[NEWS] Skull-A-Day App Announcement! (April Fools 2014)

I'm very excited to finally reveal our latest project: the Skull-A-Day: Skullify Me app for smart phones!

For the last year, in partnership with our friend Wenchkin AKA Carolyn Curtis we've been secretly developing the perfect app for lovers of skulls – and in a few more months it will finally be in your favorite app store for download!

The app's simple function is to take any photo of a person and transform it into a sugar skull style illustration, based on a revolutionary intuitive custom art algorithm. The resulting image can then be shared on your favorite social media platform such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Myspace, and Friendster.

The reason we're unveiling it now, before it's officially available is to give you the Skull-A-Day fans a chance to add your input and have a say in the final product! Would you use this app? How much would you pay for it? What features should we add? Please take a moment and let us know what you think in the comments section. And we'll let you know as soon as the app is available!

[UPDATE] APRIL FOOLS! Sorry there's no app that can create the amazing artwork of Wenchkin automatically, but if you're nice to her she might make one of these by hand for you! 

Skull of the Year 2011

Skull-A-Day friend Eike has announced this year's Designers Skulls Skull of The Year recipient (of which I was the proud winner in 2009)...

Congratulations to Vladi Rapaport and his beautiful Skull Chair (oh how I would like to be the owner of one of these!). See more about the contest, including all of the nominee's for this year's award HERE.

2010 Skull of the Year Winners Announced

Designers Skulls' 2010 Skull of the Year winners have just been announced!

Since I won last year I decided to lend my services as a judge this year.

This year's first place winner is Andreas Ivanof. His entry was a very impressive interpretation of an aerial view of the German city of Ulm which he first outlines and then transforms into both a robotic and realistic skull illustration. The images take a while to load, but are worth the wait.

Congratulations to the top 9 finalists as well, including our friends Dan Springer (who won first place in 2007), Charlton Yu of Everything Burger, and Camel who is part of the Mailart365 project.

See all of the winning skulls from this year as well as previous winners HERE.

365: A Daily Creativity Journal

I'm very excited to announce that my new book 365: A Daily Creativity Journal is being published on December 15th!

The book is a functional journal designed to encourage and inspire others to get the benefits of daily practice by starting their own yearlong project. It offers 365 project prompts to kick start your creativity, plus plenty of room for journaling, sketching, and jotting down ideas. I also give advice about how to choose your subject and document your work. There are even 11 interviews from other successful daily project makers (including the musician Jonathan Coulton!). Plus there are DIY instructions for some basic techniques like quilling, clay-making, paper pop-up engineering, and more!

You can pre-order the book now from your local independent bookstore, or through all major online retailers including: Powell's Books, Amazon.com, QBookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

In addition I've started a companion blog (MakeSomething365.com) where I'll be posting about inspiring 365 projects that I've found and are made by readers of the book. I hope you'll consider adding it to your list of blogs to follow.

And hey, if you've already made a 365 project or are in the process of making one be sure to tell me about it so I can share it on the site and grab one of the badges I've made (see below) to show people what you're up to!

Expect to hear more about this book as the release date draws near and book related events are scheduled!

Skull-A-Day News: New Editor for Year 4!

Year 4.0 of Skull-A-Day will be starting on June 3rd and a bunch of exciting things are in the works... The biggest news is that we are bringing a new editor to our happy skull family: Abby AKA Azurafae!

You might recognize her name as she has been a regular commenter and submitter for the past year and also just happens to live in my hometown Richmond, Virginia! You can read more about her in her bio HERE. She'll be joining Tatman and Citizen Agent in selecting and posting your submissions throughout year 4 as well as creating her own weekly submissions. Please give Abby a hearty welcome and keep an eye out for her work in the near future!

Skull of The Year!

I'm an delighted to announce that my 375. Menagerie Skull was the winner of the 2009 Skull of The Year competition put on by Designers Skulls!

In addition my updated United Skull of America tied for 5th place! You can see all the winners HERE.

I'll post a photo when I get my trophy (it's a skull of course!).

[Skull News]

From time to time we here at Skull-A-Day like to share interesting skull related sites and news that really need attention. Today, Juan Luis Roldan of Spain brings us an interesting website that is a gallery of optical illusions. The current exhibition just happens to feature....(you guessed it) skulls!

Juan writes, "I think you´d like to visit our Virtual Museum of Optical Illusions, because our first exhibition is about "Skull Optical Illusions".



I really love the great artwork that goes into making these skullusions. Thanks for sharing the site with us, Juan!

[SKULL NEWS] Skull & Tree art show NYC

Artist Nathan Lavertue let us know about his upcoming solo skull-themed art show in Brooklyn...

