Praise for Total Retaliation

Copies of Total Retaliation have been making their way out to G.I. Joe fans all around the world. Here's a taster of some of the feedback we've received to date from people who've bought the book.

Posts to our Facebook Page:

"Awesome book. I can't recommend this enough. The price is a bargain for what this book offers. Great pictures. The filecards are well done. Congrats on a job well done" – Troy

"I just received this in the mail! I am blown away!!! The next time I get to come to Ireland, I'll buy you guys a round!" – Josh

"Its beautiful photography and details of the figures make this book a must have for GI JOE fans world wide! It belongs beside the Ultimate Guide by Mark Bellomo and James Kavanaugh Jr GI JOE guide books!" – Gavin

Review on Etsy.com:

"Very quick overseas shipping and great packaging. The book itself is absolutely beautiful and very professionally made. If you are a fan of the GI Joe Retaliation toys or movie, you really should buy this book!" – Scott

Comments on Instagram:

"Just got my copy today and I am so stoked bro! You have done an amazing job on it and a HUGE service to the Joe community." – James

Review of Total Retaliation

Big thanks to Justin over at GeneralsJoes.com for the great review of Total Retaliation. Check out the link below for the full review.

http://generalsjoes.com/2014/10/01/review-for-total-retaliation-a-book-by-paddy-lennon-and-brian-hickey/

Quick Update

It's been awhile since we updated our blog. Since our last post we've released Total Retaliation at Roll Out Roll Call in Southhampton last October and we've made the book available for sale via Etsy. We've also set up a Facebook page where we've conducted most of our online activity over the last few months.

We've copied some helpful links below.

Buy Total Retaliation on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/208884875/total-retaliation-a-celebration-of-the

Follow Total Retaliation on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TotalRetaliation

Roll Out Roll Call:
https://www.facebook.com/RollOutRollCall

File Cards

As a companion to the Total Retaliation Book we've been working on some file cards for the Retaliation 4" figures. Here's a sneak peak at what's coming down the line . . .

Photographing Accessories

As a professional designer, I have a lot of respect for anyone who works in the visual arts fields. However, my respect for photographers - and in particular product photographers - has increased ten fold over these last couple weeks.

The biggest challenge I've encountered while working on Total Retaliation is how to light and shoot the accessories that come with the action figures, while keeping them to scale. I've experimented a lot since the holidays (and have looked at a lot of tutorials on Youtube, including how to make your own light tent) but I'm finally getting the hang of it.

You can check out some of the G.I. Joe Retaliation Wave 1 accessory shots here.

- BH

Some designs just don't make the cut

A key part of the design process when working on a book like Total Retaliation is exploring different design and layout options. The image below is an example of one option that didn't make the final cut. Here, I experimented with animating the character (Roadblock) by adding adding effects and muzzle flare to the image. It was a lot of fun to create but it doesn't really showcase the toy. The cleaner page design, that you can see in some of the earlier posts here, is much more effective at letting the action figure and it's accessories take centre stage.

I hope you enjoyed this little look behind the scenes of the design process. :-)
BH

Wave 4 Action Shots Complete

The fourth and final wave for the G.I. Joe Retaliation toyline. Here are some of the unprocessed images from the "action pose" photo shoot.