Summer of Love Exhibit at the Whitney – A short review
The Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era exhibition at the Whitney Museum features a series of work from the 1960’s through 1970’s; the artists that range from Andy Warhol to Lucas Samaras. Work from this era are characterized as being a direct reaction to popular culture and instead of art being an activity only to be performed by (and for) the elite, art was created by people from all walks of life. Two pieces of work, both by Abdul Mati Klarwein, demonstrated not only the new wave of art that focused on every aspect of popular culture, but his work also touches on the rise of consumerism and how it affected old conventions of society.
The first piece, The Aleph Sanctuary, was originally a 3×3 meter, metallic cube which contained over sixty paintings1; each piece arranged to resemble the more famous Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. The deliberate religious architecture behind Klarwein’s sanctuary seems to belittle the Christian institution by rendering the monumental church in a minimalistic manner. The small size of the Aleph Sanctuary can serve as representation of the church’s quickly shrinking influence. The younger generation was no longer restricted to finding happiness through God and the church, but through any means necessary. The pursuits of happiness of this generation ranged from the explosion of consumerism to the use of drugs and excess alcohol.
The original Aleph Sanctuary features a series of paintings that lined its walls1, each depicting scenes that characterized pop culture in the 1960’s and 70’s; however, the most ‘Pop’ artwork inside the sanctuary was the “Grain of Sand” (also by Klarwein). This painting depicts sexual themes, consumerism, racial equality, civil unrest, and the psychedelic nature of the decade. Naked women are littered throughout the entire painting; however unlike the roof of the Sistine Chapel, women of both races are depicted. Women and men of color replace the white religious figures and the Caucasian female on the upper-left quadrant of the painting is shown with red skin and green eyes; immediately this colorization seems to give of the connotation of evil. This is a complete upheaval of society’s current attitude towards different races.
The entire painting is a surreal landscape where fashion and luxury are intertwined; these two elements relating to the heavy consumerism and the rush to be at the top of the market, both as consumer and producer. The painting seems to say that everyone who is a consumer is entitled to these luxuries. The vibrant colors of the painting overall represented the ‘life’ and energy of the decade. The youth was blooming, taking action in everything they could get their hands on. This wasn’t limited to drugs, but it also included activism against the government and environmental issues. These two pieces of art by Mati Klarwein, are the best examples of Pop artwork during the 1960’s, each demonstrating the mainstream culture during the period and the events that shaped the artwork.
Indie Game Spotlight – Today I Die
Indie Game Spotlight is the hopefull to continue being weekly feature where I will highlight an independent game that deserves attention. Given the difficutly these developers have in being heard, every little bit helps. Some will be free, some may cost money, but they are deserving of some attention.
This game is a relatively older one, as far as I can tell it came out back in April. Created by Daneil Benmergui with music by Hernan Rozenwasser, Today I Die is another art game. Again, not a bad thing, as the feelings the game tries to evoke in the player is part of the enjoyment.
Today I Die defies normal video game genres and conventions. If I had to liken it to something I;d call it a descendant of point and click adventure games. Your mouse pointer is your only means of interaction. You are given no instructions beyond “Click Here to Start.” The only words are the shot three line poem that takes up part of the screen. It’s a puzzle game that embraces its simplicity, in both mechanics and art design.
Design wise it runs with the idea of giving you no instructions and instead allows you to explore and with a few simple aesthetic choices is able to guide you to what you are suppose to do. It’s not long and can be finished in under five minutes, but that would be missing the point. It’s a game not so much about beating it as experiencing it.
After playing it, you can follow the link to where you can download it for free or donate some money. You need Flash and can play it in your broswer here: http://www.ludomancy.com/games/today.php
Indie Game Spotlight – Small Worlds
Indie Game Spotlight, at the moment, is an irregularly schedualed feature where I highlight an independantly funded and created game. Each game will be one worth taking a look at as abreak from the usual AAA and other studio made titles. These games need all the visibility they can get and I’d like to do my part for those I think deserve a look. (I hope to have the time to make this a weekly feature.)