Skull & Tree
Opening Friday, July 10th 6-10pm

Live Fast Underground Gallery
57 Clinton
Brooklyn, NY
212.228.8863

More details HERE.

image: "Catharsis"

Skull-A-Day 3.0 is nearly here!

So today is the last official day of Skull-A-Day 2.0 (and also my birthday)! Yes, it's been an entire year since I finished my original year long project and I am delighted that it will continue on into it's third year with the help of longtime fans Justin AKA Tatman and Citizen Agent starting tomorrow!

Don't worry I won't be be entirely gone! I'll still be posting classic skulls weekly and also hosting periodic giveaways (as well as making new skulls from time to time. And with my extra time I'll be preparing for my big skull exhibition later this summer and also doing more work on my new art project League of Space Pirates, so expect updates on both!

Thanks again to everyone who has submitted to, commented on, and supported this project, it really couldn't have happened with out you. Stick around, there's going to be lots of fun stuff this year, and if you haven't made a skull to submit yet, what are you waiting for?!?

-Noah AKA The Skull Guy

[SKULL NEWS] You're risky!

According to a recent New York Times Magazine article people who buy "chrome skull accessories" are more likely to default on credit card payments! Here's the accompanying illustration...

(photo by Thomas Hannich for The New York Times)

What do you think?

Skull-A-Day: What's Next

Believe it or not the second year of the Skull-A-Day project has nearly ended! While I never planned to have this be more than a one-year project, I just couldn't abandon the awesome community that had sprung up around it. And for the past year you all have amazed me with the incredible range of ways the skull can be represented. It's truly been a treat to get emails from people young and old from across the globe who have been inspired by this project. Amazingly the submissions haven't slowed down and so I once again feel compelled to commit myself to keeping this site going for another year, as long as you the fans want to keep it going. Of course I can't ever do the same thing twice, so I'm making a big change for Skull-A-Day 3.0 that I'm very excited to tell you about...

I am bringing on two new guest editors! You'll probably recognize their names if you've been visiting here for any length of time: Justin AKA Tatman & the mysterious Citizen Agent!

Tatman has been posting comments and submitting skulls since nearly the beginning of the project. He's been a fantastic booster of the project and his endlessly positive attitude makes him a perfect fit with the ongoing goal of the site to encourage creativity in any form it may take. Read Justin's bio HERE.

Citizen Agent has also been commenting since nearly the beginning, and though he has remained anonymous to even me, he has still managed to become a trusted friend of the project. Indeed, C was even given permission to create Skull #366 (the only officially numbered skull not made by myself) to commemorate the end of the proect and the fact that the original project happened during a leap year. Read Citizen Agent's bio HERE.

Throughout year 3 they will be posting the submissions you send in as well as coordinating monthly creative contests! I hope you will give them a warm welcome.

One other item to note for S-A-D 3.0...

There's a brand new submission address! Please make sure you've made a note of it for when you're ready to submit your own work.

Thanks again for all of you kind support for this project. I hope you'll continue to read, be inspired, and submit your work in the coming year!

[UPDATE] Skullattle or Seattskull?

I just got back from an awesome SKULLs related visit to Seattle, Washington this past weekend! Thanks to Kristen of Schmancy Toys who invited me to be a guest author at the impressive Urban Craft Uprising. It was great to see so many folks come out to support local/DIY folks with their hard earned dollars, especially during these tough economic times. Not only did I sign a bunch of my books (including one for a fellow Noah [below], who just happened to be a song contest winner from way back when), but I also had the pleasure of spending some quality time with a few of my other internet friends: Rakka from Suspect & Fugitive, Wiseblood & Glob Glob from The Blog Blog, and Ben from I Can Has Cheezburger. I look forward to my next trip out that way...


And hey, I'd love to come to your town as well, so if you've got an event or program or school that has a few bucks to bring down a guest author/lecturer drop me a line.

Skull-A-Day NYC Recap

Thanks again to all the folks who came out to my book launch event in NYC! It was a blast.
Special thanks goes out to Lady Aye who coordinated the event and wowed us with her blockhead and sword swallowing feats (yes, that's me pulling out the sword!), the amazing burlesque performers Nasty Canasta and Little Brooklyn, and Bob for letting us take over his fantastic Bar on A!

Skull-A-Day The Book: Officially In Stores!

My book SKULLS is officially in US stores today! Please ask for it at your local independent book store. You can also find it online at all the usual places like: Amazon.com, Powells, and Barnes & Noble. If you do buy it online, please take the time to leave a review, it will really help with promotion. Thanks!

