Monday, January 31, 2011
Ambient Electronic Electric Experimental (Music)
Some random blurry clips repeated over a cut from our weird jazz, dub, ambient electonic, electric and experimental grooves. I tried to get footage of the group but the studio is so small I couldn;t get anything but clips of me moving the camera around, so that's what I used. As well as endless ink drawings, I also take part in a weekly jam session in hopes of one day performing live scores over my animations... Read the Webcomic
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Comic Book Art Fairy Tales & Superheroes
Hey Apathy! Comic Book Art
not much writings these days but can you blame me,on look at all the damn artwork! Above are this weeks selection of 12 x 7 inch pen and ink comic book drawings.
Weird Drawings Alternative Comics
HEY APATHY! Weird Drawings and Alternative Comics
Another long day at the drawing board, here's one of several panels I worked on today, must sleep, will post the rest tomorrow., I was trying to draw an opening shot for my imagination cartoon series when suddenly I had a 7 panel montage explaining the city and it's tribulations. One day turns into two then three, multiplying uncontrollably, and so do the drawings.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Weird Stories Weekly Webcomics!
HEY APATHY! Free Webcomics
After a grueling battle and brief moment’s recuperation, the two weird assistants finally replace the dreaded banker. Really late finishing last week’s comic for various reasons that I need not share. At any rate, I went ahead and finished the next few pages to make up for it, promising to be on time for the next few weeks at least. More Comic Book Art
HEY APATHY! Experimental Soundtracks
I practically froze on my 15 minute walk into Kensington Market today to practice music with my friends. We play almost weekly at the Dancing Days Studio, an amazing little garage turned jam space located behind one of the clothing stores. Though mostly therapeutic fun, I have also and have future plans to work with these musicians on the scores and soundtracks for my animations. I am a bit behind on the webcomic this week but decided not to rush the new page, Instead I thought I share the only video clip of out music. This was taken a few weeks back but gives a bit of an idea what our sessions are like. Unfortunately the video cut out before we really got warmed up and somehow I was able to choose an angle that doesn’t let you see any of us. I really want to edit some of the best recordings from these improve together but accidentally lost my editing suites when I cleaned out my computer awhile back. Check out the free comics online
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Alternative Comics Commissioned Editorial Cartoons
The team from before time … Artworks for Rajeev Mullick’s hockey website. I don’t do much commissioned work and never do commercial gigs but when I met Rajeev he asked me if I could draw some cosmic hockey players and some weird stuff for his site that is not only a celebration of, but a warning against, the massive monster known as sports. Rajeev does all sorts of weird stuff from interviews with NHL players and legends to random poetic musings about the psychological effects of the game. It is turning into an interesting project. See some of my other commissioned artworks here.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Weird Tales and Online Comics
A monstrous plant, an elevated city, the amorphous glob macroverse all merely precursors to the penultimate alien invasion!!! Read the 13 Stories, Forbidden tales of the impending apocalypse! Or at least enjoy the illustrations. I still haven’t edited the stories yet and things are pretty messy over there. Nevertheless it was necessary, as part of my new years website clean-up, to make some adjustments and take the stories out of the NEW WORKS section and give them a page of there own. As if I didn’t already have enough on my plate as it is. Well you just go wherever the inspiration takes you and I really enjoyed re-presenting these weird tales online over the past few days, plus I’m not one to leave things unfinished. Feeling a little bit of computer-burn out after hours of posting put was really digging the new calligraphy and illuminated text so I figured I’d share it here too. New WebcomicsTomorrow
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Newspaper Comics! Ideological Battlegrounds
"GREAT FNORD, WE'RE SURROUNDED!"
Ideological warfare breaks loose on Election Day as suburban thought processes move in for the kill! I made this editorial newspaper comic a few months back following Toronto’s 2010 election but never gotten around to scanning it until yesterday. I spent my entire Monday (from noon- 6:30 am) working on the computer. My new works page, while one of the most trafficked, was a real mess. I took the time to update the page, which, although entitled NEW WORKS, had not actually been worked on in over 6 months. Well the efforts yesterday proved fruitful and I managed to rebuild and redesign the entire presentation. The best part is the new format is a little more blog-like allowing for easy organization and frequent updates. I am particularly pleased with the direction the new ink drawings have taken. Oddly enough the online presentation of these drawings has actually inspired and enhanced the conceptual conversation I am trying to initiate. Anyways back to work, I’ve a commission to wrap up today and then I’d like to get back on the website for a little fine tuning. HEY APATHY
Monday, January 17, 2011
Alternative Comic Book Drawings
HEY APATHY! Alternative Comic Book Drawings
Damn Toronto
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Free Comics Online! Superhero Battles!
