“So what it Airsoft?” The Tauranga Airsoft Club members are asked this a lot and the answer is usually, “it’s like paintball, but better!”

Airsoft is similar to paintball in that the sport involves pellet firing guns and competitive team-on-team or player-on-player battle scenarios.  Where airsoft differs from paintball is the guns fire 6mm plastic BB’s rather than the larger paintball pellets.

Another difference is that airsoft leans more towards military style tactical gaming with members donning camo gear, military like equipment and using guns that are 1:1 scale with real life military style weapons.

Airsoft is still relatively new and unknown in NZ but has been popular overseas for decades.  Some statistics claim that internationally airsoft is now more popular than paintball.

If you are interested in playing airsoft or would like more information, contact the Tauranga Aursoft Club via their website.

Well it’s been a long overdue upgrade and I’m pleased to announce the the website for the local Airsoft Club is complete.

The old site was run off WordPress and although good for the time it was built the club felt it really needed a few more tools to add extra value to the club.

The solution?  Adobe Business Catalyst!

The Tauranga Airsoft Club site is now rebuilt, revamped and running off the awseome Adobe Business Catalyst platform.  Like the old site, this one has content management for pages, posts and galleries, (though much more user friendly and indepth).  But that is not all.  There are calendar announcements, FAQ pages, monitored contact forms , newsletter subscriptions, and even a forum for the members.  And of course it is a lot prettier!

All of this and comprehensive site reporting and customer management too.

A recent check on Google also indicated that since switching to the Adobe Business Catalyst platform the page loading times are a quarter of what they were for the old site.

If you are interested in playing Airsoft, take a look at the site.

If you are in and amazing website platform, contact me!

Long, long ago, bro….

Well last year actually.  I was introduced to a friend of a friend after the topic of costumes and props was aired at a party.  I’d always enjoyed making things as a hobby and had tackled some Star Wars props for a birthday party a few years ago.  The question was asked “would you be able to make some for a movie?”.

Roll tape and roll the clock forward to now and we’ll find that movie, titled “Hunter”, as a finalist in the Star Wars Fan Film competition!

Sasha Nixon, a Star Wars loving Hamiltonian, had plans to enter the yearly Star Wars Fan Film competition.  This competition sees hundreds of fans from all over the globe entering home made movies to be judged by their peers then ultimately viewed and judged by George Lucas himself.  Sasha had the ideas and the drive but unless he had some props the actors would be pointing their fingers at each other and shouting “peow-peow!”

What followed was many trips to the hardware store, countless late nights and a whole lot of fun.  In the end I supplied a Lightsabre, blasters, rifles, a vibro-axe, a flashing thermal detonator and countless little bits-and-bobs to flesh out the costumes.  After an actor had to pull out I ended up in the movie with one line and a quick death and with my acting that was probably for the best

Many months of editing, scoring and special effects creating later the final film has been entered, judged and found to be awesome enough to warrant a place at the top.  Sasha’s movie along with a few others are to be voted on from early July (keep checking back for a link to vote) and the winner will be determined by Mr Lucas.

Good luck Sasha, and may the force be with you!

View the movie here: LINK

Jim Mora interviews Sasha on Radio NZ: LINK

Article in the Waikato Times: LINK

Article on the Waikato Uni website: LINK

It’s been a very “head-down-tail-up” few months here at the Martian lab with the work flowing thick and fast.  But that colloquialism was could be not any more perfectly relate to this particular illustration job.

This illustration was doddled up for a client who wanted a personalised cover for their iPhone.  The requirements were that it “must be a cute widdle tiger looking like it’s ready to pounce – and have a red background”.

And zip-bang-whallop, there it is.

I started off with a quick pen drawing to give get the proportions right.  Then it was scanned into Adobe Illustrator where I drew the entire picture using the vector pen tool and coloured fills.

The finished tiger artwork was saved as an image file and sent to wrappz.co.nz and is in the process of being made into a set of covers.

The client is so happy they now want to adapt the layout to suit their iPad and has even mentioned using it for a tattoo!

I’ve been working with Murray and Julie from Floorsafe NZ for the past few years.  Originally they approached Martian about a simple brochure site for their business.  It turned into a somewhat larger brochure and it looked great (blew their competition out of the water) and they were really chuffed with it.  I also designed and illustrated their “slipping man” logo.

In the last few months they have updated to the Martian Online Business Platform which offers them a huge range of site driven features including, content mangement, reporting, online ordering, email marketing, cutomer management and too much more to list here.  The new site looks great and is getting a great respons

But enough about that – Who are Floorsafe NZ?

Floorsafe NZ are New Zealand’s Anti-Slip Specialists!

Slip, trip and fall accidents in the home and workplace injure thousands of New Zealanders every year, causing many people pain, a lengthy rehabilitation and loss of income for all concerned. Many of these accidents could easily have been avoided with the use of Floorsafe NZ products!

Accident and injury prevention will include non slip flooring solutions that help significantly reduce the hazard of slippery flooring. No business, family or organisation can afford not to take action against slippery surfaces, apply non slip solutions today.

Did you know Hazards such as slips, trips and falls from height cause 31% of all serious harm in New Zealand workplaces?

Firstly, the Floorsafe NZ Award Winning Anti-Slip treatment, which is unlike any other, is a mild, eco-friendly solution which is applied to hazardous floors to create additional “grip”. Once applied the solution is virtually invisible. The anti-slip effect is immediate after application and can last up to 10 years with correct maintenance. You won’t find a better non slip treatment that leaves your flooring not only looking great but helping to prevent long term injuries caused by slips.

