MUTO - Graffiti Animation

Holy crap!

Muto is a project started by "Blu", who is apparently a graffiti artist from Italy, and who is one part Salvador Dali and one part tripping acid. Creepy, gorgeous stuff. The amount of work and imagination that went into this just stagger me.


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Via GiantMonster

...Long Time Coming...

What up!? Ok, so it's been...well...a really long time.

(Isn't it amazing how many blog posts start like this? Not just on my blog. On all blogs...)

...but I digress. I'm on here tonight for a few reasons.

1) I actually drew something! Look at me! I drew:

Pinky and the Brain! But my own messed up version of them!

You see, I was in a meeting the other day at work, and someone in the meeting mentioned something about how they saw an episode of Pinky and the Brain the other day, and how they forgot how much they liked that show, which made me think, "Ha! Pinky and the Brain RULED!" So, of course, in my own, "Yes I'm listening to what you are saying, bosses, but I'm also drawing during a meeting" way, I doodled head shots of Pinky and the Brain. Unfortunately, it had been so long since I last saw a Pinky and the Brain cartoon, they looked a little messed up. Kinda twisted-like. And I thought, "I should push that a bit further...that would be fun!" Thus, wah-lah...Pinky and the Brain, a la Troy.

So, that's #1...

2) #2 is kind of bittersweet. You see, I've FINALLY installed wordpress over at my "real" website...http://www.popmatic.com. I'm thinking it's maybe time to move back to where I should be. However, I'll kind of miss Blogger...it's nice around here.

Of course, this probably won't happen until Barack is in the White House (and he WILL be in the White House!) but I'm working towards it. Now I just have to set up a pretty template to make it look nice. Which we all know will take well over a zillion years, so I should probably just stay comfortable where I am.

...and that's really it. Just thought I should pop on and say 'hey, stuff is going on'. I may even get my $h!+ together enough to throw up the fun pictures I took in Chicago this weekend.

Papercut...the Art of Peter Callesen

A good friend of mine (Dave G) sent me a link today that cost me a solid hour of work time at the office. The MIND BLOWING art of Peter Callesen is some of the most playful and beautiful stuff that I've come across in ages. The sheer simplicity of all that clean, white paper and the wonderful shapes and figures created by Callesen is just a wonder to take in. I only wish there was more to see.

Of course, then I wouldn't have gotten ANYTHING done today...

Inside the Mind of a Political Cartoonist

Caricaturist John Kascht has posted an amazing series of videos on the Washington Post website, detailing his thought process behind his amazing caricatures of the 2008 Presidential candidates. Not only do you get a glimpse of his methods of drawing, but he explains why he makes the choices that he does for each candidate. Fascinating, entertaining stuff.

Post-It Note Project: Accomplished!

Hooray! February 1st is here! I can't explain it, but I've really been looking forward to doing this project. I've just needed an excuse to do something frivolous and fun.

Unfortunately, this has been an insanely busy week. My poor wife had some minor surgery (don't worry, she's fine...though I think she's starting to go a bit stir crazy!) and I've had to take care of the poor girl. Luckily, I was able to get three post-its doodled upon before the end of the day. So, after dinner, I head down to the local Wal-Mart to pick up some brownies, and to leave what I hope are seen as happy little surprises throughout the store. (Don't ask me why I was fixated on leaving these things at a Wal-Mart...it just seeemed like the perfect place to do this)

There was no question where my monkey was going to go, of course. I wish the photo was clearer, but I like to think that he's happy, surrounded by his favorite fruit.

My spaceman has confused "The Rock" terribly. Poor Dwayne just can't understand why this spaceman would want to cover his tu-tu'd dog's face. Sorry Rock, spacemen can sometimes just be like that.

Talk about Rock! He was my favorite, and I figured all the hippy ice cream would enjoy some kick-ass rockin' for a while. Stand back, Willie!

Man, that was fun. I may just have to make this an annual event. Or monthly. Or when I get bored. We'll have to see....

Thanks again to Fiona for proposing this really fun project!

Post-It Notes Project, Feb 1st

This Friday, February 1, there is a really cool project going on, started by blogger Fiona Harding, called the "Post-It Notes Project". The idea is really simple, and it sounds like a ton of fun. The object is to simply doodle on a stack of Post-It Notes, and then leave your drawings in random locations around the globe, documenting it all in pictures. Then, send the pictures to Fiona, and she'll post them all on her blog!