SKULLS e-cards!

Lark Books, the folks that published my book SKULLS, have made a fun little e-card page to promote the project...


Check it out and send your own Skull-Cards HERE!

SKULLS events: Richmond, VIrginia

I have a few events scheduled in my hometown Richmond, Virginia to promote my book SKULLS. If you are in the area I hope you'll stop by one of them and say hi!

SKULLS Release Party
Friday, October 10th - 10pm-2am
@ Fallout (goth/fetish club) 117 N. 18th St. Richmond, VA 23223
21+ ID required
I'll be signing books (which will be for sale in the club) and judging a skull-themed costume contest!

SKULLS Signing/Art Opening
Thursday, October 23rd - 7pm-9pm+
@ Chop Suey Tuey (independent bookstore) 2913 West Cary St. Richmond, VA 23221
I'll be signing books and showing a selection of prints from the Skull-A-Day project. Stick around for the after party at New York Deli across the street (where SKULLS will also be available for purchase/signing)!

SKULLS Signing
Saturday, October 25th 6pm
@ Barnes and Noble Short Pump 11640 W. Broad St. Richmond, VA 23233

SKULLS Signing
Details TBA
@ Fountain Books (independent bookstore)

I'm still working on setting up events in New York City and hopefully Los Angeles later this month. I'll post the details as soon as I have them!

Skull-A-Day on Martha Stewart

I just found out that I will be appearing on The Martha Stewart Show Friday, October 10th! I'll be talking with Martha about this project, my SKULLS book, and of course making some skull-y crafts! Be sure to check your local listing for time and channel.

Skull-A-Day The Book!

I am extremely happy to announce that SKULLS, the book based on the Skull-A-Day project published by Lark Books, will be officially in US stores the first week of October!


The book, which is dedicated to the fans of Skull-A-Day (yes you!), features 150 full-color images from first half of the project (it had to be completed in February to come out now!), including 4 DIY skulls with directions and a selection of fan skulls!

The handy seven inch square softcover book is already available online at all of the usual places: Amazon.com, Powells, Barnes & Noble, though I encourage you to order it from your local independent bookstore (if you still have one) which you can find via Indie Bound.

If you do buy it online, please take the time to leave a review, it will really help with promotion. And if you know anyone who can review the book for a publication, let me know and I'll make sure they get a copy!



Thanks again for all of your support on this project, the book really wouldn't exist without you! I'd be eternally grateful if you tell your friends and mention it on your own blog (if you have one)! Stay tuned for announcements about signing events and contests soon.

Skull-A-Day 2.0: Update 2

Thanks for the great feedback on my questions about image management! I've taken everyone's suggestions under consideration and here's my new plan (for now):

1. I'll be more selective about what I post. I have a hard time with this, since I'm really interested in encouraging creativity and not being judgmental, but I'm trying to see it from the point of view of folks visiting the site as well. Though I will definitely give preference to things made specifically for the site over pre-existing work.

2. I'll group 2-3 items by theme in some posts from time to time when it makes sense to do so.

3. I'll put less emphasis on simulacra. Right now my plan is to group 3-4 at a time and post them on Sundays.

4. I'm only going to accept tattoo images from the tattoo artist, and since there are really a lot of places where tattoos can be posted, I'm going to be extremely selective here.

I liked the idea of a fan forum, where folks can view/vote on all the images, but I don't have the time/energy/expertise to set this up. If anyone wants to set up a fan run fan gallery I will gladly support it.

I also like the idea of eventually having other moderators here (ala Boing Boing), but I think that has to wait for Skull-A-Day 3.0!

Skull-A-Day 2.0 is a work in progress so please keep giving me your feedback and I'll keep tweaking things. Thanks again for sticking around and playing along!

Skull-A-Day 2.0: Update

Hey folks, as we near the end of the first month of Skull-A-Day 2.0 I thought I'd check in with you all and give you an update of things here at Skull Central. I've received nearly 200 submissions for 2.0, since I started asking for them in mid-April! I thought it might slow down, but right now I'm still getting an average of 3-4 submissions every day! As long as they follow the rules and are in focus(!) I generally post everything I get, which has led to a problem...I've got nearly enough for half a year already and the ones I'm receiving today won't get posted for many months! I'm trying to decide how to remedy this situation (be more picky about posting, post more a day, have jumbo posts on the weekends), but I'm not sure what to do. I'm open to suggestions here, so feel free to let me know what you'd prefer to see.

Thanks again for all of your support. I'll be posting some updates of old skulls and letting you know about book news as it comes so keep checking back and telling your friends about the site!