them on facebook.

Something personal...

Since I already posted it on my Deviantart page... here we go. The occasion is nothing too "new" -at least not for us since we started to plan in December already. After nearly 7 years living happily "in sin" we'll tie the knot.

The card was printed by Laser-Line on 280 gr Mythos. If you ever consider getting something printed properly without much space for error make sure to check those things beforehand:
- have you chosen the right company for YOUR product
- do they offer a good support if you have any questions
- is the price reasonable
- what file format is required
- do they offer any job-options for the PDF-writer
- have you converted your image into the correct CMYK profile the company uses
- have you double checked the things above
- have a triple check on spelling and grammar... trust me, you'll regret it if you oversee something
- did you do a testprint and checked if everything fits
- what kind of paper do they offer and did you check the samples (I have a Black Box from Laser Line which came in REALLY handy)

I could add some more things and the final list is pretty long. Since a lot of stuff is happening at the moment I won't be able to post a lot in the next months but at least one of the reasons is a happy one. 

Fühlzwerge -board game

"Fühlzwerge" will be released in September. It's a tactile game where you have to feel for the shapes of the different items.

The actual card illustrations were done by another illustrator- but are pretty cute nevertheless ;) It was fun to draw the characters... and a tooth gap.

The game costs around 15 Euro and can be purchased in stores, on Amazon and the online Schmidt Spiele shop.

Spreading Love...

.... or winter fuzzles. It's this time of the year again when I put on clean clothes and after 2 minutes with the cats they look like this:

It doesn't look that bad but having a third cat (amount of hair) spread all over my clothes is sometimes really annoying- my back is the worst part and I wonder how the hairs got *there*. The third unwanted cat is everywhere. Hantje tends to nap in my freshly washed pile of shirts and I end up frantically removing the third cat every morning. I love my kittens but the third cat in spring is the worst part. Probably.
Since Tretel still loves to sit on the balcony freezing his booty off he has a decent amount of third cat he loves to share. Same goes for Hantje.

Kiki figurines

These are actually not fan-made but commissioned. Some girls get new shoes... i get figurines @_@
 And because blogger sucks at the moment and won't let me link the videos...
you have to click the links.

Pumpkin Kiki

Froghat Kiki

I'll update the videos links as soon as blogger accepts the links. Grrr...
Static eye-candy:

You want a figurine of your character as well?
IF you are interested to get a high quality figurine of your original character you might want to consider commissioning Vii as well. She's a great sculptor and showed me inbetween steps and corrected things in a light speed. The price per figurine is *more* than reasonable and I highly recommend her.
Visit VII on her Deviantart page She listed a price chart but it's best to directly note her to get the final price since it can differ a lot depending on details.Did I mention I love what she does? I mean look at the pumpkin one.... I send t-poses and got back that tiny perfect squishy thing. Oh, I'm so in love with it Q_Q

Otherwise I'm still and constantly swamped in work (which is nice...nothing's worse than being unattractive in the market). I had a prototype game play yesterday and my head is still spinning from information overload. I cross my fingers this monster of a project will come out fine. At the moment I'm just scared that thing might blow up right into my face but it's a challenge and I love challenges.

We started our weekly outside swimming session again and since the sun finally pops out inbetween muddy clouds it's nice to get a bit of vitamin D. I missed the sun a lot and I am yearning to be more active outside when you're not freezing your bum off no matter how many layers you wear. I love winter but it stayed long enough this time, don't you think?

Flieg mit, kleine Eule!

"Flieg mit, kleine Eule!" is the European version of "Hoot Owl Hoot!" by Susan McKinley Ross. She's the author of Qwirkle and when I got the project I was super excited because the game is for little ones and super cute.
The American version has owl chips whereas Schmidt Spiele got little chubby owls produced and those are so darn cute. We matched the figurines as best as possible to the illustrated ones and I love them. You want to poke their small round booty all the time! *cough*

More information can be found HERE and the game should be available up from February for around 20 Euro. The price depends where you buy it so it could be a lot less as well.

I got myself for Christmas....

 ... obviously not Hantje. As always she's in her floaty boat watching lazily as I work... on comic pages. Actually the one you see is a reworked version of "anger a kitteh"... a page hopefully finished tomorrow. I so want to work on a snow page right now.

