New Start!

I'm finally finishing my rebrand! I've found that using my real name isn't getting me much work. Plus, it seems having a brand name is more professional. Overall, I also needed a new look, as it's been so many years of using my DM logo (anyone who has one of those old business cards: they're now vintage!) I'm unsure what I will do with this blog, as I also have been experimenting with Wordpess.

Anyways, I have started the rebrand by making a new name, logo, CV and of course: Twitter!

https://twitter.com/Deltas_Designs

For anyone who wants to follow me and see my new adventures in design and creativity!

Make It Digital Course

As I write this, I am entering the final week of a six week course. It is called 'Make It Digital' and has been arranged by Belfast MET and the BBC.

The course has covered a range of skills, ranging from setting up a Wordpress site, managing a LinkedIn profile to using social media to effectively promote ourselves. The main focus has been video editing however.

I decided to do this course, as it was hours that suited my work schedule, as well as meaning more media experience. It has been very useful in terms of learning how to use Adobe Premiere and editing sound and video together.

Thankfully, I was able to use my previous graphic design experience for editing the video titles. My past with using Audacity for sound editing was useful when it came to mixing the soundtrack for the video. My experiences with taking photos has also proved useful when it came to taking and editing the still images for the final piece video.

Overall, the course has been informative and very useful when it comes to meeting industry professionals and working with new editing software. The final presentation is this Thursday. I will post the final video here once I have finished editing.

Update

Hello, hello!

I have seemingly been inactive on here for a while and for that, I apologise! I've mainly just been working a lot of overtime at my job, so that's the main reason! I also had a lot of events on over July and August, so haven't really been online much!

However! I don't have anything concrete planned between now and November (aside from getting a year older in October, d'oh!) so I will be reorganizing some stuff and hopefully getting around to uploading more designs soon! I've applied for some new jobs and will also be starting driving lessons soon, so I'm not completely idle, I swear! In the meantime, for anyone reading this, here's a link to my 'At a Glance' portfolio online:

http://dropr.com/damienmallon

If you like what you see, message me on there, here, or even on Twitter if you have any design work needing done! I'm always looking to expand my portfolio!

More Con Posters!

Whoops! I just realised I never uploaded these here! OK, so I have performed onstage as Ace Ventura a handful of times before. However, for Q-Con (this June) I am teasing that it is his last ever appearance. It's another ruse, as I'm simply meaning that it will be his last skit performance and his last appearance for a while!

For these, I went with a simplistic style, showing some iconic parts of the costume, allowing them to speak on their own. I took the photos myself, used the magic wand tool to cut the elements out, then applied a few effects to the photo, to make it look like a painting. I also paid homage to the anime Cowboy Bebop, which has the line 'See you, space cowboy' at the end of the final episode. I even sourced the font used in that show, so i could replicate it, crudely score out 'space cowboy' and replace it with 'pet detective!'

These posters seem to be doing their job, as I've had a few friends message me, scared that I was retiring my signature Ace Ventura costume! Ain't I a stinker?

The Last Of Us Photoshoot

These are from a cosplay photoshoot that I was part of! My friend Graeme is an incredible photographer and he takes some amazing shots of scenery. He uploaded one just over a year ago of a run down building and I said it looked like something from The Last Of Us,, a popular survival horror game. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world, with many run down places and overgrown fields. Our friend Niamh is also a cosplayer and a talented propmaker. She volunteered to portray the character Ellie, to go along with my Joel. We spent a while finding a time that suited us all, I spent a few months growing a beard and Graeme found an amazing location! (I can't reveal where it was, sorry!)

I'd wanted to improve upon my Joel cosplay and this was an excellent opportunity! Altough I didn't technically make these images, I had a great time taking part in this shoot. It's all thanks to my amazingly talented friends and us just throwing a few ideas around, that we were finally able to make this work!

UPDATE: Naughty Dog (the creators of the game itself) have emailed Graeme and given their approval of this shoot! High praise indeed!

