Design

So much has happened…

Design, Photography

It’s been a little longer than what I really want it to be between posts, but it’s for good reasons.

First, in exciting news, End of the Line is here! Whoo hoo! (Or “who boo” as spell check keeps trying to make it!) Originally, the game was scheduled to be here in February, but since we had so much of it ready before we started the Kickstarter, it was ready early. What a nice surprise! For those of you who didn’t Kickstart it, but would like a copy, it is available at Tower Games, Level Up, and The Source. (I’m sure all of these game stores are great, but Tower Games is owned by Fight in a Box Co-Owner, Bob. So I’m partial to it, ’cause Bob is awesome! And he’s done a lot to give the store a greatly needed makeover. Yea Bob!)

My art/craft room has gotten a new paint job! So nice. I found the colors in one of those paint sample books that you get at the store, and I loved them! Although it’s probably not the best color choice for displaying colored artwork or photos, I like it so much more than I would had I gone with a neutral color. Now with the painting done, I have also put up some artwork and decorated the room a bit (Don’t rush me! We only moved in around three years ago!) And since there was so much left of the yellowish color, I painted a bathroom with it as well.

Kristin and I had another photo outing. Unfortunately, since it has gotten cold here, our outings have moved indoors. This time we went to Union Station in St. Paul and also wandered the skyways a bit. It was a Sunday, so both places were pretty empty. We found a lot of interesting architecture and some oddities, such as a tiny door on the side of a stairwell, and an elevator with a door that was obviously too large to fit the door frame. Strange.

Overall, the past month was great, and I’m looking forward to an even greater December. There are festivities and days off of work, so it has to be good, right?

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It’s Here!

Design

The printed proof for End of the Line is here! It’s so exciting! I can finally quit wondering if everything will fit into the box because it will. And there’s even room for the expansion that Seppy is currently play-testing. Hooray!

It’s so exciting to see everything put together and in a more finished version. We got a test copy at another print shop, but those were all just pieces, no box, insert, or shelters. This is everything!…well, almost everything. We had some confusion about the wood components, so we are still waiting for another proof on that, but that is not a big thing.

The best part about looking at the proof, was that there is really nothing major that needs to be changed. We just have to sort out which cards go in which bags, and we are ready to tell them to go to production. So exciting! I can’t wait to see the complete packaged version. I already held it up to our shelf of games, and it really stands out. I hope people like the game!

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Other Creative Things!

Design, Miscellaneous

Last month, I didn’t do much creating, but I was involved in some other forms of creativity:

My friend, Eve, set up a dance challenge for some of her family and friends. She sent us a link to a Youtube video of a Bollywood dance workout and asked us to learn it to perform at her house. She wanted all dance abilities to feel comfortable, so we didn’t perform the dance for each other. We all danced it simultaneously without facing each other. It was a lot of fun, and it was a great challenge. Afterwards, we informally talked about our experiences learning the dance and had a buffet of Indian food. It was really fun and inventive. I had a great time, and I can’t wait to see what her next challenge is!

Nick has been putting together a competition that he calls “The King of Gaming.” He has chosen a variety of video games for his friends to practice and compete against each other for the quickest time or largest point value. There is a qualifying round and the final competition. He is treating the competition as if we are applying to become agents. We get emails written as if we are applicants, had to fill out an application, had a photo taken, and the finalists are received a packet full of information about the final games they will be playing and information on the other agents. It’s really inventive, and it’s been fun to help him get the packets together and make sure everything is matching the theme (I helped him with the prepress and designing the logo). We are even competing for a trophy! I doubt I’ll win the competition, but I’m having a lot of fun!

I also went to a talk about the website mnartist.org that the Eagan Connect group hosted. It was both good and bad. Good, because it was very informative and seemed like a great website and great group. But bad because it made me wish I had more time to create art. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to join the group or website. I want to, but I’m not sure if it makes sense to have a profile that isn’t updated regularly. And the group seems fun, but I feel a bit like an imposter, since I don’t create regularly. Although, they did talk about creating a group that would get together and draw. That could be a good place to start and get some creating done!

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On the Other Side of Prepress…

Design

I have been working in prepress for over 17 years, and, other than a few rare occasions, I’m usually in the same building as where the printing is taking place. Which is really helpful when printing pieces that I’ve designed, since I know the presses and machines, and I know how to fix something if it is not printing the way I expected it to. For End of the Line, I am finding myself on the other side prepress, and I am solely a designer. It’s a little odd, but it’s been a good experience for me.

I am happy to report that I am really good at designing for print! Not that you wouldn’t expect that after 17 years, but it’s nice to hear from another print shop that my files were easy to work with and made their job easier. And, that also means that I have successfully met one of my goals! I actually got into printing because I had an internship in a print shop, and everywhere in the shop, I kept hearing about how designers were wasting their company’s money by making a lot of prepress mistakes and choosing bad ink and paper for their jobs. My goal was to go into prepress so that I would not be one of those designer. Mission accomplished!

