It's been a little bit since I've been at my customs table, so I thought I would share a project with you guys. This project actually predates all of my customs. When my wife and I got married two years ago, one of the first things I set out to do was to get rid of my multiple recorded eps of RiD. I had nine tapes of episodes that I recorded while I was in college. I had my VCR set to record each episode daily while I was at school during the day. Each night around 11 pm, I would come home from my 1 hour commute to college and watch the newest episode of RiD. With 9/11, normal syndication, etc., to not miss any episode I had to record every episode of RiD. The show then moved to Saturdays, and I then just recorded the new episodes. Once I hooked up my VCRs, I set out on this project. I went through the series on my tapes, recording a sequential run sans comercials of my beloved series. While recording, I started getting the idea of how to make this project a little more special. While researching the series (to make sure I got the episodes in order), I started getting the ideas. The next thing I knew, I was knee deep into desinging things! I'd like to say this thing is complete, but I cannot. By the time I had sketched the project out, I had planned to make a booklet with the history of the series, info, etc. By the time I got to this point, I had my first Alternator in pieces on the kitchen table about to venture into a new hobby . . . Nevertheless, I am still happy with my efforts. As some of you might imagine, once I got to surfing on my cable internet (I was on dial-up prior to marriage/move), I was able to get the series downloaded on my hd. I'd also like to say that I found everything without Tony's wonderful RiD page (which I would have LOVED to have during the time of surfing hours on the net for RiD material of ANY kind!). So, without further delay, here is what I came up with: A 3-tape, VHS set of the RiD series in it's own box, with extras. My set includes custom cases for each tape (with custom labels), a fascimile autographed photo of the RiD voice cast, a cardboard cutout of T-Ai, and two "animation cels" of original artwork by yours truly. I have the labels designed for the bonus disk that was to include the "lost episodes" aired in the UK (not pictured). I hope you guys enjoy my pre-Alternators custom project! The outside of the box:
dude... your attention to detail is just staggering! I love every inch of it. your box is top notch, love the fake barcode, the clear top, the cases, the tape labels, transparencies, the fake autograph, damn. a true masterpiece!!
Holy frijoles! It's almost impossible for me to agree more! I hate RiD with a passion, but the display value of these works would force me to buy this, were it available. I don't know exactly how long this took you to make, Superquad, but it looks to be worth every second you spent on it! Major
Wow, thanks! That says a lot if you dislike RiD that much but I could get you to buy the series with my package design (my former graphic design professor would be so proud!). One thing I learned while researching the series is that the voice cast really hated the trends in cartoons at the time (i.e. Pokemon) and they poked fun at kids' cartoons with their acting. I had those things in mind while I rewatched the series. It's kind of like biting sarcasim in disguise . . .
Damn dude, that's some professional looking shit. Your drawing skill is impressive as well; I really like how your "animation cells" came out.
Considering I never got to see much more than 2 or 3 episodes of RID, I'd so buy that from you. Or an exact copy of a DVD version.
The artwork on the box, Of Scourge, Megatron and Prime, did you make those yourself? Aswell, I really like the VHS cases, and the Labels for the actual tapes themselves. Lastly, those animation cells are pure hawtness, especially the Magnus + Prime one, it makes them look so bad ass.
Er, not meaning to to downplay anything here (yeah, I'm late on this response too, it's terminal for me at this point), but it wasn't just the package design, it was the whole package deal. Not that the package design isn't impressive on its own (the aforementioned attention to detail on that alone is impressive), but I disliked the show enough that it takes the rest of what you included in the package for me to say 'Must Buy!', were it to somehow ever reach mass production. At any rate, it would be a crime to not have that prominently displayed in your home. Don't be a criminal.
Hey guys, thanks for all of the comments! I really appreciate your feedback! Currently, I don't have the resources to mass produce this set on any level (other than just taping the series). I only made this project for myself to have a nice way to store my RiD tapes. In terms of the artwork, it is indeed the work of my hand [and mouse/stylus]. If you want to view the artwork itself, simply go here/. Enjoy! [and the "cels" are some of my personal favorite pieces of my TF art ]
Well, should anyone decide to ever release RiD on DVD, you've definitely set a high mark for packaging/bonus items. This looks 100% legit, and even though I've never seen RiD, I would buy that in a nanosecond.
Wow. Thank you very much for that comment; it's much appreciated I really had a great time creating this! My major regret is I wished I had been able to convert my VHS tapes to DVDs and then make this set. When I made this, there were no recording of this available whatsoever online or at retail. Now, we at least have a DVD version available, even though it's not region free. At any rate, at least I have a nice, commercial-free (bumpers still intact though ) version of Robots in Disguise. Again, thanks for the comment; you really made my day and I'm glad you enjoy my work here
The box set is fantastic, I love the clear window at the top...... but what are those rectangular things with the labels on them? Are those what they used to call 8-Tracks? If you were going for a Frenzy/Rumble thingy, shouldn't they be blue and red respectively? Just kidding! That's a LOT of work to put into that set. The last set I tried to put together similar was Full Metal Alchemist and Samurai Champloo. I went and bought DVD cases off of Ebay, then printed the DVD and box artwork, then redid it with the labels and everything. It's a LONG process, so I can only imagine how much time and ink was used. Something like that should have been entered at Botcon in protest of a proper release of the series. Still surprising me with the new stuff too dude. I'll TTYL via the non-interwebs.