Small Worlds is an indie entrant into the Causal Gameplay design 6th challenge, going on right now. The competition’s deadline was October 18th and it has been up since then. The compition’s parameters are as follows:
Design a game that incorporates our theme (see below). It doesn’t have to be complex nor large in scope. Since you will have just 6 weeks to complete your design, simple ideas are probably the best way to go. You may use any browser-based technology platformyou are comfortable with (Flash, Unity, Shockwave, Javascript, etc.). If we can embed your finished game file on our competition page, you may use that platform to design and develop your game.
For the 6th Casual Gameplay Design Competition, we are asking for entries designed to incorporate this theme: EXPLORE. You are free to interpret that any way you choose; however, the extent to which your game embodies the theme is left up to the competition judges to decide. Use your imagination and be creative. We will select the best entries submitted to represent the competition just like we have done before. Impress us with your game design and production skills.
With that in mind David Shute created a game that emphasises the theme perfectly and with an increabaly atmophereic resonance. Small Worlds is a platformer that utilizes very old school pixel art design that creates a canvus almost as much as it creates a level. The game did have some issues with the jump button that that the creator did apologize for, saying:
“I’m really sorry the jumping control is so screwy – In an ill-fated attempt to streamline the movement code, I changed the order in which key presses are processed, which had an unintended side effect: ‘Jump’ gets ignored if you’re moving sideways off a ledge or walking down a slope.
I’d really love to be able to upload the fixed version right now, but a deadline’s a deadline – and for better or worse, this is the version I submitted.
As soon as the competition’s over I’ll send Jay the improved version though – It’ll give me a chance to fix some other (minor, cosmetic) problems that slipped through the net too.”
He and all the other contestants were allowed to upload updated versions. Another note, Small Worlds proudly wears the Art Game label, whether or not it was intentional. I don’t wish to spoil anything, but it is an expirience well worth having. The game is work safe. Try and play it in an eviornment where you wont be bothered. The music, by Kevin MacLeod is that good.
I am amazed that Small Worlds took only 6 weeks to make, not because it is brimming with compexity in its code or visual, but rather its concept. The design is subtle and intricate that it is able to draw you in with a few colored blocks and slowly reveal itself . It is so basic and succedes at being art better than most AAA PC and console titles published today. Don’t take that as a negative, art is not the direct opposite of fun or engaging; the two words have nothing to do with each other. The best works are those that are engaging and consumable as well as deep and meaningful. This is one of those games.
The Big Triangle in Game Design
An interesting article came to my attention today about the Big Triangle. For those who don’t know the Big Triangle is a concept that Scott McCloud explains in his book Understanding Comics. I highly advise reading the book. The link below is the translated post of the original. Here he surmises on the usefulness of this categorizing system for games as more conducive to game design. Recently there has been talk about the unhelpfulness of modern game genres and whether if there isn’t a better way to categorize them. This is an interesting way to think of things and change from First Person Shooter, Third Person Shooter, Real Time Strategy, Action/Adventure, Rhythm, Platformer, etc etc.
Rather than repost all the thoughts here I’d rather just link you.
http://wordsonplay.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/the-big-triangle/
Indie Game Spotlight – Norwegian Wood
I haven’t got a full intro ready for this new and hopefully weekly feature. Indie Game Spotlight is planned at the moment to be every Friday to highlight and inform you, the readers, about an independently developed game. That is a game not funded, designed, developed or otherwise made by a large studio, or in some cases, a studio of any kind. This is a little late due to sever problems and we didn’t have access for a while. Anyway, on with the inaugural edition.
In the wake of The Beatles: Rock Band coming out a few weeks ago, No Fun Games Studio created a very different sort of rhythm game. Norwegian Wood, named after the early Beatles song of the same name, it is less a game about following the music of a game, but avoiding it.
