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Probably.

Probably.

Yep. Ingredients: 1 Sega

Yep. Ingredients: 1 Sega Genesis, 1 red marker, 1 black marker. You're welcome.

You can tell from the tire

You can tell from the tire tracks in the dirt. Super authentic.

Excellent execution

Pun intended. Quality work. I hereby issue you whatever is the opposite of cease and desist. Continue and persist?

My Self-Serving & Bullet (and Parenthesis)-Rich Perspective

We put a ton of thought into how to handle the experience of drawing plays. I don't know if our approach is perfect but we stuck a nice balance between all the factors (multitouch interface vs. chunky-fingered coaches, freeform vs. precise drawing, etc.).

Drawing plays with legacy playbook software can be really tedious (especially blocking stuff) so we did a some things to reduce that pain:

  • For each variation of the game (i.e. 6 man, 9 man, 11 man) we have presets for the line caps (arrows for skill players, Ts for linemen). This was added after I started working on my playbook and realized that it required up to 4 taps per lineman on every new play.

     
  • Formation templates are used for organization purposes and to avoid the need to recreate the formation from scratch every time you add a play.

     
  • Duplicate play and flip+duplicate play are a big win for creating series or groups of plays where the blocking schemes are nearly identical.

     
  • Show opponent lets you show any defensive alignment against your offense. That combined with the duplicate play feature make it really fast to show the same play against a variety of fronts.

The free version of the app will let you try all of the play creation tools but is limited to 3 plays and locks down custom formations and sharing. We have a free version because we're coaches ourselves and we want other coaches to have the chance to try the app before committing to the $20 investment. 

Most of the coaches using our apps are from high schools and small colleges, and have made our app the primary system for their official team playbooks and scout team cards. We have a decent number of coaches using the wristband inserts, too.

You can check out our YouTube page for a full set of videos that demonstrate all of the app's features:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TacklePlaymaker

Tech Support by Comment

I could email this, but you posted a comment so me too!

1. LOS Snapping - if you drag an offensive player icon up, it will stop at the LOS. Not exactly snapping but has almost the same effect if you try to drag beyond.

3. There's actually a zig-zag pre-snap motion line and I have some hacks for showing things like option routes and play action. I'll send you a few video demos on that.

4. Basketball cover priority enhancement has been engaged. 

5. Thanks!

All the stuff on your wish list is also on our wish list. Our update in a few weeks will include device-to-device playbook share/import. We're also working on a Telestrator feature for freeform drawing and text annotations for later in the Fall.

We really worked hard on the tuning of the position icons vs. field proportions and they're actually pretty close to real life. My guess is you haven't yet discovered the two finger swipe gesture for chaning the field position and hash - that will likely resolve the perceived issue of overscaled players.

It's a Texturization Demonstration

Thanks for the nice words.



I'm not sure how familiar you are with Photoshop (so some of these terms might sound like gibberish) but here are some step-by-step images with descriptions showing how the layers are set up for each card. Build order is from bottom to top layer.

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1. Vintage paper photograph.

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2. Vector Mask for the outer shape; layer styles for the outer glow, drop shadow and top/left edge highlight; Levels Adjustment layer to tweak brightness & contrast.

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3. Distressed paper texture with Color Burn blending mode and Layer Mask with different areas painted in for each card with the airbrush.

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4. Optional water damage photograph with Normal blending mode Layer Mask with the corner painted in with the airbrush.

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5. Illustration with Multiply bending mode (except the white chinstrap which is set to the Soft Light blending mode).

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6. Distressed paper texture desaturated, inverted, set to Screen blending mode and clipped to the illustration shape with a Vector Mask.

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7. Illustration Layer Group duplicated to make colors a bit deeper.

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8. Steps 4-6 repeated for the text.
 
