Comic Book Art "In the Trenches

Last week's late webcomic. Drew the damn thing a week early but never lettered it, got busy, and well the dogs ate the aliens who stole my quill pens ... more comics soon

Comic Book Animation tests

HEY APATHY! Comic Book Art

The CITY OF GEARS! From a distance the city reveals itself as an ominous gear propelled by an endless sea of faceless denizens. Who are these people? What is the metropolis? And where do I fit in? The “City of Gears” 3d animation (test shown above) is the first digital installment my animated artworks. Working with graphic wizard Laurie Ronne, we have started to bring the ink drawings to life. I have been working simultaneously on a hand drawn stop-motion version of the Gear and the two finished artworks will be displayed as a diptych. One of the most interesting aspects of the two interconnected projects is the real time comparison between the differing processes.

The hand drawn animation is a time consuming and labor intensive activity involving thousands of hand made drawings and a sort of improvised approach and aesthetic. I do all of the work for these animations myself, giving me complete control over the output, though that also means total responsibility for all menial tasks.

The 3D process, from my perspective, is almost the total opposite to the hand drawn production. In this case the majority of my process involves conceptualizing and describing the movements/ideas to the artist, like a film director, with absolutely no hands on work. Laurie then takes my instructions into computer land, makes tests and consults me. It is also an extremely precise approach and aesthetic in which little room is left for improvisation. The frame rates and movements must be mathematically configured to the finest detail in order for Laurie to recreate what I see in my mind. In the meantime I go back to the drawing table and two things happen at once.

Not only are the two drastically different approaches to animation being developed congruently but they are also moving towards a cohesive juncture. By using the same image for both the hand drawn and 3D graphics compositions the two pieces introduce a public conversation between the past and the present while also expressing a shift in my own artistic progress and ultimate acceptance of technology. The amazing outcome of these experiments so far has led me to insurmountable and indescribable ideas, plans, even schemes for future artistic assaults…

Newspaper Comics! Ideological Battlegrounds

"GREAT FNORD, WE'RE SURROUNDED!"

Alternative Newspaper Comics

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

Alternative Comic Book Drawings

HEY APATHY! Alternative Comic Book Drawings

Damn Toronto was cod today, but the sun stayed on strong enabling me to enjoy my morning coffee sitting on the bench outside.  My fingers barely even froze. Otherwise I spent the entire day (and possibly a few more hours still) slouched over the computer doing menial design tasks I neither enjoy nor am suited to or trained for in order to update my NEW WORKS page on the website. It has been almost six months since I’ve added anything other than the weekly webcomic and things go stale online really quick. So I’ve been scanning, resizing and adding titles to my 2011 output and should have the thing up and running within the next couple of days. The image posted above is of a Neuroborg, a telepathic avatar projection of the human psyche as it exists in our current technological age. The term “Neuroberg” is the name of the place where these strange electric astral citizens currently reside. It is going to be a part of the new new works page. More Comics



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 

Strange Stories - The Deceptive Window

HEY APATHY! Alternative Comics & Art

My miniscule and angular apartment boasts no luxurious features and has only one small window overlooking the outside world. The window is exactly 2 feet 8 inches wide by 3 feet and 6 inches tall except for when it is not. Sometimes the window is much smaller though it has never been any larger than it appears. The varying size of the portal is however manageable and of little concern. The truly disconcerting qualities, the sensations of uneasiness and disorientation, are coming from the things I see on the other side.

The view is a clear and basic one, facing an empty skyline with few buildings or really anything at all. Oddly enough I am located in the heart of the big city, surrounded by corporate skyscrapers, condominiums, clubs, restaurants and malls, yet the placement and dimensions of the window have left me staring at an empty sky. There is however the top of a maple and a grouping of electric wires. At night the moon sits in the corner but the sun herself never passes me by. As such the scenery offers little more in it’s usefulness than a representation of seasons and possibly the weather.

The particular alignment of the buildings facade in conjunction with the sloped major road ways and metropolitan tower labyrinths has obscured not only my vision by the ability to listen too. With one of the few open passages amidst the entire urban landscape, the window sits directly in the center of a strange wind tunnel. The gusts travel to and from all ends of the city carrying unusual signals in uncertain waves. The sounds, combined with the rumbling from traffic below, sing through the apartment but bear no semblance to sense. It may sound like a massive parade going on but when I’d inspected, the street were all bare. Sometimes crystal clear conversations take place in this room and on other occasions I could’ve sworn my neighbors were partying excessively. Of course in each of these cases, the noisy culprits were only riding the winds.

Like the sonics it carries, the winds also move deceptively around. Often dancing with the tree just outside as well as stomping throughout my room. The patterns are so erratic that once with a swoosh I’d been blown off my chair. In another instant I battled with a pounding rainfall only to find a mere drizzle occurring outdoors. The opposite is also quite ordinary and days that appear still and beautiful turn out to be frozen by storms. Occasionally the window properly predicted the true conditions, but only often enough to keep me confused.

Even at this very moment things appear quite and the sun is shining. There is little noise and no winds blowing, even the tips of the tree are standing still. No, I won’t be fooled this time, I can see that misty stream of smoke. It is almost invisibly faded, yet most certainly there. That opaque smoke is from a furnace, and the speed with which it vanished must mean angry northern currents. I’ll stay here where it’s warm and cozy, but what if I’m wrong? What if it is s beautiful day? Maybe the streets are paved with music or spring blossoms and I am in here, trapped indoors? You never really can tell from this window. At least there is one thing certain in all this trickery and that is that the window always wins. No matter how I examine or analyze the situation, it incites in me an inspiration to get up, dressed, and outside to gaze firsthand into a world in which one never knows.

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