I’m in Seattle this weekend, so no time for a big post. I’m in the process of consolidating and revamping my network of sites. My personal page has always had a gallery of my artwork and this iteration is no exception. This time I have reached way back into the vaults and pulled out some really old stuff to join the more recent works.
By default, the page loads all of the artwork, but you can browse by category as well. Click on a thumbnail to get a larger version.
Every once in a while I’ll get an idea in my head and it jumps up and down, bullying the other ideas and becomes a general nuisance until I give it my attention. I can feel other stories and projects behind the idea, but I can’t get to them until I address the one at the fore. Sometimes it is just a matter of writing down some notes while other times I need to follow it through to completion.
A few months ago, the idea that got in the way was Sküb, a despicable storytelling game featuring a bad, bad dog. Basically a re-imagining of Scooby Doo and the gang as a hellhound and his thralls. It was evil and wrong and I hope you’ll play it some day. I got enough of it down to clear the way for other things.
The newest logjam is the result of an idea for a music video. Completely impractical and expensive. I’ll at least need to storyboard it and sketch out the ridiculous device required for it to work. Then I can see what’s next.
Brief Updates:
I had a powwow with Cory, an expert designer, someone capable of translating ideas into functioning objects. I had only wispy concepts of how I thought the board for the Dune game could be constructed. He had names for all of the parts required. I insisted that he illustrate and write them all down for future reference. Incidentally, he is also constructing a custom Dune set, though with more ambitious production values.
The Stork is at the printer. The printer erred of the side of caution and sent me a new proof with a different color calibration. I found it even more accurate than the previous iteration.
The frame for my movie screen is complete. I replaced the generic lamp with a more steampunky version. I still need to re-skin the small couch and the chairs to match the decor. Also, I envision a curtain dividing the living room and the dining nook.
I have re-purposed a cabinet and some random bricks into a backyard garden. I still need dirt and, well, something to plant. Tomatoes, I think. They are pretty forgiving.
That is all for now.
A few weeks ago I met someone who was interested in doing a collaborative photo project. We met at a mostly deserted train station and took photos of things that interested us. My idea was that we’d look at what we had shot and a narrative would unfold. Continue reading →
I received the print proof for The Stork the other day. It looks really good. It will look even better with the UV coating on the cover. There was a minor issue on one page (a thing strip of the image was in greyscale instead of color). Once that is resolved, the printer can do the full run. Continue reading →
This was a short week as the first half was taken up by a wonderful trip down to Big Bend. And then I had to get caught up with everything the rest of the week. Continue reading →
Just a short status report on where various projects stand… Continue reading →
At the time of this writing, The Stork has been funded for $1310, which is $210 above the goal. I am overjoyed and humbled and astonished by all of the support from friends and strangers alike.
But when it was only funded for $500, I felt the dread coming on. I worried that things wouldn’t work out and I’d let all these people down. I imagined all the sympathetic looks and the “ah, well at least you tried”s. I made up all kinds of things about what it might mean if the project didn’t get funded.
Then I recalled something someone said in a blog post a few weeks back. Excuse me, what I said in a blog post. About acting like it is a done deal and not giving up. A lot of things I write are directed at myself as much as they are towards other people. It is like having an emotional savings account to fall back on during rough patches.
So I decided that $500 was nearly halfway there. I decided that there was plenty of time and lots of people were just going to contribute later. I decided that someone was waiting until the right moment to make a dramatic contribution. As it turned out, all of these things were true.
I want to be less afraid. I want to trust any process I have set in motion. I want to have more faith in myself and in other people. It is happening, step by step, with the occasional explosion of wings unfurling.
I have made some progress on my custom version of Dune. I’ve got quite a bit of the board artwork done. I hadn’t decided on a particular style at first, but I knew I needed to at least have all the board spaces drawn out. So I re-drew all of the locations from the original board. As I did so, I started playing with textures, colors and effects. I went with more abstract outlines for the regions, more like something you’d see on a Risk board. My goal was to differentiate the types of regions and still maintain the desert planet look.
I still need to add some iconography and I may add additional texturing, but this is getting close to something I am really happy with.
You can click on the image for a larger version.
Here is the original board from the game, for comparison:
As a child, one of my favorite board games was Talisman, game of fantasy adventure that changed every time you played. There were even these things called expansions that let you add even more characters and monsters to the game. As with most things I liked, I took it upon myself to improve the game by adding my own hand-made cards and rules.
Even as a child, I recognized that there were flaws in the game and that it wasn’t realizing its full potential. The rules I came up with essentially turned it into more of a role-playing game, something more along the lines of HeroQuest. It wasn’t really Talisman any more. Continue reading →
I know this post should contain an update on creative projects, and there is a tenuous connection, but mostly I will be discussing fear. Also, I will be spoiling part of Neon Genesis Evangelion. But, you know, statute of limitations, folks. You’ve had 15 years.
While Eva is not my favorite anime, I believe it is the most important one. Its messages are manifold and continue to resonate. The series presents the concept of the Absolute Terror Field, or AT Field, as a protective barrier generated by the soul. It is one’s personal space to the umpteenth level. In an effort to protect itself, the soul has created individuality and even a physical shell to avoid contamination from otherness. As the name implies, it is generated by fear. On some level, the person, the individual, is always afraid of things that are not itself and must constantly assert itself from atoms to attitude. Continue reading →