Info / Retrospect

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Sevensheaven FAQ

What is Sevensheaven?
Seven's Heaven is the one-man company of the freelance Dutch designer and illustrator Metin Seven.

Did this Metin create all the work in the Sevensheaven site by himself?
Yes. Metin started with his work in the late Eighties and through the years that has resulted in chronic sleep deprivation and a truckload of diverse imagery.

I am in search of an internship or job, is Sevensheaven the place to be for me?
No, sorry. The Sevensheaven company cat is so big that he completely occupies the only extra office chair and defends his territory with claws and teeth.

Do I already know Metin's work from somewhere?
Maybe. Among other things Metin creates cartoons for the Dutch news website Nu.nl, comics for the NRC.next newspaper and illustrations for various magazines, including Elsevier weekly, Computable and the publications of FNV Bouw. Furthermore, Metin has worked on the animated television series Jones & Jones and Tattletoons, and he is responsible for the graphics of several commercial computer games, including the titles Hoi, Clockwiser and Moon Child. Metin also used to write a lot for various magazines, such as Amiga Magazine, PC-Active and PC Magazine.

That Metin is one busy guy. Anything you forgot to mention?
Yes. Next to his illustration work Metin likes to design tangible things, such as toys that are published by the toy producer Crazy Label in Hong Kong

Anything else to brag about?
Well, let's attempt to impress with a selection from Metin's contentedly smiling customers through the years: Adidas, Aktiesport, Albert Heijn, Autodesk, Beerens Business Press, Belastingdienst, Beta Publishers, Bite, Canon, Carvan Cevitam, Comic House, Editions Gallimard (Folio Science-Fiction), EGM Architecten, Endemol, FAN TV productions, FHV BBDO, FNV Bouw, Greenpeace, IDG Communications, Ilse Media, John de Mol Productions, K-Swiss, Malmberg publishing, Minoc Business Press, Miss Etam, Navteq, Nederlandse Onderwijs Televisie, New Balance, Ogilvy & Mather, Ordina, PCM Publishers, Planet Internet, Reed Business, RTL Televisie, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sanoma Publishers, SDU Uitgevers, SNS Bank, Staat, Storms Factory (Pieter Storms), Technical University Eindhoven, Telegraaf Tijdschriften Groep, Tenfold TV productions, ThiemeMeulenhoff, Trust, Unga, Unive, VARA television, VNU, VPRO television and Wegener.

You might as well rake up Metin's entire past, but in a nutshell please, as we've almost fallen asleep by now.
Well ok, if you insist. Metin is born on the 23rd of july 1971 in Brussels, Belgium. During his childhood in the Netherlands Metin develops an extraordinary interest in expressive media, such as film, music, drawing and writing.

During his schooldays Metins already works on commercial game graphics for the Commodore Amiga computer range, together with programmer Reinier van Vliet and music composer Ramon Braumuller. While Metin is attending school during weekdays, he and his partners repeatedly travel to Great Britain in the weekends, to present their games to potential publishers.

In 1990, the publication of the game Venomwing by the UK publisher Thalamus turns Metin and his creative partners into some of the very first Dutch game developers who ever saw a commercial computer game enter the international games market.

During that time Metin also writes reviews and articles for the Dutch computer magazine Amiga Magazine. After finishing his education the publisher of Amiga Magazine (later the publisher of the Dutch MacFan magazine) offers Metin to become an editor of the magazine.

Mannetje & Mannetje

After working as an editor for a short while the Dutch Comic House agency offers Metin to work on Mannetje & Mannetje (Jones & Jones), a computer-animated children's series for Dutch national television, featuring the two well-known Dutch comic artists Hanco Kolk (Single, Meccano) and Peter de Wit (Sigmund, Single).

Footage of Mannetje & Mannetje would later be used in media-related education, workshops and lectures, as one of the very first completely computer-animated television series. Mannetje & Mannetje also earned a place in the Dutch national broadcast museum.

