Divide and Conquer!

I love finding inspiring design elements! When I saw these artsy room dividers it gave me all sorts  ideas...

These first two photos are of a cool modular hanging piece by Koziol. Are they dividers, wall decoration or just cool objects de art? You can see more of their great designs at www.koziol-gluecksfabrik.de

I also found these "Swarm" screens from Mike & Maaike really interesting!

Not only does it look really great in multi colors, but if you just happen to have a huge warehouse and would like to create your own indoor urban forest, now you know where to go! www.mikeandmaaike.com

Modern and graphic dividers like these would look great in the Ziggling studio!

- Tonia

 

Check out our designs at: 

www.ziggling.com

Robots, Knives and Vintage Tees?

A friendly wave. Those big, round blue eyes. That sharp, pointy knife?

Introducing our latest design by Ziggling Tees and Graphic Apparel. This soft, vintage chest graphic on our black striated cotton tee. Tee by Alternative. Graphics by Ziggling.

Sized for Guys, but unisex fit.
 
Come buy one:
www.ziggling.com

Skate Paint

What a great way to paint the pool! Check out this article, it's not in English but the pics are sick!

Skate Paint:
www.etsicommunication.fr

More graphic design at:
www.ziggling.com

My Longtime Source for Great CG!

Occasionally I like to blog about the places I frequent on the net. My friends over at CG Society have been creating some of the coolest articles for years now. With a range of Pro to Beginner work galleries, Workshops and News, they are a well-rounded source to peak at when you're in the 3D mood.


Some of my favorite CG art has been found here at CG Society, it's often the cartoony characters, with great expression that tell a story in a single frame that grab me. Check em' out!

CG Society homepage:
www.cgsociety.org

Ziggling's "Love Life" Gals Jersey

We are proud to announce our newest design called "Love Life"! Our extremely soft scoop neck jersey done in plum. With wide cuffs and longer length this 100% cotton piece is super soft as is all Ziggling apparel.
 

For this design Tonia created a wrap-around print that starts the Love Life poem on the front and blossoms into graphic flower petals through the side and back.

As always, our apparel is hand-printed here in California in our boutique studio.

We've also added a sleeve "Love Life" graphic with a printed Ziggling tag all done in our soft white ink.

Garment by Bella. Graphics by Ziggling.

Come check it out!

Buy one here:
Ziggling Love Life Jersey

More Ziggling, Alternative brand and Celebrities

So last time we talked about Ziggling, Alternative Apparel and Celebs we found a few of the Twilight Saga Stars kickin it around town.

This time we found Charlize Theron (left) in her Alternative Burnout Fleece Comfy.



We also have Jessica Biel (right) seen here traveling with her Alternative LS (Long Sleeve) Sleepover Tee. I'm not sure how comfy those leggings are, but she does know how to pick a good travel top and look good.

Jullianne Hough is here in her Alternative Long Sleeve Zip Hoodie (Unisex). We love this one, it's a light-weight hoodie great for Fall and under a coat in Winter!

We've used the Alternative Hoodie (Blue Heather) here for our Ziggling Skater Jump Graphic. It's a great piece and the people that buy these from us always tell us how much they love them too!

The rest of our super-soft and comfortable Ziggling Graphic Tee and Apparel line can be seen here:
www.ziggling.com 

Visual Effects & The Eye Candy Makers

I'll never forget the summer I moved to San Francisco, straight outta' college I was all eager to get into the Visual Effects industry and work on some of the biggest and baddest FX films out there. I wanted to create the cool imagery that everyone would see when they went out to the big Summer blockbusters! I wanted to be one of the Eye Candy Makers!

I was in a small book store and stumbled across a magazine that thrilled me to the core. It had 1998's Godzilla on the front and when I flipped through it I was sure I found the coolest book-like magazine out there. Crazy eye-candy, a fun read for an FX geek like me and a resource worth archiving into a collection. After all, these "magazines" are more like little books!

