Artblog Of Illustrator and Graphic Artist, Pete Correy

Geeks In Space #41

2012-02-11T10:06:00.003+11:00

Whoa, we're crunching towards our final conclusion, kids! I got a pleasant surprise this morning when I looked at Europopped, a European pop music blog (of course) and saw the heading "Greeks In Space". Ha ha. Anyway, as the tech-inspired foolery you see above gradually winds down, work on the Mini Epics has been going well. Twelve of them have already been done, ahead of the launch date.

Patience Ramón! There eez plenty of time!

When the Mini Epics finally do premiere (on this blog, February 29th, in case you somehow didn't read the previous post), they won't be posted one at a time. When you read those corny comic strips in the newspaper, the idea is that you only read one strip per day. But what I'm trying to do here is present several (three or four) strips at once, so the length of the narrative is that much more than your typical three-panel daily strip. Hey, we all like bite-size chunks, but some like to bite off more than others, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. You do, right?

New Airbury Comic Strip Coming Soon!

2012-02-02T19:07:00.003+11:00

Since I've been taking my time with Volume IV of Airbury Academy (I wish I'd hurry up), I'm pleased to announce a new strip to check out before then. Titled Airbury Academy: The Mini Epics, it is a comic-strip version of the regular Airbury series, and will be premiering right here on this blog on Wednesday, February 29. Don't miss it!

Now I'll answer any questions you may have. Yes, you at the back.

Do I have to have read the regular Airbury series to understand it?

–– No. But it helps if you have, since the strip doesn't have any exposition at the beginning, or description of the setting.

Do you mean 'epics' in that lame overused internet sense?

–– Thankfully, no. Nor do I mean it in its true definition. There's a tone of nostalgia to the whole Airbury thing (a lot of it is based on my own school days, after all), so it's only 'epic' in the sense that each little story can be recounted as something bigger, years later.

Where did you get the idea to do this?

–– In a Seattle bookshop on January 1, 2012. Believe it or not, I wrote out a rationale for it. Originally, I was going to do one strip every day for all of 2012 (I tend to get crazy ideas like this on New Year's Day).

Why will the panels be arranged vertically instead of horizontally?

––Because it will be easier to read on a computer screen. Hey, it wasn't me who decided to make websites scroll down instead of to the right.

Is it a standard 'gag' strip, like in the newspapers?

–– No. It doesn't follow the old 'punchline at the end' format, so you may not find it funny. Up to you.

Is there continuity from one strip to the next?

–– Not as planned, but there will be if I say so. It will also keep continuity with everything that's already happened.

Are all the same characters in it?

–– This is the most important question. There is one more character that has not been seen up until now. Here goes...

Back in 2000, when I was a uni student, I drew a comic called Submerged World, a.k.a. Metalheads 3, as it was the third comic I did in a series called Metalheads (which several Airbury characters first appeared in). It featured a new character called Sugar Robinson. She was a genius who designed a spacecraft to rescue her inventor father who had been abducted by a gang of criminals. She does rescue him, but the criminals kill her at the end of the story, to the dismay of Psyche and her other school friends.

Some of my classmates at uni read the comic, and each of them liked it, but told me they wished I had not let Sugar die. They said she had a fun personality and could have appeared in other comics. But by then, she'd been killed off, so she never did appear again.

Until 12 years later, when I decided to bring her back for the regular Airbury series. Some people think that introducing new characters mid-series is a sign you're running out of ideas, but in my case, I felt bad that Sugar would not get to graduate high school and attend the Academy with her friends. Thus, the story has been retconned so that she didn't die after all, but was abducted by the crime gang and held hostage for almost two years before being rescued – although everyone thought she was dead all this time.

All of this plays out in a new story called "Rebirth", which is the opening story of Volume IV. But since Mini Epics will appear on this blog first, this is where Sugar will make her first appearance in 12 years (minus the emotional reunion with her father and friends, which you'll only see in "Rebirth"). Don't be confused, just read the comic when I start running it on this blog!

Scenes From America I: The Kurt Cobain Tour

2012-01-28T21:44:00.006+11:00

Well, I'm back after 11 weeks in the United States and here is my first themed photo megapost, and it really has nothing to do with illustration or design – rather, it's about Nirvana, and Kurt Cobain. As a huge fan of Kurt as a songwriter and musician, it was a unique experience to visit the city of Seattle where he lived, and the small town of Aberdeen where he grew up – not to mention the amazing Nirvana exhibition at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. So, here are some Kurt-related things I was able to see on my trip.

(Thanks to Joe Cooper for taking me to Bellevue and Aberdeen. The EMP's Nirvana exhibit was curated by Jacob McMurray; no copyright infringement is intended!)

When you enter Aberdeen from the eastern side you are greeted by this Welcome sign. To commemorate Kurt, a smaller sign was later added bearing a Nirvana song title which has since become Aberdeen's unofficial motto.

This is 1210 East 1st Street, Kurt's early childhood home in Aberdeen. His family moved here in 1968, the year after he was born.

When Kurt visited his aunt, Mari Earl, who was herself a musician, he would play this guitar, which is now on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle.

This star has been set into the footpath outside Rosevear's Music Store in Aberdeen where Kurt got his first guitar (or took his first lesson; I forget which). The store has since moved a short distance away since Kurt's time.

And right outside that same store I found this cool decorative mural on a tree railing.

Kurt's mythmaking Young Street Bridge, immortalized in the Nirvana song "Something In The Way". Some say he lived under this bridge when he was homeless, or at the very least spent the odd night here. The sign says "In Memoriam – From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah", and yes, they are indeed muddy. It's like slippery clay under the bridge. Watch your step!

In Riverfront Park, a small patch of green next to the Young Street Bridge, is this sign featuring a drawing of Kurt and the lyrics to "Something In The Way". The other side (facing the road) gives a description of Kurt's history with this location.

And just below the sign is this plaque in the ground, featuring some of Kurt's quotes.

This is cool – a guitar statue entitled "As You Were", mounted on a platform. The curved metal strip bears the words "Just one more special message to go, and then I'm done, and I can go home", a line from the Nirvana song "On A Plain". You can see the bridge in the background. The whole small park is well kept and is definitely a place true Nirvana fans must see; it made me think Aberdeen has done more to commemorate Kurt than Seattle has, but at least there's the Experience Music Project.

Speaking of which...

If you're a Nirvana fan and plan to go to Seattle, go and see this. It costs $18, and $15 if you get one of those tourist brochures with coupons. My hostel got me in for $11. Worth every cent (and there are plenty of other great exhibits as well). There's plenty of time, it'll run until April next year. I'm not going to post photos of everything there, there isn't enough space. And Jacob McMurray wouldn't be too happy.

But here's something I really liked – a photo of Nirvana with Shonen Knife, in the early '90s. Two of my favourite bands in the same room together. Awesome.

This was my favourite item on display: Kurt's T-shirt he wore in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. I don't know how much thought Kurt put into what he was going to wear in that video, but this unassuming brown and green long-sleeved T-shirt he chose unwittingly became an iconic piece of clothing. It's still in great condition too (unlike Kurt's canned meat)!

Kurt's final residence (seen from the side) on Lake Washington Boulevard East in Bellevue, just outside Seattle – apparently the sixth-most expensive street in the United States. Kurt was found dead here in 1994; fans still come to the tiny park next door. Its name is Viretta Park, but the name sign was missing.

Viretta Park has two wooden benches covered with messages from fans...

...and the second time I went there, I added my own. Nothing profound came to mind, so I kept it simple.

And finally – the nearby city of Tacoma paraphrased a certain song title on one of their souvenir postcards.

Geeks In Space #40

2012-01-05T07:21:00.004+11:00

I'm heading off to New York tonight, and will arrive early tomorrow! Pretty exciting. I won't have any sleep tonight though. This will be the last post until I return on the 14th, so enjoy 'Pointless Desires'!

New Year At The Space Needle

2012-01-01T13:16:00.002+11:00

I spent the New Year watching the fireworks at the Space Needle in Seattle. It was a great show, and the fact that Saturday (12/31) and Sunday (1/1) were probably the sunniest days since I've been here was an added bonus. When I saw the festivities in Times Square in New York on Sunday evening, I was glad I stayed in Seattle. I mean, Times Square looks great on TV, but there are no fireworks and it's all over so soon. Seattle, meanwhile, really turned it on and lit up the purplish night sky. Afterwards I jumped in the International Fountain with a couple of others and touched the central dome.

Speaking of New York, I'll be arriving there on the morning of January 5, on a red-eye flight. I've been thinking of using the Airbury characters in a 4-panel strip format, which will run semi-regularly on this blog. If you regularly drop in here, you will probably already be familiar with the characters (I've been drawing them since late 2006 now) so I won't need to bother with any exposition or character introductions in the first few strips. Straight in, bang. Let me know what you think.

Also, I need to come up with a title for the strip. So far Airbury Academy Minis and Airbury Academy: 1001 Nights are the only ones that come to mind, so if anyone can think of something better, let me know. As I was looking around Barnes & Noble in Seattle on New Year's Day, my original idea was to do one every day for the whole of 2012! Needless to say, this idea was swiftly canned by the time I got home.

So that forthcoming strip, my America sketches, and a bunch of themed photography posts are what's coming up on this blog. I look forward to your company in 2012!

Geeks In Space #39

2011-12-31T11:04:00.008+11:00

2011! What a great year it's been. I drew hardly any comics at all, but I made trips to Sydney, the Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States of America, and Canada. I visited Bruce Lee and Jimi Hendrix's graves and Kurt Cobain's final home. I finally got to see my musical idols They Might Be Giants live. I met one of my heroes, Weird Al Yankovic (for the second time) and German sex symbol Astrid Rot from Die Roten Punkte. That, my friends, is all kinds of awesome. So, who cares about sitting around drawing cartoons? Stuff that!

I'm just kidding. I plan to get back into cartooning next year. The long-delayed Volume IV of Airbury Academy should finally begin production. Seriously, someone get on my back if that thing doesn't materialize. And of course, there will be more of this sort of tomfoolery:

On a worldwide scale, 2011 was a memorable and turbulent year. Occupy Wall Street spread worldwide. Death of Steve Jobs. Nevermind turned 20. Bin Laden, Gaddafi and Kim Jong Il dead. Magnitude 9.1 earthquake in Japan. Final U.S. space shuttle launched. World population reached 7 billion.

Anyway, have a great New Year. I hope your 2011 was as good as mine. Maybe it was better, because you all have social lives, and I don't. But if I did, then there would be nothing here for you to see.

Little Drummer Boy

2011-12-25T06:15:00.002+11:00

This is the sign outside the world's first Starbucks Coffee shop in Seattle, and as you can see, they don't use the familiar logo used worldwide; the original brown logo of the two-tailed mermaid is used. It's tasteful nudity though, coffee fans. As for the store itself, it's tiny and always packed. Everyone inside is talking on their phone saying "I'm in the original Starbucks...jealous?" etc.

