‘They Had Faces Then’ by In Silent Movies
March 12, 2010 // Design + Kitsune Noir + Music + Work





I haven’t shared any of my personal work in a while so I thought I’d show you this album art I created about a month ago. It was for a band called In Silent Movies, a little band from Ohio that wrote me out of the blue and asked if I’d be interested in creating artwork for their album. I took a listen to their MySpace page, liked what I heard, and decided to take on the project.

They liked the style I already had and let me go in any direction I wanted. Listening to their songs there was definitely a nautical feeling to it that I wanted to play up. Overall I went with some older images of captains and boat crashes and women falling off of cliffs. Just looking at the tracklist you can see that I was playing with certain ideas, so you get a good sense of what you’re getting into musically.

I also tried to tie things together with color, so you have this big splashes of red that catch your eye on each image. For the title I just wrote out the name and surprisingly it turned out pretty well. Funny enough I cropped out the guys face before I knew the name of the album, which is They Had Faces Then. It was a happy accident that was clearly meant to be.

I’d suggest you take a listen to their music and if you like what you hear buy their CD and get some of my art at the same time (shameless plug).

Bobby

Five Questions with Kitsune Noir
March 2, 2010 // Design + Illustration + Kitsune Noir

Every now and then I get a student asking me for advice, so I thought instead of those answers never seeing the light of day that I’d share them on here. These questions were sent to me by Rob Hodgson who’s currently an illustration student in the UK. He was writing a report and was curious about the following things:

1) What do you think about the whole blog exposure for artists that has happened the past couple years? Do you think there are pros and cons?

I think this trend has been happening a lot longer than the last few years. When I started getting into blogs like K10K and Design is Kinky about 10 years ago they were doing the same thing. I think the difference nowadays is that it’s a lot easier for anyone to start a blog these days, the tools are out there and easy enough for anyone to understand.

Overall I think it’s a good thing for artists, though I think a lot of people/blogs don’t put any thought or reason to why they’re putting these works on their site. In that case I feel like the artists work doesn’t mean as much, it’s just a pretty image that’s quite disposable and will be gone as soon as something else comes along.

2) I have this super romantic view of living somewhere and being able to work on art stuff in a real community. I’ve read a few posts where you’ve mentioned bridging the gap between internet and real life. What are your thoughts on this, do you have anything lined up?

I think that idea is romantic, but not impossible. It takes a lot of hard work and determination, and well, talent, to really make it work. I’ve personally found a lot of success through reaching out to people and creating friendships. A lot of emphasis these days is put on social networking, which to me is just as bad as getting spam mail. There’s nothing about social networking to me that feels genuine, and that’s a big loss to me.

3) What do you think about the opportunity for illustrators and designers right now? The internet has opened up a lot of new avenues, but are you seeing any new areas for artwork to be commissioned?

A lot of people I know do a ton of personal work and put it out there regularly, which I think is why they’re so successful. These people make a ton of work and thus are now featured in every major magazine out there right now. In short, you need to make your own opportunities and work your ass off or you’re never going to get anywhere.

4) What do you think about illustrators’ websites? Do you think they should get to the point and have a ton of images? Is less more? What about personal stuff like talking about what music they’re listening to, do you think it gets in the way for clients or does is it create a bond with their audience?

I think having large images is a must, as well as clear descriptions of the work. It also bugs me when artists don’t fill out their bio section well. If you have an understanding of the artist you just might understand the art even more.

If you want to create some kind of bond with a potential viewer I’d suggest creating a blog that’s separate from your portfolio. I think it’s an easy way for potential viewers/clients to get a sense of you and your work.

5) Any advice you’ve got for a student graduating this summer??

Work your ass off and never give up on your goals. It’s never going to be easy, no matter how successful you become, so don’t fool yourself that it’s going to be any different. This applies to art and any other career you may choose.

Bobby

New Posters in the Kitsune Noir HQ
January 15, 2010 // Art + Design + Kitsune Noir



If there’s one free thing I get more than anything, it’s free posters. I’m honestly hoping that by 2011 (2012 will be too late) I will be able to wallpaper my entire my apartment with nothing but free posters. I’ll keep you updated. Anyhow, I got a few cool posters this week, one from Eric at Doe Eyed and then two from Simon over at Binary & The Brain. What’s amazing is how these posters ended up matching perfectly and fitting exactly on the wall in my dining room. Definitely be sure to check out their posters and pick yourself up some!

Bobby

We’re Moving… Hosts.
January 6, 2010 // Kitsune Noir

I just wanted to let you know that Kitsune Noir is going to be moving servers tonight from Dreamhost over to Media Temple. I’ve been super unhappy with Dreamhost (you might already know this if you follow me on Twitter) and the wonderful folks at Media Temple have been really awesome and helped me out with getting me a server to better serve this blogs needs.

You won’t be able to comment for a couple of hours tonight and you might see some weird things over the next couple of days, but after that we’ll be golden. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Bobby

2010: A Blog Odyssey
January 1, 2010 // Kitsune Noir + Life

10 years ago I was a senior in high school who had no idea what he wanted to do in life. Well that’s not entirely true. I wanted to be an “artist,” whatever the hell that meant. I lived in a boring suburb of Sacramento, dreaming of moving away to an exciting city filled with interesting people and ideas. Now 10 years later I’m happier than I’ve ever been, doing what I’ve always dreamed about and it’s all pretty surreal.

First I want to say thank you to you, the person reading this right now. Hearing your continuous words of support and encouragement just makes writing this blog all the more meaningful. I’d also like to say thanks to all the friends I’ve made over the last year as well as the last two and a half years of the blog being around. My dearest thanks to Ted and Angie Poketo, Meg and Jonathan Wells, Michael Williams, Angelique Groh, Justin Gage, Mike Giles, Ryan Willms, Robert Vidaure, Chris Glass, Michael Surtees, Nalden, Jean Aw, Alex Cornell, Jonnie Hallman, Dave Cuzner, Michael Eades, Tom Ran, Cory Ohlendorf, Jez Burrows, Mark Weaver, Garrett Vander Leun, Frank Chimero, Cody Hoyt, Mike Perry, Damien Correll, Cody Hudson, Andy Miller, UPSO, Geoff McFetridge, Steven Harrington, Tim Biskup, Dan Funderburgh, Jean Jullien, Travis Millard, Mel Kadel, Will Bryant and all of the artists who’ve contributed to the Desktop Wallpaper Project.

Secondly, 2010 is going to be an awesome year. The blog will continue as it’s been for the last 7 months or so with daily posts, weekly desktop wallpapers, and new Mixcasts every Friday with the occasional Mixtape thrown in between. But that’s just the beginning.

I want to continue expanding what Kitsune Noir does beyond the computer screen in 2010, so there will be a lot more collaborations in the coming months. The first collab is going to be with my friends from up north Furni on a project that will blow your socks off. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I will tell you that it’s going to be a series of products that will be released every month, once a month. We’ve got some stellar people working with us on this and you’re going to be stoked when you see it. We’ll be launching on the 18th of January, so be ready.

I’m also working on the second and third series for the Kitsune Noir Poster Club and I’ve already got some big names lined up. Beyond that I’m working on organizing some local Los Angeles events with my friends Meg and Jonathan of Flux and even expanding into some video content as well.

Beyond that I want to stress that we need to keep trying to make the world a better place. I guess this might sound cheesy, but as the younger generation we need to continue fighting to do good in the world, no matter how small or large our endeavors are. I know for me personally, I want to try and give back to my community in the ways that I know how, and I encourage you to do the same.

Have a wonderful new year, thanks again, and posting will be back to normal starting Monday.

Bobby