It is a simple game, with only one song, which due to licencing regulations you have to supply the mp3 for yourself. You don’t need the music and can play it in silence, but it is a bit dull to do so. There are four instruments in the corner of the screen that when that instrument is played it launches a spray of notes for each time a string is plucked. You play as the disembodied head of the late John Lennon controlled with the arrow keys as you try to avoid all the flying notes. You rack up points for not getting hit and after some time you gain multipliers. Should you be hit you lose the multipliers and 100 points per hit. There is an online scoreboard and frankly I don’t know how some of these people got such scores.
It’s simple, it’s fun and each try wont take any longer than the song that inspired it. Quick warning, it is incredibly addictive. My top 30 score has since been erased from the leaderboards. Give it a go.
You can download the game and check the high scores here: http://norwegianwood.gangles.ca/
“Slippery When Wet” – Wet Dreams Exhibition
Image is from Joanne Mattera: an artist being featured at the exhibition.
Wet dreams now has a new meaning as two photographers and fiveartists set their sights on exploring the liquid landscape that covers the majority of the planet we live on.
For humans water has a timeless fascination. Covering 2/3 the surface of our planet, water nourishes, cools, cleans, entertains, and inspires us. And no wonder, as is commonly known, 96% of our bodies is comprised of water, we are literally made of the stuff. In our embryonic state we develop while floating in a sort of inland sea, sporting the gills that suggest our own distant evolution from the enveloping oceans. As a subject for artists, water is an endlessly fluid metaphor presenting an ever-changing surface of reflection, complex color, and translucent mystery. Its’ varied nature can be seen as a mirror to our own mercurial moods. Rain can be soothing or pelting, a stream can murmur gently or roar with destructive force. Water is the only element that we know well in all its’ different states frozen, liquid, and gas, but it is the liquid state flowing, turbulent, or still that most attracts us. In Slippery When Wet, 5 painters and 2 photographers explore this liquid realm bringing the stillness of art and a variety of sensibilities to bear on the the restless motion of this most common yet still elusive element.
The exhibition is being shown at Metaphor Contemporary Art. There’s two months left for this exhibition so make sure to get there if you’re in the New York area, it’s definitely worth a visit.
Timeline: 2009-09-18 To 2009-11-22 Opening Reception on 2009-09-18 from 18:00 to 21:00
Artists: Suzan Batu, Susan Homer, Joanne Mattera, Nancy Manter, Andrew Mockler, Don Muchow, Peter Schroth
Website http://www.metaphorcontemporaryart.com/Ex_SlipWet.html
Price: Free Venue Hours: 12:00 To 6:00 Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Holidays
Directions: Between Hoyt and Bond St. Subway: A/C/G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn, F/G to Bergen Street 382 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11217
Phone: 718-254-9126
Uncharted 2 Mod Mode
There have been plenty of games before that have had a variety and widespread modding community. Some games have even opened up their engines and provided tools so that amateur modders could delve into the system More deeply and more efficiently. Unreal, Half-Life, and Neverwinter Nights come immediately to mind. Now Uncharted 2 seems to be a console game to add such a comprehensive set of tools.
They aren’t as in depth as say Valve’s Source Engine or the ability to create levels like Little Big Planet, but Uncharted 2: Among Thieves offers a set of Machinima tools in a “Cinema Mode.” You can take recorded video footage from matches and change camera angles or alter things and upload the edited recording. But probably most impressive is a green screen mode that allows you to take the characters from the game and put them into any setting the game can offer and move them around as you will. It even allow you to use the blue-tooth headset to record dialogue that the game with lip-sync the character’s lips too.
I’m not sure how indepth the movie creation aspect of the game will be or if it will allow you to drop in you’re own features, but as a basic concept it is an interesting new look into the possibilities of user generated content.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves comes out October 13th for PS3 at $59.99.
