Posts Tagged ‘Art’
30 items.
Way back in 1999 I hung out with three guys during my student days, in Christchurch. We were a tight unit and frequently went out on the town as young guys do. My good friend Matt had a place right in the city centre just 2 blocks away from all the popular bars, and one block away from the favourite watering hole, the Dux de Lux.
It was a great thing, and I have to give a lot of respect to Matt, whether he wanted it or not, he was always gracious and welcoming, for the partying that began at his apartment there in the city. Two years later, I’m trying to come up with an idea for a one page comic, and as a joke I suggest it would be cool to do a comic based on our mutual friend Adam. Over the course of the next hour, Matt and I are throwing ideas back and forth and we basically nail down the story for the first ActionMan Adam comic. Subsequently when it came time for the second story I went back to Matt and again, we were able to get another story done.
What’s cool now is, after being burnt out on his own artwork, Matt has finally returned to it. Art was something he was always adept at, so it’s good to see him getting back into it. Bringing it back full circle, Matt now has an art blog, and has decided to use ActionMan Adam as one of his practice pieces, as well as other pop culture and comic book characters.
Please go check his blog out, leave some comments, and follow his RSS, as he throws up some vector based drawings and gets back on track with his art agenda. Tell him I sent you!
Thanks for reading
Marc
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Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
It was the find of the film festival for me (granted this year I only booked in to see two films). There is usually one or two. You can have expectations that might not be met, but on some films you just have no idea and you come away just happy that you were fortunate to see it.
Moments of genius in action and candid honesty are what you’ll find in the film Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. Film maker Tamra Davis, who was also a friend of the artist, has pulled out old footage she shot, including an interview with the late Jean-Michel himself and newer interviews with his friends and colleagues as they recollect his life and what made him special.
Documenting his time of living one day to the next as an artist on the streets who built solid cred with his graffiti poetry as Samo (Same-o) and then following his dramatic rise into the art elite, you’re treated to scenes of Jean-Michel actually working on some of his paintings. Frantically keeping up pace of a hectic art schedule, all the while consuming simultaneously books, TV and music.
What I found best about the movie, is while I knew the works and the story of the artist, seeing how the pieces were made, and who Jean-Michel was, as an artist, and what he meant to other people made it an thoroughly enjoyable and engaging film. From old friends recollecting parties and going out dancing with him, to art dealers talking about his success in the art world, you truly get more of the personal touch.
The film was always going to have a sad ending, you go in with that knowledge, but you come out with a better understanding of Jean-Michel himself and completely awe struck by his incredible talent. If there is a screening near you, and you like art or Basquiat in anyway, then do not miss this film. It’s awesome.
Thanks for reading
Marc
Last week, unexpectedly, I was lucky enough to see two different art pieces from two different artists doing an homage to Adam! Now before you suggest that I paid both of these guys to do so, I will let you know that it’s not in my budget to do so. Ha ha! I will however buy them both a beer because it was awesome in both cases. Let me break it down for you.
Robin Hotter – Monday, I get word from Robin (a frequent commenter on this site and a super nice guy) that he was inspired on a trip home from work, and just had to draw something. Amazingly, in this spur of the moment – his art mission turned to Adam. You can read about it here, at his website. The result was cool, like a Dan Hipp infused piece of work, and I’m digging the colours on it. Spontaneous art is the best!
That segways perfectly into the other artist:
thisisrabbit – thisisrabbit I have known for some time. He pretty much has a hand in everything. On the web or on the streets, you can find his special brand of unique art all over the place. To the point where it even showed up in a popular video game! Often introspective and mostly hilarious, thisisrabbit is dedicating his time to a new “doodle-a-day” project over on his Flickr page. If you have a Flickr account or a twitter account, I highly recommend you add him as a contact so you can keep up with the project. I check it out daily. Last Thursday, thisisrabbit was kind enough to feature Adam as one of the daily subjects, and I was stoked to see what he’d done!
Thanks to both those guys, if either of you catch me at the pub, I’ll buy you that beer. Cheers!
Thanks for reading
Marc
Usually when I am preparing a page I’ll just keep going on it until it is done. However, without being sure how awesome this new format would be I saved a few steps of the comic to check and see if I was happy with how it was progressing. Being that the comic is now smaller, some of the things I took into consideration were, does the text size and art size still hold for readability? Will I be able to successfully condense my storytelling so that it can convey the same message without the same amount of space? How would the page look on the site?
One of the issues I had with the traditional page format was, you always had to scroll down to read the comic. For those people that might just want to have a quick browse and then carry on with their day, I thought, maybe I could make this more efficient. The other thought of reducing to this size was the aim of getting more updates out a week. If I could draw smarter it would hopefully be beneficial for me in that people could now get one extra update a week. Which also helps me add to my archive faster.
