Speaking Of Escapism...

 

Dear reader,

It has been a long time since posting anything to my personal blog, and the vast majority of the population probably couldn't care less!

But, I thought I would share anyway.

It was about time I paid a tiny bit of love to old faithful, even if the vast majority of my content now goes towards by blogs such as DBG or design blog. I even have another project website I have launched but more on that later.

The musings and thoughts of an unimportant man.

 

It IS okay to have an escape

From the time we go to school, right up to the age of when we're in our mid 60's ready for retirement, many of us live our life 'through' work and even for work. Now don't get me wrong... having a good job and a job that you at least partially enjoy is important. But there should be more to you and us than our 9 – 5.

A danger of hinging all of your happiness and meaning on your job, it can take little more than a miserable client, an angry boss, or a rude customer to ruin your 'only' channel of happiness. Note how I highlighted 'only'.

In excess, what I believe to be another addictive and unhealthy trait – being over-obsessed with achievement.

Achievement equals happiness for some.
Win = happiness
Lose = Sad

Black and white and binary.

We like to be productive. I like to be productive! That feeling of working towards something better is a good thing. And it is. But it can take us away from being present and enjoying the moment, Basically enjoying life. It also ramps up stress too.  ( BBC Post in this link )

 Obsessing with achieving, can put you in a cycle of win, lose. Either way, it can become a vicious cycle. I also think it's this mantra is what can lead us to become workaholics. Remember that there are states of life outside of win and lose, achieve and under achieve. Do it for your own mental well being! 

Speaking Of Escapism - Workaholic! 

Work all day, spend hours commuting to and from work, and have no energy to be happy or speak to your family and friends in the evening.

Sound like a familiar life balance to you?

When working in London, I have had plenty of these periods. And I dare say that I will have more in time to come. But do look back and think about how much of my 'me' I spent at the work place. Be it freelance or my day job.

And worst still, I can't even remember half of it. I wish I gave more time to joy, not time to time wasters of those that don't value my time or knowledge.

Just remember pinch yourself sometimes and remember there is life outside of where you are. Whether it's your own business or for your employer. 

I'm & restless soul

I am a restless soul by nature, so pouring my energy into something whether it being trying to earn money and make a decent living or occupying myself with making stuff . I like to be doing 'something' whether for leisure or making a living. 

I also fundamentally realised I don't draw with the intent of making a fortune - I don't know of many wealthy artists in the modern world. I do, however, draw because it's my passion, It is also how I relax and vent my stifled imagination from the humdrum of everyday living. I need a vent!

You can form escape plans... but

Escape plans are great, but I would also remember to enjoy yourself too.

I'm currently in the middle of teaching myself new skills and looking working on new project as part of this teaching. It is called Game Gunk.com - all about indie games and computer gaming in general.

Will see what I learn in the meantime.

I think I can hear my partner putting the TV on... maybe Bake Off - biscuit week. 

Bye for now - Information on Board Game Website

 About Classic Board Games

It has been a while since adding anything here, as so much of my energy now goes into running other websites and the mainstay of my business. But! I thought It would be a good time to add something positive.

In the summer of 2019, I designed a website, it was launched, and I called Dragon Bone Games. This was created as both a hobby website and as an experiment to showcase that I can design websites for the board game industry. I wanted to demonstrate that I offer both the visual design and build of a website.  I wanted to create something to show that it was in tune with the industry too!   

It was that, and then it became more.

Dragon Bone Games - grew!

And as it grew.  I paid a bit more attention to it. Today, I am going to step back for a short while to a) catch up on other projects b) watch and see what it does.

But, as a temporary sign-off before moving onto another project I wanted to share some content with you. If you are a game creator in the UK and you could like to have your board game distributed here are some distribution companies to consider.

A list of them has been written here.

Board game Distribution companies based in the UK

Failing that, if you are a board game creator and have nailed a successful Kickstarter. Here is a list of fulfilment companies.  

By for now!

Oh and if you need any design services please get in touch.

Something worth noting | About the Star Wars Poster Artist - Tom Chantrell

This post has been created as a nod to the release of a documentary for Tom Chantrell.