PS3 Released this Week and is Green?
Coming out this week is the, smaller, cheaper model of Sony’s Playstation 3. Heavenly rumored and expected for most of the year and finally, officially announced three weeks ago. This is the week that in Japan and North America you can walk into a store and come out with the new version of the console.
What makes it so different from the old one, now termed as PS3 fat? First off is the new price point. Originally the Playstation 3 came out at a dual price point of $499 and $599 depending on what specs you wanted. Now the slim is at retail for $299. Various retailers are getting rid of their old stock at the same price.
It is in the hardware. The first thing you are going to notice is that its a hell of a lot smaller. The PS3 fat is an inch wider and the slim is about 1/3 shorter and almost 4 pounds lighter. From being one of the heaviest consoles ever and second only to the original X-box in size to a much more manageable size that takes up roughly the same space as a wide-screen laptop.
Much of the other specs stick to the line as the more recent iterations of the Playstation 3. It stick with the 2 USB ports, integrated Wi-Fi and an absence of a Flash card slot, that was removed after the original production models were pulled off the line. The boxed console comes with the composite cable and a Dualshock 3 controller. All the same.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Sony decided to include a replaceable if wished 120 Gig hard drive. Plenty of space for whatever your need may be. The big disappointment is the lack of PS2 backwards compatibility. It can play Ps1 games fine, but your PS2 library is a no go. This is another feature removed from the original line of consoles.
Now to the title of this post. How exactly is it a Green console. The console is built now not to overheat. Shrinking processors and a bigger fan prevent this. The big upshot of it is that the console is said to use 34% power. That’s all well and good, but is direct from the Sony press release. C-net decided to try this and see if it’s on the up and up. What they found is the console uses up to 70% less power to run than it’s bigger brother when playing games and up to 50% when playing Blue-ray discs.
If you’ve been on the fence of whether or not to get a Playstation 3, the Slim is big new argument to go out and get one.
Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion
Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion – An interesting bit of comic book news for concept artists that have been finding it easy to get their work into Marvel’s industry. This deal might just make getting your work out into the comic book industry a bit harder.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Walt Disney Co. announced Monday that it has agreed to purchase comic book and action hero company Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion. The deal pairs a comic book publisher that just recently began to produce its own movies with one of the largest international media companies in the world. “This is perfect from a strategic perspective,” Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told CNNMoney.com. “This treasure trove of over 5,000 characters offers Disney the ability to do what we do best.” On a conference call with investors, Iger said the deal will allow Disney to sell Marvel’s vast array of characters and properties across different media platforms and in many more markets. For instance, Iger said that Disney’s Pixar animation unit was excited about the opportunities that a Marvel acquisition could yield.
Chalk Talk: 3D SideWalks
I have always liked 3D chalk drawings. There is a special something about them that really makes them stands out 
. These are just a few of my favorites and I hope you all enjoy them too!
These three are done by Kurt Wenner:
This Next Set is By Tracy Lee Stum:
Coming up are several drawings done by Julian Beever:
If you liked these be sure to spend the time looking up others, it really is worth it in my opinion.
Weird Fiction: An Introduction
Weird Fiction: An Introduction
What is weird fiction?
Due to the crossover between genre’s (Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, etc.) it is often hard to tell which is which in todays market. The way I differentiate such things is based on the intent of the author. Herein lies a substantial difference; unfortunately intent is not always known and therefore another method must be applied to the mix.
When dealing with Weird Fiction, one must really exam what it is that differentiates it. Many abandon the genre all together as it really is a mixture of both Sci-Fi and horror; but where Horror may only exist to frighten and Sci-Fi merely to astound, weird fiction takes a deeper root (thus also why Weird Fiction is considered the Father of Sci-Fi and Horror).