Purposely Hideous Design!

OK, now this was a fun experiment! Once again using the yellow/orange and blue/black gradients, I made a poster for Belfast Film and Comic Con 2017! I wanted it to be thematically similar to my business cards, with the aged photo 'stuck onto' the rest of the image. From there, I used the gaudy pink, yellow and blue colours for Jubilee and the red and green ones for Ace Ventura. I went for a dated, 90s looking taste, almost like it was an advert for a VHS or something. Thematically, it fits, as two of the characters are from the 90s and Vasquez is from the 80s, so having that character appearing on a weathered looking photo helps tie it all together!

Jubilee Cosplay Poster

I'm back in the cosplay poster designing business! For this one, I was teasing my new X-Men costume. I was being Jubilee, a female member who uses dated slang. However, in a way of throwing people off, I kept hinting that I was going to be Wolverine. His slogan in the comics is 'The Best There Is.' So I made that the main focus of the poster, with claw slashes through the thick black lettering. I then used a paintbrush styled font and brush to add the 'grafitti' which was done in hot pink, contrasting the dark poster and also hinting towards the actual character. I unveiled the costume at Belfast Film and Comic Con in March and people thankfully liked it!

Cosplay Guests Poster

This was a rather quick edit that I was asked to make just a few days before the convention. I was asked to just put together a photo of each of the guests, however I wanted to make it thematically similar to the branding of Belfast Film and Comic Con itself. So, I added a gradient on the background, fading from blue to black and gave a yellow/orange one to the typography. The red for the 2017 helps it stand out, contrasting the background, yet complimenting the other typography.

Cosplay Business Cards!

Yay for more self-promotion! I managed to mix my graphic design skills with my hobby of cosplaying! I created the brand 'Agent Delta Cosplay' for myself a few years ago. It's a simplistic name and I stuck to the green on black design I used for my personal branding (and also for this very blog!)

I wanted a sort of 'cobbled together' look for these. So I purposely added textures and weathering to both the front and back of the designs. On the back, I did a 'top secret file' shape, then used .png files of sticky tape and a paperclip to affix a few photos of some of my costumes to the file. This gives an overall 'document' look to the cards and is exactly the character I wanted to give this branding. I then provided my two social media links for anyone who wants to follow me on them, again using simple green text and logos against the yellow folder background. I think I would like to redesign these at some stage, perhaps adding more photos on the back and maybe stylizing the front a little bit differently, but we shall see!

The main reason I made these was because I have been invited to be a cosplay guest at an upcoming convention! I will have a table, where I will be signing photos, giving out these cards and will also have some of my props with me. I will also be giving some talks and helping entertain attendees at

Belfast Film and Comic Con 2017

Titanic Exhibition Centre

I'm really excited for this opportunity!

WISH Banners

These were two relatively quick banners that I made for a friend. She does a lot of charity work as Merida from Brave and various other popular characters. She has arranged a cosplay themed ball and asked me to design two banners; one for online, one for projection, to be used to promote the event. I was provided with their existing logo, images of the characters who were to be present at the event and also some contact details for anyone wanting more information.

Nothing too drastic or challenging (even though I was getting ready for work when I was drafting the first versions!) but hey: it's kept me creatively active and also guaranteed me a free ticket to the event!

Queen's Radio Poster Designs

Yay for proper design work! Once again, my hobbies allowed me to connect with my graphic design skills! A friend I met through cosplay commissioned me to design some posters for Queen's Radio. 

The main one was for a night in September, where people could request songs. Because of this, the night was called 'Queens Jukebox.' The QR Group requested that I include an old jukebox, as well as some 'soundwaves' coming from it to represesnt the music. I also decided I wanted to go for a retro, faded textured style. I added folds, old textures and went for some retro inspired fonts.

The top image is the poster/flyer which was mass printed and used heavily to promote the event. The second is the reworked, landscape format for the facebook page. It was quite surreal seeing my own work all over Queen's University!