I got myself a Spyder4 Pro.
This tiny little stinker is essential for calibrating my screens. I have no idea if you ever had the chance to calibrate *your* screens but having a good screen also means you might want to invest in a buddy who helps you to see the actually correct colors. Nobody wants to be shocked in the final print version. Though I have to admit: If the printer messes up you'll end up shocked anyway. But it's a good start and for me essential.
IF you think "Oh shiny... me wants" check the Datacolor hardware. There are different versions of the Spyder. I had a OneEye before which was fine as well.

Tretel normally hogs the heater place. I am amazed he still fits in.

Kniffel- Das Kartenspiel

It's one of the board games I did this year and it's one of the more abstract ones. And gosh, since I already have my printed version (whoot!) I can say the print turned out gorgeous and the colors simply awesome (ever tried to convert a pretty RGB violet shade to CMYK?... pure nightmare!). We had such a rough start and I struggled a lot with the concept but once I skipped the idea to adapt the old style and make it very 2012 the project was fun.

For those who know the old Kniffel game(s) and loved it you might fancy to check out this one as well.
Basic information and the backside can be found at boardgamegeek. Kniffel will come out in February after the Nürnberg fair (and three other ones I'll blog about as soon as I'm allowed to).

I'll show some pics after Christmas- at the moment I'm trying to squeeze so many different things into one day it's kinda scary. Duh. I'm happy when we can finally flop down on the couch after Christmas.

Maybe the last... maybe... really...

Today I was curious and counted how many board-games I did this year... it's 7 1/2 (the Gingerbread expansion for Carcassonne is the 1/2). Freaking hell.
No wonder I didn't really do that many comic pages I wanted to do. =.= Theoretically it's 7 weeks for every game, some took one... some took way more. I always wonder how people who work full-time on board-games handle that (I don't and I won't) but since I enjoy the "party hard on all parties" option I guess it's keeping up the spirit.

I'll (hopefully) the manual illustrations for the last one tomorrow and I'm already soo looking forward for the finishing line. Theoretically. The after-glow normally keeps up till we have to prep the game fair material (subtitle: not that long).

For those who are curious: 4 will be released next year, 2 for kids, 2 family games, 1 of those a spin-off of a game probably everybody knows and it might be slightly shocking.

I am a bit fed up for this year and hope I can finish the last comic pages. My priorities were messed up though I have to admit I love the job and a project gets me excited like some girls an unlimited credit card plus a shoe shop.

I hope I can doodle again, upload some sketches, some nerdy cat pics, some... other pics and basically enjoy the spirit of a freelancer on a two-months break. It's luxury and I'll enjoy it.


Maybe.

Till I get restless again.

HARD work

Sometimes it's really funny how much effort you have to put in making something look... like this. These two fellows are 2 of ... I forgot how many (something over 30) illustrations I did for "Zebra-Schwein" and probably the most hilarious ones.
The whacko pig even got to be the cover piggie. Very impressive- I know. ;)

I think I'd even put those into my portfolio just to show how much effort I can put in doing no details, no shading, no... everything. I guess everybody who's into "oh here a stroke and there a stroke... and some thousand more" knows how hard it can be to make something NOT perfect.
I like the ----------- (that was Hantje stomping around on my keyboard) two nevertheless. Quite the biggest challenge.

I try to collect all the doodles and process sketches I had to do for Boom Boom Ballon. Finding the final form of the birdies was a long road and I hope it might be interesting for some people to see that most of the times it's worth the effort to do some many different concepts to find the very final shape.

I hope I still have those... somewhere.

8 years

So.... some people asked for the first illustration. Actually the very first was made on canvas with acrylics but I don't have a photo of that one (and I'm kinda happy about it...*orz* ) but while dugging in my junkyard of old files I found this:

... I get the twisted mix of shame (practically happens when I see ALL the old stuff I made because hey 8 years can change a lot), guilt (because I did this) and being proud (because though it's 8 years old I've seen worse...).
It was made for a computer equipment company and obviously they thought manga is cool, so we do something with a bikini girl in manga look and because *gasping for air* I still was into drawing manga stuff at that time I... said yes.

