Warren Ellis has been asking various artists to contribute 3 panels of work to his blog. The three panels can be any style, any subject matter, and any purpose. Well, guess who got asked to contribute…
I decided to do something that showed off what I seem to have proficiency in; graphic design and 3 point perspective. Here’s the results:
You can check Warren’s original posting here. Lots of really good feedback from all points. Solid enough idea for a new book? Something to consider…
Another REMAKE/REMODEL challenge from the Warren Ellis forums, this time a re-design of the cover to Fantastic Four #1 as if knowing very little about the actual comic. Decided to go for the retro 60′s vibe on this one.
Thomas Dolby’s “Oceanea” EP is released to the general public today, with my design for the entire package. This EP is getting both a digital download release (via iTunes and Amazon.com) and a physical release as well (via CD Baby).
Very exciting for me to see this in 3 dimensions!
Just a quick reminder: “Re-Designing The Retro Future”, my design and illustration exhibit at the Arcus Gallery, will be opening this Friday during the March ART HOP, March 4th from 5-8:30pm.
I’ll be down there all evening with 6 large flatscreens of my most current digital design and illustration work from clients around the globe. Hope to see you there at some point! The exhibit is up for the entire month of March!
My poster for World AIDS Day 2010.
A very important topic that needs to be discussed and acted upon everywhere in the world.
Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2010 is ‘Universal Access and Human Rights’. World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.
According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009 some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 million people died from AIDS.
The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.
My poster is a call for making methods of preventing the spread of AIDS as standard as the issuing of weapons for war.
More information about how you can raise awareness about this important organization and ways you can share useful information is here: WORLD AIDS DAY
I’ve messed around with 24 hour Comics Day in the past, and had fun with it, but I wanted to take an alternate approach to it, given that I’m doing as much design as I am illustration/comic art these days. So I decided to set my self a challenge this past weekend; create 24 pieces of all new art in 24 hours. Any direction, any subject matter, any style, and any medium. For speed and faster interaction with the web, I did everything digitally, and posted each submission to DeviantArt as soon as it was done, to keep myself as honest as possible.
Well, the experiment went pretty well. I did 2 sessions of 12 hours (one on Saturday, one on Sunday) and kept each piece to around 1 hour of design/drawing time. I made it to 20 pieces before my brain and arm and eyes just gave out, but I think I got a few good ones.
If you want, you can check them all out on my DEVIANT ART pages, to see all my sparkling wit and play by play commentary.
Here they are, in chronological order:
It’s here! Thomas Dolby’s first new studio music in 20 years, the “Amerikana” EP is released today, and I can finally divulge the news that I will be working with Thomas Dolby on ALL of the design work leading up to and including his new album, “A Map Of The Floating City” later this year. It’s a dream come true for a huge Dolby geek/fan, but I’ve had a great time collaborating with Thomas so far, and there’s some really cool stuff coming up in the near future!
Here’s the official press release:
“Today I’m releasing my first new studio music in nearly 20 years. It’s called Amerikana, and it’s available ONLY to members of my online fan community, The Flat Earth Society.
I’ve chosen not to make this a full commercial release for various reasons. My plan has always been to put out a series of three digital EPs (taking their names from the 3 sections of my upcoming album A Map Of The Floating City) followed by a physical album with additional tracks. But as I’ve yet to settle on a particular release method for that album – be it self-publishing, a record label, or some new hybrid – I’d prefer not to undermine the album’s commercial appeal by pulling the trigger too early. However, my ‘hardcore’ audience have been following my adventures on my blog and web site as I go through the process of writing and recording these songs, and it’s only natural they would want an early listen to my new music. So I arrived at the idea of releasing the EPs exclusively to FES members. You will only be able to buy it here on my website, and not on iTunes, Amazon etc.
Amerikana is an affectionate look back at the 22 years I lived in the USA before returning to my native Britain three summers ago. While living in the States I became very fond of roots American music. And as it’s music that was always spread and shared by travelers sitting around camp fires, I felt I’d add my traveler’s voice to its ongoing story. Needless to say, I’m no hillbilly or good ol’ country boy, so my own flavour of americana is a bit twisted, a bit mischievous. ‘Road To Reno’ charts the progress of a pair of hapless lovers as their red convertible blazes a trail across the desert in a kind of indie road movie, serenaded by my longtime cohorts the Jazz Mafia Horns. ‘Toad Lickers’ is about a group of crazed eco-hippies in the Welsh mountains who get high on Bufo alvarius and creep into the local town after hours in search of munchies. It has cameos from Imogen Heap on jaw harp, longtime FES member Crackers on accordion, and fiddler Natalie MacMaster.
But the EP’s ‘coup de resistance’ is a 7?38? epic entitled ’17 Hills’. Very much in the tradition of ‘I Love You Goodbye’ and ‘Budapest By Blimp’, this song weaves a bittersweet tale using words, sounds, textures, and surprising left turns in the arrangement. It features beautiful playing by Mark Knopfler, who graciously allowed me into his private studio as he added some of his signature licks, complimenting my vocal to perfection. Pedal steel player Bruce Kaphan, who produced American Music Club and has toured with David Byrne, adds soaring atmospherics. Natalie MacMaster injects a touch of Cape Breton charm with a mesmerising looped fiddle solo. Radical string quartet Ethel beckon us into the realm of the surreal. And Jeffrey Wash’s pristine fretless seems to channel one of the greatest bass guitar showcases of all time, Joni’s ‘Hejira’.
As I mentioned, Amerikana is only one section of my album, and three of its four songs are represented here. The price, including high-res MP3s and a print-ready digital booklet, is a very affordable $3.00 / E3.00 / £2.00. The subsequent two EPs ‘Oceanea’ and ‘Urbania’ – available later in 2010 – have quite different styles, and some may prefer one over another. My albums, as you know, often cover a wide range of genres, because like a novelist I really enjoy exploring a new idiom, instrumentation, time and place; and thankfully my core fanbase has been willing to go along for the ride. So you have options: you can choose to wait for the full album and get all the goodies in one package, or you can plunge in now, and see where you end up! The eventual AMOTFC album will definitely contain at least 3 songs not included on the EPs.
That said, there is a theme running through the EPs that you might want to be aware of. The album has a backstory which is something you will have to dig a bit to uncover. Contained on each EP is a ‘clue’, and you’re going to need to unravel its secret at each stage of the proceedings. I won’t say more than that for now. My recent visit to JJ Abrams’ facility in California might give you a hint about what I’m up to!
Here’s the link to buy the EP. If you’re not already a community member, you can sign up here!
I hope you enjoy Amerikana, and will look forward to hearing your feedback.”
So there you go; sign up for his online community and get free cool new music, designed by me! It’s a win-win situation.”
A pin-up done for my good friends (and fellow Michiganders) Adam Withers and Comfort Love, who do the amazing and visually stunning comic book THE UNIQUES, a book that is what the Teen Titans SHOULD be, without all the bad writing and screwed up characterization.
They release all their books for free online for people to check out, and sell them like gangbusters at conventions all over the place.
You can check out the latest book they’re doing, an off-shoot title called UNIQUES TALES, which focuses on the backstory of the UNIQUES, and the history and lineage of the current super-heroes in the book, at this link.
With this in mind, they’ve got an amazing assembly of artists working on the art and pin-ups for this series, and they asked me to lend my penchant for doing old school retro posters for my contribution, showing the League of Seven, their book’s version of the Justice League. I had a blast with this one!
