Grim Rabbit games: sad clown gifs for red flags
prompt
Nikki Harris of Grim Rabbit Games came across my Sad Clown character on TikTok and Instagram. She commissioned me for 4-5 gifs featuring Sad Clown interacting with the company’s latest card game titled Red Flags.
Red Flags is the game of terrible dates: “The main objective is to compete to see who can create the best date for the Single.”
During onboarding for the freelance project, Harris expressed that Sad Clown perfectly reflects the combination of gallows humor and femininity befitting advertisements for a game based on the woes of modern dating.
Grim Rabbit consists of Jack Dire and his wife Nikki Harris. Jack started making weird things on the internet in the early days of social media, such as the burrito rant 'Dear Guy Who Just Made My Burrito' on Medium. In 2013, he created his first party card game, Superfight, which is published by Skybound.
After creating more games, including Red Flags, You've Got Problems, and Gatefall, Jack and Nikki launched their own game company to house their projects. They now create and publish their games and are working on expanding their collection.
— About, Grim Rabbit Website
Sad clown Origins
Sad Clown is a character I developed in 2018. She is a persona I had adopted for selling vintage clothing online under the brand Lineage Vintage. I created the character as a means of making myself more comfortable with modeling – I had associated modeling with appearing severe and intimidating, which I didn’t feel suited for. The flamboyant clown makeup, props, and backdrop allowed me to feel more secure while being photographed, as it added levity and humor to what can be a tense process. At this time, I was also making and selling tote bags depicting a print of an oil painting I had made in 2016. I filmed the advertisement for the tote bags in my old apartment while donning my Sad Clown costume. I’ve used Sad Clown to advertise other products I’ve created, and In 2022 I was asked to portray Sad Clown in a local advertisement for Bean 2 Bean Coffee.
Color Palette and Inspiration
Because Sad Clown was created for the purpose of advertising vintage clothing, Sad Clown’s look takes inspiration from the 1960s and 1970s – paying homage to icons like Twiggy and popular color palettes from those decades.
The primary color palette is used to guide the larger focal points of Sad Clown’s mise-en-scène: the costuming, backdrop, and props.
The secondary color palette is used for accent colors and smaller details: makeup and possible accessories.
Primary Color Palette
CYMK:
17 89 100 7
RGB:
180 70 31
HEX:
#b4461f
CYMK:
60 25 2 0
RGB:
114 161 208
HEX:
#72a1d0
CYMK:
12 12 100 0
RGB:
227 208 71
HEX:
#e3d047
CYMK:
1 49 0 0
RGB:
232 159 199
HEX:
#e89fc7
CYMK:
1 36 7 0
RGB:
234 183 198
HEX:
#eab7c6
Secondary Color Palette
CYMK:
0 48 98 0
RGB:
241 156 63
HEX:
#f19c3f
RED flags advertisement Storyboards and original concept
During onboarding, I had proposed two options for short advertisements where Sad Clown scrolls through dating apps with an air of bored cynicism. Jaded after an implied series of mismatches and unwelcome advances, she compares three profiles using the cards from the game. In one storyboard, she is joined by a large teddy bear companion which was featured in a previous Sad Clown product advertisement. In the second storyboard, she is joined by two other clown friends who argue over which Red Flags outcome she should choose. In both endings, Sad Clown’s attention returns to a dating app notification on her phone.