Personally I believe the difference between Weird Fiction and other forms of fiction, such as Horror and Sci-fi, lies within the stories setting and tone. Weird Fiction harbors a different tone than pure sci-fi and pure horror. Weird fiction delves deeper into the maccabre by exploring the violent and sexual nature of humanity; this is accomplished by the methodical dehumanization and the inevitable plunge into insanity and psychosis due to the finding of revelations or facts that can’t be comprehended by the human mind.
Sci-Fi and Horror often use such a platform and thus really become categories under the genre of Weird Fiction.
The Authors (More may be added later)
H.P. Lovecraft
Edgar Allan Poe
Algernon Blackwood
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
William Hope Hodgson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Arthur Machen
I will be delving into, as much as I can, their writing process and the stories they wrote. I am looking to give you as a reader a deeper understanding of the authors and of their genre.
Writing: A Mini-Series
I have oft been told that writing has very little to do with design, especially “visual design.” I believe this to be a major misconception; if a picture is worth a thousand words, than a thousand words must be worth a picture. Less even I believe hence the famous short story by Ernest Hemmingway; ”For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Which conjures up all sorts of images. For centuries stories both oral and written have created images in the minds of human beings. Sure Illustrations can help, but the imagination has no bounds without them.
It is for this reason I feel my “writing” about “writing” is necessary and valid. It is the images that are in our minds that are put to brush and chisel. When we read or listen we form images in our heads almost like a mini-movie theatre. Stories both oral and written are important because they expand our imaginations and no longer limit us to what we see with our eyes. They enable us to visualize and to create the vast array of images that are produced all throughout the world.
For my first series I am going to visit the genre known as “Weird Fiction.” If well received (or if I just feel like it 
) I will continue on to other genres such as Folk Tales and Science Fiction.
Patrik Bundeli is saving the balls!
The humorous name is not simply an attempt at something vulgar. Save the balls! is a project created by Patrik Bundeli with a very interesting concept. It seems that these creative pieces developed out of a determination to quit smoking. Each ball representing one instance in which he had the urge to pick up a cigarette. It actually sounds like a really smart way to quit smoking. And of course this developed into a project of saving those poor overly abused ping pong balls:
Initiated by 2much for the first time in 2008 the project “save the balls” is meant to provide a violence free and safe shelter for abused ping pong balls. Month after month, millions and millions of those poor balls are cruely abused by hard beatings from the ping pong-racket and some balls have to endure gruesome smash-beats with up to 170 km/h, which deforms the ball up to 25% percent of its original size.
2much is dedicated to stop this unnecessary violence and begs you not to look the other way! Every ball bought from 2much is one more ball in safety.
~Project description from Patrik Bundeli on Behance
These images and more are available from Patrik Bundeli’s portfolio on Behance: http://www.behance.net/2much
Custom Greeting Card Giveaway!
We’re doing a GIVEAWAY! Two of 100 new RSS subscribers will be chosen at random to receive a set of 250 free custom greeting cards, all thanks to UPrinting.com. These cards are great for sending out during the holidays or for sending out as your own custom postcards.
The two winners get:
250 7 x 5″ Greeting Cards (Half-Fold); 10 pt Cover with matte or gloss coating
Full Color Outside and Blank Inside (4/0)
Creative Fluff will even PAY for your shipping and handling charges wherever you are in the world.
The way the contest works is simple!
We want to hit 100 subscribers by September 4th. Once we hit 100, we’re going to give away two sets of custom greeting cards to 2 random individuals.
Just sign up for our RSS feed and you’re automatically entered!
Exciting artist find: Illustrations by Patricia Kleeberg
These lively abstract illustrations are by Mexico-based artist Patricia Kleeberg from her collections “And in what do you believe in?” and “The Girl Next Door”. Extremely unique drawings in her combination of graphic elements, ornamental details and sketchy lines and patterns.
