let me introduce you to Stefan G. Bucher

blog assignment 1

Stefan G. Bucher “is a man possessed,” or at least that is what his bio says. When he thinks of an idea, he makes it come to life. However, I believe he is not just possessed with ideas waiting to be realized, he is possessed with monsters, and hundreds of them. Bucher is the man behind the successful blog the Daily Monster. For 100 days, beginning in November 2006, he filmed himself illustrating monsters every night. He has done far more than 100 monsters by now, but they no longer occur every night.

It may not sound too exciting, but as you watch these time-lapse videos you realize he is drawing upside down. Bucher begins with an opening frame/page where he writes the blog title and what number monster he is on. This alone impresses me because I cannot write upside down, and his backwards lettering is very nicely composed.

Following the intro, Bucher dabs some black ink onto the paper and sprays it with compressed air. Each time this creates a unique splatter of ink, but to an average eye it looks like… well, dripping ink or a mistake. Bucher, the possessed man, turns the splatter around until he discovers the monster within the random spray. Then he begins to draw.





It is incredible how he has developed so many unique figures out of simple random ink splatters. I am not sure what Hermann Rorschach would think of Bucher, but I think he is a talented designer and through his blog he has inspired/contributed to several trends - the web based design trend, the time-lapse video trend, and the ink spray trend. My design teacher has warned us to stay far away from this ink trend because it has been done and EVERYONE is doing it now. In the design field, appropriation happens, but being original and starting a trend like Bucher is something all artists aspire for. With Bucher’s success he now travels to speak at design conferences and has several monster related products.

I do not create work like Bucher, but I have seen his impact in the design world and I love his work. I appreciate his clever synthesis of design, imagination, and technology. Bucher also has a successful design firm, but nothing compares to his monsters. The monsters, though usually black and white, are filled with energy and always manage to be different for other characters in the series. Several of the monsters become colored or animated, only to visually depict the life of the monsters that are always imagined by his viewers. I also love the texture seen in his work. The hand drawn aspects of his text and monsters add a tactile quality that is often absent from digital design. It creates character that I find visually pleasing.

I am still surprised that I was not aware of Bucher’s work till this year. Bucher was speaking at a local school and my design teacher told the class, expecting an enthusiastic “let’s go!” But instead we responded with silence and blank stares. This began my monster education.

From their toucan beaks, to their wide eyes, to their friendly waves, to their gnarly hair, to their sexy heels… I now love these monsters and Stefan Bucher.