I was also asked to design a simple recruitment poster for the Queen's Fresher Day. The design was to be kept basic, communicating the relevant contact information. I decided to keep it thematically similar by adding creased paper textures, as well as nautical stars, at the client's request.

Overall, I am happy with how these turned out and it was fun getting paid design work, which was featured so heavily across both social media, as well as on the Queen's campus itself!

My Return!

HELLO! Yes I am still here! I know it has been a while since I posted anything on here, so this is just a quick post to help update on some things.

Due to a bereavement, my time has been mainly spent with my family. Added to that that I have also been working almost full time, as well as an extra set of tasks that that was earning me some extra money. I have been flat out!

HOWEVER!

I have not been entirely idle! I'm currently working on a few branding projects for friends, a few poster designs for some clients and have also joined a new website which issues some design challenges! So yes: stuff will be coming soon!

Club Cosplay Posters

I'm finally able to merge my cosplay hobby with my design work! OK, so, I was asked by some friends of mine to help arrange a cosplay night out. The University of Ulster is running its first ever convention this weekend and we decided to run an after party. What was really amazing was that the guys running the convention gave us their blessing and we were allowed to advertise it on their social media platforms! The goal was to make a series of posters/flyers/facebook banners that would appeal to the sci-fi/fantasy audience that the event would appeal to. I therefore chose to find images of some pop culture characters as musicians and add them to the poster series. Overall, I was very happy with the end results and how well they were received by my friends and the others that I am helping plan the event with!

Actual Design Work!

Yes, I know. ANOTHER long absence! But good news, everyone! I'm actually getting some design work sent my way! This was the first one. My brother plays Aussie Rules, for the team The Belfast Redbacks. He asked me to design a flyer that they could use on social media. I kept it as simple, yet professional as possible. I used the colours from the team's logo, then factored in a gradient, used some images of the team and included the contact information. I'm so happy to be able to actually flex my design skills for something functional!

My Return!

Yes hello! I apologize for my long absence! I was very very busy from October right through to December of 2015! Anyway, I will get the negative part out of the way first: I no longer work at the dress designing company. I was told that I had been successful and was even asked to quit my current part time retail job. I made every effort to get up to this company and had said that I would keep my other job on weekends. It's actually very lucky that I did this, as I was unceremoniously told that I wasn't being kept on. It turns out that I was very misinformed. Oh well: experience is experience!

Now back to the normal stuff! Below are some of my 'Convention Posters' that I worked on in 2015. I treat each convention like a movie, so I tend to base the designs on either existing ones, or making them inspired by a certain genre or theme.

Q-Con XXII Croft Teaser Poster. This was made like a 'critics' quotes' poster, to tease my (then unrevealed) costume of Tomb Raider. I purposely made all of the quotes negative, as the costume is supposed to be funny and creepy. The Joel Schumacher quote is an in-joke into his much reviled costumes in Batman and Robin.

Q-Con XXII Final Lineup Poster. This is very obviously inspired by 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly' and was quite quick and easy to make. I simply cropped an existing photograph of each of my three costumes and put them into the three, weathered, western inspired sections. 'The guy with the gun' is a reference to a classic quote from Army of Darkness, the third Evil Dead movie.

Belfast Film and Comic Con Minimalist Poster. This has no particular inspiration, but is rather simplistic and flat, relying on the two signature props of my two signature cosplays to hint at my chosen costumes for the Halloween Con. The rainbow slinky for Ace, the new chainsaw for Ash. I decided on 'feature length' as a tagline, as it hints towards a feature length movie, whilst also being a euphemism for the dirty minded among you!