This issue with Captain America on the front is another exciting one for me as I did some Concept Design and Matte Painting on the film. Many of my friends and co-workers are mentioned alongside their great works too! Congrats to everyone who worked so hard!

Check it out.

-Chris Stoski

Cinefex Magazine (Quarterly):
www.cinefex.com

More of Chris Stoski's Designs at:
www.ziggling.com

Giant Robots and WWIII: MORAV

One of the great benefits of working in the Movie Effects business is that you meet some amazingly talented and hard-working people. I worked with Fon Davis at Disney's Image Movers Digital and he and his department of model builders always kept the bar high!

Fon and Team build some of the most amazing model miniatures you've ever seen! Their attention to detail will always astonish you. In a digital world it's always fun to see the practical models that these guy build. Real, tangible pieces that you can bring into the light and shadow and study as close as the eye can get.

Check out Fon's current project called "MORAV'. If you like giant robots and sci-fi, go see some of his unique designs and be a part of their success by making "Kickstarter" contribution. 

Cool eye candy at kickstarter: MORAV KICKSTARTER

The Grammy Award for Branding

This is great! This award recently went to a good friend and amazing professional, Doug Chiang. "The Award was initiated to honor these successful individuals whose contributions have helped the nation to grow, enhanced the well being of society and make our lives more comfortable".

A great reminder that remaining humble, kindness, professionalism and integrity never hurts. Congrats Doug! 

Awards page:
www.thebrandlaureate.com

Computer Graphics & Graphic Design Crosstraining

When I think of the Graphic Design industry, I usually think of the 2D graphics that I studied in College. Primarly 2D paint or illustration style imagery that would often grace the covers of my favorite magazines through the 90's. These were the graphics where the word "depth" meant something different than it does today in conjunction with 3D CG (Computer Graphics).


For myself, a Graphic Tee and Apparel company owner, I look at things perhaps a bit differently than most Graphic Designers. I've spent the better half of my career working in 3D Computer Graphics and as a Matte Painter (Environment Artist) for companies like Industrial Light & Magic, IMD (a Disney Company) & Matte World Digital.

For films like Star Wars, Captain America, Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Trek, I would often use 3D software and a great deal of digital paint to create what you eventually saw on the screen. In this Palace painting (above), a 3D tree model could be used to generate forests and later be lit by CG lights to help me get a complex looking environment.

My tasks as a Concept Designer (I currently work for Doug Chiang Studios) would also call for similar skills, although the outcome is usually a painting that is more "loose" in style to get the general design idea across quickly. This Craterton Village shot below is example of using 3D trees in yet another way.

Nowadays however, working with Ziggling Graphic Tees, I occasionally try to bring my 3D skills into play and explore faster or better ways for me to reach my goals. Today with easy to use 3D software and fast CPUs we can expand our tool set for many types of projects. It doesn't have to be a big Hollywood visual effects movie to warrant exploring software like 3ds Max or Maya.

Recently I had a concept for a t-shirt (now one of our Best Sellers) in which I utilized 3D software. In the end product, the graphic is well... very graphic. It's very 2D and simple. A giant Robot standing amongst the trees with his finger outstretched waiting for a little bird to perch.

My customers say they love the tee for many reasons. None of them guess that I created the trees in 3D to be utilized in my print, but that doesn't matter, as always, the media is there to support our concepts. For me the 3D trees were simply a way of getting a sharp, complex and editable tree-like form quickly so I could balance the composition and get moving towards production.

-Chris Stoski

More Ziggling stuff at:
www.ziggling.com

In Search of Inspiration?

Every once in a while when it comes time to be creative, ideas don't flow. Chalk it up to not enough sleep, lack of coffee or simply morning for those of us nocturnal beings. Well, that's when it's time to sit down (with your latte) and put your feet up and flip through a good creative magazine.



