#offtherails

The mod aims to recreate the early plot of Battle of the Birds (formerly known as Trainwreck of Science/Off the Rails) with the little modding knowledge I have! Currently only one act is finished (which is train rush) but other acts are also being worked on! Such as Murder on the Science Express. Speaking of Murder on the Science Express, did you ever wonder what it would be like to be a detective? This version is basically like Murder on the Owl Express but with a twist! More exploration, interaction and a real murder!! Multiple rooms have also been refurnished and remade such as the lounge or cafeteria. Other rooms have also been repositioned/remade from its MotOE counterpart.

This version even features the scrapped Conductor brothers, complete with a redesign done by @grammarrray and also additonal Murder Clue art done, again, by @grammarrray.

In addition, more colors and alternative outfits have been made for a lot of the birds in the chapter, such as the Conductor, Science Owls, CAW agents and moon penguins!

Act progression is very liniar, as it was during the initial development of Battle of the Birds/Trainwreck of Science. You'll visit each of the two locations three times and an additional fourth time on the moon for the boss fight.

As of right now the moon is in early stages. But It'll feature new plot elements such as the scrapped Moon Kittens(Lazy Paw Gang) being on the moon to wreck havoc. And in order to remove your debt from the moon town due to... a "minor damage" done by the Science Express youre now in charge to get rid of the Lazy Paw Gang's plan to sabotage the Big Parade and to also lead the Big Parade. The Club of 20 Groove's is also run by DJ Grooves, who in this version of the plot is a nightclub owner and potential mob boss.

All aboard! You are here by invited to a secret tea party, only it’s no secret and they won’t be serving tea, it is however the inspiration behind a range by Lisof designer, Liane Wolmarans.

 I had the great honor to go behind the scenes and learn a bit more about the designer, her love for fashion and achievements thus far. To set the scene of how crazy things are during the preparation of a fashion show, I’ve created this little teaser video of our interview featuring bits and pieces of Liane’s range. Enjoyyyy… https://youtu.be/gNG4pd5HhMI

Her overall theme for her range is a high society tea party, with added secret garden vibes and a dash of Alice in Wonderland added to the mix. Liane loves pastel colours and this is why a Tea party seemed only fitting for her final fashion show at Lisof. Even though this lovely lady is immensely relieved that all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears are almost a thing of the past, she did say she is leaving Lisof with a heavy heart and remains to think that the past couple of years have been her greatest achievement, pushing through the hard and difficult times and finally making it to this point.

What I loved the most of her designs is the uniqueness, and the little embroidery detail. Embroidery is something I love and treasure myself so as soon as I saw this feature in her designs, I immediately new she was the perfect designer I had chosen to interview. We also share a deep desire to visit Italy. Can you say soul sister?

I popped in some quick “Top of the Head” questions during the interview to get some insight on her style and this is what went down:

·         Red lipstick / Nude lipstick

·         Vintage / Modern

·         Matte/ Gloss

·         Earrings / Necklace

·         Pearls / Sequence

·         Paper / Plastic

·         Pastel colours / Shocking colours

·         Ball gowns / Cocktail dresses

·         Champagne / Cocktails

I can go on and on about what a great designer and individual Liane is, but at the end of the day seeing is believing, so save the date, the Lisof Fashion Show is 23 November at the Lisof Campus in Hatfield. Head over to their Instagram page for more details.

Sometimes projects go off the rails. Sometimes what you want and what the client wants line up, and sometimes they don’t. As artists, our goal is to make the best piece of art for our portfolio. As illustrators and designers, our goal is to make the vision of the client come to life. It’s great when we can kill two birds with one stone, but sometimes we have to be happy with one win out of two. You made the client happy, that’s great! You didn’t get a portfolio piece out of it this time, but that’s ok. 

Your confidence shouldn’t be shaken. What was shaking was the ground under your feet as you were trying to paint. That’s part of the job sometimes. The difference between doing a piece for yourself and doing a piece for a client is the combat conditions. You’re asked to do a certain job then it feels like the client does everything in their power to knock you off track. We’ve all been there. 

As long as you are doing your best under the given circumstances, keeping up good communication, and  making your opinions clear (but not aggressive/sarcastic, which is always tempting when a client feels like they’re making your work look bad), then you just hold on and make the best art you can. If the client was happy, then you put it in the win tally, and move onto the next gig. If you’ve still got a bad taste in your mouth, refinish the piece the way you’d have liked to and put it in your portfolio as a personal piece or killed/unpublished concept. Or just go make a personal piece just for yourself and your portfolio.

—Agent KillFee