80s Inspired 2016 Teaser Poster. This one is heavily inspired by 1980s movie design, with lots of neon colours, gridlines and gradient effects. This isn't inspired by anything in particular, but I looked at old video game artwork, the film 'Drive' and the designs for the game 'Farcry Blood Dragon' to help get inspiration for my colours and design aesthetic. The title of 'Electric Boogaloo' is a trope referring to an unnecessary  or unwanted sequel. This is my second year cosplaying full time, so I'm referring to 2016 as a 'sequel year.' 

Lineup History Teaser Poster. This is mentioning four cosplays that I did each year since starting cosplaying. Some creative choices were made, as I wanted to include The Scout (he has no last name!) Dipper Pines was the year before (but he was the only one I did!) and The Punisher has never been worn to a con (But Castle needs to be included to make the numbers!) The inspiration of using surnames is in reference to The Expendables, where the poster mentioned all the famous actors in the film. I wanted to censor the four new costumes I'm planning for 2016, so went for a crumpled paper, coffee stained and pen marked aesthetic. This was the fastest I've ever made a poster from idea, experimenting and finalizing and I'm happy with it, as it gets the idea across very well!

Update...and dress designs!

For the past two weeks, I have been working part time in an Irish dancing dress making company! These are my first two practice designs, which I sent to the owner of the company. He liked them and I was took on board into a four person design team! Together and on our own, we worked on our own designs, working from both real and made up briefs, designing dresses for customers. It is providing some great insight into the design industry, as well as the clothing design industry. This helps, as it ties into my own interests in cosplay and prop making, as well as graphic design!

Love Photography NI Branding

I apologize for taking so long to upload this one! OK, so, during the summer, I found my first real client! The company was called 'Love Photography NI' and was looking for a simplistic, recognizable brand identity. I was told that the three colours which the client wanted were; red, black and white, with a heart incorporated somehow. The first two images below show my initial experimentation, where I kept the three colours and heart emblem, playing around with different styles and textures. I was attempting to create a modern, but not oversimplified design.

I sent these to the client, but she seemed to dislike all of them, so I tightened the idea to making the heart resemble a camera lens, thereby making the brand encompassing both the name and the type of company it was. My designs became more focused on this concept, which helped inform the stylistic choices. I decided to keep an all caps, sans-serif font for the main word 'love' and opted for a cursive, more freehand styled font for the 'photography NI' part of the brand. I was quite happy with how these turned out and thought that the idea could be worked into an effective brand. However, the client still did not like my idea.

The client sent me a mockup design and told me to keep it as close to this as possible. I continued experimenting with the brand, altering the layout and even tried adding an emblem of a camera. The client seemed more responsive to these ideas and liked the second set of experiments.

However, I was told to keep it as close to the mockup as possible and therefore tried removing the letter 'O', trying to let the heart emblem act on its own, which I would say is more effective looking. Once again, the client asked me to copy the concept and to put the letter 'O' back in.

Shown here is the final logo, which was done in black on white and white on black. I also cropped out just the letter 'O' with the heart inside it, which the client wanted to have as a watermark to add to photos. I was also asked to add a small 'TM' to the side of the brand.

This was my first real client and my first real branding project. Whilst I had a lot of fun experimenting with layout, fonts and negative space, I personally am unhappy with the final result. Throughout the branding process, I consulted some of my peers, did plenty of online research and also asked for some advice from professionals. I made sure to make use of what I had learnt about branding during my time at university and was sure that some of my experimentation would have been welcomed by the client. Unfortunately it was not and the final logo is identical to the initial mockup. It was a learning experience, however. It is yet another piece for my portfolio and I can say that I have worked in branding for a live client. I was also advised that, from now on, I should explain what a graphic designer does to any future clients and explain that it would be in their best interests to take some of my advice and experience onboard. Live and learn!

Q-Con XXII Poster

OK, OK, last Q-Con related post for now, I promise! I've been crazy busy lately and so am only getting around to uploading these all at once! Anyway, as you all know, I like to create a poster for every con that I attend, to help commemorate it in some way. For this latest one, I settled on a very minimalist style. I chose to represent my three cosplays in their most basic way, with only the respective tops and bottoms being shown in a flat, vector style. I also decided against showing any props, to help the piece not look overcrowded.