Here's a signed Foo Fighters drum head, on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle. I can make out the Mexican hat, sorry, UFO, and the words "Foo Fighters, Nate Mendel, Rock On", but what are those words at the top? It looks suspiciously like "To: Surfers Paradise"!

And finally, a Christmas message from the Smart Mouth Cafe in the Gastown area of Vancouver, Canada. "Your (mostly) friendly neighbourhood cafe", indeed!

Geeks In Space #38

2011-12-23T08:04:00.002+11:00

Six thousand hits! Most of the time I doubt that anyone out there is reading this rubbish, but the view count shows they definitely are. So thanks to those of you who have seen something you like on this blog in 2011 and have decided to keep coming back.

I have one more month in the United States, and my iMac is taking a rest as well. Yesterday I visited the Apple Store (glaven) in the city of Tacoma. Just what do they call that silver plate thing that has replaced the mouse? I know it's been out for a long time, but it was the first time I'd seen one. Anyway, since I spent my money on plane tickets instead of getting a new Mac, all that stuff I saw will have to remain in the realm of fantasy for the time being.

Okay, here's Geeks number 38. If you've never been to Minotaur in Melbourne, it won't make sense. But read it anyway, because that emo kid from the previous strip is in it.

Geeks In Space #37

2011-12-13T07:05:00.002+11:00

In this strip, I kind of centre on the term 'LOL' (which I used to hate, by the way, but now it doesn't really bother me), but I had to squeeze in that reference to 'unfunny Chuck Norris crap', which does bother me. Here in Seattle, in several cool comic book & collectible shops, I've found all manner of unfunny Chuck Norris crap. What's going on? Seriously, the people who put that together should just go marry the dude or something. Then we can get to the merchandise that really matters: Pickle Fingers! I don't know what they're for, but they rule, and you shall deal with it.

On an unrelated topic: in his book Planet Simpson (2005), Chris Turner writes that when he visited an American supermarket he found seven types of frozen broccoli. Coming from Canada, he was used to seeing one or two brands, but seeing seven really surprised him. Well, I can do better than that Chris...I found ten!

Geeks In Space #36

2011-11-29T09:28:00.002+11:00

The only Geeks strip drawn in 2010. The second year that has passed by with me doing only one of these. Hooray!

Geeks In Space #35

2011-11-22T17:22:00.002+11:00

This strip, like one I previously posted, is completely true. I've been to the school and seen the spot where the shooting took place. My dad said the gunman, as expected, went to jail, but no one knows what happened to him after that.

As for me, I'm still in Seattle and having a good time. I've seen some really interesting things which will follow in a themed mega-post.

Seattle And Tacoma

2011-11-17T07:42:00.006+11:00

As promised, here is my first newsreel-of-sorts, coming to you live from the top left-hand corner of the United States; the state of Washington! I have visited the cities of Seattle and Tacoma, there is plenty more to see there than in this meagre blog post, but I'm holding some other stuff back for later, as it related to a different theme (a certain 1990s rock band that put Seattle alternative music on the global map...). You'll have to wait and see.

Okay, back to this. Below is a photo of the Seattle Art Museum. The statue outside moves its left arm to strike whatever that is in its right hand with the hammer. One of the few moving statues I have seen and it looks impressive, as well as providing a handy reference point for those in the city. I have been fortunate to get mostly fine weather for the 11 days I have been here; the day this photo was taken (Tuesday, November 8) was fairly sunny, for an autumn day.

On Wednesday night, November 9, I finally got to see my fave band ever (other than Nirvana) perform live at the Showbox in the south downtown area. They Might Be Giants played a 29-song set that I and the other fans had a great time singing along to. We found out later that John and John had been feeling unwell; no evidence of this during the show, as they put on a solid performance. John F. was ever the showman, telling jokes throughout, and handed out stickers of their new album cover at the end. The photo below is courtesy of Extremely Crappy Live Concert Photos, Inc.

On a side note, if anyone knows of a non-DSLR digital camera that can take decent (unblurred) indoor nighttime shots without flash, let me know. Don't say use your phone or you might get a toaster hurled at your face. (I'll post a review of TMBG's show with more pics on the China 5 Blog soon, as it's more music-related.)

Meanwhile, in the city of Tacoma, local glass artist and sculptor Dale Chihuly (born 1941) is doing amazing things in the medium of glass. Below is a pane from the Bridge Of Glass, a lengthy structure suspended over the length of a walkway near the Museum Of Glass. A riot of colours and beautiful rippled shapes all the way along and it's a shame it won't all fit into one photo. This section of the bridge reminds me of a huge lemon slice surrounded by multi-coloured sea jellies, pulsing gently.

Thanks to Bernard and Robert for providing me with a drawing challenge; they will both appear in a future Geeks In Space strip, which I'll scan and post in late January. Rob, yours is a bit more difficult as I have to learn to draw Jimi Hendrix, but I'll give it a go anyway!

Off To America!

2011-10-31T21:32:00.002+11:00

On Saturday morning, November 5, I will be leaving for the United States. And possibly Canada. I know what those of you with sharp memories who follow this blog are thinking – what's this guy playing at? When 2011 began he was in Sydney, in April he was on the Gold Coast, in July he was in Hong Kong and now he's going to the USA! Is he made of money or what?

Don't think I'm some cashed-up jetsetter, reader. Far from it. But the opportunity came up to go to the USA for 11 weeks. Would you turn it down? Didn't think so. In fact, by the time 2011 is over I'll have spent 88 of its days outside of Melbourne, which isn't bad going at all. 2011 has been a great year, even though my creative output has decreased a fair bit.

Ah well, can't complain. I'll still be able to post things here, so don't ditch this blog for 11 weeks. Really. There'll still be stuff to look at. I promise. And there will be plenty to read as well, as once again I experience the heady thrill of encountering a new country for the first time! Join me as I report from the other side of the world.

Geeks In Space #34

2011-10-29T19:21:00.002+11:00

Finally, the truth about how the internet was created is revealed! This isn't somethin' they teach you in your little history books, kid*.

* This statement is from the lady who runs the Watchhouse (women's cell) tour at the Old Melbourne Gaol. She's quite a character.

Geeks In Space #33

2011-10-25T19:39:00.000+11:00

So funny, I forgot to laugh.

Geeks In Space #32

2011-10-17T18:45:00.003+11:00

Hmmm, not too much to say about this one. Hope you like the new layout for the blog though. It probably more resembles my actual desktop. Also, it doesn't 'tile', so it might not look good if your computer screen is really big. It looks fine on mine.

Geeks In Space #31

2011-10-11T11:11:00.002+11:00

Here's my personal favourite! Check it out.

Geeks In Space #30

2011-10-06T10:32:00.003+11:00

We've made it to number 30! When you read this, try to pretend it's nearly the end of 2009. It'll make more sense that way. Don't pretend for too long though or you may start to feel depressed. It's not the '00s no more, let's be thankful for that.

Hang in there, little Nonesuch readers. Only ten more of these little suckers to go before I finally catch up to the current timeline. Then the real fun begins!

Geeks In Space #29

2011-10-02T14:47:00.002+11:00

Yes, the story in this strip is true – it took place on October 13, 2007 at the Armageddon Multimedia Expo at the Melbourne Convention Centre. An awesome day, because I got to meet the great voice actor Billy West. Never heard of him? Shame on you. Go watch some cartoons. In particular, The Ren And Stimpy Show, where he voiced both Ren and Stimpy (at first only Stimpy), and also Futurama, where he is the voice of Fry, the Professor, Zoidberg and Zapp Brannigan.

Here's a fun bit of trivia for you: the 'denim metal dude' I was standing behind in the queue to meet Billy is the exact same person I was standing behind in the queue to get into Manifest (Melbourne Anime Festival) at Melbourne Uni in 2006. Believe it or not, this is actually true!

Geeks In Space #28

2011-09-22T16:08:00.002+10:00

Ah, the twenty-eighth Geeks strip; a board game of sorts. If you can't be bothered printing it out and playing it for real, at least test your knowledge of '90s/'00s pop-cultural obscurities. If you can get them all, you win a prize!*

*The prize is: my eternal thanks**.

**That's a line from an '80s kids' TV show. Well?

Geeks In Space #27

2011-09-15T10:12:00.003+10:00

Let's keep up posting these strips, I've got several more before we finally catch up to the present day, and then whoever's reading can sigh with relief that I'm done posting old stuff from two years ago. I actually thought hardly anyone was reading this blog, but then I remembered that the view count was in the high 3000s just before I went to Hong Kong, and is now in the high 4000s! So someone out there must be reading this, because I haven't been visiting my own page to up the view count – that sort of tomfoolery is reserved specifically for devoArt.

Anyway, this 'Geeks In Face' strip caused a sensation when it was posted on my old website a couple of years ago. There was rioting in the streets of London and whatnot. Okay, it didn't and there wasn't, but some pedant did pick me up on the "65 million users" thing at the time. I just plucked that number out of thin air; that's how many Fa(r)cebook users I thought there were. It turns out that it's closer to 300 trillion. Yet there aren't that many people in existence, so how is this possible. Well not too many people know this, but thousands of FB profiles are for people who don't exist. Perhaps someone should examine this in more detail?

Yes, maybe they should!

Geeks In Space #26

2011-09-11T11:11:00.003+10:00

Did I mention Youtube is useless?

Geeks In Space #25

2011-09-03T14:59:00.001+10:00

Geeks In Space #24

2011-08-28T21:42:00.002+10:00

It's late at night and I'm on the home stretch of a Degrassi High marathon. Classic stuff. I haven't seen this show since I myself was in high school, so it's fun to relive all the–– oh right, here's some funny drawings.

Geeks In Space #23

2011-08-22T09:55:00.002+10:00

Owned.

Juliet & Dave – Plane & Scooter

2011-08-08T21:27:00.003+10:00

A couple more illustrations from the Juliet & Dave hybrid comic I mentioned several months ago. I'm producing illustrations for scenes that haven't even been written! Still, there will definitely be a flying sequence featuring this little steampunk plane.

As well as that, here is another one of Juliet on her scooter – which comes from the beginning of the story, when she meets up with Dave in Chinatown.

Japan-niversary

2011-08-05T10:33:00.005+10:00

Today makes 10 years since I first went to Japan to work there for a year. Ah yes, on the hot and humid Sunday of August 5, 2001, I arrived in Tokyo, a city I had seen on-screen many times. Having spent many evenings with my uni mates watching anime videos, it was crazy to think I was now in the same country all those bizarre animated adventures had taken place in.