Tom Chantrell

Tom Chantrell was an artist and he worked with block bluster films in the 60, the 70s. This documentary covers some of his past and his involvement with the poster Artwork for Star Wars.

Here is the release from Convex Films

London, UK. Convex Films are proud to announce the release of their documentary film “Chantrell”. Made by director Simon Henry, this 51-minute documentary tells the story of one of Britain’s most pre-eminent cinema poster artists, Tom Chantrell (1916-2001). Able to both design and illustrate

Able to both design and illustrate posters, Chantrell was the consummate commercial artist. Though renowned for his vibrant photo-realist compositions, he mastered a range of stylistic approaches and was comfortable working with a wide range of mixed-media (gouache, pastels, magic-marker, pen and ink, chalk, photographs etc.). Chantrell’s back-catalogue (1935-92) encompassed everything from “Brighton Rock” (1947) and “One Million Years BC” (1966) to “Star Wars” (1977). Among the most collectible of posters created by Chantrell were a series for Hammer Studios (1965-74) and for the “Carry On” films (1963-66). After turning freelance in 1972, Chantrell dominated poster production for the independent distributors and established a particular niche in poster design for the sex-comedy films that were so popular in the 1970’s and early 80’s.

The documentary contains interviews with family members, poster collectors, and dealers and with the author and leading authority on British film posters, Sim Branaghan. Chantrell’s poster images are displayed throughout.

Director Simon Henry came to the project after unexpectedly discovering the photograph of Tom Chantrell holding up the unfinished “Star Wars” poster. “The image simply blew me away, seeing the amazing poster in its uncompleted form being held up by its creator... I couldn't get the image out of my head and the more I read about Tom's work and its significance within British film history the more I realised that someone had to put this under a spotlight. I decided to contact Tom's family. We've tried to tell Tom's story through the people who knew him best and hope we've done justice for Britain's most important poster artist, Tom Chantrell.”

Mike Bloomfield, curator of the Chantrell archive (www.chantrellposter.com), added: “American poster artists are quite rightly lauded and their artwork sells for amazing sums. British poster artists by comparison are less well-known but figures like Tom Chantrell deserve a huge amount of respect for their contribution to the film industry. I really hope that this documentary brings to light what a fantastic commercial artist Chantrell was”.

You can now view the documentary either on https://youtu.be/aYB0r2Y7QNY

Or by visiting the website. - http://www.convexfilms.co.uk/

The Home Of Daniel Gumb – A collapsed house hidden beside the Cheesewring

The Home Of Daniel Gumb – A collapsed house hidden beside the Cheesewring

I have been threatening to get this post live and I have finally managed to find the time to get some of these photos added to my personal blog. Now if this isn't a post which is worthy of some inspiring drawings to come at a later date then I don't what is!

One summer afternoon when walking on the Bodmin moor with a friend we set about going for a walk up to Cheese Wring. Now if you are unfamiliar with the Cheese Wring which is close to the Minions, it is a set of ancient stones stacked on top of one another. You may also be surprised to know that this rock is completely natural, but this post isn't about the formation of these stones – it is about the formation of another a pile of stones which lay partially buried beneath the hill.

The Steep Walk Up a Hill

After tucking into a hearty meal at the Cheesewring Hotel, I and my friend set about walking up to the top the Cheese Wring, on the journey up the steep bank and after scrambling over some large granite boulders we arrived at the structure. It's not a new structure to me if I am perfectly honest, I dismissed as being something far more mundane than it actually was. To look at, you would assume it to be a small indent created to shelter the stonemasons and the quarry workers from the harsh weather when the land was worked for its stone and other resources. Saying it was a shelter is part truth, but as I come to learn it was much more.

What Was It

As we sat around the shelter in the sweltering august sunshine we looked inside what we thought was the quarrymens' shelter. No deeper than a few metres with basic seating, it would have made an ideal stone canopy in the grim winter months. What we were actually sat in wasn't shelter, it was an entrance to a 1700's eccentrics stone mason's house. The home was dug from the earth and hewn from stone.