Initially, I attempted to put them on a clothes line, showing the costumes in a more 'natural environment' but it just looked stiff and awkward, so I went for a straight up and down layout instead. The Croft costume emphasises how short the shorts were, the Ventura one shows how oversized his shirt is and the Williams one shows the intentional damage to the shirt! Therefore, the three iconic parts of the actual costumes is displayed in a concise, visually appealing manner.

World of Warcraft cards

Long time no update! OK, so these were technically my first commission! Two friends of mine were also attending Q-Con in World of Warcraft Alliance costumes that they had made themselves. To add to this, they asked me to design some business cards to act as a 'Call to Arms' to join them.

I know barely anything about the game, so I had to rely on my friends for guidance. Essentially, all they needed was the Alliance lion emblem, with a passage from the game's lore below it. Because I was very pushed for time before Q-Con, with work (and working on my Ace Ventura performance!) I was actually nervous that I wouldn't complete this in time, but welcomed the challenge. I got a few reference images of the Alliance emblem and found that they usually have a metallic texture. I decided to emulate this, but also keep within my usual flat, graphic style. So I played around with a few gradients and shading techniques, but still keeping it simplistic looking. As for the font, I wanted to keep it all caps and sans serif, so I chose Futura. This kept it legible and also kept it within the style that I was going for. Then I added a few lines to help frame the message and added a subtle gradient to the background to finish it off.

Overall, I was proud that I was able to finish this in such a short time span and get them sent to Nathan in time for printing for the con! Above, I've shown a few photos of the cards beside my friend's Warcraft hammer prop for scale and to show the theme.

Q-Con XXII Aftermath!

OK, so here are three of the official photographs of all three of my cosplays over the Q-Con XXII weekend! I had an absolutely brilliant time and met some amazing new people! I had originally spoken to some people online and this was my first time meeting a lot of them. Chris Reaney: the entire Spider-Verse in one man stands out! He was Spider-Patriot and Spider-Punk, with both costumes being too awesome for words! Others knew me as 'the chainsaw guy' or 'the Ace Ventura guy' or 'that agent guy from instagram.' These are all titles I am ok with.

I was able to actually make it to the comedy club, pub quiz and closing ceremony this year, all of which I usually miss out on. I had such an amazing time and could write a novel on my experiences, but want to keep this post brief. The cosplay community is so open to discussing costumes and I am so glad I took the leap two years ago and started this hobby. If anyone reading this is thinking about trying cosplaying for the first time, I urge you to do it! Anyway: onto my costumes shown above:

On Friday, I compiled a male version of Lara Croft I called 'Leon Croft' and he was very well received! I got a lot of great shots hanging out with other game characters like my new twin Amy Donaghey who makes a kickass Jill Valentine/Claire Redfield/Poison Ivy!

On  Saturday, I brought out my Ace Ventura, this time with a wig! I was able to tame the new Q-Con cat 'Khal', who later turned out to be lost, but the owner was able to find him after she was all the Q-Con photos of him with cosplayers! I also performed a skit on stage as Ace Ventura. I was so nervous, but the audience seemed to like it!

Sunday was the return of my signature Ash Williams cosplay! I also wore an 'Ash Ketchum' hat from Pokemon, both to hide my hair and to make me a walking pun. My chainsaw prop is starting to suffer from all these events and weather! However, I am openly discussing and working on a possible fourth version! 

Currently, I am planning to go to Dublin Comic Con in August, then Showmasters in October! I am so thrilled that cosplay is taking off over here, finally! Q-Con had such a broad range of cosplays and I am already looking forward to next year!

Massive shout outs to Roll VT Productions for all the interviews (and for holding our group together!) and to GP Photography, who everyone NEEDS to follow on facebook: his photographs are out of this world!