HEY APATHY! Free Comics Online
A giant terror machine attacks the City Square! As the mad robot battles our tiny strange hero the billboards capture and illuminate the drama. As the large flickering screens project and announce the thrilling scene the crowds turn impulsively to watch the event unfold. Staring wide eyed at the images the people watch with mesmeric paralysis completely unaware of the threatening chaotic destruction smashing through the streets only a few feet away. HEY APATHY! Weekly Webcomic featuring the Superhero, the Surreal, two Strange Surgeons and the City of Gears!.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Free Comics Online Shadow Creatures
Hey Apathy! Free Comics Online
From the skyscraper’s towering over the monstrous metropolis to the deepest corners of unexplored nature, an indescribable relationship between all things on this planet exists. No event is ever singular, though few are aware of these connections, and fewer still have ever actually travelled amidst these hypothetical waves. Shannon Lilde, a young scientist for the Making Life Perfect Corp., discovered a means of doing exactly this. During a series of product tests involving light manipulation, solar power and cybernetics , the aspiring lab assistant developed an unpatented means of teleportation. Her formula enabled one to enter and exit a molecular expressway hidden in shadows. Though the destination was not limited by any geographical obtrusions, the routes which could be conquered followed a distinctly logical repetition. The shadows would only connect to places affected by each other. For example the shadow of a table might lead to the factory in which it was assembles or to the forest where the wood originated. In fact this it exactly what happened the first time Shannon tested the technique. It was a combination of terror, incited by the factory conditions, and wonder, a result of a forest unlike any she’d ever seen, which caused her to excessively investigate the world behind the shadows without permission from the company. On the morning of June 10, 2010, Shannon , her formula, and research vanished without a trace. There was little reported in the press but word of a bounty has since spread amongst those who are concerned with such things. There is also a bit of a whispering around the offices about a Shadow like phantom disrupting certain shipments as well as a rumor that last week a CEO vanished during a meeting and was found 15 minutes screaming like a mad man in a sweat shop in Peru.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
If only I needn't sleep, Alternative Comics and Animations in progress ...
HEY APATHY! Free Comics Online
Spent the better part of today working on the webcomic, probably the most fulfilling of all my chores. I I don’t know but there is something really fun and rewarding in creating panel to panel narrations. I also did a bit of work on the “Faces” ink drawings (above). These are just quick studies I’ve been doing when I haven’t got much time for other projects. This usually occurs in the time between meetings and at the end of the day when I want to wind down after concentrating on the bigger projects for extended durations. It is the end of one such duration that I am approaching now. Although I still have some scripting for the kids cartoon, and piles of hand-drawn animation to get done, I am exhausted and am going to scribble only a little more before I call it a night. MORE DRAWINGS
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Comic Book Drawings Work in Progress
A long day of fidgeting with software and devices, failing to get the instant single frame video capture I so desperately require. Otherwise I did a bit of ink work and put in some time on this week’s webcomic page. The photo I posted is kind of neat because you can see the two step process I use to develop comic book drawings. The first step is most apparent in the background where I have done a quick outline with a thick pen. Most comics artist pencil in the pages but I just go at it with the ink. The second step uses a smaller nib for details, rendering and shading as can be seen in the fore ground of the picture.. I also ate some food, drank coffee and water, used the facilities and am soon going to sleep. Free Comics Online
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Neurological Cyborg Monster Drawings
HEY APATHY! Free Comics Online
It’s been a ridiculously quick three or four days since my last post. I spent the weekend working on the webcomic and animations while watching a bunch of old movies. Yesterday I was all over the place, the bank, the camera shop, the art store, and so on and didn’t have much time for any extensive work. On days like that I like to work on rapid studies which require little thought or energy. The images in the photo above are of my new “Face: drawings. This series is an attempt to compare the human psyche to the human body, taking in to account all the wonderful vices & variables available as part of life in the modern metropolis. Brain doesn’t work today. Can’t get the new camera to work properly either (note the terrible discoloration in the above documentation). Busy week ahead, a large commission, a small commission and a pile of dreadfully blank pieces of paper. more Art here
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Bankers Battle Continues! Free Webcomics Weekly
HEY APATHY! Free Webcomics Weekly
The two unusual assistants of the mysterious mad scientist have infiltrated the office of an executive banker. As part of some weird plan the twins have been systematically replacing various denizens of the gear with laboratory made duplicates. Up till now the task has been a simple one, but the assistants haven’t faced any foes near as threatening as the almighty director of the city bank. New pages every Friday as part of the ongoing HEY APATHY! Surreal Comics mythology. HEY APATHY!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Fast Food, High Speed, Low Life
HEY APATHY! Alternative Comics Online
Slouching over my drawing table with a grumbling stomach I worked through all the ink I’d poured out before noticing the late hour. It had been nearly ten hours since I’d boiled the first pot of coffee and a conglomeration of little lines was amassing on the page. The creative process can often be addictive and even more so under the duress of deadlines. I stood up for a stretch and was thinking about pouring more ink when the hunger manifested tenfold. There was no point to continue, I had to have food.
The dishes were done and the kitchen was prepared, I even had almost everything that I’d need for a good meal. However I felt rather put off when inspecting the cupboard. It wasn’t the metallic tinge of the canned goods, or even the stern warnings from the media against milk. No I simply didn’t feel inclined to the task of making up the food. Suddenly, as though the theatre had just darkened, I was struck by a loud flashing neon advertisement and a head full of loud noise. I recalled seeing my neighbors carrying home take-away sandwiches and knew that the counter was open late at night.
I’d only ten dollars in cash, meant for tomorrow’s grocery, but I figured on treating myself justifying the act knowing the sandwich would get me back to work. I left the house quietly so as to not awake Julii and was out and back with the goods within a matter of minutes. Standing on the front porch I reached casually in my pockets when I noticed that I’d forgotten my key.
These things happen when you are starving at 3 in the morning; nevertheless the doorman would let me in. Much to my surprise he was not at his post. I pondered my next step for a moment before the attendant returned. My sigh of relief was cut short by a moments terror for the face was unrecognizable, this was a new night watchman! My courtesy thwarted I had no choice but to call up Julii. I picked the cell phone from my coats lining and turned the it on.
Beep. The battery died so I walked over to the buzzer. All the codes and names on the directory were either faded or out of date. For the first time I realized that I didn’t know our own code. Not to worry, I thought, there is a payphone around the corner.Though it was working, and I had some quarters I drew a blank at the dial. I did not know the number. On my cell the number is programmed and I always just press 1.
By now I was starving so I sat on the bench by the entrance and devoured my sandwich. Although well seasoned and relatively delicious, I felt full but hardly revived or re-nourished. The empty card board calories and seeping sweet sauces did little or nothing to improve my famished state. There was nothing left to do but to wait and hope that someone I know passes in or out of the building. At three o’clock on a Wednesday the chances were slim.
The night was getting colder and the snow was blowing around when I finally notice a car pulling up. Finally an opportunity, I’ll follow them in. I no longer cared if I knew the tenants or not I would casually stroll up and follow them politely back in. Sure I looked a little rough after wandering around in the cold, but I had every right to be in the building and would hardly arouse any suspicion. The lights of the car beamed brightly on the drive so I sat patiently in order to time the move well.
It would be vital that I approached at exactly the right moment in order to catch the door. If I arrived too early I’d appear odd without keys, and if I was too late, well then back to the snow. The lights grew closer and I took a deep calming breath. In my mind I was already inside, nothing could go wrong.
The car lights flashed across the entrance window and the vehicle began to slow. It pulled right up to the door and I stood up timely ready for the approach. Then the most dreaded thing happened as the car neglected to stop. The lights moved passed the entrance and shone luminescent on the wall. They appeared like the eyes of an owl scowling the area in search of prey. The car turned slowly until the lights hit my face. Nearly blinded and completely surprised I stood frozen by the bench. The lights stopped dead in my direction a the doors of the car swung open. “Freeze, this is the Police, please identify yourself.” It appeared as though the new security guard had taken notice of my presence and was very nearly likely as bit of a go-getter. The last thing I remember was a spine tinkling shock-like sensation which turned my joints into jelly and set me into a fit hysterical laughter. In my mind I could visual my identification papers sitting on the desk upstairs just beside the door. My keys are probably there too but that is of little consequence, at least I won’t be sleeping out side tonight! HEYAPATHY pen and ink artworks.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The City of Gears Kids Comics and Cartoons
HEY APATHY! THE SERIES STARRING
Robots, Monsters, Superheroes and the City of Gears! A group of artists and musicians battle strange technological terrors in the City of Gears! I spent a few hours this evening working on these character studies for the imaginary television series. I did a quick concept sketch for this before Christmas and promised myself that I would work it up a bit after New Years. Well it’s already the sixth of January and I hadn’t found anytime for this yet, which resulted in a guilty little nagging voice acting out as a constant subconscious reminder of my unfulfilled commitment. I finally caved, boiled up some coffee a made the time I’d committed to, to work on the pitch. I made drawings of 5 of the 7 team members and did a lot of meditative orginazation of their origins and the story,. Anyways I’ve got some commission work, and appointments to do deal with tomorrow and I am so close to finishing a scene in the animation that I’ll probably won’t get to finish this roster ( and all the villains) until early next week.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the kids comic book characters shown above
1) Instructor Howie- art teacher, zen master
2) Timmy- young artist, tablet can project 4-dimensional avatars the Timmy draws on the screen
3) Argenta- computer witch can communicate and gets along with any electronic/digital/ artificial intelligence. In the City of Gears everything from the sewer system to the skyscrapers is automated, giving Argenta abilities surpassing the greatest of history’s sorcerers.
4) The Robot- a strange computer chip is corrupting peaceful robots. When Argenta discovers and removes the chip the Robot tells her that it not only had the device made him do bad things, it also made him feel bad. Thankful for his freedom the Robot re-programmed himself to join and protect Argenta and her friends.
5) The Flutist Gale- music instructor and majestic flutist whose notes conjure nature and whose music battles the machines….
That’s it for now, damn it 3:49 am and I have to be a train station tomorrow by 9! Good night. HEY APATHY! FREE WEBCOMICS
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Surreal Artist FACES and BODIES
HEY APATHY! Surreal Artist Ink Drawings
Introducing the HEY APATHY! surreal “Face” pen and ink drawings, a series of disproportionate silhouetted metamorphosis’ depicting the transformation of man to machine and the telepathic ramifications of our artificial millennia. The images illustrate a strange comparison between the human psyche, the running teleplay behind ours eyes, and its detached relationship to our mechanical bodies of flesh and bone. The ballooned portraits reveal a dark omnipotent force meddled with an array of simultaneously emotional and technological features. The astral interpretations manifest themselves as large bleak forms hovering above and beyond the small vessels from which they originated. These separated bodies, though somewhat autonomous, perpetuate routine existence by means of mundane mannerisms and meaningless interactions with miniature electronic devices. “Faces” is an all new attempt to expose the modern man as neurological cyborg, who, though devoid of actual robotic body parts, exists entirely amidst a virtual construct.
NOTES ON MAKING THE INK DRAWINGS
These abnormal drawings of people represent the first body of fine artwork illustrations that I have worked on in over two years. The “Faces” are being produced through a creative process I tend to refer to as a “formula series” in which a restricted set of visual symbols, material, and techniques are repeatedly examined in order to develop a cohesive set of images. This is probably the most traditional approach to creating gallery works and one I used extensively from 2000-2008 prior to my increasing interest in comics and animation. There are several advantages as well as disadvantages to the “formula” approach as it offers an invaluable means of artistic exploration but often results in creative limitations and ultimately the commercial entrapment of the participating artist.
For the better portion of my career, leading up to the end of 2008, I utilized the aforementioned “formula” method to develop a series of large gallery installations. At that time I would decide on a particular theme, format, drawing tool and technique and proceed to experiment with multiple variations in a singular style. A good example of this can be seen in my 2004 works, “HARD RAIN”. In this collection I developed an unusual comic borders made of scratchy shapes, weird buildings, and ominous orifices. Within the strange borders I would then drawing little scenes of solitary chaos. The entire series featured over 300 illustrations all done using the same drawing technique, a large pen for borders and perpetually smaller pens for the comics themselves. By using a single approach I was able to masterfully explore all the possibilities of this particular visual vocabulary and eventually obtain a sort of meditative state while creating the works. Once the formula is achieved the artist no longer needs to struggle with his/her materials but may concentrate more fully on the ideas, messages and symbolic aspects instead. This meditative state of experimentation proves especially valuable when the formula involves minimal technical maneuvers and rapid production.
This manner of artistic processes proved especially useful during my live street art performances as I had little worry about my materials or approach and could give my full attention to interpreting the audience and determining the imagery accordingly. However it was also while working the streets that the formula style started to reveal several limitations. Starting from very simplistic visuals, each year I seemed to add more and more element to my drawings. This ultimately led to single bodies of work exploring multiple themes, characters, and narrations as opposed to one unified symbology. As time passed I started to bore with repetitious drawings and really wanted to produce work that moved through images, processes and concepts quickly rather than extensive studies of a particular theme.
At the end of 2008 I decided to forsake gallery style works and the “formula” method altogether in favor of producing comic books. Here I could weave my way in and out of themes, techniques and parables much faster as a comics page takes far less time to make than a large scale drawing. The comics also offered varied formats allowing for offshoots or impulsive changes in the creation that would not work well in a series of drawings. The comic can flash-black, change scenes or even intrude upon one another permitting, even necessitating the use of different techniques and approaches. In gallery works, the commercial representative tends to request a collection of replicated works at a marketable size and often similar to previously saleable images by the artist. This method of presentation can present infinite restrictions towards the artist’s whim and ability to progress.
Circumstances, mostly financial, put a hold on my intended devotion to comics and graphic novels last year as I was awarded some grant money to work on animations. In many ways this new direction appeared even more hampering than creating formula works as animation is the most repetitive and tedious of all artistic processes. Not only do cartoons require thousands of duplicate drawings but the production can leave ab artist working for weeks at a single scene of concept. Basically this turned out to be the exact opposite from what I’d planned for myself, nevertheless the opportunity to animate is certainly a rewarding one.
So it stood that I was trapped in one of the most extensive “formula” works of my life when all I wanted to do was dance through a barrage of surreal vignettes and strange dreamscapes. Well subconsciously all these creative desires started swelling and without realizing it I found my self, between hours at the animation stand, writing stories, sneaking in a weekly webcomic, and finally working on a new series of ink drawings. All of these little asides occurred naturally, without intent, and likely a result of the undeniable urge permeating throughout my existence.
I just started these new artworks a few days ago but was able to jump right into the meditative state, drawing freely and fluidly. I’m using two nib pens and a brush for flat washes. The works consist of a large tribal portrait and a small modern figure drawing. That pretty much the formula. The work seems far less restrictive after working in animation and the little non-formula-formula, in which one images is repeated and the other open-ended, allows for endless investigations. At any rate I plan to use this technique in small batches, 20 drawings maximum before attempting another new style. Though I’d grown weary of this way of drawing, I have found it useful again primarily because these quick studies can be produced with little set-up or effort and let me play around a bit after long hours of rigid animation work. Everything else I’m doing right now requires so much attention that whipping off a few creepy ink stains at the end of the day is proving rather relaxing and possibly even therapeutic. VISIT HEY APATHY!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Surreal Artist Pen & Ink, Comics And Animation
HEY APATHY! Free Comics Online
Like most people living similar lives to my own, the past few weeks have been extremely busy. The Christmas holidays have come and gone and the New Year began without any notable incidents. I have remained as productive as one might while flinging myself from dinner to dinner at all ends of the city. I do not like shopping or travelling during the busiest time of the year but I really enjoy getting together with family and had the most delightful time seeing my new niece and playing with my 2 year old nephew. There are some troubles at home with my aging ailing uncle but otherwise all is well and everybody else was happy and healthy. Nevertheless, as an avid workaholic, I am excited to get into some uninterrupted time drawing in the studio.
During the festive frenzy I managed to finish last weeks webcomic ( on time for once!) and I went on ahead and finished next weeks installment as well. I also got some concept sketches done for a kid’s cartoon show and a few of these surreal face pen and ink illustrations (above). The animation, on the other hand, got put aside before Christmas because it requires too much concentration and I didn’t want to botch it. Tomorrow I have a couple of business meetings so I think I have to wait until Tuesday before the cartoon gets going again. I finally got a camera (thanks Dad!) so I’ll add some animation process shots to here when I start production again. SEE MORE ART HEY APATHY
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