Okay, enough reminiscing – let's dip into the archives and post something with a Japanese flavour to it, shall we? Yes.

This is a 2008 drawing of the Villa Aoyama, the apartment building I lived in. It was a new-ish building with many rice fields and a river behind it, and mountains behind that. I went back there in December 2007 with my teacher friend Kaz.

A Christmas winter market in Osaka. It was German-themed (hence the sign), with a merry-go-round and some classical music playing. Note that there were many more people there than I have shown in this fineliner drawing.

In Tokyo, even the cars have a crazy fashion sense. My friend Yoji and I were in a noodle house when this bad boy pulled up outside the window. I couldn't make sense of the signs plastered all over it, but the figurines mounted on the bonnet were certainly eye-catching.

Scenes From Hong Kong II

2011-08-03T13:42:00.004+10:00

Round two of my Hong Kong photos series. Enjoy!

I read somewhere recently that bored people just trawl the internet from money shot to money shot. Well, let me save you the trouble with this night scene of the harbour. The future is now and we are here. And we're not leaving.

Store front of a T-shirt shop. Note the girl who works there looking straight at me. This was one of the more pricey places.

A life-size Game Of Life board in a shopping centre. If only the spinner was real, that would have been boss.

The waterfront statue of a childhood hero of mine, Mr. Bruce Lee. As he is buried in Seattle, this is the closest to a memorial in Hong Kong. I didn't realize it at the time but the date I chose to go see the statue was July 20, his death anniversary.

In the same area, the Avenue Of Stars, the greats of HK cinema have these plaques, sometimes with their handprints, and this is Bruce Lee's star. 'Little Dragon' is his given name in Chinese characters.

"Anna Ng and I are getting old and we still haven't walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence..." Sorry, only They Might Be Giants fans will appreciate this one.

Geeks In Space #22

2011-08-01T11:38:00.002+10:00

More HK stuff next time. I just have to get these Geeks strips out of the way or I'll never get through posting them all!

Scenes From Hong Kong I

2011-07-30T12:26:00.006+10:00

I'm back from Hong Kong and have some things to share with you. It was a really enjoyable trip, and there were very few things about the country I didn't like. If the people are friendly (which they are in this case) then the trip is generally off to a good start. I was particularly interested in electronics, architecture, T-shirt designs and just general visuals in public places. Anyway, instead of lumping all the stuff in one post, I'll do a series of posts which should hopefully show you some interesting things.

A staggering array of magazines, many of which are devoted to technology. There are several about the iPhone 4 alone.

This installation is at Times Square, a huge shopping centre. You can't tell too easily but that's a black steam train. It's got Hogwarts Express written on it, whatever that is. The blue sign says London, Kings Cross. Beats me. Every teenage girl in HK was there that day, though.

The Hang Seng index, prominently displayed out front of the eponymous bank. Many people deal in stocks, so this info is critical. Looks like it's taken a hit here...

Are you a racecar nerd who's also into classical music? Then this piano design is for you. The car-like leather seat and aerodynamic bodywork will be perfect as you perform Beethoven's "Ecossaise" while fanging it around Causeway Bay. You'll need some bulldog clips for your sheet music though.

Bape (A Bathing Ape) is a Japanese clothing line and here is the front of HK's Bape store, with its three hooded pocketed-handed silverclones. What does it all mean?

Apartment blocks are a curious geometric patchwork, studded with air conditioners and draped with drying clothes.

More to come next time, you bet.

Hong Kong

2011-07-18T20:36:00.002+10:00

Hey everyone. I'm here in Hong Kong, a country I always wanted to visit ever since I saw the huge backlit panorama of the harbour on the wall at the Man Lin Chinese Restaurant in Perth in the early '90s. It just looked so cool with all those skyscrapers and neon lights and is the main reason why night cityscapes feature so heavily in my illustrations.

There have been many amazing sights so far, but two stand out, both of which I saw yesterday. One is the unique architecture of the HSBC Bank Headquarters, built in 1986. It is supported by eight huge pillars and is actually suspended off the ground, so you can walk underneath it and look up into its glass underbelly; it seems they did this to obey the rules of feng shui so you can walk in a straight line from the Star Ferry to Government House. The other is the night view of Hong Kong harbour from Victoria Peak, a sight you can never get tired of (even though you'll already be tired standing in line for an hour for the Peak Tram).

It has been very hot and humid and I've been riding the subway a lot and buying T-shirts and other things. My four cameras have been getting a good workout (Colorsplash, Diana, digital and camcorder) so by the time I get back I'll present a photo gallery: examples of contemporary HK graphic design, store fronts and advertising, as well as some sketches I've been doing while here. Be sure to stop by and check them out!

Geeks In Space #21

2011-07-09T13:51:00.001+10:00

I like this one. Spike's in it.

See you in August!

Quartz

2011-07-03T23:23:00.002+10:00

Geeks In Space #20

2011-07-01T23:29:00.004+10:00

The most controversial Geeks strip so far (apart from that earlier one about 50 Cent), as it features a real-life person. No, I didn't bother to change his name for the strip; no, he hasn't read it; and no, he hasn't come around to kick my head in. Yes, he actually said the things in the strip, and yes, this sequence was recycled for use in another comic (see below) because I thought it was pretty funny.

Constantinople is now 51 pages complete even though I haven't worked on it for ages (and the rest of the comics are on indefinite hiatus), it is taking shape quite well – the (true) events in it take place in random order and it jumps from one scene to another, though if you're a fan of moronic reality television this shouldn't bother you. The truth is I'm not completely willing to let anyone see it because they'll just think I made it all up, which is why you haven't seen much of it on here.

This will hopefully change however, once I decide to what extent the characters' designs differ from their real-life counterparts.

Geeks In Space #19

2011-06-13T12:51:00.001+10:00

I'll be 53 in just over twenty years. Scary.

China 5 Blog Has Moved

2011-06-08T10:22:00.003+10:00

I logged in to the China 5 Blog to make a test comment and couldn't work out how to do it, so I called up MC Lychee and asked him how. He said you can't leave comments on Tumblr blogs, unless you muck about with Javascript, or unless the person who wants to comment is also on Tumblr or something.

Doh! Now he tells me!

I don't really like the idea of us talking to ourselves (after all blogging is supposed to be an interactive thing), so I was forced to move the entire thing to Blogger and allow certain others to access my Gmail! We apologize to anyone who wanted to comment on the new blog but couldn't; Lychee has duly been kicked in the face. The new blog address is:

china-5.blogspot.com

Note the hyphen in the URL...yes, 'china5' was taken. By someone who only ever did one post. In 2004. With no content whatsoever.

(Sigh)

Geeks In Space #18

2011-06-05T10:48:00.003+10:00

Before I post the weekly strip, I'd like to thank those who commented on the previous post. Ten comments, a blog record! Okay, so one of them is me, but the numbers don't lie, people. And because Nonesuch cares about your input, here are my responses to those comments...

Tom Ungoed: Don't think I don't know who you are – only one person I know spells 'sick' without a 'c', pal.

Jeffory: Yeah bruddah!

POPEIL: Best misspelling of 'awesome' ever.

Poncely Manilow: Interesting that I should get a Sonic the Hedgehog question in the same month Sonic turns 20! Well I always thought Sonic said "wop-wip" or something like that when he breathed in an air bubble. He's definitely not saying "water" though. As for the pink blob, it's a glitch in the program caused by hitting a monitor that is hidden behind a piece of scenery. It freaked me out when I first saw it too, so you're not alone.

Veni Vidi Vici/Buddy Savage: Nice Captain Blow reference. Good work my man.

Allan: Then let's give it to him. We'll never pull this off if he sobers up.

In The Navy: Good use of isocolon.

Now for the cartoon...

China 5 Official Blog

2011-06-02T11:11:00.005+10:00

Who here likes bands that have blogs, so you can find out every single piddling thing they do? You? Good. Our friend MC Lychee from China 5 has started an official band blog (not that there was ever an unofficial one) – and it's a safe bet that I'll be writing a fair bit of the content too. So if you like such diverse musical genres as Classic Pop, Flat-Fusion, Dark Electric Melodies, Raining On Sunday, and Intrinsic Infrastructure – this will be sure to be one of your 90 favourite blogs.

china5.tumblr.com

But not only that! We have also set up a China 5 Soundcloud page. If you go there now, you will find the first three tracks uploaded. Which songs are they? Go there and see for yourself!

Geeks In Space #17

2011-05-30T10:52:00.003+10:00

Okay, look. In the six years since this strip was drawn, everyone who has seen it has asked me if the slang terms mentioned in it were actually in common use. They definitely were (only among my classmates of course), so unless you know someone other than me who lived in Perth in the early '90s, don't bother asking them!

One more thing – if you ever use one of these terms in conversation, you will instantly earn my lifelong respect and admiration.

Got The Time, Mister?

2011-05-23T11:36:00.003+10:00

Is this the coolest watch ever designed?

Why yes it is as a matter of fact.

I came across the 4N ("Four Numbers") MVT01 watch in this month's Virgin Blue in-flight magazine. The product of French watch designer François Quentin, the rotating discs of jumping numerals and their workings are displayed beneath the sapphire glass front.

Below, you can see the disc configuration and its mechanical housing. Whether you're in the habit of wearing watches or not, you'd soil yourself if someone gave you one of these – and don't try telling me otherwise!

And for those of you who like to have the time of day literally spelled out, here's the Qlocktwo wall clock by Biegert & Funk, which has been around for a couple of years. Its backlit stainless steel colour plate can be changed for another colour and is also available in five other European languages. It synchronizes itself by receiving atomic clock signals and adjusts its brightness according to the ambient light.

Geeks In Space #16

2011-05-22T11:45:00.000+10:00

Eurovision Infographic

2011-05-17T16:04:00.004+10:00

If you're a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest like me (and if not, push off and go listen to the Top 40), and if you'd like to know which countries have ever participated, their best result, and even where they are located (a bit difficult for the lesser-known ones), then this map is for you.

The figures are accurate for the 56th ESC, held in Dusseldorf, Germany last week. Which country has competed most often? Which country only entered once, came 18th and never competed again? Which country won in the first year of its existence (technically)? Why are Israel and Azerbaijan allowed in when they're in Asia, not Europe? (You should already know that by now.) The info's all here.

As far as infographics go, this is my first attempt to do one and I wasn't 100% satisfied with it, so if you can think of a way to improve it, let me know. (Don't suggest arranging the text boxes in some kind of pattern; I already tried it and it obscures the map.)

Geeks In Space #15

2011-05-16T11:40:00.002+10:00

Uh, I have no explanation at all for this one. Sorry.

Geeks In Space #14

2011-05-08T18:35:00.001+10:00

This post is late, as I was on the Gold Coast and whatnot. Was this cartoon worth a two week wait? Probably not.

