A Bit Darker In Tone, A Bit More Minimalist, And Not Using Any Marker For Text Over Top. Utilizing Only

Final Week!

The Kickstarter is winding down, and I’m full of gratitude for those who’ve backed my vision for this independent dark science fiction project. Of currently-active Fiction Publishing projects on Kickstarter, “Color of a Mirror” is the 9th most-funded. In the world. That’s absolutely incredible to me!

Why, then, is the project not yet funded?

Well, largely because I’m not content with producing a hardcover or softcover book as cheaply as possible. I want this book to be a work of art in and of itself, to feel like it came from a big-name publisher, despite me being just one person. I want to work with a printer that strives for that same type of quality in the options they offer, that gives me the ability to customize this book in a way that makes it sing.

Beyond that, however, I’m also trying to do a limited pressing of a vinyl for the soundtrack. All my metrics for how big a run to do of these various items to make them cost-effective, cross-referenced with a feasible amount of money to raise, has landed me on the $15,000 mark.

(I’m encouraged that there’s currently a novella project from an established, published author that had a goal of $10,000, making me feel like my higher goal was not so far off.)

This may be a bit of a ramble, but I hope it’s an honest look at how I’m thinking about this project, and what I’m trying to achieve.

There’s still time to back! No matter the tier you choose, every little bit helps. It’s going to take a mega-surge this final week to get to fully-funded, but I whole-heartedly believe we can get there.

Ends the day after Cyber Monday, in celebration of the cyberpunk story that it is.

Now, let’s go get higher on that most-funded list!

-Dan/ArtificeLux

Kickstarter

Color of a Mirror: Dark Science Fiction Novel and Soundtrack

A cerebral, slow-burn narrative about mental instability and the lies we tell ourselves, coupled with a cinematic dark ambient score.

Hung. A little different from the others… Not so much an abstract design as sketch. Going back to my roots with some fantasy stylings.

Pressurepoint

Alright, so as my post yesterday mentioned, I’m taking a Main Title Design course, taught by Ash Thorp over at LearnSquared. This lesson was about typography. The homework was to choose a sample logline and create three different cast-and-crew mock-ups, using different variations of the same font family.

I chose a horror sample called "Three Points," the logline of which is: A World War I pilot briefly loses consciousness inside of the Bermuda Triangle and upon waking, fails to discover land or water, and his gas tank remains full.

Playing around with the fairly standard font family Agency, I created three shots from three different title sequence options. I tried to keep the font fairly intact, making only a few subtle changes to hopefully connect it more to the plot ideas, of mystery and horror.

(Images 1-3 are one set, then 4-6, and then 7-9.)

@ashthorp

Back with another look at the soundtrack! This time featuring “Closer to the Dead” (as always, by ultra-talented Josh McCausland)!

The video on this one is a little different than those that have come before… still abstract, but really hinting at certain elements of the book as well. Secrets abound…

There’s still time to back the Kickstarter for the exclusive vinyl release of the soundtrack, and the deluxe-hardcover novel, all with designs by me. There are other rewards (including digital copies and softcover) as well, so hopefully a little something for everyone!

It’s gonna take a big push this final week to get it over the line, but I’m holding out hope it can happen. Every little bit helps, so if you’re interested, I’d be thrilled for you to check out the link below:

Subversive

“Hang on. I wanna see something.”

He glances in either direction, checking for traffic. Looks both ways again as he crosses the street, more furtively this time. Her footsteps follow, slowly, then quicker, as she jogs across the deserted side street.

“Somehow, I’m thinking this is going to be illegal...”

“Oh, don’t worry... it most definitely is.”

Around the backside of the crumbling wall--perhaps at one point it had been a room or enclosed courtyard of sorts, though now it’s little more than chewed gravel and a sparse collection of weeds even more insistent than the winter chill cutting through his gloves--a simple linework teddy bear, five feet tall and quite pudgy around the middle, sits with his back against the corner. The bright orange spray isn’t even faded. “Hah! Yes, it’s still here.”

“That’s so badass! And completely adorable at the same time!” She chuckles. “I’m feeling like this must have been you?”

“Feel like it might’ve been,” he grins back.

Seeing as this one is sorta time-sensitive, I figured I'd go ahead and post up today's design as a bonus. 10/31

•2BRTL•

Mixing up more digital concrete, this time paired with a pop of 80s color blocking.

It’s always nerve-wracking submitting writing for review, especially with the understanding that not every book is for everyone. Not to mention, some of my favorite books I didn’t finish the first time I picked them up. So yeah, reviews are very subjective.

So when I got my first critic review last week for Color of a Mirror from Kirkus Reviews, I was prepared for it to be some mixture of bad and good—and hoping for more of the latter. I’m so stoked to say that their final verdict was “Get It,” even going to on to call this unusual noir sci-fi story “Intricate, next-generation cyberpunk with a head-spinning finale.”

Just wow. Talk about head-spinning.

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A little about the book for those of you who may be new to this project: it centers around a cybernetically-enhanced musician who just wants to be a rockstar—which is apparently too much to ask. When one of her songs is used as the soundtrack to a viral homicide, she’s catapulted into the spotlight, only not like she’d imagined. Instead of following an action-heavy plot, the story is more focused on the interior dilemmas and relationships of the characters, as they strive to make it in a world that will crush them without a second thought.

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Check out the full Kirkus Review for a really good, spoiler-free write-up.

Sample the original soundtrack on Spotify and other major platforms.

And if all this makes you think you’d like to read the book, drop by my site here.

Been noodling away at this glam-rock visualization for Tonic (the main character from Color of a Mirror). Very graphic/black and white work so far, which from a design standpoint is probably my comfort zone. Now it's time to see how far I can push this in terms of materials/colors/rendering.

COLOR OF A MIRROR