Chrysler Eminem Super Bowl Commercial - Imported From Detroit

The Internet: A double edged sword for designers

I got an email from the good folks of the ACME Speed Shop asking me if I knew about a person selling stickers of my design for them on eBay. I had to see it for myself: item #220685777210

You've probably heard the old saying "Imitation is the highest form of flattery", but honestly, it's not; it's a down right violation of intellectual property and against the law.

Here's the hard part: I'm by no means well off. They don't call us starving artists for nothing. I need to show work I've done in the past to draw new clients to continue to work. But anything I put up on line is subject to being stolen, aped, ripped off, hacked, etc. So what can I do!? Watermarks only do so much good. The fact of the matter is anyone who can retouch a photo can make a watermark disappear (for the most part) and you also need to make an image large enough to show a client but at the same time not so large that someone can nab it, reproduce it, and sell it on eBay.

The fact of the matter is, I was paid to do this design (outside of a change in typeface of "speed shop" that the person who is trying to pass this off as their own work did) So really it's hurting the good folks who paid me to design for them, but at the same time this person is not afraid to place their own watermark on the design!

Man Cave Accessories? You didn't do this work, you are a hack. Your balls are mighty big to go ahead and watermark hacked work!

Vintage? It's only 3 years old buddy! Oh, looky here! You're from Westland. You are in bitch-slap distance!

Please everyone, don't buy from mancaveaccessories1 on ebay. This person is bad for the automotive collective.

My work was "copied" among about 200+ other rip off pieces that this person is selling illegally. If you are a designer, you may wish to check and see if your work is up there among his own too.

Fuckin' Ugh!

Tis. the season I suppose! The Zombie Factor

A friend and colleague gave me a call about putting together an identity for his Comedy Zombie Pilot series called "The Zombie Factor". It's a tongue and cheek idea that after the zombie apocalypse happens, how would we return to life in the USA with zombies? Of course! Make them our new form of entertainment with their own reality show.

Anyway, I don't want to give too much away. I'm still waiting to see a pilot all edited down. But, if it pops up, I'll post it up here. Enjoy!

Manifolds on Main

I was approached to do a more "classic" design (by classic I mean an approach you've seen before) There are a lot of old water slide decals out there of "powered by plymouth, ford, chevy, mopar, etc." This was my own skew on the same old wheel and tire for Manifolds on Main in Irving Texas. The coolest part about this is, not only was it used on an event shirt, but also as the participant award.

(not the best photo in the world of it here)

The design was given to a jeweler to create a 1.75" wheel with a bronze base for all who participated in the event. I don't have to often think in 3D any more with my work, but this one I did again (funny how out of practice I've become!) Here is the breakdown of how the layers worked out that was sent along to be machined out.

At any rate, I'm stoked! I love to see this stuff jump off the screen and become a physical object. My work takes on a whole new meaning when it becomes a product to me. I love to see designs pan out.

Huff-A-Palooza

I saw the call out come down the pipe on the Road Devils C.C. forum about a guy who needed some help. I wish I could always help out with charities, but if I did, I'd quickly become one myself!

Bo Huff is a custom car builder who specializes in shoeboxes and Mercs, among other cars as well. I remember first reading about "The Bad Boy merc some time back with an article from Max Grundy.

At any rate, I came across this post with the cries for art submissions for the cause:

"

Dear Friends of Bo Huff:

Bo Huff has currently been diagnosed with Stage 3 Mutliple Myeloma and is in treatment at Hunstmen Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He needs to undergo 2 rounds of chemo and radiation therapy immediately at a cost of $25,000 per cycle. Our goal is to raiseas close as possible to $50,000 (2 cycles + medication) as he is on Medi-Cal and they only potentially pay for one cycle of treatment.

Our objective is to have an art/artist supported raffle to help raise funds for his therapy. We will feature this event in Car Kulture Deluxe magazine and I will additionally scout feature artists fromthe submissions. We have only 30 days until Oct. 31, 2010 to get submissions into me. WIll you help me put the word out to the art & hot rod builder community?

Note: In the spirt of positive thinking, we are affectionately calling the art show the "Glo Huff Chemo and Radiation Cancer Fighting Fundraiser. " He starts aggressive therapy this Monday.

Submissions can be anything/ format thats hot rod/biker/lowbrow art related but must be signed and preferrably original worksPaintings must be already framed and ready to display or hang with sawtooth or wire backing as I dont have time toassemble any framing prior to the event.Drop Dead delivery deadline is Monday Nov. 1, 2010.All items will be raffled off at the event by an MC and the funds will go into a charity fund to pay the hospital bills.

Artwork will be sent to me for staging and I will get it to the fundraiser. Please mail items to:Anna Marco PO BOX 1895 Beverly Hills CA 90213ph. 310 925 6966email: anna.osr@gmail.com

Additionally we are working on making event shirts and will have a Deadsleds (and others) car club sponsered music and car show in the Inland Empirelocation, date , and time TBD.

Your assistance will be deeply appreciated, please put the the word out to our usual suspects as will I. Bo has now agreed to let folks know he needs our help.

Much LoveAnna "saves fabricators" Marco"

My heart goes out and hopefully my submission can help raise some dough in a time of need.

Take a peek

It's a 24" x 36" framed, one of one print for the man in need. I urge you too if you have some sort of artistic talent to submit something.

KKOA DVD?!

The 'Kustom Kemps of America' is perhaps one of the oldest running custom car and truck association in America. For a lot of the young guys into hot rods and custom cars, they often turn their noses up at high dollar cars and trucks but at a certain point, we'll all be the old guy with the car with a lifetime of $$'s put into it. You just can't deny the beauty and craftsman ship that goes into these cars and trucks.

I got an opportunity to put together a DVD cover and an ad for Ol Skool Rodz recently for the KKOA DVD which will be released by Vintage Torque around Thanksgiving (pssst, a good time to purchase this for that special gearhead for the holidays) Here's a sneak peek!

Over two years in the making: Deadheads

It was 2008 in the spring (or was it 2007 in the winter?) when I got a call from my buddy Brett who was putting together a script about buddy zombies on a road trip adventure. He told me they needed a title slate for the film so they could start shopping it around. I gladly helped out with a few samples that ended up being used.

Months later I get another call. Brett this time needed a logo for the evil company that is in the story "Genutek". So again I got behind the mouse and made it happen.

Months later I get another call (now it's early summer of 2008) and Brett needs an assistant director for the film. At this point I was full time freelance and I wasn't sure how far down the rabbit hole I was going to get pulled. They claimed that the script was all broken down and they were going to shoot it in 3 weeks so all I had to do was show up and stay one shot in front of them.... little did I know!

Two years later now (August of 2010) Deadheads is all done and ready for the festival circuit. I've seen it now twice in it's finished state and I have to say I really like it, and I'm not being all the bias as I am a pretty critical film buff.

So as the film was in town here in the Detroit area last week for a cast and crew showing, many of the actors came into town as well. We finally had everybody in the same place at the same time for a photo shoot for some advertisements. Here is some of the work in action:

I put together a Deadheads poster with a "grindhouse" feel to it, much like the opening title sequence of the film itself.

Steven "Slavko" Milosavleski put together this one with some of the same photos from the shoot last week. His is a little more mellow, and perhaps a better representation of the film than mine.

There will be some more as the film starts getting into festivals here and there. Hopefully you all will get a chance to see this fun movie too!