Geeks In Space #13

2011-04-24T18:11:00.002+10:00

Geeks In Space #12

2011-04-18T12:00:00.003+10:00

This is probably my personal favourite of the 38 Geeks strips produced to date, inspired by a lengthy wait in a post office queue. Spike makes a one-line appearance. It originally had the title "Vive La Images!", but as I did an isometric drawing with that name (you can see it on my deviantART page), I took the title off this one. Oh well. You get the idea.

One Year Already?

2011-04-15T10:32:00.008+10:00

Today is the first anniversary of this blog, so I thought I'd post some cool stuff as well as the usual artwork. I'll begin with the artwork, so here's an illustration from the untitled third Juliet Prime hybrid comic (I'm still trying to write it, but it's progressing very slowly). It's an updated version of the Juliet's apartment picture. If you've seen the original, it's just her hair that's different.

Airbury Academy is still on hiatus after completing Volume III and Special Edition last year, but I'm still drawing the characters for fun and practise. Here's a piece of promo art featuring the character Natascha, mimicking that of the Battlestar Glactica spinoff series Caprica. The quote on the left isn't in the comic anywhere, but I'll put it in at some point.

Next is a page from Constantinople, my autobiographical comic about my uni years. This page introduces the character of Beardo Tech Dude. This was a guy who was serious about his work – maybe even too serious.

Packaging isn't a particular interest of mine but I like the design, colour and typeface on these Berri juice bottle labels. The die cut on them is a jagged edge, giving them a 'torn paper' effect.

The following pictures are from the Daniel Cunningham Collection Of Stuff What Came From Japan. As you know, my obsession with collecting little Japanese toys shows no sign of slowing and Dan's collection is off to a good start with these cup noodles, soft drinks and snacks.

Got yer, didn't I? The above items are actually erasers! Notice the detail: the white lids on the noodle bowls and the bottle caps are also erasers, and the two drink bottles (all 600ml bottles in Japan are that shape) have their own little shrink wrap. Too good to rub out pencil with, I think.

Meiji, a popular brand of chocolate in Japan. Eat this one and you'll break your teeth, or at least require a lot of prunes. It's a plastic puzzle. Unlike the food erasers, whose logos are meant to resemble actual products, the Meiji logo and packaging looks exactly like this. Below you can see light sabre chopsticks, a kit of blocks that form up into a bird, and the food erasers.

It's been a good first year on the blogwagon – the World Cup, Gorillaz, Sydney and the joys of crap photography. Thanks for stopping by, whether it's been from day 1 or day 365!

Geeks In Space #11

2011-04-11T11:31:00.005+10:00

What's with all the elevens? I have no idea. Today makes six years that I've been living in Melbourne, though. I've had six years to figure out hook turns, how the Jam Factory got its name, the importance of the 'skipping girl' neon sign and why Essendon supporters can't string a sentence together, but I'm going to have to admit defeat there!

I was in Minotaur yesterday and this middle-aged guy who was lounging behind the comics counter (talking to the ponytail store dude) was heard to remark "I saw Jodie Foster's beaver last night! Tee hee hee!" Thanks for making us comics fans look like unhip dorks, pal.

Nirvana Comics

2011-04-08T23:22:00.007+10:00

Kurt Cobain, the Nirvana frontman, has been gone for 17 years today. He was found dead at his Seattle home on April 8, 1994, as you probably know (that April 8 was a Friday, too). Many people are convinced, including me, that he didn't commit suicide but was in fact murdered – but that's another long story. Of course, there will eventually be a feature film based on Kurt's life, but what about comics?

There was a fan comic in the early '90s which Kurt ended up with a copy of (and probably Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl too), but in 2003 a graphic novel was published entitled Godspeed, written by Barnaby Legg and Jim McCarthy and illustrated by Flameboy (aka Steve Beaumont). Although it is a retelling of Kurt's life, by no means is it intended to be fully factual. Flameboy's art depicts both scenes which Nirvana fans will find familiar, and those which require the reader to imagine. If you were at one of their gigs, so much the better, as in the panel below.

To finish with here's a non-serious cartoon drawing I did of Nirvana two years ago. If you want a realistic depiction, go ask Flameboy!

Geeks In Space #10

2011-04-03T11:02:00.002+10:00

The tenth Geeks In Space strip, and the first since I moved to Melbourne. Cliché Man is real, of course. I'm sure you know him.

On another topic, April 15th is the first anniversary of this blog! Expect a super juiced-up megapost on that date.

Geeks In Space #9

2011-03-28T11:41:00.001+11:00

Ides Of March

2011-03-15T20:04:00.004+11:00

Beware the Ides of March! That being today, of course.

Here's the cover art for the China 5 single "State Of Flux". This was the first track recorded for the 2010 Quarantine album, way back in September 2009. It's a digital-only single release, coupled with three other tracks: "Enthusiasm", a leftover song from 2004; "Pete's Song", one of the Quarantine outtakes; and the 'rock version' of "State Of Flux", recorded with actual electric guitar and drums only a week ago! (Hey, when you feel like recording cheap n' shoddy 'alternate versions' of existing tracks, you just go for it.)

I was supposed to be making a video for this song while I was in Sydney, but in the end I couldn't be bothered bringing the video camera. Tell you what, when the Youtube view count for the "Spank The Eighties" video hits 200 (it's currently 143), then I'll make one. But enough of that, here's the artwork.

Well, I told you to beware!

Geeks In Space #8

2011-03-08T14:42:00.002+11:00

Geeks In Space #7

2011-03-01T16:38:00.002+11:00

Geeks In Space #6

2011-02-20T15:30:00.002+11:00

Chart Watch

2011-02-13T11:21:00.009+11:00

I'd like to interrupt the Geeks In Space posts to introduce my two and a half readers to someone with an obscure type of hobby – the Chart Nerd. We've all heard of car nerds and computer nerds, but the chart nerd is a rare species. They're the person who closely follows the music charts week after week, and writes them all down.

For the period January 6, 1990, to April 10, 1993 one of those people was, of course, me. I wrote them down in a hard-cover notebook, courtesy of watching the Top 50 every week on Rage, Australia's famous all-night music video show. And if I missed a week? I just tuned in the following week to Take 40 Australia on radio 6PM (now PMFM), because their charts were always one week behind for some reason.

Here's the book where I wrote it all down. On the right-hand page you can see Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at number 5, its highest position in Australia. Right on.

This is probably an embarrassing thing to admit (but come on, you knew about my chart obsession before, because you read my post on Ratcat's "That Ain't Bad" last September, didn't you? And if you didn't, consider yourself ostracized) – occasionally though, this knowledge would come in handy. It did, okay?

So when 'the book' was filled, did I start another one? Not really, because by then I was picking up the printed ARIA charts from music stores. Between 1990 and 2000 I ended up with 178 of them, which went into a lever arch folder. I found three more when I was in Warrnambool in 2006. Supposedly they stopped printing them before then, but there they were.

The earliest one I have is dated August 26, 1990, shown below – check out this list of long-forgotten names! The song at number 1, though, is nothing but a classic. I'll see anyone outside who disagrees. And yes, John Farnham was still in the Top 10 back then. Sad, I know. Also note Coca-Cola as a sponsor. Their logo was plastered all over the printed chart until May 1998.

Well, it was a strange sort of hobby, but there you go. Looking back through these lists now is like getting into a time machine. Each of these names triggers some sort of memory, and surprisingly there aren't that many names who I've totally forgotten. And as for the more obscure 'one-hit wonders', perhaps the likes of Partners In Kryme, Smart E's and Heavy D & The Boyz will get their own Wikpedia entry some day.

Geeks In Space #5

2011-02-08T12:38:00.002+11:00

Geeks In Space #4

2011-02-02T15:39:00.000+11:00

Geeks In Space #3

2011-01-30T12:32:00.000+11:00

Yes, it is all true.

Geeks In Space #2

2011-01-24T11:43:00.000+11:00

Geeks In Space #1

2011-01-16T10:52:00.004+11:00

Geeks In Space is a single-page B&W comic series I started in 2004 and continue on and off. Mostly off. Let's see – of the 36 strips done so far, I did seven in 2004, ten in 2005, three in 2006, two in 2007, one in 2008, twelve in 2009 and one in 2010.

The entire lot used to be on my nonesuchdesign.com site (which goes offline forever on June 16 – just a heads-up). I'm now going to run them all on this blog, starting from the very first one. Hang in there. It gets better as it goes on. I have to add that the strip is intended for readers with a certain level of maturity. Consider yourself warned!

X

2011-01-13T19:55:00.008+11:00

I've spent the last 16 days in Sydney, the longest trip there I have had so far. The following is a pictorial account of some of the highlights (that I had a camera in hand for). These are all digital shots; Lomographs to follow in a later post.

The Harbour Bridge on New Year's Eve. The theme for the night was 'Make Your Mark', and so the motif on the bridge was a giant X. It also changed to a smiley face, a hand, a tick and a peace sign, but I liked X best, as a theme for 2011.

Sparks shoot out from the bridge.

This, oddly enough, is the underside of the Harbour Bridge. I took the photo lying on the lawn underneath, looking up.

Bendy Em, a contortionist. She squeezed into this box, 43 centimetres square!

This artwork was one of many on display in the courthouse foyer. It's called Jar Heads by Sunderland College student Jessica Mills. The accompanying card says: "Slipcast lidded jars with underglaze colours". I like the one in orange – he looks a tad confused.

On January 5th, the bridge is still lit up with its 'hand' sign.

Vintage rock/blues trio Kitty, Daisy and Lewis performed on the first night of the Sydney Festival.

Festival First Night – the stage in The Domain.

Panoramic image of Bondi Beach. I'm 38th from left, in front of the randy Swedish backpackers.

I'm In Sydney

2011-01-01T11:34:00.003+11:00

Happy New Year! I'm here in Sydney, and as expected, the city put on a massive fireworks show. 7500 kilograms of them. One and a half million people turned out to see it. We waited twelve and a half hours having staked out our position on a grassy patch close to the Harbour Bridge. Well worth the wait I'd say. In the next post I'll upload some photos I took, but unfortunately, I won't be able to upload the atmosphere of the night. Especially the way you think the sky is going to crack open with all that noise.

Aside from the festivities of 1/1/11, other things are happening which I hope to capture on film and get it uploaded. I managed to shoot a whole roll of film using the Lomo camera of just long exposure shots of fireworks. I managed to do two of these on New Year's Day last year and they turned out pretty good, so this time I decided to blow a whole roll on it. Why not?

Anyway, Sydney's awesome and I hope the start of 2011 was just as spectacular in your city. But it probably wasn't.

