Thanksgiving 2017

Latest gaming/design tool. The now named anti-degenerative-tennis-elbow mouse pad. For "extreme" cutting and pasting sessions.

Thanksgiving. Once again, you come in a knocking at the sensible eating door, only to help me out of my safety zone and push me in front of the "gorge myself till I'm sick" train of thought.

This year though, I've made it a point to go over things that I am grateful for. Not just material things (like fancy mouse pads), but also, every day.

Yeah yeah, I know, that sounds like it should be on a t-shirt, or as an endlessly re-posted internet inspirational meme of some kind, but it's something that is really in focus for me this year.

Mainly because of this little guy. Meet Kubo (I named him that).

He was scheduled to never make it to Thanksgiving. Just for the crime of not having a family that would take care of him. He's a great little guy, a little older (like me), and I was able to make sure that not only did he have a little bit of turkey (Merrick dog food), but he even got a tiny bit of a pancake (totally not saying feeding human food is great for dogs).

Kubo wants you all to remember that a lot of other dogs, cats, ferrets, birds, and more need homes. Go ahead, cue up Sarah Mclachlan's "In the arms of an angel". He'll wait.

I've been doing some learning that's been out of my normal wheelhouse of design and reworking (see "correcting") stuff for Hallmark, and managed to somehow end up working on elements for the Hallmark personalized items site as my main source of income and time usage currently. If a paycheck and awesome coworker people aren't things to be thankful for, I don't know what is.

Although this picture looks cool and artsy, people around me thought I was trying to commune with a dried leaf in a park. On a Tuesday.

I've had time to also get some walks in parks accosting random fallen leafs like a deranged tree hugger. As well as working on commissions. I'm now starting up on the last two I have for the year. One of the ones I really enjoyed was this comic sketchbox that my buddy Johnny had done up for his son Liam.

It had elements of Lego Harry Potter, Sonic the Hedgehog, Minecraft and Ninjago on it.

Another project I have been working on is a group of concepts for an upcoming ICWXP idea that I have in the works, all revolving around slightly redesigning the look of some of the characters to fit a more animated sort of look.

Flux Namtari, random zombie, Dr. Blackwood rough concepts.

Hopefully, you've all had great thanksgiving holidays! I know that the next set of holidays aren't that far away either, and if you've got a hankering for some real from the heart gifts, be sure to look up some of the local artists in your area, the creators and crafters, the tinkerers and taskers, the painters and the... it's 2am, I can't think of another word that starts with the letter "p".

There's always a lot of talk about handmade being the new in thing, but it was never on the out, nor was it undiscovered. It's always been a more than viable, more meaningful sort of thing to give to someone else. 

I've also got a new review on another Lego Set for Tenacious Toys here. The rest of my earlier reviews are now also available and organized under the tab in the upper navigation bar that says "Tenacious.Ninja".

Until next time, support your local artists, be kind to your fellow beings, and always take the path less traveled!

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue
Illustrator, Podcaster, Writer, Toy Collector, and Animal Rights Activist

www.theartisanrogue.com