THE DAILY MONSTER

OPEN SOURCE MONSTER 21

Good evening. Finally! Finally! With much delay,
here is a brand new Open Source Ink Blot for you.

If you haven't taken a stab at making a monster of your own---and with Halloween right around the corner---this may be the perfect week for you to get in on the action. Here's how it works: Download OPEN SOURCE INK BLOT 21, print it out, and have at it in any way you like: Draw, paint, origami, film, sculpt, write a screenplay about it. Just scan, photograph, or otherwise document the result and send it my way at opensource@344design.com and I'll put the result on the blog right here. If you can, please make your file 480 pixels wide. If you can't, don't worry about it.
I'll resize it for you.

For now, I hope you'll enjoy this week's monster gallery.
I know I am. And you know that 344 LOVES YOU

ADVANCED PLACEMENT MONSTERS

Hello again. Long-time monster maker Jennifer Cobler is a high school art teacher. She teaches a class called "Advanced Placement Studio Art" and got her students to make some truly excellent creatures based on the Open Source Ink Blots. Take a look at all the great characters, and the beautiful colors! Great work! I hope you'll love them at least as much as 344 LOVES YOU

RIVER BREEZE MONSTERS

Good afternoon. Lately, a few schools have gotten into the Open Source Monster action to great effect. Here are some brilliant drawings from Ms. Sydney Cruce's class at River Breeze Elementary School in Palatka, Florida. (Special Thanks to Marsha Cruce for sending me these scans.) Nice work everybody! I love your monsters, and 344 LOVES YOU

GALLERY: OPEN SOURCE MONSTER 20

Good morning! A new Weekly Monster is going to be ready for you a little later today. (All we need is approval from Revver.) In the meantime, I have some excellent new Open Source Monsters for you. Some new monster makers join us this week, and from the looks of it, they're fitting right in. See what you think! And remember, of course, that 344 LOVES YOU

OPEN SOURCE MONSTER 20

Good morning! With the week already in its second half again, I'm overdue to give you a new Open Source Ink Blot. And of course, I get to show you the great new Open Source Monsters you sent in. You came up with some really brilliant stuff again this week. New people played, and some of the regular cast went for new approaches and effects! It's really exciting to watch. (I hope you'll think so, too.)

If you haven't tried your hand at making a monster of your own, maybe this is the week for you. Here's how it works: Download OPEN SOURCE INK BLOT 20, print it out, and have at it in any way you like: Draw, paint, origami, film, sculpt, write a screenplay about it. Just scan, photograph, or otherwise document the result and send it my way at opensource@344design.com and I'll put the result on the blog right here. If you can, please make your file 480 pixels wide. If you can't, don't worry about it.
I'll resize it for you.

For now, I hope you'll enjoy this week's monster gallery, and that you'll have a great and exciting day. Why? Because 344 LOVES YOU

I caught up on a few monsters, too. I hope you'll like them.

OPEN SOURCE MONSTER 19

Good evening. It's high, high time that I give you a new Open Source Ink Blot to play with. Please forgive me for not doing it sooner. Here, without delay is Ink Blot No.19 for your monster making pleasure. If you haven't made a monster before, this might be your week. Let me tell you how it works:

Download OPEN SOURCE INK BLOT 19, print it out, and have at it in any way you like: Draw, paint, origami, film, sculpt, write a screenplay about it. Just scan, photograph, or otherwise document the result and send it my way at opensource@344design.com and I'll put the result on the blog right here. If you can, please make your file 480 pixels wide. If you can't, don't worry about it.
I'll resize it for you.

I'm excited to see what you'll come up with! In the meantime, here are two more excellent drawings from the last round to inspire you.

By the way, do I have to say it, or do you already know, that 344 LOVES YOU

GALLERY: OPEN MONSTER 18

Good morning! I hope the shortened week is treating you well. After the book design marathon I had to catch up on a paying gig tonight and didn't manage to make a new Weekly Monster yet. Luckily, I have many beautiful Open Source Monsters to show you in the meantime. It's always such a trip to see what you guys come up with every week. No wonder 344 LOVES YOU

OPEN SOURCE MONSTER 18 + BOOK MAP

Good morning. How are you? I hope you had an excellent weekend, and that the new week will bring good things to you. Let's start with a new Open Source Ink Blot, why not? In case you're new to the site, here's how it works:

Download OPEN SOURCE INK BLOT 18, print it out, and have at it in any way you like: Draw, paint, origami, film, sculpt, write a screenplay about it. Just scan, photograph, or otherwise document the result and send it my way at opensource@344design.com and I'll put the result on the blog right here. If you can, please make your file 480 pixels wide. If you can't, don't worry about it. I'll resize it for you.

