Kid Icarus: This lovely little open-concept screen printing shop based in Toronto’s Kensington Market is looking to expand its operations – owners Bianca and Michael want a bigger space to do their own work and acquire funds to host workshops, classes and host a space where other screen printing artists can use their equipment to create. The perks are wonderful – you can get one-of-a-kind prints from local artists, and $150 gets you a voucher to the shop’s Screen Printing 101 workshop. I also really like the video for this project – the owners have very quietly and graciously made an appeal to their wider community so they can give back to it. See the video below, and learn more about the project here.
Give YT//ST’s Game A Boost: You may have heard a little bit about Yamantaka//Sonic Titan. These Montreal/Toronto purveyors of noise rock, weirdo opera, Asian pop and performance art recently received a spot on the Polaris Prize shortlist and have played virtually every festival worth attending in Canada and abroad this year. One of the things I love about the group is their fearless and interdisciplinary approach to art-making – and this video game project they’re currently working on is no exception. They describe the game as a side-scrolling action shooter that will feature the band’s “manga-esque” art aesthetic that they have dubbed “Neverflat” (see the photo above as an example.) The game will also serve as a homage to cult classic games like the NES offering Earthbound. At least two members of the group have experience in the gaming world – drummer Alaska B recently graduated from Sheridan College’s animation program while new member Aywlin Lo has developed prototypes in the past for 3-D game engines. Give the band a boost and help make the project a reality.
No Guts, No Glory: New Yorker Zach Gage has launched a Kickstarter for a post-apocalyptic card game called “Guts of Glory.” Basically the concept behind the game is to feed a “mouth” (a mouth-styled board) with food and teeth cards. The food has to be properly masticated for you to win, and there are opportunities to “wreak havoc on an opponent’s mouth” or develop special abilities along the way. The art for this game is amazing – you have to see it to believe it. You can check out the project here (where you can download a sample pack to play with for free) or watch the walkthrough video below.