What I've been up to: January 2016
End of year rush has forced me to be choosy about what I work on. Over at the FLIMSpringfield.net blog, my wife and I have put up a few Simpsons related posts the past month, including a big one about the new Daredevil show on Netflix. I've got a long essay about worldbuilding in comics and The Simpsons.Additionally, after a few months of work, my second article for The Atomic Elbow has been published. It is about M.U.S.C.L.E. toys, the evolution of mythology in the U.S. and Japan, storytelling, and how kids learn and process emotion through play. I'm really proud of it, and hope it gets a good response. You can learn more about the issue, and order a copy via the link above.
I am still working on gif number 4 in the series started in 2015. I put it on the back burner to let some choices work themselves out in the back of my mind, but will start in on it again soon. I've also been planning more for the series, thinking about what I want with a finished product. I got feedback advising a stronger outline which has been helpful, I also think I may be able to combine some older ideas that I have sketched out in notes, into this run.I worry that getting too far ahead with the ideas, as opposed to the actual production, will turn me off from the series. Overthinking my work gives me anxiety and to avoid that I stop working on projects I get too excited about, which is obviously a terrible habit. I've had this problem forever, it's a negative attitude I am working to overcome.Before I get too deep back into the gif series...I'll be performing in a play reading this month! I seldom get the chance to work on other people's creations but is something I like to do--it's a great way to learn. I am very excited to be performing the title role in Andy Boyd's play, "Captain America Saved from Drowning" at The Trunk Space. I've got a lot of lines, but luckily this is a reading of the script and not a full production. That means I don't have to memorize my part, but can instead concentrate on giving my best interpretation of the material.Finally, a couple links to work that has impressed me lately. The three minute video below is a great example of creatively merging preexisting material simply to present a story:https://vimeo.com/146677336It is composed of still images and a 'soundtrack' all gathered from NASA's Apollo Mission files. The artist is Chris Coupland. I don't know for certain if all his sources were public domain, but there are lots of restriction-free resources out there for people wanting to create art and experiment. This video is a good primer if you want to start:https://youtu.be/ohmyOKPSGPg And these digital collages by Lösha Kondakov
I really love the use of classic art and how natural the compositions look. Inserting the figures into very mundane settings, that the modern Western world can easily recognize, makes the pictures very beguiling. Also makes me want to step up my collage game.