 
Eraser stuff

Good point about the eraser. Here are a few candidates for the justification I will use to soothe my obsession with getting the details right and therefore excuse myself from posting a revision. Pick the justification you like best, or recommend one of your own:

  1. The pencil owner is not intelligent enough to recognize mistakes and therefore never erases anything.
  2. The pencil owner only uses the pencil for mindless scribbling.
  3. The pencil owner is a serial sharpener. There was always that kid in elementary school who didn't really need to sharpen his pencil but just liked the grinding sound from the manual pencil sharpener bolted to the wall.
Well done

I almost did something similar with a Lucky Charms box. I like this better than what I had planned. Nice work. I love all of the little details on the box (toasted defensive backs, etc.).

Go forth and multiply

Yes, you may alter to your heart's content. Thanks for asking.

Yes, you are correct

Yes, your memory is good and I'm still working on that ambitious project. It got away from me a bit but I will publish a series of wallpapers later in the season based on an idea that I think is awesome and that my 9-year-old will think is awesome and that I hope you think is awesome. 

Thanks for the heads up

I guess the loss hit me harder than I thought. I'll have a fix later today.

My daughter says "OMG"

My 9 year-old doesn't throw around "OMG" lightly but she dropped one when she saw this. She's a huge Avengers and Captain America fan. Your layout and character design are solid and your Blockhams drawing style is fantastic.

I don't always use other people's wallpapers on my computer, but when I do, I use Six Zero.

Thank You

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who became Acres Football fans on facebook yesterday. We gained 70 new fans in one day. We had people all over the country (and in Canada) "like" our page. Our kids will really enjoy this. Happy New Year and enjoy the Sugar Bowl!

Thanks. Your Michigan State

Thanks. Your Michigan State wallpaper is pretty epic too. Looks like we were both thinking along similar lines - I was trying to find a way to incorporate a variation of the 300 logo but couldn't find one. Proof that you are cleverer than me. 

This looks really great. The

This looks really great. The awesome work you and cjm have done this year have me contemplating retirement from wallpapers of the schedule variety. Wallpaper-hungry Michigan fans are in good hands with the two of you.

Nice use of color and the

Nice use of color and the execution on the pupil is great. Keep up the good work!

Laughing, outwardly and with volume

I'm really glad my business partner was away for the day because I am having diffultly controlling my laughter. That is beyond awesome and way funnier than anything I've ever come up with. Your execution is really good, too.

Well done. The placement and

Well done. The placement and angle of the ND logo is great.

Nice job! I really like the

Nice job! I really like the concept and the execution looks right-on.

Lighting: yeah, a bit of

Lighting: yeah, a bit of artistic license. Technically there should be 4 angled shadows for each logo (two visible sets of light from the back side of the stadium and two sets of light that you can't see shining from the other side of the stadium (behind the camera). I tried to strike a balance between accurate and attractive in the lighting/shading of the logos.

Post-game wallpaper: by all means, feel free to use my wallpaper as a starting point. I really like your idea.

The fam and I laughed hard at

The fam and I laughed hard at this one. Probably the best compliment I've ever received on MGoBlog.

Two more things that are

Two more things that are awesome: first, when I read your "ahhhhhhh" I pictured Denard saying it and second, your Under the Lights wallpaper.

Reading your list made my

Reading your list made my wife laugh and had me thinking "yeah, you know what, this is Nebraska's first year in the B1G. I can justify the time for a Nebraska wallpaper. Right?" (crickets) Seriously, it is very difficult for me to resist.

Take a look at photograher

Take a look at photograher Scott Maez's web site. I used one of his images for this wallpaper and plan to use others in the future. http://www.smaez.smugmug.com/Galleries/Michigan

Thanks for noticing the

Thanks for noticing the details - I spent more time obsessing about the texture and lighting on the Block M than any other aspect of the image. I seriously almost scrapped the whole thing because I just couldn't get it to look right. Further proof that I have more stubborness than  talent.

Maybe you downloaded the

Maybe you downloaded the wrong version. Give this a try... http://www.theartthearttheart.com/wp-content/downloads/michigan-footbal…

I blushed just a little shade

I blushed just a little shade darker than my daughter when I read that to her.

I read this to my daughter

I read this to my daughter and she laughed out loud.

Nice work. The lights look

Nice work. The lights look fantastic and the placement of the event logo is perfect.