Images of even more of her work can be found on Behance: http://www.behance.net/neon-o or on her website http://www.neon-o.com
Incredible Illustrations by Irina Vinnik
The divine images here hold a similar quality to old illuminated texts in beauty and detail. Based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, artist Irina Vinnik is the creator, with a strong body of work that shows her unique range of subjects. Below are some examples.
More of her work is available for view on her Behance portfolio http://www.behance.net/IrinaVinnik.
Microbo: Microbiology in Art
An exciting find, these paintings are from the artist known as Microbo and a collection of microbe inspired paintings and sketches. As so wonderfully described by Harlan Levey from Modart Magazine:
“Recognized for her sensitive visual language, Microbo’s original aesthetic universe has risen her to a role where she is perceived as an early and influential member of today’s so called Street Art phenomemon. She reacts to this with a shrug, gently laughing at such labels and pointing out that as advertising companies, political parties and others have always recognized, the streets are the best place to communicate with people.”
To see more Microbiology click here: http://www.microbo.com/paintings01.html
…or view via Microbo’s fun home page: http://www.microbo.com/
Fluffery Update: Designer Gallery is Getting Full!
In case you’ve been asleep, or ignoring us, we’ve made some big changes to The Fluffery and just featured some new websites in our collection. We’ve got Elegant Themes, Design 55, Illustrator Marc Gregors and many more. Come check us out and make sure to submit YOUR design work and get featured in The Fluffery
Upcoming Tech – Procedurally-Generated City
So I was messing around the internet was I was passed this link. Video Games, specifically open world sandbox type games, have a notion of external architecture, but little to no internal architecture. Basically you see the outside to a lot of buildings, but you either aren’t allowed inside of them or into only some of them. One marketing bullet point on the game True Crime: Streets of NY that extolled the game on being larger than any before it by having at least one building a block be enterable.
This is a five minute video demo, no sound, of a new set of algorithms by Marco Corbetta and Miragoli Gianluca that creates buildings with complete destructible interiors. The video itself also has word overs explaining details of the system.
Following the link are two other quick demo videos showing the behind the scenes architecture of the program. With game systems and PC’s pushing the limits of what the next technically impressive thing, here are two people who do something much more impressive and remove another stopgap to the uncanny valley of game worlds using less than state of the art tech. That deserves a look, no?
Link: http://createdigitalmotion.com/2009/06/18/ever-woke-up-in-a-procedurally-generated-city/
Un-blockers: 7 Solutions to Creative Blocks
Here on the New York end dreary weather has put a damper on any hope of creative thinking. Which raises the point… everyone has their own slow period where not only is it difficult to think creatively if you’re an artist, but if you’re a writer it could mean that you have nothing that really inspires you to write or share. So what do you do? Writers block is an age-old problem, as is “artists” block. Here are a few approaches, both basic and somewhat unorthodox, that may help those creative blocks:
1. Browse publications
Most people who create things keep a collection of publications that hold work they found to be impressive or inspiring. If you have these hanging around you should put these to use. Flip through them and see if there’s something you didn’t notice before, look everything over again and figure out why you like them or why you don’t anymore. Do a quick silent critique and take in what you see like a vacuum and it could help encourage a new direction in how you were thinking.
2. People watch
While not an exciting activity, it’s something everyone does at some point whether they notice or not. With a sketch book or notebook and pen in hand, pick a cozy spot in a coffee shop, mall, or a park, a place with a good flow of human beings and simply observe: what do they look like when they talk? When they eat? When they walk? Picking up dog doo (or not picking it up)? Each location yields different personalities to capture in images and words. Notice trends, color combinations, naturally occurring textures or designs. Look at the way people behave in spaces or with spaces, and how they use objects in these spaces. What works? What doesn’t?
While it doesn’t have to be a pen that you take with you, the beauty of a pen instead of pencil and eraser is of course that you CAN’T erase. Your first impressions are important and erasing only makes you rethink your observations. If you have something better write it, sketch it, design it. It’ll build more content for your mind to work with and it’ll get the ideas flowing.