I'll probably be posting my post-its here too. I'm thinking a trip to Wal-Mart is in order. I'm not sure why, but the thought of leaving a little post-it of a martian in the bread aisle over there makes me smile. =)

Draw Stephanie Brown! - Completed!

Whoo! I finally finished one! The idea was to keep the basic Robin concept, but work in all the cool little touches that I've been loving in everyone else's drawings. The hip-hugger pants, and I love the short, folded over gloves I've seen recently in some superhero designs. Originally, I was going for something that would be more practical (what superhero would really have long hair?) but as I got more into the design, a lot of that thought process went out the window.

It's not the best in the group by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm pretty damned proud of it. Hell, I'm just proud that I finally saw something through to completion! Yay me!

Click the image to get a better view.

Another Sketch

I kind of like how this spidey is going...I plan on trying to ink it sometime when I have a spare moment...

OS-tan

So, I consider myself quite versed in the culture of the web. I've immersed myself pretty deeply in the web culture, and really enjoy watching the web community figuring out what kind of power they now hold. Every once in a while, though, you stumble onto some little corner of the web that makes you just shake your head and laugh. OS-tan is one of those corners.

OS-Tan are manga personifications of the Windows Operating systems. No, seriously. They apparently got started on a Japanese message board called the Futaba Channel. From what I've seen so far, it started around the time Windows ME came out, which was a disaster. Some users started referring to it as a ditzy girl, and a drawing of a green haired cute girl who was generally unstable and prone to frequent crashes. From there, it was expanded so that each operating system had their own mascot. Almost all are cute anime girls, except, oddly enough, Windows 98, which seem to be paper bags come to life. (Though, cute chicks are often seen to hide in the paper bags with hair clips in the form of "98" or "SE")

I can't thank the Wired Magazine site enough for pointing out this odd, uh, counter culture (?) to me in their article on the 15 lamest Technology Mascots ever. I reminds me that for every brilliant web-app or fantastic business venture to pop up, there is some corner of the web where nerdy guys can get together and discuss breast size in relation to memory usage of an operating system.

God Bless the Internet.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007

As probably everyone knows by now, Kurt Vonnegut has died. It's horrible to think of our country continuing on without his moral voice constantly nagging in our ear. It was Kurt's book, "Slaughterhouse Five" that made me decide to become an English major when I attended Ball State. (Surely, anyone having read this blog before just gasped. "THIS guy was an ENGLISH major!?")

There is an interesting article on Vonnegut over on the Entertainment Weekly website of all places. John Irving, author of "The World According to Garp" and "Ciderhouse Rules" remembers his friend. I never realized how sad Vonnegut was, at least as remembered by Irving. It's heartbreaking but understandable that a man that could write a novel as funny and moving as Slaughterhouse also felt alone and troubled.

He will most definitely be missed.

Monsters By Mail!!!

So, Len is having a baby. Unfortunately, he's a poor artist. How to pay the bills?

Easy! Send people monsters in the mail!

For $20, send Len one word, and he will draw a monster based upon that word on a 4x6 card, record the entire thing on video, mail you the card with your monster on it, and post the video of the creation process on YouTube!!!

Freakin' genius.

New Life Goal: Visit The Sedlec Ossuary

I stumbled upon this link off of the Meathaus Art Collective's website (A fantastic site in its own right!)

But this isn't about Meathaus. This is about the Sedlec Ossuary. A Christian chapel located in the Czech Republic where (according to the website) it became quite stylish to be buried towards the end of the 13th Century when an abbot journeyed to the Holy Land and returned with a jar of dirt that he spread over the chapel's graveyard, which gave the graveyard "sacred land" status. People from all over Europe would travel to the chapel to be buried. The ossuary was built to house the bones gathered from abolished graves to make room for new "customers".

The site linked to above has several galleries filled with pictures of the ossuary. It is truly a bizarre site to behold. The bones have been arranged in decorative fashion throughout the building in several ghoulish and intriguing forms. Some bones have been organized into the shape of a giant chalice. Others have been arranged into a coat of arms. It's truly a must-see. I would love to visit the site in person. I can't imagine what a freakish experience it must be.