Well done! Good concept and

Well done! Good concept and execution. The gray sky background sets everything off nicely.

I can promise you that if

I can promise you that if Denard is holding a Heisman at the end of this season his action figure will get a major upgrade.

Thanks for the kind words.

Thanks for the kind words. Sorry to disappoint. The Iowa wallpaper was one of my favorites too.

You got it exactly right

Life is a little busy this Fall and I can't create artwork that is up to standards in the limited free time I'll have.

I'm trying to set aside time, though, to create a wallpaper for The Game and maybe one other rivalry game.

Next year I'll have to try a

Next year I'll have to try a block M jello mold with cat food in it.

Not sure what is awesomer,

Not sure what is awesomer, that my diary was hijacked by "Christmas Vacation" quotes or that your avatar is the Cobra Kai logo. I'm calling it a tie. I love both movies and am happy that my diary was where the inevitable Vacation quote throwdown took place. Tonight my wife asked if I had received any good feedback on today's wallpapers and I told her that over half the comments were movie quotes. I said, "You know that thing that my friends and I do where we start endless movie quote conversations that drive you and the other wives crazy? Picture that on mgoblog." She said, "Oh" and rolled her eyes knowingly.

No, definitely not just you.

No, definitely not just you. I was a little creeped out by it myself.

Thanks for the correction on

Thanks for the correction on Clemson. Not sure why they popped into my head when I was thinking about strong SEC traditions.

Busted

I'm honored that your first post was on my diary. I laughed when I read your comment because I honestly went through some intense internal debate about whether to use this photo. It's great that you looked closely enough to notice. I'm no animal expert, but I'm pretty sure that you're correct: the animal in my photo is NOT (strictly speaking) a common alligator. The choice came down to this awesome photo of gator-like animal or a pedestrian but accurate gator photo. I'm usually a stickler for accuracy but this image was too good to pass up. I have a similar feeling of guilt about the Indiana wallpaper because the uniorm on the basketball player looks nothing like the uniforms Indiana wore back then (or at any time in their history). Thanks for sharing my artwork with your friends. I hope that you enjoy the forthcoming opponent wallpaper(s) for the bowl game.

I really hate to dissapoint

I really hate to dissapoint but it's a no go on the Big Chill wallpaper. I was this close [ ] to designing one last night but I opted for some much needed rest. I saw your board thread after you referenced it in your comments. Thanks for your kind words. I'm really glad that you like the art.

The Picard photo is

The Picard photo is hillarious but your Fred Jackson reference is pure genius. Well done.

Love it. Not far from one of

Love it. Not far from one of the ideas I was kicking around but I like your literal interpretation much better.

Now that you've painted such

Now that you've painted such a dramatic word picture I would be letting you down to reveal the real (and significantly less interesting) source of my photography.

That is the first ever

That is the first ever fight-song inspired feedback I've ever received. Awesome.

I'm making a list and

I'm making a list and checking it twice.

Thanks for sharing that

Thanks for sharing that feedback. It's genuinely appreciated. I've committed myself to making family-safe artwork that I'd feel comfortable showing to my own 2 year old. My older child thought it was "gross", which I find to be equally satisfying feedback.

I was tempted to do one for

I was tempted to do one for the Big Chill (and the soccer team considering their recent run in the NCAA tourney), but I'm trying to avoid getting overloaded here between life, work and these weekly wallpapers. I made a decision early on to only produce football artwork this season; maybe next year.

You can get the Heisman

You can get the Heisman Candidate edition wallpaper at http://theartthearttheart.com/62

Thanks aaamichfan. This is

Thanks aaamichfan. This is purely a fun, personal project for me so as cheesy as it sounds, the best payment is knowing that other Michigan fans enjoy the artwork. Also, I got some unwanted attention from a lawyer representing the University of Michigan a few months back who thought I was manufacturing Denard Robinson Action Figures so I have to be sure to remain very clear about the personal, not-for-profit nature of the artwork.

Totally accidental blank

Totally accidental blank post. Sorry to disappoint. It was an unforced user error.