Christmas Is Awesome!

I like to post this in places around Christmas time;
It's my favourite Christmas song:



A slightly belated Merry Christmas to you all!
I hope it was awesome. Xx

Human Wrongs, Human Rights

A month or so back, I was doing a project on human rights.
We had to illustrate one of 8 selected articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
& I chose...

Article 18:

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with oth- ers and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

So this was my response, a drawing.
But to be more accurate, an interactive drawing.

If you look in the mind you can choose a religion, choose a belief:


You can choose from Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism...


...Islam, Christianity & Judaism.



You can even chose from Atheism and Agnosticism.
Ok they're not actually defined as religions, but you know they kinda count.

This is part 2 of a 3 part project. Over the holiday I'll be working on part 3, and part 1 is in a state of redux, so I thought I may as well put part 2 up, as it's the only bit that's "finished."

Just a bit of detail:
I just can't seem to let a project die these days. I'm going to re-do this. You see the character in the portrait is a little too stylised for the theme. So soon you'll see the same thing here again, but looking a little more generic. In a good way I think. If I'm lucky, in that future post, you'll enjoy a diptych.

Fresh Kristmas Air

In-jokes for the win.

For all those I have alienated with this post,
I hope you've at the very least enjoyed these images.

Innova Libre

You know, I never mentioned, while I had my Hidden Histories project,
I had an additional film project to get on with:



I present to you Innova Libre, featuring my wonderful comrades
Lillian Squires & Agostino Carrea.

It's a short film I created for a brief called 'My Eye, My Vision'. It deals with my vision of where character ideas stem from, and how they choose to manifest in your mind:



Did the boy look familiar at all?
& don't worry, it's not meant to be serious.

Despite choosing to specialise in illustration,
I do still very much love moving image.
Experimenting with some simple yet effective shots throughout the filming process
reminded me of this

FFFFEEDBACK:

My tutors said it was a very ambitious projects, as I was directing, filming and getting actors together. I got a feeling one of them wasn't too much a fan of some snippets of acting, but they were impressed on a whole... I think.

According to my friends & peers, I've come up with something cool.
But personally, I feel I missed the mark with this one, with a bunch of tweaks, and a few re-shoots, this could have been something great.

Hey, it's my first live-action film. I think I've done ok.


Oh, see what I had to put up with filming this!:



Just a thought, is it worrying that the outtakes are longer than the actual film?...

*************

EDIT - The answer to that was yes, so years later for the sake of all our eyes and ears I took the videos down! No need to thank me!

The Rise of Angle Grinder Man

Finally, Here.

You're about to read my outcome for the first illustration project of the year.
The project was called Hidden Histories.
It had to be about something real. So I went with Angle Grinder Man.

This is the story of how it all began:

Yeaabedadai!
Done.

What do you think.
It's a little sad to think, that of all the time I've been at CSM, this is the 1st comic I have ever finished. To think one day I want to call myself a graphic novelist!
I've definitely got to do more, and soon - good thing I have a plan to force myself to,
which I'll reveal another day.

You know, where there's a rise, there tends to be a fall.
So if I were you I'd be asking, "Where's the fall of AGM?"

Good question.

I wrote a script to it, but only had to time to do one of the proposed 2 comics for the final piece.
Which was more than enough of an outcome.

But I'd love to put the script into images, as I personally prefer it to the rise. What you've read is basically a summary of how AGM came to be. The fall deals with AGM in a much more personal light, reflecting on his last ever real blog post, and his disappearance after that.

I intend to do it at some point, but then again, I intend to do a lot of things.

Angle Filler

I wanted to post these before I showed you all the final piece.





They're just pages from my sketchbook, part of my obsessing over
the lost avenger that is Angle-Grinder Man.

I've had to stop searching unfortunately, mainly because the project is now way past over,
and I currently have no time left.

But I might as well tell you, this is how close I got in the end;

I found one more contact number for AGM, not the one that's plastered over all his working sites - but one hidden on one of his defunct websites that resides in the depths of the internet.

I called it once - it rung - I got no answer.
I called it twice - and a man picked up!
He spoke in a gruff tone, as if just woken up.
As he muttered incomprehensible but at the same time clearly English phrases,
the signal began to leave.
& then he hung up.
I called it thrice - and there was no answer.

And there has been no answer ever since.

Goddamnit! So Close.

Maybe one day in the future I'll get that interview.
Not for any project or anything, but simply for myself.

Whatever happened to Angle Grinder Man?

For the last week I've been trying to contact this man.

At uni we're currently doing a project about hidden histories.

Who would think that through this project I'd find out that real life superheroes exist.
Well, Kinda.

I've spent so long researching this man, that I have become almost completely fixated.
At times I've become so close to contacting him,
and I might have even deciphered his real name, but that's just not enough.

In late 2004, he self admittedly went a little quiet, but proclaimed to be back on an uprise.

Then he disappeared completely...

Just whatever happened to Angle Grinder Man?
Am I the only one out there asking this?

Glasser. Ring.

This is Glasser, aka the one woman orchestra Cameron Mesirow.



She has become my latest aural preoccupation
with the recent release of her debut album Ring.

The story so far:

Listened to Ring.
Mind blown.
Bought Ring.
Saw Glasser on 10-10-10.
Met Cameron Mesirow.
Saw Glasser again within 2 days.
Would see her perform again if I could.

Ring is certainly one of the best things I've heard this year. It will definitely be high up there on my top 10 albums of 2010 when this year comes to an end.

It's one truly eclectic piece of work, full of bewitching synths,
swirling woodwind, and simple, yet beautiful melodies.
Just listen ok:

Treasury Of We


I think Glasser has become my new musical obsession,
but once again, can you blame me?



No.

Thank You.