When D is for Danger and N is for Non Slip then choose wisely now so you are no longer at risk. A smart non slip treatment will save you time and money in more ways than one, and your return on investment will be one that just keeps giving.

Floorsafe NZ have a range of treatments to suit various floor types; ceramic, quarry and mosaic tiles, granite, concrete, timber, vinyl, terrazzo – even baths & showers! All Floorsafe NZ treatments carried out by our trained applicators come with our standard two year guarantee. Floorsafe NZ also have a DIY mop on solution for slippery vinyl and timber surfaces.

Read the BENEFITS page on the Floorsafe NZ website for 10 good reasons why you should be using these Floorsafe NZ anti-slip solutions for that perfect non slip soution today!

Secondly, Floorsafe NZ supplies and installs many additional anti-slip products such as stair nosings, deck treads, tactile indicators, anti-slip tapes & mats as well as line marking solutions.

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL
“Duty of Care” must be taken by all employers, managers and landlords. Under the Occupational Health and Safety requirements you could be responsible should a slip/fall occur. Workplace Health & Safety is a priority because thousands and thousands of dollars are spent on injuries everyday. You have to take the opportunity to prevent slip accidents by being proactive and using tools like non slip treatments so you don’t spend your hard earned money and profits on higher ACC levies. In 2011 ACC have reintroduced Experience Rating so those slip accidents you have today could cost you even more in years to come. Most organisations understand the direct costs of a Lost Time Injury (LTI) but have no idea how much they are spending on indirect costs.

DOMESTIC & RESIDENTIAL
Our Anti-Slip solution is ideal to use around the home: Bathroom, kitchen, laundry, entranceway, patio, bbq area, and pool surround. Creating a safe non slip environment will make sure your family are not at risk in their own home. With falls being the biggest cause of injury in the home take out family insurance with a simple non slip treatment.

CONTACT FLOORSAFE NZ

For more information about Floorsafe NZ and our non slip products, please contact them via their online enquiry form or by phone.

Don’t like forms? To email Floorsafe NZ directly click here

Floorsafe NZ have been client of Martians for several years.  They sell and install anti-slip solutions for contrete, tiles, timber and vinyl flooring.  They also deal with stair nosings, deck treads and anti-slip tapes – pretty much anything to help stop you, your family or workmates from suffering a slipping injury.

Recently during a photoshoot with Murray, the owner, I mentioned the new Martian Online Business Platform.  Now I wasn’t trying to sell Murray on the idea, I knew he already had a site he loved, but his ears pricked up and the next thing I know I was quoting for a new website!

The super-awesomness of the MOBP strikes again!

The new Floorsafe NZ site went live this week and is already receiving great feedback from clients and even orders through its ecommerce feature.

The platform allows Murray to manage the site content, products, faq’s new articles and see all the traffic through the site with the comprehensive reporting.  All of this he can do through the easy-to-use online administration area.

Go check out the Floorsafe NZ site and while you are there order some products or get in contact with Murray (or Julie) about the benefits of their anti-slip products around the home and workplace.  Be safe – be Floorsafe!

To find out how to get your own fantastic online business website – contact me here!

WOW!  Yes, WOW!…. April is underway and the new financial year looks set to be a record breaker for Martian.  The work has been flooding in and here’s hoping it keeps on coming.

The most popular product requested is the website.  And not just any old website.  Clients are bouncing up and down at the prospect of getting their new site up and running on the Martian Online Business Platform.

The MOBP is proving so popular that I no longer seem to be talking to clients about anything else!  Clearly the package with its content management, reporting, seo controls, faqs, news, forums, blogs, ecommerce and everything else is just too fantastic to pass up.

If you’d like to know more just contact me here.

Well enough blogging from me – I need to get back to work!

I’m still not entirely sure what to call the “Martian Online Business Platform”.  That name sounds so dull and technical.  It lacks personality.  Perhaps “Gary” would be better?

Well what ever the name is (or isn’t), it’s not stopping client eating it up!

I have only started promoting the platform in the last few months and already there are:

• 2 new sites up and running (Roma Distributors, Guild & Spence Electrical)
• 2 websites about to go live
• 4 websites in production
• 5 new sites that customers are asking for

That say’s a LOT about the product and how attractive it’s features are.

Make sure you keep and eye out for all the new websites using Gary, I mean, the Martian Online Business Platform”.

If you’d like to adopt a Gary of you own, please contact Martian here.

The new Guild & Spence Electrical website is up and running.  It is a vast improvement on their old site, allowing them to maintain their own pages, FAQ’s, News Announcements and Project Lists.

On top of all that they also have in-built reporting and access to online email marketing and customer management – all through the one easy-to-use administration area.

The guys at Guild & Spence Electrical are thrilled with the site and I hope to see them updating it regularly and to see it grow as their business expands.

If you would like a website that you can self manage and use to grow your presence online, contact Martian Design here.

Brent, a mate of a mate, emailed me the other day with a quick question: “Would I like to do an illustration?”

Well, when does Mr Martian ever not want a reason to doodle?  :)

The brief was: “Something to illustrate how supermarkets charge heaps for farmed products but the farmers get bugger all”

I sat down yesterday and dusted off my doodle cap and banged out this graphic.  It is all vector, all created in AI with no effects save changing the opacity of some of the layers.

Brent is super pleased and the image is has voomed it’s way to Switzerland.