Minimal Color = More Pretty

So, I'm playing around with computer coloring, trying to come up with a look for a story I want to tell. I'm crap with coloring...I've just never had a good eye for what colors work well together. I think I know it when I see it, but there is just WAY too much trial and error.

Anyway, I've been seeing a lot of really beautiful work recently with some really minimal color palettes (most recently, the art of Van Beater)so I thought I would try something along that line.

It's not as easy as it looks, but I think I may finally be on my way...what do you think?

Seriously, I've never been one to beg for comments, but any critiques that you have of the piece would be more than welcome! Just leave them in the comments section of this post!

Thanks!

Wow!

When I first started this blog, I listed Sean Esty as a major inspiration. (see here) So you can imagine how honored I was when I found that he had LINKED TO ME! Somehow, he had found the original post I had made over at my livejournal blog, and he really liked my fan art! (GOD, I wish I would have finished that bird now!)

Anyway, let me just re-iterate....if you haven't checked out Marooned yet, you are missing out. It's a beautiful thing. Can't wait to see where it goes!

Thanks again, Sean!

Ray Harryhausen's Creature List

Wow. I never knew the name Ray Harryhausen, but I most certainly knew his films. I remember very distinctly renting 'Clash of the Titans', oh, 452,987 times between the ages of 7 and 13. Seriously. Ask my parents, they'll back me up there.

So when I ran across this amazing page of Ray Harryhausen monster creations, I was beside myself with glee! There's Bubo the owl! And that kickass cyclops from the 7th Voyage of Sinbad!

Visit this beautifully realized page of links and revel in the nostalgia. Be amazed by how many times you have been thrilled by this man and his creatures.

(then, when you are done with the walk down memory lane, check out these killer Animated 3D Multiple Lens Photographs...this chinesejetpilot site rocks!)

My first shirt and the World Series of Pop Culture!

I just created a shirt for my wife's trivia team! That's right...Kathleen is heading off to Chicago to try out for VH1's World Series of Pop Culture!

They are the Ambassadors of Quan. They wanted a shirt to reflect all the different aspects of Quan...Respect, Love, Community and (of course) the MONEY! (Show me the money!)

It's late, and I'm tired, but it's been a long trip to get from the original idea ("Honey, could you design a tee-shirt for my team when we try out for the World Series of Pop Culture?") to the shirt you see today. I would kind of like to document that process, but I must sleep at some point this evening, and that should probably be sooner rather than later, so I will leave you with this slick-o post of my tee-shirt design.

In other words, "To be continued"...

Check that Crazy Cat!

I always wondered who they got to do those hip little characters for cocktail napkins. Now I know!

Seriously, though, this is a truly inspiring video. Splatters of paint in the hands of the artist known only as Elio turn into the greatest little characters! I love what he does with the TV!



One critique, though...HOW THE HELL DOES HE HOLD HIS PEN LIKE THAT!?! It hurts my hand just to watch!!!!!

(found on Drawn!)

Flight Anthologies

I'm going to do a huge favor. You are seriously going to thank me. Ready?

...

Go Buy the Flight Anthologies

I can honestly say that these things have brought me more comic reading pleasure than anything that I have bought in a long time, and those are some strong words considering how many books I'm currently reading!

I need to learn the story behind these books, and happily, while I was looking for some pictures of the book online that I could upload here, I found that they have a website! And it's a pretty, informative, full-of-links-y website that I am sure I will waste many, many hours on!

But what I really wanted to get across are the artists that contribute to these things. I know some of them...you have your superstars like Jeff Smith and Becky Cloonan, but you also have a TON of people who I have never heard of before, but who I cannot wait to explore! For example, who is this Doug Holgate guy, who turned in this charming story about a dog shot into space, but every website I find on him seems to be down!? And where can I buy more work from Kazu Kibuishi (who I just discovered is the guy behind Copper!?!)



The amount of inspiration and beauty in these books are mind-blowing. Seek them out and discover what comics are capable of.

Peanuts Meets Marvel!

Good Grief! I LOVE these!

PEANUTS MEETS MARVEL!

A small sampling of what you will see:







(It's sad that I can tell you where almost all these images come from, isn't it? I mean, not just the characters...the issue numbers. Yeah, I thought it was. *sigh*)

One Week of Art

A video of a wall painted over and over again for the span of a week.