A brief excerpt of the main character in my upcoming novel COLOR OF A MIRROR.
Now on Kickstarter. Check it out below!
Back to taking about the book!
Check it out below:
-N7 Day 2022-
As mentioned yesterday, here’s my new minimalist Mass Effect title card!
I’m a big fan of title sequences (and main menus in games) as the choice of art and music really sets the tone for the whole experience from that initial moment. This is one of the many things Mass Effect does so successfully, and I love playing with these moments as it allows me to do fanart of a favorite series, while still hanging out in my typography/graphic design happy place.
For this year, I wanted to explore a more alien design, maybe a strange new world we could visit in a new Mass Effect. I love doing minimal, restricted color palettes with different textures providing the details and variations. This idea was born from the classic N7 red for the text, which then spread to the planetary surface in the background.
And then these mysterious obsidian orbs hovering over these impact craters. Or maybe scorch marks... One of my favorite things in ME1 was discovering those weird ruins on random worlds, often with the single chrome sphere hovering over the surface. I wanted these orbs to hearken back to those moments, but also be different.
That’s all I’ve got. Thanks as always to Bioware for creating these games, and I look forward to new adventures in the future!
For now, though, I should go.
In anticipation of N7 Day tomorrow, I wanted to share this minimal fanart title card I created last year. After the teaser trailer that confirmed it would continue the story post-Shepard, I was thinking about possible storylines, about rebuilding in the aftermath of ME3… and the tagline “Reclaim the Past” kinda stuck in my head. Which is where this sorta overgrown stone title text came from—the need to rebuild, but also the idea of nature reclaiming broken worlds.
(I was feeling nostalgic for the old font on “EFFECT” so I used that instead of the newer, more squared-off version.)
—
Can’t wait to see what they do with the next entry in the series! (And I have a new title card I created for this year that I’ll be sharing tomorrow!)
Interested in spicing up your phone or computer with some new art? Well, backing my Kickstarter at any of the listed tiers will also unlock a download of high-quality, digital wallpapers as a special thank you!
A collection of bright neons, dark shadows, typography, brutalism, and minimalist designs, it’ll be a fun pack celebrating some of the different promo images I’ve made for the campaign.
Check it out at the link below:
Some stills from the minimalist intro/title reveal video I created for the Kickstarter.
Had a lot of fun learning about After Effects while working on this, and I hope to make more abstract art videos like this in the future!
Within the first 48 hours, the project was already past 5% funded, which I’m super pleased with! Still a ways to go, but it’s a great start.
(If you wanna check out the full video complete with 75 seconds of the epic soundtrack, follow this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artificelux/color-of-a-mirror-dark-science-fiction-novel-and-soundtrack )
IT’S ALIVE!
(Still feeling the spooky Halloween vibes apparently.)
But for real though, this book I’ve been working on for years and the soundtrack that goes along with it are finally available on Kickstarter. I couldn’t be more excited... also terrified. But also excited. Haha.
I always tried to take part in NaNoWriMo back in the day, and always stalled out after a few days. (Now I understand that that ultra-concentrated format just doesn’t mesh with my process.) Maybe this year, though, I can turn that around and do a NaNoPubMo.
If you’re interested, here’s the link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artificelux/color-of-a-mirror-dark-science-fiction-novel-and-soundtrack
Come experience my dark future version of the moon!
Just a short excerpt teaser, trying not to give anything away from one of my favorite parts of the book.
(Also. The Kickstarter pre-campaign page is active. You can save the page or get notified when the campaign goes live on Nov. 01!)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artificelux/color-of-a-mirror-dark-science-fiction-novel-and-soundtrack
It feels more and more real at each step of the way, and I’m so excited for people to finally get to join me in this dark future.
•Never Normal•
Another small peek at the first chapter. Plus a new abstract design.
•Duality•
Dark Alleys. Bright Shadows.
•3RTL•
Ominous. Omen-ous. Portents of things to come.
•2BRTL•
Mixing up more digital concrete, this time paired with a pop of 80s color blocking.
•BRTL•
Some of my minimalist graphic design poured into digital concrete.
Back with a fresh post about the book! These here are the opening sentences, mixed with a bit of my minimal numerals/font design. Loving playing with the layout and formatting for the text on this!
Check out the fiction section of my website artificelux.com to see a longer excerpt and to find out a bit more about the project!
Looking forward to sharing more over the coming days and for the launch of the Kickstarter in a month on Nov.1
COLOR OF A MIRROR
Can’t believe I’m finally revealing this project... feels like I’ve been working on it forever. But yes! Here it is! I wrote a dark science fiction novel--and what’s more, is it has an original soundtrack thanks to the ever-talented Josh McCausland!
After a year of trying to find my way into the realm of traditional publishing, I have decided to pursue self-publishing through a crowd-funding model, because this project extends to more than just the writing. It’s about the aesthetic and the music, and all of it together... publishing in this less-traditional way allows me to craft the final product I’ve always envisioned and really showcase the vision in my head.
I’ll be talking more about it in the coming days, and posting some further insights, but for now, I’ll leave you with this: if you like the lyrical writing style of Patrick Rothfuss that lingers on language and character, plus the brooding futures of William Gibson and movies like Blade Runner... this book might be for you.
Coming to Kickstarter on Nov. 01, 2022. I hope you’ll join me on this journey.
A story about the lies we tell ourselves, exploring the crossroads of psychosis, guilt, religion, and technology.
Would be listed on Netflix as:
“Slow-Burn. Cerebral. Dark.”
Initializing... chap1.exe
(this blog has lain dormant for quite some time, but I have been quietly working on new stuff. maybe someone out there is interested in where this all leads.)
O/– (Neutronium Reactor)
If Name of the Wind took place in 1950s America, this is what Kvothe’s inscription would look like on his Vintish court rings. And the Eolian would be a diner.
Redesigning some packaging. Spray paint and pen.
Dragon, Coiled Around a Dwarven Column
(Actual Size: 1 inch x 1 inch)
3-dimensional calligraphy test... just playing around with a third axis
Shadow of Industry, Precipice of Eternity.
A Hologram Rose.
Death and All of His Friends