You can always draw inspiration from some of these rockin' and rollin' new creatures. As you can see, all styles are welcome, and if you haven't drawn in a while or ever... please don't let it stop you. Monsters don't have to be slick. They can be unruly and ferocious, simple, and direct, or just plain odd. If you got a monster within you, I say "Let it out!"

I still can't get past the sheer variety of monsters that floods in every week. You people are cool people! And you're very kind to give your time to the monsters. Good work! Very good work! It's no wonder that 344 LOVES YOU

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Lest I forget: Tonight's book map, which reflects the weekend. I'm getting very close to being done with this round. 4 more spreads, the design for the DVD label, and the back cover... then everything goes to HOW for review for two weeks. After that, I have two weeks to put in their changes and hand-letter all the pull quotes... which seemed like a great idea when I designed the three sample spreads. (I mean... if anybody should know better... :^) But... only the best for the monsters and for you guys!

OPEN SOURCE MONSTER 17

Good morning. Many thanks to all of you for being so understanding about my absence the past few days. I'm starting to regain my footing a little bit and I'm back to work. And so are you! You've sent a great big crop of excellent Open Source Monsters---all of whom follow below.

Clearly you're in need of a new Open Source Ink Blot. Well, don't let me stand in your way any longer. Here it is. Blot No. 17

If you'd like to join in on the fun, please don't hesitate. All creatures are welcome! Here's how it works:

Download OPEN SOURCE INK BLOT 17, print it out, and have at it in any way you like: Draw, paint, origami, film, sculpt, write a screenplay about it. Just scan, photograph, or otherwise document the result and send it my way at opensource@344design.com and I'll put the result on the blog right here.
If you can, please make your file 480 pixels wide.
If you can't, don't worry about it. I'll resize it for you.

You might also want to give the World's Tallest Monster a try. I just posted some cool new segments from Eliza Loon and Pete. Take a look at this link.

I made a little drawing for my dad's birthday today (that I can only reveal on his birthday, of course, but you can look at last year's post on the subject right now.) I went in a new direction with this new one and it came out nice, I think. It was good to make a drawing again. It's only been a week since I did the last one, but it felt much, much longer. Even over such a short pause I forget how good drawing is for my soul---the lift that comes with creating something from nothing---wresting a little bit of order from the chaos. It's a good feeling. Soon I'll make some new drawings for you, and you'll know once again that 344 LOVES YOU

The Snowgods sent an animated blot:

And from me... tonight's book map... a measly three new spreads, but I also spruced up the table of contents with more splattered ink, and.. well... no... that's it: three spreads and the revised TOC. But it's something...

GALLERY: OPEN SOURCE MONSTER 16

Good morning. Look at all the cool monsters you guys sent in! One came from as far away as Belgium (courtesy of Sébastien). I hope they'll inspire you as you go into the weekend:

Nice work, everybody! You knock my socks off. I always love to see what shapes you see in each blot. If you haven't gotten in on the action yet, now's the time, and here's the how:

Download OPEN SOURCE INK BLOT 16, print it out, and have at it in any way you like: Draw, paint, origami, film, sculpt, write a screenplay about it. Just scan, photograph, or otherwise document the result and send it my way at opensource@344design.com and I'll put the result on the blog right here.
If you can, please make your file 480 pixels wide.
If you can't, don't worry about it. I'll resize it for you.

Lastly, here's today's update on the book map. Six spreads tonight. 54 more monsters to go, and the front and end matter. I've got another three weeks. Should work out...

For now, I hope you'll have an excellent weekend! It'll be more work over here, but if you can swing it, I hope you'll kick back and relax on my behalf. For now, you surely know that 344 LOVES YOU