Tintin Movie

2010-12-26T10:40:00.004+11:00

The countdown begins! If you're a fan of Hergé's The Adventures Of Tintin, mark the date on your calendar, or put it into that poncy phone of yours if you're over the whole 'writing on paper' thing. Today makes one year until the release of Steven Spielberg's film The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn. (Actually, Wikipedia says the release date is December 23, Empire magazine says December 26. I'm going with Empire because it was printed in Australia.)

Am I a Tintin fan? Am I heck as like! It was what got me into making my own comics in the first place. I have all the books, yes, even the Lake Of Sharks one that was based on a French cartoon no one's even flippin' seen. One of them I had to get on Amazon. The timespan in getting all the books you see in the picture below was 13 years. But enough about that. My previous encounters with the other Tintin films made has been pretty dismal. I've never seen the Blue Oranges one, and the one time the Golden Fleece one was on SBS, I had to tape it and the tape wasn't worth watching because the reception was so bad.

Come Boxing Day next year, though, the 3-D animated film will be out, the animation done through motion capture. The photorealistic look of the characters as shown in Empire is really impressive; they look like real people and Hergé's cartoon characters at the same time, and given Hergé's attention to backdround detail in the comics and his theatrical sense of drawing settings, the film is something to really look forward to. So let the countdown begin –

365:00:00:00

364:23:59:59

364:23:59:58...

Cel-Out

2010-12-24T16:32:00.003+11:00

I've just done (well, earlier this month) four new drawings of the main Airbury cast using a graphics tablet to render them all in a cel-like non-photorealistic style. It gives a nice effect to the backgrounds. The above is a composite image which I hashed together in 8 nanoseconds, but you can see the four individual drawings on that art gallery site with the puke-green backgrounds.

I don't know how long the comic will be on hiatus for, as it will be a long time before I finish writing any stories. Run out of ideas? No, quite the opposite, old paint. Too many. But problem is, how to take these story threads and spin them into a lengthy yarn, like yer granddad did when telling you about how he used to put porcupines down the back of his pants before getting the cane at boarding school – except the stupid bugger put 'em with the spines facing inwards. Cuh. Typical.

Anyway, a couple of people have asked me what Airbury Academy: Aluminium Edition is. No, it's not a comic drawn on sheets of tin-foil (although that would be pretty cool). The idea came to me when I was going through some old shite, er, sorry, precious archival material, and found a heap of old artwork that somehow survived my move interstate. So it's a PDF with old and unused artwork, rejected design ideas, sketchbook scraps, photos of turnips, stuff that was taken out and other fun stuff. It's like you're having a perv into someone's journal – which, in fact, you are.

2010 Top 10

2010-12-21T22:49:00.005+11:00

Hey, is this really my 80th post? Wow. Must have been all that World Cup stuff I posted earlier in the year. Unfortunately, there won't be this many posts next year. Don't want to get burnt out. Quality, not quantity, yeah?

So here we are at the tail end of the year, as 2010 reaches its dismal and anticlimactic ending. This being an art blog, I would normally list the Top 10 graphic novels/comics I've read this year. Except I don't seem to have read any. That's what comes with writing and drawing the things myself; I don't have time to read anyone else's. I've been going to Minotaur, but absolutely nothing new from Frank Cammuso, or Evan Dorkin, or Holly G has showed up on the shelves. And the manga series Joshi Kousei has stalled at Volume 9, which I got in July 2008! What gives, Towa Ohshima? Y'know what my gran'fadder used to say? Git back to work!

So, with the lack of any comics lists, I might as well list my Top 10 songs for 2010.

1. White Flag – Gorillaz

2. Hello Machina – The Analog Girl

3. Superfast Jellyfish – Gorillaz

4. EOEOE – Go! Go! 7188

5. Pick Up! Chu~! – E.Via

6. Ich Bin Nicht Ein Roboter (I Am A Lion) – Die Roten Punkte

7. Song 2 – The Brilliant Green

8. The Creeps – Ash

9. Perfect Freedom – Shonen Knife

10. Hardcore Porn Star – The White Eyes

~~10. Alive – Goldfrapp~~

UPDATE 12/25/10: I only just heard this, but Japanese rock band The Brilliant Green (fronted by one of my favourite 'J-pop' singers, Tomoko Kawase AKA Tommy Fabruary6) put out a new album this year, their first since 2002, and it has a cover of Blur's "Song 2" on it. There's not much better as far as covers go than Tommy covering one of my fave Blur songs! Bargain!

The Name Game

2010-12-18T22:27:00.019+11:00

INANE AM RADIO TALK SHOW CALLER (FEMALE): I'd just like to wish you and all your families a very happy Christmas, and a peaceful and safe new year.

INANE AM RADIO TALK SHOW HOST (MALE): Yeh. Same t'you.

And there we have Christmas sentiment in a nutshell, folks. The time of year when people pretend to care about others' feelings. Yeh. Whatever. Same t'you, lady. Now sod orf. There's 38 more callers waiting on the damn line.

Anyway, even though this is tagged as a Top Ten, it's actually only a Top Five. This is my list of –

Five Japanese Sega Video Games From The Early 1990s With Strange Names!

1. Popful Mail

(Falcom, 1994)

Yes, that is its actual title! A side-on platform game starring a girl called Mail with a big sword. You make her walk around the forest slashing stuff up. Get the picture? The game also has an RPG element to it, in the way that you converse with various characters you meet. Being a CD release it has the obligatory cartoon intro sequence. The English version of it is pretty funny, I have to say.

Isn't that a Pokemon on the right?

Pointy ears, like all elves.

That raccoon-type thing is about to get the chop.

"Intriguing. A happy face on the left, and what looks like a hedgehog on the right. But what's that brown lumpy thing in the middle?"

2. Keio Yuugekitai (Keio Flying Squadron)

(Victor, 1994)

A 2D shoot-'em-up set (oddly enough) in the year 1867 starring a 14 year old girl named Rami who, for reasons best known to the programmers, decides to ride on her flying dragon Pochi to shoot fireballs at marauders wearing nothing more than a bunny girl costume. How many bags of Wizz Fizz did these guys get through when they storyboarded this? Besides all that it's actually a rock-solid game; it was released on PlayStation four years later.

"What do you mean, 'Where's my cocktail'?"

"There sure are a lot of middle-aged married men down there."

Little raccoons in rowboats.

3. Warau Salesman (Laughing Salesman)

(Compile, 1993)

Seriously, you have to watch a clip of this. Even if you don't understand Japanese, this is hilarious. It's also just a little bit effed-up and dark. Not a game as such, it plays out more like an interactive cartoon. You control the leering overworked salesman in a variety of situations, such as drinking in a bar and fondling the girls on either side of you.

Wow, what a title screen.

The eponymous salesman. Creepy.

"Hey, barkeep. Keep the friggin' Suntory comin'."

4. Panorama Cotton

(Success, 1994)

Another weird title, and this time the heroine is a girl called Cotton who flies around on a broomstick shooting at monsters and looking for enchanted candies. Seriously, what are these dudes on. This is a pseudo-3D shoot-'em-up that was never released outside of Japan, and that's too bad, as it looks like fun.

Aw, would you look at that. She's riding on a broom.

Play view. That girl in the purple bikini is just there to distract you.

That purple bikini girl is back for more distraction. And look! More fan service.

5. Time Gal

(Taito, 1993)

This actually hit the arcades in Japan in 1985, but what we see here is the Sega version. A girl called Reika travels through time, and does stuff in different eras. The FMV animation is really good. The programmers put in all these bizarre and sick death sequences for when Reika loses a life – one has her minecart crashing at full speed into a cliff face. In another, she gets stepped on by a dinosaur. One of the future time periods she travels to is the year 2010. It is depicted as bleak and soulless. How did they know?

'Wolf Team'. My my, aren't we enigmatic?

How to pick up women. Tee hee.

Yay! That block I was standing on exploded.

Gorillaz

2010-12-15T22:29:00.015+11:00

On Saturday, December 11, Dan and I attended the Gorillaz concert at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, the 33rd of 36 dates on the 'Escape To Plastic Beach' World Tour 2010. Here is my review of the show along with some pictures we took – some have been massively zoomed in to show detail!

Gorillaz have come a long way from their days as a virtual band of four cartoon characters created by cartoonist Jamie Hewlett. It’s almost a decade since I first heard their single ‘Clint Eastwood’ in 2001, instantly recognizing the vocals of Blur’s Damon Albarn as the singer 2D, along with bandmates Murdoc the bassist, guitarist Noodle and drummer Russel. What once was just a virtual band is now one of the world’s best live bands and concert experiences.

The man DJing on stage who welcomed us all was Mase from De La Soul. He promised the crowd an evening of unforgettable music, and that’s what we got. Both the opening acts were affiliated with Gorillaz, since they have made appearances on two Gorillaz songs, including the new album Plastic Beach. First up was Swedish band Little Dragon, fronted by Japanese-born singer Yukimi Nagano. Their songs had some crazy synth riffs, as well as pounding drums you could feel in your rib cage.

Next was De La Soul, who did a number of their songs including ‘Me Myself And I’, ‘Stakes Is High’ and of course their 1991 single ‘Ring Ring Ring’ which was a crowd favourite. Trugoy and Posdnuos talked to the crowd a lot, saying they have been coming to Australia every year for 15 years. Finally, Mase yelled “Make some noise for the Gorillaz!” The Gorillaz sign lit up, and a video started playing on the big video screen. It showed Murdoc in a backstage room getting annoyed with 2D while he attempts to listen at the stage door. “Will you stop playing that sodding banjo!” Murdoc says. “If you play another bum note on that hillbilly instrument, I’m gonna stick it in your mouth!”

Cheers went up as the band took the stage. Not counting the guest vocalists, I counted 22 people on stage. Seven string players at the back, a five-person orchestra next to them, four female backing vocalists, and the rest of the band which included another one of my favourite musicians, The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite’s Mick Jones on guitar and his fellow Clash ex-bandmate Paul Simonon on bass. Both of them, and a couple of others, were wearing naval hats and T-shirts with black and white horizontal stripes. And of course Damon, who was wearing a black leather jacket and a T-shirt with red and black horizontal stripes – the same thing he has been wearing for the other shows on this tour.

The string section began playing ‘Orchestral Intro’ and then all of a sudden we saw Snoop Dogg dressed as a naval admiral on the big screen, not physically present but very much a part of the show to perform his part in ‘Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach’, the opening song with its blaring horns courtesy of the seven members of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. For each song played, accompanying visuals were on the video screen, playing the music video for the song if there was one, or otherwise various Gorillaz still images or photos. It was all in time with the music and added another dimension to the experience – visual as well as aural spectacle.

The varying influences of rock, hip-hop, electronica, soul and funk can all be heard during the live Gorillaz set and there is no way you can go to one of their shows with a singular mind-set. If you’re into a certain genre of music, chances are you’ll hear it, but there are so many styles mixed into their music that it’s impossible to identify with just one.