In the end is was A4 size in a mag (couldn't find it and I have no idea if I still have it) and looked like this:

*guilt trip number 2*
I have no idea how much I got for it.

So... that's the first and I think everybody has one of those corpses deeply hidden somewhere. Now mine's official ^^;

how much time passed before you were sure you want to stay freelance and before it looked like a good place to stay in?
Does it ever? Actually I still have those moments when I think "Buh, just a normal work would be kinda nice... or something totally different." Those mostly happen when I worked too long on only 1 project or need my batteries recharged.
I think last year I finally decided to push those thoughts back and enjoy the work fully. Mostly because I got more job offers than I was and will be able to handle and because that of course meant I didn't have to take any jobs I 100%ly know would be a pain in the ass to get through.
I know every job can turn into something stressfull up from a certain point but I try to keep those on a very low level and as long as I can say "hey, actually I will have a decent pension!" and "yes, I can spare 200 bucks for new RAM" it's okay. I don't feel the pressure to do *everything* any more and that's pretty good.

would it be possible to be where you are right now without dedicating your time that much (sleepless nights, constant working during day, maybe even concentrating only on work and abandoning everything else)?
Um... no. =_= I had a lot of jobs that pushed me to the limit and even one where I actually had a moment of crying and being just done and everything hurt and though it was like my biggest nightmare it always reminds me where my limits are. And that the word "limit" also includes to listen to your body and if something feels impossible to do it's better to say no.
The other thing is that I know people appreciate that I take care of delivering the quality they expect and sometimes it means working 1-6 hours more. And that's okay... I rather work longer than delivering crap.
I know this makes me a bit of a hermit most of the time- which is okay since I'm not *that* social and have no cravings to party hard. As long as I can meet a friend for skating or exhausting myself in the high ropes courses it's okay.


who and what helped you the most? 
Who:
For one... my family, because I could do what I wanted to do though they doubted everything in the beginning and I had to earn their understanding and respect for the job. This might sound bad but my parents life in a totally different world and it's okay because they still tried hard and understand now that it's my life and what I'm breathing.
The other one much obviously is my boyfriend because I'm a mess when it comes to daily chores and being tidy and doing my tax papers (you see where this leads... hopeless case regarding reality) and I'm just a lucky girl that I have someone who has no problems with helping out and being organized (am not), being there for me when I have those mental moments right before a deadline and who entertains the cats when I have to work. That means of course I have the best male individum on the planet because he bears and (not always) accepts my chaos.

What:
Possibly I have to admit the what-part would be growing up within the last couple of years(up to a certain point). I got more easy-going, more confident and more aware of the whole... how to explain... communication-subtitle-reflecting-calculating-everything-around-a-job thing.
I worked on my soft skills and though I'm still failing now and than I think it's a part of the experience. The other thing is deciding in which direction I want to go (which included dropping some ideas and concentrating on others). It meant a lot of testing, a lot of weird jobs and a lot of "Oh god, never again" but I found out where my strong points are and that helped a lot.

::::::
I think I don't have to mention that payment is and will always be a critical point in the freelancer job and I can strongly advise to sell yourself not cheaply. We always  have to accept prices when we go into the supermarket, buy clothes and everything else. The freelance field doesn't follow the same rules but it doesn't mean everybody can treat you as a doormat.
I had a lot of talks with customers who had brilliant ideas but expected me to work for free or believe in the "There will be money once we have a publisher"-talk (which is ridiculous.. every publisher can always choose a different illustrator- you're the smallest problem they'll have). The problem is: It's always the vision and dream of somebody else and it's up to you and only you if you want to to work for that vision or not. Never feel the pressure to say yes, because somebody gets totally emotional.
I don't want this to sound totally demotiviating but you have to keep as neutral as possible in those moments.
I'll try the puppy eyes as well when I want something (cheaper) and it's still up to the other person if my puppy eyes work or not. Keep it in mind.


I din't beta anything of the text above. If you find mistakes- keep them ;)

Happy anniversary.... kinda

I totally forgot... no wait... actually I didn't- I just had no idea what to write (the part I DID write came of like "evil customers from hell"- something I spare you, myself and the evil customers of doom).