3. Be a tourist
They have a bad rep but the most tourist-y of tourists know how to look at everything as if it’s new (unlike the depressing few who have that old philosophy “if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all). And sometimes that’s exactly what you need to do. So maybe you can’t travel and be an actual tourist exploring some new exciting culture. What you can do though is be a tourist in your own town. Pick up a camera and explore your neighborhood or city like you’ve never seen anything like it before. If you really want you could dress the part: fanny pack, visor, drugstore sunglasses, polo shirts with khakis… if you just want the basic equipment you could always go with a disposable camera but small point and shoots or video cameras work just fine. Capture everything: the corner bistro, your lunch, the fly drowning in your soda. While tourist-y tourists aren’t necessarily the most creative bunch of people, you will be, because it’s what you do. So by the end you’ll have moved beyond the picture of the town statue, and even beyond the plastic bag footage that is “American Beauty”–esque (because we’re better than that), into something useful or at the very least mentally freeing.
Another thing you should consider is visiting museums in your area as well in this mind set as well. Collect brochures and just have fun and take things in on a primarily visual level.
4. Downtime with a box of crayons
Remember those good old days when you sat around as a kid with a giant box of crayons and a drawing pad and meticulously illustrated the greatest inventions the world has ever seen? Ahhh… I can smell the Crayola now. Whether it’s just the basic crayons or scented markers that you prefer, you should be thinking Alan Outten’s project with school children from the Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition. Leave your desk or your usual workspace, especially if it’s mentally and emotionally limiting like a cubicle. Sit on the floor in the middle of the room or huddled in a corner (wherever seems more comfortable) and challenge yourself to come up with 10 great inventions to extract ideas from your own head. They don’t have to make sense, they don’t have to look beautiful. They just need to be on paper. Start with just illustrating, don’t forget all the wonderful colors and focus on the experience of creating in this way. The way the wax colors run across the paper, the smell of the lemon scented jumbo marker… (also an added benefit to using scented markers is you can draw by smell and not just color…I mean why have a black licorice smelling machine when you can have bubble gum?) and if you need notes add them later. Its great for out of the box thinking exercises and is a fun idea to get ideas flowing on a daily basis if you decide to create at least one every day.
5. Cleaning
Similar to de-cluttering your mind, de-cluttering and organizing your workspace is a nice productive break that helps sort through mental blocks. Reorganize your desk space, your desk drawers, and if that isn’t enough branch out to other areas (depends on where you are I suppose, you can’t really reorganize your neighbors stuff if you’re in an office space, it might be inappropriate).
6. Jogging
Some people find this to be self-centering. It is similar to the cleaning effect and should be considered as a next step if you’ve found that you’ve reorganized everything you could possibly think of and it hasn’t gotten anywhere. Just you and your shoes hitting the asphalt can be a very zen-like experience if running is an activity you enjoy. If not, it can be torturous, in which case you could just take a walk, remembering to take in that fresh supply of oxygen, or even combine it with light creative activity: think running photography from “Yes Man”.
7. Play with your food
Sometimes you just need a break that offers nourishment or a sugar rush. Playing with you food is something your parents probably told you not to do (mine didn’t) but desperate times call for desperate measures. Hey, you’re old enough to make decisions like this for yourself, right? So sculpt that ice cream or pile of mashed potatoes to your heart’s content. Create faces in your food, or space scenes, peel apart and dissect every single pea or kernel of corn. And, while this is probably a stretch, if you’re desperate enough to try this you probably need this kind of break anyway.
While these are just a few ideas, what really works will always be a subjective topic. Hopefully some of these help you, and sometimes the more ridiculous it is the better.
Have any other suggestions? Leave us a comment with what it is.
[Images via stock.xchng]
Free Glidden Paint Giveaway!
