CFR Star San Marino Rocs, 2009 Bevier Blast artwork, for 2010 A-tier

[Bruce Brakel]

This is the Star San Marino Roc pre-order thread.  You can see the artwork here if you are logged into the message board:

http://discontinuum.org/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=4426.msg62271#msg62271

I won't buy a lot more than whatever I get pre-orders for, and if I can only get 40 it is first come first served.  Buy as many as you want.  Buy all 40 and e-bay 'em!   

You can reserve them by posting here how many you want.  I'm hoping to bring them to the Club Team Challenge. 

[mirth]

Count me in for one, possibly two depending on what and cost.

[bigeric]

The star sanny's are going to be done with innova's inncolor? with that image is that correct

[Bruce Brakel]

Well, not if nobody likes the artwork. 

[CEValkyrie]

Well, not if nobody likes the artwork. 

There are some very good artists out there. How about asking for artwork on the PDGA message board & here? Gateway has had some pretty sweet stamps lately by using this method.

[Stan the Blue Man]

naw bruce the artwork is sick i would like to get a roc good sir

[Dan Michler]

There is no reason to listen to my opinion because I'm just not a guy who really cares about how my discs look, not to mention I don't buy very many discs.  All I know is I have no interest in paying extra for a disc because it has a nuclear explosion on it.  If it had some sort of artwork related to both disc golf and the tournament I was playing, then I'd be more interested.  If that picture of the nuclear blast was somehow overlayed on top of Bevier Park, then I might think it was cool.  Otherwise its no more intesting to me than the 'spaceship' design from Lombard a couple years ago.

[Bruce Brakel]

I've learned to filter out Dan's opinion because it correlates to what sells about as much as my own opinion.  The spaceships sold hot.  The Cruisers, for the Crystal Cruise, sold cold.  Dan hated them both.  I liked them both. 

I can tell whether artwork is selling the disc when players ask me, "Do you have any of those discs with the whatever on them?"  They aren't even asking about the disc itself, just the artwork.  I can also tell when it sells Trackers.     I can tell if artwork is a drag when people say, "Do ALL your whatevers have this stamp on them?"  And when they tell me to remove the stamp and then they'll buy it.

The only artwork I ever thought would be a dog, and actually sold well, was the Fairfield cattails. 

Good sellers: Kyle's robots, the Peoria Open cards, the spaceships, Get Out of Schule Free, the Labyrinth, the Aztec sun dude, the Chris Srnka Gorgasaurs.

Bad sellers: the Hot Rags sponsor disc, the Cruiser, the Illinois Open "Illinois" artwork [which I thought looked nice by the way, so please don't have hurt feelings], the Cruiser [so bad I should list it twice], anything involving the IOS logo [sorry, Jon, but they just don't move discs]. 

The problem with soliciting artwork is that the solicitees come up with dogs as fast as I do, and then there are hurt feelings.  I won't further hurt feelings by namimg names, but somebody once worked hard on this cool abstract artwork for a Spectra SuperColor and my first impression was, "Our players will never get it.  They won't buy it."  I ran it by some confidants without prompting anything and got the same reaction.  "It's art.  Do our players collect art?"  The abstract fractal art that Discraft has been putting on Spectras has not sold Spectras either. 

If this is a dog, I could recycle the poker card concept, but i don't know if the poker fad is still hot.  Back when I did it, Texas Hold 'em was the hot thing.  The cards were not Texas Hold 'em poker, more like five card draw, but that would be a variation I could go for. 

If it was ColorMax on Discraft, I wouldn't care.  I like it.  I'd do it.  If it didn't sell, I'd wipe it off.  But InnColor on Innova is a riskier proposition.  I cannot deep discount it and get rid of it if it is a dog.  I'd just have to open a kennel. 

[Chainmeister]

I can also tell when it sells Trackers.    
Bad sellers: anything involving the IOS logo [sorry, Jon, but they just don't move discs]. 

Jeez. I bought a Tracker with the IOS logo on it.  I'm as bad as you and Dan.

[discpro99]

The Peoria poker stamp was very cool. Would like to see more of those in the future.

[Dan Michler]

I think the discs you put the spaceships on must have just been hot sellers that year.  I just can't conceive anybody wanting a spaceship disc.

Atleast you have 20/20 hindsight on those Cruisers   

I think everybody can agree that the robots were very cool, but largely because they were disc golfing robots.  Which gets back to my point about the nuclear blast.

I just feel like simple, sleak designs are what please the masses.  This is why Huklab stuff sells so well.  Just a simple design without too much going on.  You put the Huklab logo on anything and they mark it up 75% and it sells.  I think you or any other disc golf businessmen should be following that concept.  Just think Bruce, if you can find just 1 simple design that sells really well you will no longer have to worry about coming up with new designs every tournament.  Just stick with what works.

P.S.  You might have to develop some sort of alter ego to develop your brand logo.  I'm not sure if Bruce Brakel stuff will every be considered 'cool' by the majority of the general disc golf population     Just tell everybody that Tom McManus designed your discs.  People seem to think Tom is a pretty cool guy.  Just take a look for yourself.

http://discontinuum.org/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=45&g2_itemId=71

[bigeric]

Bruce, are you limiting the artwork to an INNCOLOR type image? or would you be interested in just a normal tournament style stamp for these discs? 

[roman]

Dan, I agree that a simple stamp can look very pleasing to most people. However, I don't think busy stamps have to be bad either if they're done right. I love certain really intricate stamp designs that have a lot going on. There's a guy named Ted Zamson that does great work (he's the one that designed the Rt66 Teebirds that were advertised here somewhere). He does awesome designs for custom stamped discs. I don't know how much he charges, but it may be worth while to pay for his services for some of our fundraiser discs.

Here is some of his work: http://www.zamdesign.com/tjstamps.html