I am also learning a lot about what happens on the client side of things. Before this project, I didn’t understand why someone would send a file in to be printed before checking it carefully. After sending in my own files, I understand that there is more going on: you are rushing to meet deadlines, you are staring at the same pieces for hours on end, and you have spell checked so many times, that you forget that you didn’t do that one file one last time… On the prepress end, I’m looking at something with a fresh eye, and I’m sending it back to the customer to look at after they’ve had a break from it.

It’s not like I was oblivious to all of this, it’s just that it’s been so long since I’ve been on this side, that I’ve forgotten. And on my end, it seems like it’s happening more and more. Which I supposed it probably is, since technology has made things less expensive and move faster.

Overall, this has been a good experience, and I’m really excited to see the mocked-up proof! You can bet I’ll put pictures online when I have those. I can’t wait!

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Where Did January Go?

Design, Miscellaneous

It’s already over a month into the new year! I can’t believe how quickly that has gone for me. On the good side, I’ve gotten to do a lot of fun things, see a lot of great people, and accomplish a lot of work. On the bad side, the constant busy-ness was starting to take its toll, and I’ve noticed myself wasting a lot of my free time by doing mindless things that really don’t need to be accomplished…such as completing multiple puzzles in my new puzzle app! (A creative endeavor would have been time better spent…but I guess I now have digital puzzles to show off to anyone who cares…except that after you complete the puzzle, it just turns into a regular picture, so it’s not super impressive.)

So what did I do in January? Let’s start with work. My supervisor took a trip to Atlanta to train on our variable data/imposing software for a week. While he was gone, the workload decided to pick up, so I spent multiple nights working late. Great for the overtime, but sad for doing anything other than eating and going straight to bed each night. After he returned, it didn’t let up! Finally this week, things have started to slow down. Which is good, since we just hired a new person, and I have been helping to train him. We also have to rearrange the office, which will require some computer shut-off time. Not great to do when you are psycho-busy!

And now, onto work #2! Fight in a Box is crazily preparing for the Kickstarter launch of our game, End of the Line, for February 15, 2016. The instruction booklet is reviewer-ready, postcards and banners have been made, and the Kickstarter graphics are currently in-process. I have a few more card designs to put together, and then we should be ready for launch. So exciting! And scary!

I am also preparing for Con of the North, which is February 12th – 14th. This will be my first convention, and I have to teach two of our games. My test teaching didn’t go so well, so I’m hoping to get things a little more organized so people actually enjoy the game, and don’t leave more confused than they started! (Ok, my teaching probably wasn’t that bad, but it felt like it was!)

And now the best part: Social Time!!! I had two fun Peace Coffee adventures, courtesy of Nick. He got me a Kalita Wave and all the accessories for it for the holidays. Since pour over coffee makers are more of a science than just throw the beans in and let it go, he also got me a Peace Coffee class on brewing coffee at home. It was very informative and helpful! My pour overs are nothing I would subject my friends to yet, but they have gotten considerably better than my first horrible cup! (Nick will agree, since he has bravely been my guinea pig!) Nick and I also went on a roastery tour at Peace. We both left wishing we could work there! It’s such a great company, with such a great story. If you have a chance, I definitely recommend the tour. It’s $5, and they give you a coupon for a free drink afterwards, which, depending on what you get, pays for itself!

We also decided to host a themed party! Sadly for our guests, it ended up being on one of the coldest days in January, but like true friends, they braved the cold. The theme was taken from the 90s movie, House Party 2, and we had a Pajama Jammy Jam! We tried to replicate a sleepover. Everyone wore pajamas, we had hot chocolate, cheap pizza, a cake bar, makeovers, manicures, movies, video games, board games, MASH, and fortune tellers. It was so much fun, and it helped provide a needed break from the craziness!

Along the same line, it was Girls’ Christmas! One weekend a year, three of my close friends and I get together for some girl time. We ate a lot, knit some scarves, saw a play, and socialized. With all of us not living in close proximity anymore and being busy people, it’s nice to get together and catch up. And laugh so much that your cheeks hurt the next day!

And the final bit of socialization in January was that one of my friends got remarried and asked me to be in the wedding, which I was very honored by. I got to be on his side and dress with the guys. Having been in multiple weddings, it was interesting to be on the other side of things. There was not much getting ready to be had, and there was much more downtime than being on the bride’s side (based on previous weddings I have been in). I don’t get to see my friend as much as I used to. So it was nice to see him interact with his kids and see what a good Dad he is, and what a good match he and his wife are! Congratulations to them!

Amazingly, Nick and I were also able to get some quality time together in all of that mess! Although the month was busy, it was good, and I have a lot of great memories.

This photo is leg warmers that I have started to knit. If I keep knitting at my current pace, I may have them ready for next winter!

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