“Good evening Melbourne!” said Damon, and they began ‘Last Living Souls’, followed by ‘19-2000’ which got nearly everybody on their feet and singing along. At the end, Damon said “It’s a great pleasure to introduce...Bobby Womack!” Everyone gave a cheer for the 66 year old R&B/soul singer and they knew exactly what song he was going to perform. There was a massive cheer when the first thudding beats of ‘Stylo’ filled the air. It sounds great on record, but being performed live turned it into an anthem. I have no idea what the lyrics are or what the song is even about, but it will definitely get you on your feet.

Damon picked up an acoustic guitar for the next song, ‘On Melancholy Hill’. When he wasn’t playing the guitar, he was usually standing at his keyboard, jumping up and down on the spot while playing, and when he was just holding the mic and singing, he was bounding across the stage with endless energy, a grin on his face, getting the crowd to raise their arms and slapping hands with those in the front row. ‘Rhinestone Eyes’ was next, with crazy arm-waving from the crowd, and then De La Soul came back out for ‘Superfast Jellyfish’, which was accompanied by still images of fast food shop signs on the video screen. Personally, I think it’s pretty awesome that someone has written a song about breakfast.

‘Tomorrow Comes Today’ sounded very chilled-out and slow, and then Little Dragon came back for ‘Empire Ants’ next, followed by ‘Broken’, which featured the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble that Damon said were from Chicago, Illinois. One of them had a tuba, which was pretty cool.

Everyone cheered as they recognized the opening notes of ‘Dirty Harry’, the only song with a video not to have its video played. Instead, the screen showed an animated sequence of the kids from the video singing along to their backing part. Bootie Brown, who had previously come on stage for ‘Stylo’, re-appeared to perform his thought-provoking rap for the song, one of the definite highlights of the Demon Days album and of this show as well.

The melancholy ‘El Mañana’ was next, then Damon went over to the aforementioned five-person orchestra at the back of the stage. “They’ve come all the way here from Damascus in Syria,” he said. Holding the mic up to the leader of the ensemble he said “Do you like it here in Australia?” “Very much, very much,” he replied. I knew what song was coming next; my personal favourite track from the new album, something I was really looking forward to hearing live.

Everyone clapped along as the ensemble performed a short instrumental piece, which was then followed by the amazing Oriental Arabic intro to ‘White Flag’. The song is a cultural blend; a testament to music that knows no boundaries. British ‘grime’ MCs Bashy and Kano, who perform on the album, were also on stage and the song closed with the Arabic section combining with the song’s electro beats and Damon weaving around the stage waving a massive white flag. The flag could be a mere prop, but on the other hand it could symbolize something; not surrender, but victory perhaps, or even a sense of unity like the lyrics suggest. Above them all the video screen showed a Middle Eastern dancer with two phrases written in Arabic. Awe-inspiring stuff.

There was another brief video clip showing Murdoc, still backstage, saying that the people on stage sound like a Gorillaz tribute band. ‘Dare’ was next, which everyone was either singing or clapping along with. Like Snoop Dogg, Shaun Ryder only appeared on-screen, but people seemed to be singing along to his part, as well. After this, it was a great treat to hear ‘Punk’ from the first album, a short burst of manic energy, with Damon once again jumping around. If I’d had an iPod in 2001, this song would be near the top of my ‘Most Played’ on iTunes by now. The first Gorillaz album holds special memories for me because I bought it the day before I went to Japan to live for a year, and I listened to it a lot while I was there. Even now, the songs on it bring back memories of my little apartment in the middle of the rice paddies.

‘Glitter Freeze’ was a chance for the band to show they could produce amazing sounds and energy, being mostly an instrumental, then Yukimi from Little Dragon came back to sing ‘To Binge’ with Damon. This restrained, introspective song has more than a touch of Blur in it and is one of Damon’s best songs. It was accompanied by visuals that best sum up the song: yellow liquid gurgling down a plughole, with two beer bottles rolling around in it at the end. The whole song’s lyrics scrolled up the screen, in Japanese. Ending the main set was ‘Plastic Beach’, sounding much louder and crunchier than it does on the album.

After a few minutes’ break, the band returned, as did Bobby Womack to lend his sombre tones to ‘Cloud Of Unknowing’. “This song was written by Mister Damon Albarn,” he said in his introduction. During this song, some disconcerting war footage was played, showing planes dropping bombs, exploding in fireballs and crash landing, and also footage of people pushing a helicopter off a naval carrier. It fit the music well though, and made a definite point.

Damon said he was really thankful to have worked with all these musicians, and that it was the fourth-last show of the tour, and they had been touring for three and a half months. Then he said “Now, you have to help me out here. This next man...I had the pleasure of DJing with him last night. We were in a really small booth, and it just has one window, and people were looking in...anyway, you have to help me say his name...Mase-ee-o!”

Everyone did, and the three members of De La Soul came out to do a frenetic version of the huge hit ‘Feel Good Inc.’ which maintained the high crowd enthusiasm. After this, Damon was joined by Mick and Paul at the front of the stage. He had a red melodica, which he had already used in a few songs. He only had to play two notes before the whole place erupted knowing it was the start of ‘Clint Eastwood’. Bashy and Kano substituted their own rap for the original one by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, and the whole thing built to a climax.

During the encore Damon brought out Jamie Hewlett which surprised me – I didn’t think Jamie had any involvement in the Gorillaz concerts, but he was there all the same, wearing the same nautical outfits as Mick and Paul. He didn’t say anything, but waved to the crowd. The show closed on a calmer note with the two reflective songs ‘Don’t Get Lost In Heaven’ and ‘Demon Days’ which had people waving their arms. “Melbourne! Do you feel us? Do you feel us?” Damon yelled out.

The verdict: one of the best concerts I have ever been to. It made you feel something – a love of music played without preconceived genres, national borders or creative limits – rather than merely listening to loud music. This is how a concert is supposed to be.

Quarantined

2010-12-08T22:22:00.002+11:00

A track-by-track rundown of the China 5 album Quarantine, for those of you who have read the review, heard the album and thought "Why not?".

Contra:

After songs about suicide bombers and September 11 on the last CD I wanted something that would cheer me up, after the death of a friend earlier this year. And this is it. Lychee helped out with the backing vocals, even though he doesn't like this style of music.

State Of Flux:

It was the first song to be recorded, that's why it has that A.D.D. song structure where dark kick drums give way to 16 bars of this weird lounge stuff.

Too Many Sushi:

Classic acoustic folk-pop in a dancehall vein, that you can sing on your way to work in your stupid gas-guzzling car.

Anna Wilde:

I wrote 32 lines of lyrics for this when it only needed 16, so I cut it down by half into the snappy edit you see before you. You'll be a hit if you dance to this in French nightclubs (after taking drugs of course).

Shield Your Eyes From The Horrible Truth:

The vocals in this song are from a practice run-through, but they stayed in because we have this thing about not doing too many takes of something in case we get sick of it.

I Can't Sleep At Night:

I think I was trying to write a song that sounded like it should have been in some '80s anime movie.

Midnight Aquarium (Waltz #6):

Recording this was tough. There was more editing than the Christmas Day broadcast of Beverly Hills Cop.

Pharmacy:

I was inspired to write this after I saw Suede's lead singer in a Britpop doco saying he wanted to write a song with a catchy melody but really sinister lyrics, and get it into the Top 10. I sang it in different ways: sounding really tired, in a drunk-ish voice, even a bad Jamaican accent, before settling on the final style.

Song For Singapore:

This song actually has electric and acoustic guitar playing at the same time. The electric was recorded first, you can hear it fade in at the start. Classic Saxophone Pop that will never let you forget that time you started bawling at the casino.

Tetris:

I recorded it solo last year with tons of feedback on the guitar and distortion on just about everything; this is a cleaner version of the song with different keyboards.

Constantinople:

Nothing to do with my autobiographical comic of the same name. When my friend Yoji from Japan (and also from our band The Cataracts) visited me in May, I had him record some random guitar towards the end of the song. He found it an odd request, but did it anyway.

1994:

I wasn't sure about putting a personal song on the album, but it sounds nice and you can't hear me mess up any chords since the guitar is way down in the mix. Quite an organic sound, recorded as is, with no enhancement on the tracks. It's very hard to play at a constant tempo as well.

Don't Give Up:

The Richmond Tigers and Mei Wong walk the streets of Mount Waverley at night ripping leaves off overhanging trees. Thanks for listening. And now, the politburo of China 5 bids you farewell!

And, of course, there were a number of songs that didn't make it, coming to a USB near you...

Cryptogram:

A fairly unpolished electric guitar song that doesn't have a proper ending. It was totally improvised, as I recall.

I Need A Better Friend:

It sounds like something you'd listen to on a hobo train ride. Pretty simplistic stuff, a bit cornball really.

Lava:

This would have been one of the best songs on the album if we'd left it on. We just didn't record it right. It needed jangly electric guitar strumming. We recorded it two times before this; both those versions sound pretty decent, but they have obvious mistakes in them.

Sick Of Being Pushed Around:

Left off because there were already enough robo-vocals on the album.

Angel Dust:

A song I wrote in 1999! It's under two minutes long and only has three chords.

Pete's Song:

Just a silly little warm-up thing to help me practice chords, with some strange high-pitched vocals on it.

untitled analogue song:

A throwaway analogue bit that never got finished. Could be the most amazing unheard China 5 song ever. But most likely not.

Now, get lost!

Pennyroyal

2010-12-01T21:24:00.003+11:00

Sonic 2: 18 Years On

2010-11-24T09:50:00.021+11:00

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is a platform game by SEGA, the sequel to the debut Sonic game of 1991. Unlike the first Sonic game which was programmed in Japan, Sonic 2 was developed in the United States at the Sega Technical Institute. Released on November 24, 1992, it was the fastest- and highest-selling video game of its time, and continued to hold that title for years.

The combined Japanese/American design team would certainly influence the game's graphical style and give it a look and feel distinct to its predecessor, as the screenshots below show.

The verdict: 18 years on, it's still a winner!

The title screen, and a new playable character – Tails the Fox, created by Yasushi Yamaguchi, who drew and animated just about everything in the game.

Emerald Hill Zone, level 1. Its best feature is the checkered 3D 'barrel roll'. Tim Skelly, the Art Director, had to work on this 3D feature until the checks lined up exactly.

Chemical Plant Zone, level 2. This level is infamous for allegedly triggering seizures in some players (what the press termed 'photo-epilepsy'). This was supposedly brought on by the bright background combined with the high speed sections. Beats me – I had no problems with it.

Aquatic Ruin Zone, level 3, the obligatory 'underwater' level.

