The Aviar Has Landed
DGU goes back to the far reaches of outer space with artist Ryan Advent and his out-of-this world imagination for the “Zero-G Jump Putt.”
It’s the second edition of the DGUniverse series, which takes disc golf into the cosmos while also hinting at the many things DGU does including unrivaled Innova product selection, sweet special offerings, and a convenient event registration system.
Advent’s first DGUniverse design, released spring of last year, featured a galactic scene with a DISCatcher perched on an asteroid. This time Advent, of Westerville, Ohio, takes us eye level with an astronaut flinging a disc as he floats through the deep recesses of space.
More About the Discs:
Available only in black, this eye-cathcing design is featured on the DX Aviar, a timeless putter that seems to never go out of style and Star Aviar3, a modern classic approach disc.
In Space, No One Can Hear You Chain-Out
Key in his design was trying to capture the never-ending-ness of space, which Advent says is tricky to do in a two-dimensional depiction. Through the positioning of the spaceman in relation to the surrounding stars and other planetary bodies, Advent used scale to convey just how big space is.
“That was primarily my focus was to use scale to my advantage,” said Advent.
A big part of Advent’s style was inspired by his love for comics especially the work of Jack Kirby, a comic book heavyweight who created or helped create many comic book icons like Captain America.
For the DGUniverse series, Advent drew inspiration from the way Kirby depicted outer space in his interstellar comic scenes as well as Kirby’s use of light and shadow to depict depth.
Here’s an example of Kirby’s work:
Advent’s work is not only featured in the DGUniverse series, but also the XXL series. Last year he designed both the XXL Shark and the XXL Mako3, which he ranked among his most popular of the year. Overall, he said 2018 was his biggest yet for getting his art on discs.
Netflix Homework
Before coming up with any design idea, Advent gathers research from wherever he can. In this case, he assigned himself space related shows to watch during his downtime like the Lost in Space Series on Netflix. While surfing the internet, he also came across photos of astronauts on spacewalks and noticed the reflection of the moon or the earth in their visor. That cool detail made it into the DGUniverse design as a way to show more of the outer space as well as the disc golf basket.
Helmet Art
If you live around the greater Columbus Ohio area you might see some of Advent’s touch on football or lacrosse helmets. He works as a graphic designer for a decal company that does work providing graphics for youth, high school, and university helmets. He says they usually work with existing artwork which includes stripes and the side emblem, but occasionally he gets to put a fresh spin on a helmet’s look.
He lives so close to work he could actually walk there. He also lives remarkably close to the Brent Hambrick Memorial disc golf course, which he plays quite often.
He said living so close to it and a few other courses helped get him into the sport.
With two kids ages 7 and 4 he doesn’t play as much as he used to, but he still finds a way to balance family and disc golf, which normally translates to bringing his kids along for the round. It may not be a round with the guys, but if his two kids are having fun with their light weight discs, it works for everyone.
Here’s a pic of Advent on the course.
DGUniverse # 3
As for the next DGUniverse design, Advent says its still a work in progress. However, if he has his way, he’d like to do some sort of space craft scene. With so many tour players using RV’s to get around during the season, Advent wouldn’t mind playing with that notion. He envisions something like an interplanetary Winnebago or transport type design.
Sounds good to us. Keep em’ coming Ryan.
Learn more about Advent’s work at his website: prymallines.myportfolio.com