Scene from the animated television series Mannetje & Mannetje (copyright 1989 Comic House).

From Hoi to Telekids

In the early Nineties Metin earns his income as a freelance illustrator and animator, while in his spare time he creates all graphics for the two commercial Amiga game titles Hoi and Clockwiser. Both games are internationally published and praised by the press, but in the end the American respectively British publishers do not pay Metin and his partners a penny for their work.

Hoi Amiga game - level 1 from Sevensheaven on Vimeo.

During those days Metin also designs a custom computer game for a Calve peanut-butter commercial. In 1992 the game introduces computer games as a new commercial medium (at least in the Netherlands). Later, the game is played in RTL television's popular Dutch children's programme Telekids.

Scene from the Peanut-butter Power Game for Calve (1992).

Further on during the Nineties Metin works together with comic strip creator Martin Lodewijk in order to create computer graphics for the Storm comic album The Genesis Formula and he also creates graphics for various television productions, such as the game Zoek het Setje for RTL television's Telekids and the gameshow Stop de Strop, produced by the well-known Dutch television mogul John de Mol and presented by the Dutch presenter Robert ten Brink.

Moon Child

From autumn 1995 up to and including the spring of 1997 Metin creates all graphics for the commercial computer game Moon Child, by assignment of the Dutch multimedia company Valkieser. The game is released for Microsoft Windows in the spring of 1997 and earns a nomination for the yearly EMMA multimedia award at the international MIPTV/MILIA multimedia and television congress in Cannes. In July 2004 Moon Child is rereleased in a Windows Mobile edition for Pocket PCs.

Moon Child PC game - world 2 level 2 fans from Sevensheaven on Vimeo.

Gameography

Below is a summary of all computer games that contain Metin's graphics and game design. Click on the titles for more info.

Seminar and workshop

In June 1997 Metin and games programmer Reinier van Vliet give a seminar about computer games and the creation of games to about 150 students of the University of Arts Utrecht, annex Image and Media Technology in the city of Hilversum. In the weeks that follow, Metin and Reinier van Vliet guide a group of students in their development of a small-scale computer game. In October of the same year Metin and Reinier take care of a games workshop during the yearly Dutch Cinekid festival in Amsterdam.

Tattletoons

In 2000 Metin makes his definitive comeback as a freelance illustrator and designer, and works as lead animator on the interactive animation production TattleToons, broadcast by VPRO television. In 2001 the production is covered by Time Magazine as a pioneering project in interactive television and wins the yearly EMMA television and multimedia award at the MIPTV/MILIA festival in Cannes.

Scene from the award-winning interactive animation series TattleToons (copyright 2000-2001 IJsfontein).

Alpha and beta tester

Starting in 2000 Metin is an active participant in various alpha and beta testing teams for new software, such as the 3ds Max plug-in renderers Illustrate, finalToon, finalRender and V-Ray. In 2001 Metin becomes the first Dutch alpha and beta tester of the 3ds Max package for the American publisher Autodesk in 2001, until a chronic shortage of available time forces Metin to stop that activity in 2006.

Peace Signs

In 2003 one of Metins anti-war pictures named Pumping Irony is published in the picturebook Peace Signs (and on the cover), worldwide published by the German Edition Olms. In February 2004 the book wins the prestigious Spanish prize Premio Ciutat de Barcelona de Diseno, awarded by the Spanish Minister of Culture. In early 2004 Peace Signs is covered by The New York Times and the well-known German magazine Der Spiegel.

In 2003 Metin also starts a training service with regard to 3D computer graphics, sharing his gathered knowledge with architects and other interested people. Metin keeps doing this until the deadlines of various assignments corner him too much and he decides to largely stop with the training service in 2006.

Among Metins further activities in 2003 is the creation of all graphics voor the computer game Yin Hung, published by Overloaded for the Nokia N-Gage mobile phone, among other mobile platforms with the Symbian operating system.

Scene from the mobile game Yin Hung (2003).