The challenge is of course. Having never drawn in this format before, that I need to be smarter with my page layouts, and get my point across quickly. I like a challenge though. With any luck, no one will even notice the format change and people will be happy that they’ll be getting an extra update every week. I’ll let you know soon when I’ll make the jump to twice a week.
Thanks for reading!
Marc
Hello again!
If you’re a returning visitor, then you’ll notice the site is going through some cosmetic changes. I am going to try and iron out some technical issues with the help of my homie. Hopefully pretty soon we’ll be able to get the site looking nice (with a brand new design) and working great soon. That doesn’t stop the comics from coming however!
This is the last page in this introduction to the flat arc. I had a lot of fun setting up the flat. Hope you enjoyed!
See you again next week!
Marc
Managing your time to make a comic – the art of having no life
April 6th, 2010 |Posted In: Blog, Uncategorized
How does one go about making a comic – while still maintaining some sort of semblance of a social life?
It’s a question I have had to ask myself a few times lately. One would think that making your own webcomic would be a rock star life style. Shouldn’t I have made a successful creation and sold out a million times over so that I can drive a Lamborghini, live in the Hollywood Hills and then lose my fortune on a debaucherous trip to Vegas?
Okay, maybe I wouldn’t go that far.
In actuality I am finding that keeping the regular webcomic updates and still trying to have a normal life is a balancing act that I have yet to master. I’m treating the “making a comic” process, like a second job. Trying to do a minimum of set hours per night on it after the day job. Usually a good chunk of the weekend is allocated to it too. It leaves me little wriggle room to just have some lazy down time. Thankfully with the help of a friend or two, and the support of my wife, it hasn’t been too terrible.
Isn’t it hard enough that I have to manage my twitter account? Meeting up with friends on social outings means I have to put on an SPF 1500 sunblock, just so my pasty white skin can take a little UV exposure after countless hours of being locked away beside a computer. My attire is usually a failure for said outing as well. I really didn’t think through the choice to put on a white tee shirt and then go out to meet people for Ramen.
There is no easy answer I guess. The webcomic is important for me to do, so letting go things like seeing movies often and reading comics get put on the back burner until I can find some time to get around to it. Going out and shooting the shit with friends is important though. It reminds me that I allowed to go out and do stuff every now and again, and it keeps the wife happy. That makes life easier in the long run!
The juggling act will continue. What should I do? Are there any decent iphone apps or proceedures I should be using to better plan my life? I’m open to suggestions!
Meanwhile. The iPad came out this weekend. It’s not yet available here in New Zealand, and i am really curious to see one in action. The Marvel app looks amazing, it’s just a shame that at this point Marvel only wants to dip their toes in the water and not offer everything they can. People should be able to download books that are on the stands right now! Otherwise it seems like wasted potential. I’ve had the app running on my iPhone, and it works very nicely.
Thanks for reading
Marc
Hello again,
Well they’re still in the apartment. This will be changing soon. I’ll get Adam out and about (say it like a Canadian, it’s fun!).
A good friend suggested I check out that Star Wars: Clone Wars CGI series. I was hesitant, because I hate the newer films. However, if they had of made the films like this TV series, I’d imagine everyone would have been happy. That show kicks a lot of ass. I’ve been enjoying it. I’m a little late to the party on it, but I’m glad I made it!
Oh hey, short week this week. Holidays rule.
Thanks for reading,
Marc
New sounds: Mint Chicks x MusicHype.com – an alternative to a greedy industry
March 11th, 2010 |Posted In: Blog, Uncategorized
Anytime you’re lucky enough to hear some good new tunes then you know it’s going to be a good week. This was the case this last week. I had pre-ordered the new Mint Chicks EP which was a collaboration between them and MusicHype.com. Instead of releasing on a traditional format, this release came on a pre-loaded USB stick. A great idea. The dinosaurs of the music industry are still trying to find ways to strangle more money out of an already well past its used by date way of shifting sounds to the mainstream market. It’s good to see bands / companies / people use their initiative and explore other options that don’t involve a series of middle men to absorb what profit there might be left in the art. Selling something tangible and different like a customised USB is just a great idea. You get the music. You get something the band put some thought into, and you get a re-useable item. The band gets its music direct to its fans, and more money in the pocket.
My USB was on pre-order, so it was a nice surprise to have it turn up in the mail. Loaded up on it was the new “Bad Buzz” EP in m4a, mp3 and flac formats. Giving the consumer choice is a great thing. Also included were some press photos of the band, and a thank you with some artwork. For 25 bucks (NZD), that is a pretty sweet deal really. The EP is now available for digital download for those who don’t want the USB and extras but want some new rocking tunes.
As for the music. It was awesome. Loving the new tracks and looking forward to more from the Mint Chicks in the near future.
Thanks for reading!
Marc