8 years freelancing and still rollin'! Rollin better than ever but the downside is that my old bones need regular sleep now... and tons of sport. Something that was questionable 8 years ago. I could go 48 hours without sleep- though I remember I happened to look like a squirrel on drugs afterwards- and work my ass off but maybe it's not so bad that I crave at least 6h a day and actually get those.

I have no idea if anybody is interested in 8-years-old wisdom.If yes, drop me a line and let me know what you're eager to know.

I'm curious about the next 8 years. It's been a lot of up and down for me- sometimes I think the inner struggle never stops but maybe it's good and it means progress and that's something... I never want to stop.

You still remember your first computer? I started with Paint (PIXEL.. huge, chunky PIXEL...) and Norton Commander on a very old mule. I still used floppy disks (if you wonder, a floppy disk looks like THIS .. the left one... Yes, the HUGE one XD ) and datasettes. That feels like 1 Million years away but actually it's not. )I'm happy my equipment improved over 2 decades... btw...)
Remember when you had to dial up for internet access and it basically sounded like entering the matrix or destroying an R2D2 slowly? Whoa...I feel so old school just because that was my childhood/youth. O_O

Bumm Bumm Ballon!

 Yay! One of my highlights this year -jobwise- because that game is effin fun!

Actually the game will be available in other countries as well but with a different cover, packaging and not our awesome manual (the manual is really awesome, me so proud!).

In Germany you'll be able to get it directly at the SPIEL in Essen (I cross my fingers for it- at least) or regular in stores.
Publisher: Schmidt Spiele
rating: Awesome! Get it as soon as it is out!

On Amazon Germany



It's kinda awesome how simple the packaging looks when you know how many hours I actually put into that thing. O.o we're still mulling over some additional things but basically I'll be happy to watch people test it in Essen :B And yes.... Ty and me will be there (whoot!).

How it works?

Sometimes...

... my own idealism is totally not cooperating with healthy common sense.

.... painting size... and final size (actually you see a bit more but ... you get the point). I know it's an idiotic obsession with details but.. but... but. It's DETAILS!

Some thoughts on details: I have to admit I hated painting details. I can't kid myself when I say I loved painting those 2 years ago. I hated it from the bottom of my heart.

It changed a lot and in two years I realized that it's a good practice like yoga. The longer you meditate over something and keep your inner demons at bay when all you want to do is scream and yank the computer off the table and throw it out the bloody window... the calmer you can get.
A lot of things stress me still now (like setting up the working color scheme and god, sometimes it's really hard- especially if the colors are not in my usual comfort zone) but details don't stress me anymore.

It's something I learned to love and I'm quite grateful for every job I got with tons of details because it meant I had to face my inner demons. A lot of artists neglect it and stick to their comfort zones, colors they love, lack of details blabla endless list. I understand sometimes it can be called "style" but normally I see it as a bad habit and no craving to take your art to another level if you keep doing only things your 100%ly sure you actually CAN do.

I am not fond of radical changes but whenever I can stuff something into my style and it's a good add-on and no distraction or harsh change my votes are totally up for searching and sticking to them... and searching for the next one.

What's your thoughts on the topic? Are you more of the "I against I" or "no need to change" type?

Lion Kiki Steps

and because I already uploaded it and it's no magic at all, just a very good brush

(click on the image to get redirected to the ... huge download >_< )

Basic steps as always:
sketch
flats (thankfully done by Lew)
painting
painting²
painting³
more painting
adding a background color
done

It's really no magic at all and the brush won't do the strokes for you. In the end you have to be patient and play a bit with the brush opacity and flow.

Origins!

Matt send me a note that "Space Mission" got nominated for the 38th Annual Origins Award in the US. Yay!
I have no idea if we have a chance but I cross my fingers. >_<

... that would be the reaction of my parents...

Furthermore German readers can peek at Zebra-Schwein here. They wrote a very detailled review with some pictures of the actual game. I got mine last week but haven't had any time to take pictures. Duh....

And because it's so fluffy I wanna die:
Pillow covers for everybody
Joey and Kate make custom pillow covers that are so soft you wanna huggle those forever. You can get my moon bun, maneki and some other motives there but I'd like you to check the shop generally since the quality is simply awesome and the team so freaking nice.

Oh yes. And I'm half the way through my comic pages. Hurray =.=;..... sloth me is slow.