Webcomics philosopher Aaron Diaz, creator of Dresden Codak, has launched Indistinguishable from Magic, wherein he discusses and dissects the comics art form.
If you’re interested in creating or understanding comics, you’ll want to read his posts which include topics like character design, panel layout, environment and motion.
I’m heading out to the cabin at the end of the week and probably won’t have time to post new comics or films until I get back around the 4th of July.
I’m hoping to get some fishing in but it’s mostly a work trip, fix what’s broken, patch what’s leaking, try to straighten out the foundation without dropping the cabin on my head. That sort of thing.
The trip is also for Rod Selvig’s memorial service, the good mayor of Idaho Inlet. Rod lived at Nip & Tuck, about a half mile down the beach from our place, and we always stopped by for a visit when we were out that way.
We spent a lot of time playing horseshoes, drinking Rainier, and listening to his stories. He had a gravel voice and a sparkle in his eye, just looking at him you knew the guy could move a mountain if he wanted to. He was rare.
We’ve hosted a lot of guest filmmakers, animators, and even occasional illustrators for workshops and lectures in Juneau. One of the most regular questions I hear asked of these remarkably creative people is “Where do you get your ideas?” I feel like it’s always followed by a heartbeat, a hidden slice of disappointment, as they work through stock answers in their head.
It’s a hard question to answer, too broad and too common. It almost seems to demand a physical location, some deep, hidden well of ideas waiting to be slopped into a bucket and carted away.
But ideas don’t work that way, ideas are intangible ghosts that appear when you conjure them and often when you don’t. If you’re lucky you can remember enough of an idea’s shape to put it to good use later, pencils help.
I really enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s essay which gives a thoughtful response to the difficult question.
I love these openers Mike Martinez put together for UAF Nanook Hockey.
Dropping bombs into a volcano? Brilliant! I’ve never been more proud to be a Nanook Alum.
It seems to be an evolving project and I can’t wait to see what comes next year. Personally, I’m rooting for more cold fire and a finale involving a giga-nanook sending the earth into the sun with a super nova inducing slap shot.
Good job Mike!!
Local boy makes good! David Walker claimed the Supreme Prize at the World of Wearable Art Show, a huge event that takes place each year in New Zealand.
It’s always inspiring to see locals take their craft to a world stage and it’s even better when they’re as successful as David. The prize couldn’t have gone to a nicer guy, David and his wife Rene are the reason I have a bike.
Hopefully this means that he’ll somehow end up on an episode of Flight of the Conchords.
Terrible Yellow Eyes is a collection of illustrations inspired by Maurice Sendak’s book, Where the Wild Things Are. The project, organized by Cory Godbey, features beautiful contributions by many of my favorite artists.
I thought it would be fun to try drawing some wild things and I actually like the rough pencil sketches the best.
For whatever reason, whenever I try to refine a drawing it seems to lose a little bit of soul. Anyone have any tips on preserving the lively quality of a quick sketch while evolving it into a more finished piece? Maybe I just need to get away from Photoshop and get my hands dirty.
This is great advice for anyone trying to complete an independent creative project while working under their own supervision.
“It’s just a matter of fucking discipline really, you’ve just got to get on with it.”
-Cliffski
An independent game developer, Cliffski, is hard at work on his newest project, Gratuitous Space Battles. He’s doing what he loves and it really shows, the game so far looks amazing.
Last year I celebrated Labor Day by recognizing and supporting artists whose work I enjoy. It’s a way to elevate creative expression and hopefully, if other people create similar lists, I can learn about new bits of wonderful I have yet to discover.
The idea comes from Arlo Midget, he called it the True Fan Boost, an extension of Kevin Kelly’s 1000 True Fans concept. In talking to Arlo, one of the main things I picked up is that it’s not just important for artists to reach out to fans but for fans to consciously support artists. If I were trying to write a pop tech book I’d call this Labor Day list an annual micro patronage.
There aren’t really any rules, last Labor Day I bought something from each artist on my list and wrote a bit about why I chose to support them, I tried to stick to local, independent, or emerging creators who might get more out of a couple bucks and some recognition. If you want to make a similar list, feel free to follow your own parameters and please post a link in the comments so I can see what you came up with.
The Gregory Brothers are the musicians/geniuses behind Auto-Tune the News but that project shouldn’t define them. The three brothers, Evan, Andrew, and Michael along with Sarah Fullen have a whole array of collaborative projects and the deeper I dig, the more amazing things I find.
After obsessing over Auto-Tune the News I discovered some of the group’s more serious music. I picked up “Meet the Gregory Brothers,” which has a lot of slow soul and funk songs. Hopefully there will be plenty of Sarah Fullen on this collection, I love her surprising voice and the personality she puts into her vocals.
I’m also excited about Andrew Gregory’s “The Color Red,” and “The Lost Year” which seem to have a good mix of adventure and heartbreak. Clever, simple songs, short stories for a Sunday afternoon. I think this will be good drawing music.
Randall Munroe makes XKCD, a smart and romantic stick figure webcomic. He announced his first book, xkcd: volume 0, which should be out soon and I’ll pick up a copy when it appears. For now I’ll have to be content with an XKCD Button Pack.
Dani is an amazing local artist who outgrew Juneau and floated away on an airplane. She used to contribute to our site with her Geek Fetish comic but now she makes decorative cookies and plays the squeeze box.
Dani is one of the smartest and most talented artists I know and her vocals sound like cedar, smoke, and whiskey. I wish more of her work could be found in the world, I may have to commission something.
Sean Tracy is a local musician who plays the best drinking music I’ve ever heard. He’s clever in the same way as John Prine and his songs are filled with the kind of truth and humor that can only be found sitting on a bar stool.
Another great local artist, Mitch Watley, did the cover art for the album. He draws Night Shelter and has taught me a lot about working digitally.
The flight anthologies are what drew me back into comics after outgrowing clumsy superhero stories. The flight anthologies collect comics with a focus on strong storytelling accented by beautiful illustrations rather than relying on chromium covers and holograms over substance.
There are several members of the Flight crew I should mention, they’re all very talented and deserve individual recognition but I’ll just take a second to note a few here.
Chris is also a Flight artist, I met him briefly in San Diego last year. Maybe it was the blur of the convention but he seemed sort of disconnected – in a good way – as if he might experience reality at a slightly differently angle than most people.
It was comforting, like meeting someone deeply spiritual or severely jet lagged.
I wish I could pick out a print from each of the flight artists but funds are limited and I’ve been meaning to get this one for a while.
I ordered through the Nucleus Gallery and if you want to pick up something of your own before October 31, 2009 you can use this coupon code for 10% off: Y24TASD5
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Well, that’s my list for this year. It’s by no means comprehensive, just a shout out to some of the many artists who influence my own work and make the world a better place to live. Thanks!
“Listening and Dancing to Music is AWESOME!!!”
I’m addicted, I’ve come under the spell of Yo Gabba Gabba and I can’t stop myself. It’s four in the morning on a comic night and I’m rocking out to songs about sharing, eating your vegetables, and making friends.
I’ve yet to see an entire episode, I’m just subsisting off youTube scraps for the time being. Join me in my pauper’s feast.
Party in My Tummy VS. The Ting Tings
Yeah. So… Apparently this exists. Wow!
Thanks Masen, I don’t watch enough Nickelodeon these days.
or visit the flagship at Lucid Reverie.
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