Illustrations for magazines

In 2004 Metin decides to spend more time on character design and he extends his activities with design and visualisation of tangible matter, such as product design. Metin also regularly conceives and creates illustrations for various well-known magazines, such as Esquire, the Dutch ComputerTotaal and FNV Bouw Magazine.

Also in 2004, Metins image "Unpleasant Company" wins the 3rd prize at the yearly international Animago awards, in the category "Professional / Still - Creatures". 1125 creatives from around 50 countries participated in the Animago competition.

Unpleasant company (2004)

2 voor 12, Webwereld and NRC.next

In 2005 Metin's work includes creating animations for the junior version of VARA television's quiz 2 voor 12 and various (cover) illustrations for the thematic special PDF editions of Webwereld magazine. In early 2006 Metin is asked to contribute illustrations and a weekly cartoon to the new morning edition of the Dutch national newspaper NRC Handelsblad, named NRC.next. Furthermore Metin developes an animated owl character for the television magazine Thuis in Nederland and he gives lectures to around 90 persons during the EUE 3D computer graphics event in the Netherlands.

Metin lectures about advanced usage of the V-Ray renderer (2006).

For the legendary American science fiction writer James Blish Metin is given the honor of creating a cover for the French translation of his novel The Seedling Stars.

Designer toys

In the second half of 2006 Metin is turned into one of the very first Dutch designer toy creators after he is approached by the Hong Kong toy producer Crazy Label to become one of their artists. Around the same time Metin starts a comic strip series about the character Seamour Sheep and its sidekicks. The Seamour Sheep comic figure becomes Metins first designer toy and is released in the summer of 2007.

The Seamour Sheep and Marty Mole designer vinyl toys (2007).

Toyography

Below is a summary of all designer vinyl figures designed by Metin and internationally distributed by Crazy Label.

Elsevier and Nu.nl

In September 2006 Metin starts to illustrate for the magazines Elsevier weekly and Computable, and October 2006 marks the start of a continuous series of Sevensheaven cartoons for the most popular Dutch news website Nu.nl: the first daily cartoon series in the world fully created in 3D.

In December 2006 Metin is asked to take care of the cover for the renowned Dutch student magazine Propria Cures.

In 2007 Sevensheaven is mainly occupied with the concept and creation of the daily Nu.nl cartoons, weekly NRC.next cartoons and new designer toys derived from the Seamour Sheep comic series. In December 2007 Metin creates a leader for the AVRO television programme Russische Sprookjes.

Cartoon for the Nu.nl news website (2008).

Twothousandandeight

Starting in January 2008 the Seamour Sheep comic strip series is published weekly in the daily Dutch newspaper NRC.next, and in February 2008 Metin and the Dutch journalist Dennis Rijnvis start a weekly scientific column, centered around a crash test dummy character designed by Metin. The column appears in the monthly magazine Zo Zit Dat, the weekly magazine Kidsweek and the daily newspaper NRC.next.

Proto the scientific test dummy (2008).

Also in February 2008, the controversial, satirical Uncle Abdul character from the Seamour Sheep comic series is released as a designer vinyl figure.

In July 2008 Metin and the programmer Peter Schaap release an online version of their old puzzle game Clockwiser. The game can be played at playclockwiser.com.

Clockwiser free online game - playclockwiser.com from Sevensheaven on Vimeo.

Also in July 2008, the Seamour Sheep Radioactive Edition is released by Crazy Label: an exclusive variation upon the successful Seamour Sheep Illuminative Edition.

Seamour Sheep Radioactive Edition from Sevensheaven on Vimeo.

More toys

In september 2008 the daily frequency of the Nu.nl cartoons turns to a weekly appearance. Subsequently Metin extends his toy design activities through a cooperation with the toy producer Unga toys. Metin designs a range of toy figures and accessories for Unga toys, delivering prototype-ready 3D models of the various fitting elements.

And finally

From time to time Metin spends his spare time on an other cherished activity: writing. Metins articles and reviews can be found at metinseven.com.