Daniel Gumb's Stone House

When I stood on top of the shelter that day something looked a little odd to me, it looked like an adit or some sort of entrance to a mine that had collapsed so I came back and did a little bit of research and that is when I found out that this was the home of a man called Daniel Gumb. Daniel Gumb was a mason, astronomer and an eccentric that must have loved his solitude. He lived in that now collapsed hillside home with his family according to other sources.

The mason's house was dug from the ground and a giant slab of stone was used to act as the roof and ceiling. I'm glad I wasn't there when it eventually caved in.

Where is his house | by the CheeseWring

Where would the surprise be in handing it to you on a plate – besides on not entirely sure. The Home of Daniel Gumb is somewhere on the left-hand side of the Cheesewring as you approach it from the minions car park.

Daniel Gumb's House Entrance

Daniel Gumb's House Entrance - side view

Daniel Gumb's House Top Collapse

Thank you for reading this post!

I will intend on adding more adventure photo's in the future

Beavering away building websites!

Busy Projects!

...

Hello, if you have come through to this website as you are a keen reader then thank you for coming in and having a look and seeing what I am up to. This is just a journalistic type post, vary casual, doesn't solve any world problems but it does talk about a few things

Artism!

So, I have been expanding on my illustration work by quite a bit and I felt that this website – (good old blogger, you have been a loyal friend for many, many years) has now been relegated for just personal ramblings, posts and what I have been up to!

I have been working on a new professional art blog! Bosh, which will focus on what I have been doing, what I intend to do and all the bits in between.

If you want to hear about it in the future feel free to sign up

Design Blog

Hello, all so I have taken the time to put some of my projects and experience into one neat little blog. This blog will discuss various things like how to design a product, graphic design, website design and various handy tips which may or may not help your business.

As this blog is relatively new please take the time and consider sharing with friends, families, dogs, and gerbils and maybe floppy disks drives... Floppy disk drives will like this blog for certain I hope!

https://blog.jimmsdesign.co.uk/how-i-designed-a-novelty-flash-drive/

Flash Drive Design!
Design A Kickstarter Page!

Blog

What has been going on! - New Projects!

What has been going on!

If you have been half following me on Twitter or another social media platform you may have noticed that I have been up to a lot recently! Since I have branched out as a freelancer and setting myself up in business offering design, development and vector illustration things seam to be going pretty well – tough in stages but good!

If you are not yet in the loop, drop me an email to watch my design work or if you are into my art and character illustration sign up via my brand spanking new sign up page – dedicated to my illustration, art! 2 completely different things, feel free to choose or sign up to both!

Comic Sans Monster Copyright Jimmsdesign

Professional Design Blog

So this blogger or blog spot will still be used for personnel news and entries and all other random bits and pieces that do not have a home. My professional design 'wont' be posted here any more, If you wish to follow my professional design blog you will need to look here.

Design Bytes will discuss business, products, graphic design and general creative projects which are geared towards corporate, education and gaming. A post that appears to get interest is how we created a card game.

Games Promotional Website

As part of a project to expand my portfolio, I have created website which is dedicated to all things to do with niche, old school and family gaming. It was originally built as portfolio piece but due to growing interested I have added a bit more content and energy into the website. If you are into table top games and playing board games with you family I would strongly recommend having a look.

Other News

I am pleased to say that I have been working on some excellent projects for some interesting clients since I have started doing freelance work full-time. I am also looking working some very interesting projects of my own throughout the year! If you would like to watch this space you can either follow me social media or say hello!

Thank you for reading,

P.s that is not me in the pick... I just felt it represented something, maybe a much needed break!

New Gaming Blog!!

Dragon Bone Games

Hello! So this a quick post that is discusses a project that has been created – it's a called Dragon Bone Games.

Dragon Bone Games was created to promote cool board games for families, kids and adults, offering range of products that would appeal to those mentioned above.

But it's not just all about big hitter and main stream games. Dragon Bone Games was also created to publishes games that were niche, indie, obscure or simply out of print and from the good old days! You have a look at the E-shop here and see what might come about in the future.

It's not just a promotional shop!

It has also added a gaming blog to the website which will discuss games and whole manner of other gaming thing's! You can read the latest post on buying cheap card games and which would suit a certain person or family member.

So, if you want to look at cool games over and have a look!

Jimm

Dragon Bone Games