Need some Vectors?

Jim Rodda (who gave us an awesome Maya/Gaming Design tutorial) spiked my interest in this open-source, multiplatform Illustrator alternative. Very interesting! If you use linux, I'd be really interested to hear how well it works for you!

Next week's goals and schedule

R: Research Methods used in Graphic Novels (scripting, developing graphic style, etc.), explore more Interactive Narrative for inspriation on making the DGN less passive. Narrow down books, put in order for books
F: Look over storyboards, Evaluate scope, begin proofing and scanning in storyboards
S: Proof storyboards
S: Look at some graphic styles available online, evaluate why they are functional, begin to get an idea of what sort of graphic style to use.
M: Continue Sunday's work. Begin Character mock-ups and research images that might be needed.
T: Character mockups, research continued
W: Char Mockups - finalize, begin looking at panel layout and how the panels should function. Evaluate how various media will be used.
R: Continue Panel Layout, evaluate sample pages.

Let's see if I can keep to it. Keep your fingers crossed!

For reference, Here's a list of potential books I'm thinking of ordering. Any suggestions?

Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture
by Philip Auslander
PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide
by Larry Ullman
Arguing Comics: Literary Masters On A Popular Medium (Studies in
Popular Culture)
by JEET HEER (Editor), Kent Worcester (Editor)
Reinventing Comics : How Imagination and Technology Are
Revolutionizing an Art Form
by Scott McCloud
Writers On Comics Scriptwriting
by Mark Salisbury
Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel : Everything You Need to
Know to Create Great Graphic Works
by Mike Chinn
It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken
by Seth
Vernacular Drawings
by Seth
Digital Art (World of Art)
by Christiane Paul

99 Rooms

What a beautiful site!

99 Rooms offers an amazing view of an abandoned building through the eyes of an explorer, sometimes flâneur and other times an active force in the narrative. The user in encouraged to explore, to stroll through this space and mouse around. She is not provided with any direction, just the assumption that mousing will do something, as will clicking. However, the user is experiencing a sick and twisted version of the life flâneur, because the environment the user is in (regardless of if we're experiencing it with someone in real life) is so hauntingly empty. The hustle and bustle of the city which normally makes unhurried strolling enjoyable is now replaced by an empty, hallow, perverse world. This turns the world of the flâneur upside down, causing the user to interact with seemingly non-interactive elements (there isn't much feedback visually to tell the user that someone can interact with an element).

Another interesting part of 99 rooms is that it experiments with the concepts of ghosts. Images like words once created immortalize a concept (see: Shakespeare Sonnet #18, Spenser#75). The graffiti on the walls immortalize their representations but are presented here as ghosts of the ideas. Their presentation haunts us, their movements leave us unnerved, and these character stay in our heads and chill us to the bone. Graffiti, even though only semi-permanent, has a haunting quality in that it immortalizes its subject and the authors emphasize on this quality by animating the images. They often breathe, blink, or even moan. They are no longer passive wall art but living parts of an environment.

I also can't help but see the connections between ecology and technology. Often the graffiti is of animals (for this purpose, I think we can consider humans as animals) which are maniulated to appear surreal and frankly, creepy. Often they have body parts amputated, or appear coming out of another object. These representations are closely connected to machinery in many of the rooms. We see in room 81 that machinery is a vital part of the animal, it keeps it alive and moving. Perhaps this is a dystopian representation of our future? A place where nature depends on technology to exist - a sick and twisted Disneyland. However, we see a critique of this vision later in room 87, where we see an animal get poisoned (it changes a sick green color) by the man-made watering trough it is stuck in.

I'm also a little confused by how the narrative moves through the space. Sometimes it feels as if we are looking at an outside wall of a room, and other times we are looking inside. The feeling of space is confusing because of the straight on, non-navigational space. Even thought the narrative is interactive, it isn't immersive since we are still somewhat limited by the authors.

For a great history of grafitti, check out Style Wars.
More dystopian visions of the future via Mike Davis. (ps. Mike Davis' book The Ecology of Fear is a great read for anyone fascinated with natural disasters, idiotic humans and environmental amnesia, and Blade Runner!)

Project development:

I was thinking about continuing Arbor. Those are sample pages I created to get an idea of how the concept would work. I'll be scanning in some storyboards and compiling a synopsis so that hopefully I can get some feedback. Eventually, I'm going to complete this project, and this would be a great time to get started.

I also posted this idea in my other (personal) blog:

"I think I have an idea for my project to be worked on while I'm here. How about a graphic novel about a subculture whose main mode of communication is the use of old mediums discarded by the mainstream. You know "IN THE FUTURE..." digital media is king! Junkyards are filled with old radio equipment, film cameras, grammaphones etc. The digital divide is between the rich (who can afford digital media) and the poor (who can't). Something along the lines of Tank Girl...just less angsty and more witty.

I always wished I was Tank Girl. I mean who didn't?"

Potential Projects

I was facinated by the lecture that Tom gave us on liveness and the development of a live performance since the introduction of digital media. Recently, at the radio station I work at, we've been looking at automation systems to implement some programming 24 hours a day. It sort of saddened all of us that buy purchasing one of these systems we run the risk of "the death of the DJ." I don't know what is special about it, but having someone really cueing up a cd or an lp really makes a difference on air. There's a "live" element to it, even if everything is still pre-recorded except the DJ's voice. Now with podcasting and webstreaming becoming the way many people receive music, the live element becomes completely almost completely nonexistent. I might like to examine the ways digital media requires performers (DJ's, musicians etc.) to add another element of spectacle to their show in order to maintain an audiences attention.

I've also toyed around with the idea of writing and beginning a digital graphic novel while I'm here. I've been consuming written ones like crazy lately, and I've storyboarded one about a robot that falls in love with nature. I've had the story laid out for almost a year now, but I've had very little time and guidance in order to sit down and actually get cracking on it. I'm even getting some ideas for a possible cyberpunk graphic novel. I'd like to incorporate digital images and animations to create a more submersive graphic novel experience.

I'm also really interested in the effect that new digital media has had on the physical objects of "old media" (what a retarded term, I refuse to use it, someone suggest something better please). You can commonly just walk into junk shops and find tons of old plastic cameras, super 8 film cameras, old video gaming systems, lp's, 45's, radios, etc. I'm really interested in what happens with the disposal of these objects in the next few years as our culture rapidly shifts toward the digital realm.

Yeah so, um completely different topics...my head is kinda swirling with all these ideas right now, I don't even know where to begin.