Interior Designers rejoice! Glidden has provided you and me with a dream come true: free paint. Just by signing up online with your address you’re eligible to receive a free quart of paint in any color you want. If you know a bunch of friends who don’t need paint, just send it to their address and pick it up. How often do painters and decorators get free paint?! If you want more details make sure to check out the original post on The Examiner.
The New Alice in Wonderland: Exciting News for Tim Burton Fans
Newly released images of an upcoming Tim Burton production (due out in 2010) of “Alice in Wonderland” offer an alluring peek through the looking glass. Pulling in such exciting and diverse talents as Johnny Depp (seemingly one of Burton’s favorites for his ability to carry through extreme personas), Helena Bonham Carter, and Anne Hathaway. The stunning images show these classic characters recreated as envisioned by Tim Burton… though such lively and dramatic visual interpretations of characters is nothing new for the director/producer, as exhibited in some of his past works like Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, Beetlejuice, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Extreme colors and rich details in costume and makeup portrayed in the composition of the images prove that this Wonderland could be more realistic… and in that, could this possibly be more nightmarish, than the illustrations or animations before it?
Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter
- Anne Hathaway as the White Queen
“Alice in Wonderland” has always been a bizarre story in a bizarre world on it’s own, and coming from the head of Tim Burton, it’s difficult to know anymore what exactly to expect. All I can say is any Tim Burton fan would be almost maniacally eager at this point about the film.
[Images via Huffington Post]
How to Market Your Indie Game With No Budget
Despite what the title might suggest I do not have the answer. I have no made a game nor do I market them. Yet.
What I do have is a link to an article that explains what can be done. Most games live or die on their marketing. In fact I’d say all games do so, including the big budget AAA titles. Ever hear about Bionic Commando? No … exactly my point. If you did, did you know it came out weeks ago? No .. exactly my point. If you said yes to both questions then I say the reboot not the remake for Xbox Live and if that wasn’t what you were talking about then get out of here, you’re spoiling my point.
Quality can only get you so far. There is no point in making that bedroom masterpiece if no one knows it exists. Rodain “Nandrew” Joubert wirtes a splended 4 page article on how to do just that. Let people know it exists in a meaningful way. The biggest point being that Game Journalists are your friends and want to know about your game, because they have an awful lot of space to fill up. So send them copies for consideration, make deals for exclusive videos or screenshots. (*Hint*Hint*)
Anyway here’s the link: http://www.devmag.org.za/articles/78-ZERO-BUDGET-INDIE-MARKETING-GUIDE/1/
Object Factory: The Art of Industrial Ceramics
Somewhere between found art, Picasso, and industrial design is where Object Factory’s newest US based installation takes place.
Object Factory: The Art of Industrial Ceramics is the first major U.S. museum exhibition to survey contemporary innovation in industrial ceramic production and the renaissance of ceramics in art and design today. The exhibition explores how artists and designers are reviving interest in ceramics through collaborations with industry that enhance and sometimes subvert the industrial process. Object Factory presents works created for leading manufacturers as well as artworks by independent artists and designers. Both non-functional and functional works are highlighted, as are important technological advances in ceramic material that allow for its use in electronic appliances, cutting implements, and other surprising products.
Object Factory has more than some 200 works by over fifty artists, designers, and industry manufacturers. This large collection features work by some of the greatest American, European, and Russian designers. The exhibit runs from May 6 to September 13th and it can be found at the Museum of Arts and Design
By train: A, B, C, D or No. 1 to Columbus Circle at 59th Street; N, R, Q or W to 57th Street and 7th Avenue F to 57th Street and 6th Avenue By bus: M5, M7, M10, M20, M30 and M104 to Columbus Circle at 59th Street or 57th Street and 8th Avenue
Museum Hours Tue. – Sun. 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Thurs. 11:00 am to 9:00 pm Closed Mon. and Major Holidays
SUMMER HOURS: Due to popular demand, the Museum will be open on Tuesdays from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm throughout the summer.
