freeze frame

Cover I did for MCV that should be out this week (I think)featuring a certain handsome devil. Bit worried about the amount of blurring, but I wanted it to look like an old pulp cover, so… we'll see how it goes. Really wish I could have printed it out before submission.

P.S. Does anyone else have problems with the way the Blogger interface displays on a Mac? I get a weird lagging effect in the type field.

P.P.S. Thanks to Keith for this classic interview:

…and one for my homies

The semester finally finished and I'm on holidays. Hurrah! Beside some very important technical skills, I learned something very important so far this year.

I might not be dumb, but I'm a terrible student.

I've found institutionalised learning extremely difficult since the age of about 15. It's incredibly hard for me to multitask and I lack the self-discipline to go to class on a nice day. So even though my work has, for the most part, been fine I've come perilously close to failing. Pretty much every assignment was late or incomplete.

The more technical classes I've done well in, which is notable. Particularly a subject called 'Reprographics', where we learn all the necessary information to reproduce and tailor work for press. My classmates are all seem unimpressed with the subject (mostly because it can be hard and a bit tedious) but I've found it really handy. We've been looking at printing samples and the geek in me gets a bit excited at the prospect of using special inks and printing methods.

Actually, it raised a bit of an ethical dilemma. The part of the printing industry I find the most interesting (aside from magazine production) seems to be in security printing. It seems like you get to play with the most expensive equipment and specialised printing methods, as well as interesting substrates (the stuff it gets printed on, not always paper). However, as you know, by "security" they mean keeping the wealthy rich, for the most part.

The part that appeals to me is the same part that loved Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series. It's all gadgetry, trickery and competing intellects. Okay, and the part that wanted to become a master thief when I grew up.

Below is the kind of stuff we've been doing in technical illustration this semester. I won't be surprised if I fail that one. I just didn't seem be able to get my shit together. The bottle is about 90% finished. I've gotta fix the condensation bubbles (all the shadows are of equal length, which doesn't make much sense) and the shadow cast by the bottle. I really should emboss a logo into the glass too. If anyone has any tips for drawing shadows cast by glass, that'd be ace. Even though the class has finished, it'd be nice to complete it for my folio at least.



np:
Wild Horses – Rolling Stones
Common People – Pulp

anarcho-hotness

Sure, sure. Protest against capitalism and all that. The G8 are the functionaries of an economic meatgrinder, etc. But have you stopped to think about how fucking hot these Euro protestors look?

For the few anarchos who still bother to read this blog, check out Andy's post regarding the upcoming APEC summit and reports of yet more condemnations from the authoritarian Left.

If nothing else, scroll down to the bottom of the entry to read the Mutiny crew's open letter. Great stuff: right on the money.

barracuda

Wow. I've been listening to this song alot recently and it almost completely undoes Heart's 'All I wanna Do' that seemed to play at every underage disco when I was a kid.

Which reminds me, Garth Ennis' run on Punisher is still kicking arse (if the pacing is a little slow) and the Barracuda spin-off miniseries is going great guns. I never got into the Punisher much before Ennis picked up the reins and made it his own – I fucking hate vigilante heroics for the most part, but if you're going to do it, do it right. It's interesting to contrast the Punisher War Journal (which takes place in the regular Marvel Universe) and the Max series (Ennis', which seemingly falls outside of continuity… fuck me, I'm a massive nerd).



The above cover always bugged the total fucking hell out of me. A crying Punisher ? Please. This cover encapsulates everything wrong with comics in the 1990s (okay, maybe it's missing a holographic cover with 'Collector's Item!' emblazoned on the front and, from memory, there isn't a guest-appearance by Wolverine and the art isn't by Rob Lefield). It totally interferes with my man-child fantasies of individualist heroism and and cartoonish stoicism. Who needs to be reminded that superhero comics are soap operas for pubescent boys or adults who can't let childish things go?
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif


That's more like it. Photo referencing, photoshopping and absolutely nothing silly. Just a dude in a custom t-shirt and trenchcoat shooting folks (and, thanks to Ennis, lots of cock sucking jokes and enough homophobic slurs to keep it "real").

Gosh, procrastination makes me write about the weirdest shit.

goatse cherry

Last night at a party, the conversation fell int a bit of a lull when someone asked out of the blue (no, it wasn't me), "Who knows what Goatse is?"

Now these people had never heard of Goatse, tubgirl or any of that stupid internet shit. I felt this was a prime opportunity to both wreck their retinas and record the events. Ladies and gentlemen, behold the animated gif that captures the loss of innocence: