2023 First Quarter ROUND UP - Design All Around

Whew! This year is off to a busy start but exciting things are brewing. My mission is to add more positivity and inspire creativity in others. The world can always benefit from those. Here’s a few things I’ve been working on.

• Released Cole Street Coffee Bag and T-shirt Designs - A new coffee shop has opened in Bushnell, IL and needed some original bag designs.

• Launched the “Random Art Challenge” Video series on my YouTube Channel Nicole’s Creative Life - I draw prompts from a jar and create new original artwork based on that.

• Worked on a plethora of infographics and vinyl wall graphics to be installed at the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center in Peoria, IL.

New Character Fan Art - GCN's Get In The Trunk Delta Green Play Through

I’m a big fan of the Glass Cannon Network, a group of friends in the NYC area who started a podcast of their Pathfinder Giant Slayer game and 7 years later they now have a myriad of shows, their own network, live performances, and collaborations with other role players. I find their storytelling and improvisational skills massively impressive and informative. During the pandemic they started experimenting with other games, one of which was Delta Green. Kind of a Cthulhu game set in modern times (think X-Files meets Fringe meets True Detective). The characters are memorable and at times very fragile, it’s only a matter of when and how they lose their sanity and their lives holding back the unnatural alien entities that threaten our world. Unlike traditional gritty supernatural thrillers, you will laugh until you cry. I thought I’d try my hand at some character art, they usually commission stuff for their shows, so I thought, why not. So, FYI, these are not official or anything, just my artistic interpretation of the characters. The response has been amazing. I can’t wait to see the actual art they have made for the show. It felt so good to pick up a pencil again.

Make Art: Side Quest Side Sesh Fan Art

One of the things that got me through the pandemic, entertains me during the workday, and amuses me while working on projects are podcasts. I’m a big fan of the Glass Cannon Network which produces actual play role playing game podcasts. Their humor can tend a bit blue at times and they swear like sailors when the dice are not on their side, but their storytelling and improv skills are so hilarious and interesting that it’s hard not to get sucked in. At the height of the pandemic, since they couldn’t meet in person they started a hilarious side quest with some memorable characters. I thought I’d take a crack at drawing the characters.

It’s side projects like this that remind me of how much I want to create a comic book or graphic novel. Which I know will take years at the rate that I go, but I still keep thinking about it.