 I've been reading IDN (International Designers Network) Magazine for just over a year and have to say, it's full of great, inspiring works from many artistic disciplines that will get your creative juices flowing. Inside can be found everything from 2D Graphic Art, sculpture, wearable sculpture and jewelry, toys, trendy collectables and everything cool in between.

After spending years in Architectural Design School and working for one of Hollywoods top designers (Doug Chiang), I've learned a thing or two about how to break a creative lull. What's very important is that you learn to refresh. Repeatedly looking at the same things we love over and over can spawn a creative boredom. That's why it's important to study other crafts and disciplines, filter, reconfigure, blend and massage what you have seen and then return to your task.

IDN Magazine is a great resource for this type of creative boost because it puts many art forms in one place. I've found sculptures and dioramas that I probably would've never been exposed to in my other typical 2D Computer Graphic magazines or traditional painting books.

Now that I'm Co-Owner of Ziggling Graphic Tees & Apparel, we are always watching to see what other people are doing in the design world and often find it helpful to stay away from our subject matter (decorating apparel) when looking for fresh inspiration and turning to another craft for a fresh breath of air.



Sometimes what you need for your next design project, graphic novel cover or apparel design can come from the unusual texture in a unique paper landscape or the way the light bounces color around a vibrant projection sculpture (above). Sometimes something as simple as a color gradation can inspire the entire color palette or artistic direction for a new design that you are working on, especially if it holds a similar emotional vibe. Decisions like this, that are not arbitrary can always strengthen your piece!

The Magazine:
www.idnworld.com

Creative works at Ziggling Graphic Tees & Apparel:
www.ziggling.com

Ziggling Tees at Revolution 9

Ziggling tshirts and apparel are now available at "Revolution 9" here in Fairfax, CA.. If you go there soon you might catch this window display featuring a bunch of our tees beside the popular Shepard Fairey Obey prints.

Our "Robot with Cupcake" tee is seen here (right) amongst some of the other cool trinkets found in the store. The "Scissor Bunny" Gals tee and our Best Selling "Tree-bot" Robot tshirt (below) are also gracing the windows with some of the coolest books and bags in town!

Aside from some of the edgy and rare finds within, the store is a great hangout for kids as well. They have workshops, a student art gallery and youth music amongst other things. Stores like these are great for the community and not easy to come by these days.

Revolution 9 can be found on Bolinas here in Fairfax, just steps from Broadway blvd (aka Center street) and the corner shop "The Coffee Roastery".







Our entire line of Ziggling Graphic Tees & Apparel can be found here at our online store:
www.ziggling.com

Ziggling, Alternative brand and Celebrities

We here at Ziggling think Alternative brand apparel is great! It costs a bit more than others, but when you touch it and wear it, it's super soft! We pick our Favs from their supply (usually the softest of the soft) and design graphics with them in mind! We've found celebs that also seem to LOVE it like we do.

Taylor Lautner shown here in his Alternative Wannabe Rocker Tee (Above) and Kristen Stewart (Right) in one of her several Alternative Burnout V-necks.

Our Ziggling Monster Walk print (below) is done on a Black Alternative Burnout V-neck. The print is invisible to the touch. If you want one for yourself, you can buy here: Ziggling Monster Walk








As always, the rest of our line can be seen here: Ziggling.com. The guys tees we currently carry are all Alternative and very soft and comfortable too. We wear them virtually everyday - soooo good! They're all hand printed with very soft inks! Did I mention they were soft?

Here's a shot of some of our Ziggling Graphic Apparel line that "Revolution 9" here is Fairfax is carrying. If you wanna see how soft our Ziggling clothes are, go by Rev 9 and see em' in person.

If Fairfax, California is too far away, come see us online at:

http://www.ziggling.com/

I also bought "Stencil Nation", a cool collection of graffiti as art. I Love this stuff! Very inspiring stuff! Some Banksy stuff in there, but also a lot of cool, edgy and raw stuff you've never seen before.

Picked up a couple of new books! It's about time I got this Banksy book. A friend of mine had it and I loved it when I flipped through it at record slow pace!