Casino Night Zone, level 4. An amazingly fun level; Sega got so much positive feedback about it that they decided to develop Sonic Spinball, a pinball game, soon after. This level was Yamaguchi's and it looks very different from how it looks in prototype versions. I should add that the music in this level really adds to the atmosphere.

Hill Top Zone, level 5. Basically a simple reworking of Emerald Hill.

Mystic Cave Zone, level 6. Sometimes after Sonic jumps off the vine, Tails continues to hang there.

Oil Ocean Zone, level 7. The foreground art is by level artist Craig Stitt, the background is by Yamaguchi. This screenshot is from a hack. There's now an extensive Sonic hacking scene; most hacks are too buggy and not worth playing, but a few are done by scarily talented people. I took this screenshot from a hack to show the 'checkered ball' which was in earlier versions, but later taken out. You hit a switch, the ball comes out from the ground and...you can stand on it. And that's about it.

Wing Fortress Zone. After the 8th level, Metropolis Zone, there's a short plane level (Sky Chase), then you get this. Tails is the one who normally flies the plane.

Death Egg Zone, and the final boss.

The ending sequence.

The Special Stage. Tim Skelly drew the 3D half-pipe. He says he could have done a full 360˚ vertical loop, but they ran out of space (the game was an 8-megabit [1MB] cartridge).

Sonic fans know what Sonic 2 was like in unfinished form thanks to a ROM of an earlier version (the 'beta version') which appeared online in 1998. The level select revealed some levels which later got scrapped. One of these was Wood Zone, which was set in a forest and done by Brenda Ross. It's unplayable without debug mode and is very glitchy, as you can see.

A level set in a desert (also by Brenda Ross) was also scrapped, but it's not even in the beta version. All that exists is a screenshot that Brenda mocked up for the press (however, she has said that this level was up and running, but they didn't have time to add it to the game). Hackers have put together this whole level based on the art style seen in that one screenshot (like I said, scarily talented) by finding unused artwork buried in the ROM. There have been endless debates over the level's name. Most people call it Dust Hill Zone, including Brenda Ross.

Brenda said the desert level was designed to have a palette change, so the yellow sand became white snow, and the cacti became Christmas trees. This hack screenshot shows what it might have looked like.

The most famous lost level is called Hidden Palace Zone, done by Craig Stitt. It was supposed to be a 'secret' level, and it appeared in so many pre-release screenshots, but was not in the final game, most likely due to time constraints and additional design work being required. Hidden Palace is in the beta version, and it's a great looking level – unlike the other scrapped levels, it has rings, enemies and most platforms implemented – but cannot be completed. The fully complete version in the hacks is fun to play, and it still remains a shame the level was cut. The music it had was very moody and eerie and fit the visuals really well.

A large Emerald in Hidden Palace. For a while, there was all this speculation that this was the 'Master Emerald' (as seen in 1994's Sonic & Knuckles, the follow-up to Sonic 3, which also had a level called Hidden Palace, totally unlike this one). Craig Stitt said much later that it was just there to stop up the tube – Sonic would break it open like he would any other smashable object. The Emerald in the beta version is unbreakable, though.

All images © SEGA/Sonic Team 1992.

Quarantine

2010-11-18T12:41:00.004+11:00

Thanks go out to Chris at CKGD, fellow designer and friend for his review of the Quarantine album. You can read it on his blog here.

Chris was kind enough to allow his artwork which he did for an unrelated CD artwork project to be used for the 4th China 5 album Republic in 2008.

As mentioned before only two new songs have been uploaded so far but there will be more to come. I also received this comment from Ian Roure in New York City. Ian is the singer and guitarist in a great band called The Larch.

"Hey Pete – congrats on finishing the CD! "I particularly like 'Too Many Sushi'."

Thanks Ian! Speaking of that song – I was thinking of submitting it to that Snow-something-or-other competition where the best song sent in gets a video professionally shot, but never did in the end. I'll be keeping an eye out for the winning song though! I hope to plan and shoot a video for "Too Many Sushi" this summer. Wanna be in it?

Desktop Wallpaper

2010-11-13T21:41:00.003+11:00

Here's my second desktop wallpaper calendar design. I know it's next month's calendar, but I wanted to start the next one straight away. So, you'll have to wait half a month for this to become relevant.

It can also be seen here on Devo, where it has a heading, description and other fun stuff.

Be A Nut

2010-11-10T16:58:00.005+11:00

Beernut the Cow was a character from the early, early days of the story/comic that eventually became Palace Club, back when it still had its 'talking animals'. My sister and I created the character's look and personality, sometime in the early '90s.

Back then, she was supposed to be Maxine's 'foster child' (don't ask, for God's sake) and had her own TV show, a Krusty the Clown-like affair that screened episodes of an R-rated kids' cartoon (again, don't ask) called Ruxpin, which would incite kids to commit murder. She also used a pillow instead of a litter box (usually while it was still on someone else's bed) and enjoyed kissing people but ended up suffocating them due to her large 'snout'.

These are the first two drawings of Beernut done since the '90s, as she never appeared in any Palace Club episode. I'd like to write her in somewhere though. I could use a subplot involving a hyperactive purple cow.

We Must Repeat!

2010-11-08T17:12:00.003+11:00

Hey, I just redesigned the masthead; like it?

Our theme for the month of November 2010 is 'We must repeat': in other words, look back to the past and re-interpret it for the future. 'Repurposing', as those chin-stroking tosswinkles at Thr**dl*ss call it.

I can't remember who sent me this, but it was before I got a Mac, so that person is probably dead. Anyway, it's obviously a scan from a Korean magazine. This is a piece of promo artwork for Sega's video game Sonic The Hedgehog 3, released February 2, 1994 and quite a remarkable piece of colour styling and airbrushing as well as character design (this is probably the best official drawing of Tails out of them all!).

I'm assuming this artwork was done in Japan because Yuji Naka wanted an all-Japanese team working on Sonic 3, despite the fact that 1992's multi-million-selling Sonic 2 featured level art done by American artists to give the game a more 'international' look. Oh well, the dude gets what he wants.

Little Friends III

2010-11-02T12:42:00.003+11:00

John and John from They Might Be Giants.

Souvenir

2010-11-01T23:09:00.003+11:00

Now, when you design your wall panel, you have to touch base with the person on either side so your design elements overlap. But when they put the wall panels up they weren't even touching. There was like a metre gap between 'em. Oh sorry, wrong topic.

This illustration below was rejected from Airbury because I couldn't manage to fit a subplot in where Psyche somehow leaves the campus and goes for a nighttime ride through Sydney in the back of a fancy car holding an old-style German camera.

What can I say? What the comic drops, the blog picks up! Enjoy. It's on devoART, too.

By the way, my iPod played Gorillaz' "November Has Come" on shuffle today. How did it know??

Polaroid Camera

2010-10-31T22:55:00.005+11:00

A couple of people wanna see it, so here goes.

When I started using my first Lomography camera on my 31st birthday, I began to enjoy the reputation as that guy who carries around a weird-looking analogue camera.

Actually, it wasn't all that recent. I first had that reputation much earlier than that. 25 years earlier, to be exact. I received a Polaroid camera for my 6th birthday. I used to carry it around taking photos of any old rubbish until all the film was used up.

I was disappointed, as I'm sure you were, when Polaroid went bankrupt two years ago and ceased production of SX-70 film. Hopefully Polaroid revivalists The Impossible Project will toss a few of their stocks down to Van Diemen's Land, and the little grey box below will rise again. Retro? Don't insult my intelligence. Let us now. In return we offer a little incentive.

Pete's Polaroid Land Camera, manufactured 1983 (final year)

Little Friends II

2010-10-24T16:16:00.002+11:00

SD Ping Ping. Gah!

Mini Q&A

2010-10-23T12:49:00.005+11:00

Five questions I have recently been asked:

How much of what we see in your comics is based on your real-life experiences?

All of it. I really have crashed a spaceship into the planet Earth from space.

With Spike's age, in some places it's 22, in other places it's 27.

How old is he?

27. At first he was 22, but when I began to approach that age myself, it didn't seem that 'old' anymore. My sister told me to increase it to 27.

Why does the number 61 keep coming up?

61 is my lucky number and I put it into every one of my comics and some other artwork as well. Try and find them! In the fineliner sketch of Flinders Street Station on my deviantART page, I put a 61 on the dome where a tiny circular window should be.

Did you know the band China 5 have a song called "Theme From Juliet Prime"?

Yeah, it's no big deal. Notice how they don't actually say Juliet's name in the lyrics so they can't be sued for copyright infringement.

How did you learn to draw like that?

Like what?

Ah, Controversy

2010-10-22T16:58:00.002+11:00

You knew they would, right?

Little Friends

2010-10-21T20:35:00.002+11:00

SD Psyche.

Inspiration Wall

2010-10-20T20:00:00.002+11:00

Some creative people like inspiring pictures for their wall; others prefer original quotes, perhaps those said to them personally. Here's an inspiration wall, featuring hand-lettered quotes on scraps of note paper.

Number Plates

2010-10-13T21:38:00.004+11:00

Hmm, some numbers arranged in food. Well? Don't settle for this low-res image, go to my deviantART page to find out the rest of the story. You'll be seeing more than three meals there, I tell you!

New Album, New Songs Online

2010-10-10T10:10:00.003+11:00

Happy 10/10/10 to the...dozen or so people reading this!

What are the odds that I would complete both Airbury III and the new China 5 album in the same week? Not good. But I did it anyway.

China 5 have finished our 5th self-released album Quarantine and we're quite happy with it. I put the finishing touches to it this week (although I've decided to shorten one of the songs by about a minute) and did the back cover layout a couple of days ago.

There are 13 new songs on the CD. If you enjoy such widely-loved music genres such as alpenhorn, jug band, and musical saw, then this might just crank your cheese wheel.

You can go to the China 5 Myspace Music Page to listen to two new songs, "State Of Flux" and "Too Many Sushi". You will surely not be disappointed.

Airbury Volume III Complete

2010-10-05T10:42:00.015+11:00

After months of slaving away at the graphics tablet, Volume III of Airbury Academy is finally complete and I must say I'm pretty happy with it! The drawings are better than anything previous, and there has been an improvement in the colour styling in general because I'm no longer using a mouse to do the Photoshop dodge n' burn. The page count comes to 80, one page shorter than Volume II last year (although Volume II had a couple of 'filler' pages so let's say they're the same size).

As before, Volume III contains six stories: Lisa, Cologne, Psycheswap, Chalkface, Mutiny and Shutdown. So will there be a Volume IV? Not for a while. I'll be taking a break from comic-making for the time being and try to gather more story ideas, while I send out samples of Volume III and the Special Edition to various people. Not that there won't be anything to see on this blog. Well, enough talk. Here are some of the highlights from Volume III which I present to you below.

