Design Review: Lonestar Discs Bearkat

Rating: 1 Star ⭐

DISCLAIMER: I hate giving low reviews.

The LSD Bearkat is the first disc that really caused me to contemplate stamp design. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was shocked when I first saw the design. My brain sort of froze a little as I took it all in - my initial reaction was “Oh no. This design is bad”.

Assumptions and Perspective

Having spent my working life in corporate America, I have this mindset for how deliverables are met. (I work with software, not physical goods.) Part of this process is iterative, fine tuning things until they’re just right. Then someone in authority gives their stamp (pun intended? 🤷) of approval before the final product is released.

I unerstand, well… I assume that weeks or months of iterative work went into the creation of the physical disc, its flight characterists, etc.. I’m only addressing the design of the disc/stamp in this post. But as far as LSD stamps go, there’s stock stamps, then there are “artist” stamps - which I’ve always considered special edition or premium. I’m not saying that’s how it is, I’m just giving some frame of reference for how I initially perceived the stamp upon first sight.

Who am I anyway?

• I’m an anonymous nobody.
• Should you listen to my opinions? I don’t know.
• Do I have a background in art or design: NO.

I do however have a love/appreciation for design, architecture, and get pleasure out of seeing things I deem beautiful. I practice appreciating these things to myself mostly, with my inner voice. I’m normally my own audience. In this post I’ll do my best to articulate my opinions externally, as I don’t often do.

Thoughts on the Bearkat Stamp

let me start by saying I don’t really know what a bearkat is. But I think I have some idea. It’s a combination of a cat like thing, and a bear thing. I assume there’s a spectrum too, so some renderings might be more bear than cat and vice versa.

Emotion

I can’t tell what this creature’s emotion is. Can you? Is it yawning? I don’t know! Typically mouth open with teeth exposed means violent or angry. But the eyebrows are giving a completely different vibe. I’m getting mixed messages.

Have a look at this image from https://bardotbrush.com/expressions/

Expressions change when our emotions change. The Bearkat’s brows most resemble surprise to me. Ok, point made.

Symmetry

Have you ever attempted to draw a heart? When I do, one side is always different from the other. And that’s because.. ummm, well… if you know you know. Something about drawing shapes with a pencil and if you’re right handed, it’ll be easier to draw away from your hand rather than in towards yourself.. this is one of those things I easily explain to myself but have never put into words.

Ok. See how the left side of the mane just falls differently? I know creatures don’t have to be 100% symmetrical, but this is just weird, right? Do Bearkat’s hibernate, maybe this one just awoke from months of shuteye and has a bit of bed head.

This isn’t a big deal, but I related to this symmetrical inconsistency when I draw things. Not giving professional vibes.

Tongue

I guess the tongue is that black negative space, and the silver stamped part in the middle is.. umm.. what is it? Let’s call this shape an upsidedown Y. I feel like if anything the shape should be flipped vertically. It almost looks like the silver part is the tongue. Like a serpant tongue… or is it tonsils, tonsils are shaped like that and in the throat.

Maybe my lack of Bearkat anotomy awarenes is holding me back, but there’s just a general sense of incongruity between my frame of reference and what’s being illustrated here on the disc. I understand artistic license, and how cartoons, drawings, mascotts are finctional and don’t need to be atonomically correct. However the shapes I’m seeing in this stamp throw me off.

What is the purpose of the thin lines above the eyes near the top of the head? Are those eye brows? I don’t think so, is it some skin fold? I can’t process what I’m seeing.

Nose

It’s in there somewhere, and I’m guessing it’s really big or really small, but with so much going on between the 3 colors (white, silver, black) I can’t distinguish where or what the nose is. They could have been incredibly detailed with this stamp, or intentionally vague, just giving us the Bearkat essence - but they managed to do neither.

Fur

Starting from the outside the layers of foil mostly follow the outer layer’s contour. Then there’s this upside down fire looking shape starting from higher and continuing lower. Those aren’t whiskers, that would be going outward. There’s no outward lines at all, most everything is pointing down. Including the two silver things surrounding the chunky lips.. are those lips?

Wrapping up

Ok. I’m getting tired and frustrated at this point. I’m not sure how this review drug on so long (or is it dragged on? I’m tired.). Everything about this guy is strange to me - the image doesn’t resonate. why I’ve taken it upon myself to point everything out is beybond me, but I didn’t think it would be fair to call this a poor design without addressing specifics.

It’s PEOPLE!

I think someone drew up this image - it doesn’t really matter. I hope I haven’t offended anyone. I’m sorry if you love this design and I wasn’t appreciative. I’m wondering now if I’ll even publish this. It’s not like I’m doing the world a favor, that stamp design will improve due to my reflections and observations. Best case, I hurt someone’s feelings. Worst case, someone loses a job. ~sigh~

AI and Stamp Design

There’s different disc I want to review another day that I feel was generated, or at least inspired by AI. I’m not convinced this one was. Here is what I was able to generate on my 2nd attempt of feeding AI some prompts:

Are any of these images above great? No.

They have some elements I might lift into my own design if I were sketching something out in a design application. For example, I in the bottom-right image, I like the mouth, how it’s off-center providing a sense of depth. I like the eyebrows which express anger. I like that my brain recognizes the eye shapes in each of the AI generated images. Look back at the LSD disc, see how the eye shape narrows towards the inside? I guess that would be where the tear ducts should be.. why are they so high relative to the rest of the eye? Something’s just not right with their version.

The noses are clearly defined too in the AI versions I created. Maybe they’re not accurate for a bearkat snout, but my brain is at least able to identify nostrils.

TLDR