The front cover.

My friend Megan told me on my deviantART page that Jezebel is a big crybaby, so I had to get that line in somewhere.

Some life-drawing, as mentioned in an earlier post. Hey, why not draw a pear cut in half. There's one in every drawing room.

Lisa, a bad-ass pot-smoking 23 year old. She pops up in the opening story to tell her secret exam cheat method.

Maya goes to the festival (half-)dressed like a circus ringmaster.

Miss Evy tries to bond with her students, but it doesn't always work. Chris, you will find this scene familiar!

This panel of Jezebel looking sad actually appeared in Volume I in 2007. I just changed her clothes and put it in again specially for a page to send to publishers.

Maya: one ligature short of a typeface.

Psyche disguises her younger sister as her so she can sneak out of the school. Can you predict what happens?

As mentioned in an earlier post - the teddy bear prank from my design class days.

A real-life cameo! The guy on the left there is my old uni mate Fashion Boy, so called because he's Taiwanese and someone had to cop all our stupid anime nicknames. Well done FB, you've made the comic and pulled Miss Evy too, it seems.

Gertrude and Erica's conversation here is, word for word, the same as two of my graphic design classmates had in 2006. As for the "FBI - Female Body Inspector" T-shirt, a female friend of mine has one and asked me to put it in.

And finally, I couldn't resist putting in this background joke to take a dig at various things via the book spines.

Music Video: Ratcat - "That Ain't Bad" (1991)

2010-09-15T09:56:00.005+10:00

"That Ain't Bad" by Sydney band Ratcat was on an EP called Tingles which was released in 1990.

Back then there were two types of album/singles charts; one that counted EPs as singles and one that counted them as albums. Rage's music chart counted them as singles and that's the only one worth bothering about.

The song had a very simple video, and its EP flew up the charts and hit number 1 in no time. Unfortunately, Ratcat's record label (rooArt) decided to stop pressing Tingles while it was still at number 1 (couldn't they have waited a few weeks?) so promo etc could be centred on the forthcoming album. It worked, and both the album and follow-up single were both number 1s and Tingles dropped like a stone from the charts, only having had two weeks at number one.

However, Tingles got to have its moment of glory in the year-end charts for 1991, where it ranked number 2. Number 1 was that godawful Bryan Adams song from that Robin Hood movie which stayed at number 1 for 11 weeks, but I think it could have easily been overtaken by Ratcat had rooArt not ceased making the EP.

I couldn't believe it when a few months ago a shitty cover version of "That Ain't Bad" was used in a tacky Bonds TV ad. Simon Day, Ratcat's singer, was even in it. Nothing pisses you off more than an awesome song from your teenage years being bastardised for the sake of some lame commercial two decades down the track.

I remember watching the year-end countdown on Rage in 1991 with some others and we were all blown away when we saw Ratcat at number 2. The sliding volume knob on the clapped-out Mitsubishi TV was pushed all the way up and yanked off.

Enough talk. Watch the video, turn the sound up, and jump around like a rhesus monkey on crystal meth. Just like we did in '91.

AA:SE Cover

2010-09-08T17:00:00.006+10:00

The whole Airbury Special Edition has been finished, and is now a 643MB PDF file on my desktop. It even has a clickable contents page (which thanks to the madness of InDesign, manages to work and not work at the same time).

What's 'Special' about it? The artwork for the 2007 material has been dusted off. All the speech balloons now have the same font. Snippets of dialogue have been re-jigged. Pages appear in a different order and the story still makes sense. That line about Facebook causing erectile dysfunction has been taken out.

And it's one hundred and thirty-flippin'-one pages long!

And it has a better front cover, which you can see below. It now has a picture of page 1606, which I thought is a better drawing of the four main characters. If you don't disagree, don't not tell me about it.

STENDEC.

UPDATE 9/9/10: Okay, no clickable contents page now. You'd think setting up nine hyperlinks in an InDesign file would be easy. Far from it. You fart around setting up the links. Wait 5 minutes for it to make the PDF. One link doesn't work. Open up ID again and fix it. 5 more minutes. Check PDF. This time the first 4 links don't work but the other 5 do. Open up ID again. Correct all links. Another five minutes. Check PDF. This time 6 of them work and 3 don't. Make one last PDF leaving the bloody hyperlinks out. Somehow this increases the file size by ten meg.

How Adobe can call their software 'world class' with a straight face is beyond me!

Airbury Academy: Special Edition

2010-09-05T18:00:00.003+10:00

Good news for those of you who may, at some point, begin to consider possibly being interested in reading some comics I made. There will be a special edition of Airbury, taking stories from 2007, 2009 and the newest ones from this year – compiled into a huge 130-page epic! And I don't mean 'epic' in that overused internet sense either.

There will be 8 stories, but actually 11 because three of them have had additional pages stuffed into them like a comic sandwich, while somehow keeping continuity. How does he do it, folks? He has no life, that's how.

The stories will be – The Silence Ends Now (the very first story, with Dropping Out inserted just before the end), Teacher's Pet (with A Woman Scorned tacked on to the start), The Search For Room 200, Roses & Thorns (uncut and with Blue inserted near the start), Psycheswap, Chalkface, Mutiny and Evenfall. (I'm just writing this for my own memory's sake.)

It might make an appearance on a certain website as well – once I figure out if you can have webpages with 250MB PDFs embedded into them.

Indiagraphics

2010-08-28T11:42:00.006+10:00

Today I'll be looking at other countries, in a non-World Cup-related way. First up, India, a country where things like movie billboards (although not much anymore), trucks, and even political graffiti is elaborately and garishly hand-painted.

My cousin Basil is a graphic designer in Bombay. Here's what he told me recently when I asked him about the influences on design:

"India is almost entirely influenced by Western graphic design and graphic art form. Floral motifs and vine vector patterns seem to have given way to grungy urban textures of dereliction. Rusty metal and concrete are doing really good right now. It's a strange phenomenon 'cause the entire world seems to be hung up on Indian culture. Go figure..."

In 2004 there was a graphic novel called The Moon Of Baroda being serialized in a daily Bombay newspaper called Mid Day. My attempts to find it published in book form was met with blank looks from book store owners. Later on I emailed Rohit Gupta, the author, to ask him about it. He didn't reply.

The Moon Of Baroda, along with two other stories Knife In The Water and Towers Of Silence were collected in Gupta's book Special Officer Savant, which he described as "mainly about a police inspector and Bollywood-style crime-fighting, robbery etc." Incidentally, he described his 2007 comic The Curse Of Pippilika as "a typical science-fiction, mytho-epical tantric sex fantasy" (!).

Anyway, here's a sample strip – the first one I saw. I like how they censored the word 'ass' but left 'bloody', 'shit' and 'bastards' as is. Enjoy!

Site Relaunch

2010-08-26T10:40:00.002+10:00

The nonesuchdesign.com website has been redone in a new slimline version. It's basically just an online portfolio now, with a few galleries of images. Most of those images have already been uploaded to my deviantART page.

All the other stuff that was on the old site has been deleted, including the comic stuff. I was going to put some of those in, but Dreamweaver is being an arse as usual so for the time being it's just the galleries.

I'd appreciate anyone letting me know if something on the site doesn't function, is missing, or doesn't display properly.

Wallan

2010-08-25T10:38:00.003+10:00

Thought I'd post this, as it's been on my desktop since May. Somewhere out in country Victoria there's a small town called Wallan that has signs like this in several fields. The heart in the sign is made of grass. It shows that the people of Wallan, unlike Melbourne, actually take pride in their small corner of the world.

I have no idea how to pronounce the town's name, which makes it more interesting.

Further north, the border town of Wodonga has a sign facing into New South Wales that says "I Hate Albury". Well, they don't. But they should.

Chalkface

2010-08-24T11:12:00.005+10:00

Here's a couple of panels from Chalkface, the 16th chapter in the Airbury Academy series. The story is a series of flashbacks from a teacher's point of view, but it did give me the chance to include some real-life snippets from when I was studying graphic design. The last part takes place in a life drawing class:

The "model" that they're drawing isn't nude at all, so no need to worry. The above lines were overheard pretty regularly in my life drawing classes; I think I said it to the teacher at some point as well.

Erica's line in the above panel is taken directly from something a friend in design class once said to a teacher. I was sitting next to her when she said it, and she said it with such enthusiasm that I was laughing for quite a while. It still makes me laugh, so I just had to put it in.

It's actually funnier here because Erica's life-drawing is so bad.

ComicSpace Site Down

2010-08-23T12:48:00.002+10:00

My computer decided to switch itself on (anyone else had this happen?) at 4:15 this morning. Scared the hell out of me.

Anyway, the recent demise of the ComicSpace website means the five galleries I uploaded are no longer online. ComicSpace will probably relaunch in a different format, but I don't have a profile page there. Which means this is now the only place you can see the comic stories as they unfold.

ID Ideas

2010-08-13T16:42:00.005+10:00

Now that I need to come up with a new name and logo, let's start brainstorming a few ideas.

Thinking of a business identity can be difficult, especially as it requires a memorable, concise name that describes what you do, and a logo that clearly represents same.

There are many approaches to this. First up is the ultra-corporate look. Clean typeface, no colour, and perhaps a tossy slogan thrown in.

Too clinical. No interesting shapes, boring company name and clichéd slogan. Let's try again with a more interesting name. I still can't think of one so for this example I'll put four random letters together, like those burnt-out hippies The Beatles did with "NUJV":

'Graphic Arts' at least describes the business even if JKPX is totally meaningless. It might mean something if you really think about it but then it might not. One more try. If corporate branding seems too difficult for a one-man band, why not try to develop your own self as a brand, like Big Kev, Dick Smith or, dare I say it, Peter The Possum Man?

So, it's a bit stupid but I reckon you'll remember it and not the other two. Probably not the ideal choice for a serious graphic artist though.

In any case, the search for a new name continues...

My Top 10 Animated Films

2010-08-10T11:08:00.015+10:00

I'd never claim to be any sort of authority on animated films (I've only seen one of the 86 Shrek movies, for instance) but I know a good one when I see one, and I've seen quite a few. So here is the list of my Top Ten Animated Films.

All images are copyright their respective owners/creators and no copyright infringement is intended.

10. A Bug's Life

(1998)

The Disney/Pixar output is prolific in recent years but I count this one as the best of the bunch. I saw it when it came out, and not only was the animation amazing but the little touches (such as a water droplet in a rolled-up leaf used as a telescope) drew you into the ants' world more. The rendering of shadows and wind movement was done really well too.

9. Hotaru No Haka

(Grave Of The Fireflies)

(1988)

Teenaged Seita and his young sister Setsuko try to survive in a small village after their mother is killed in a World War II bombing raid. The film is based on a book by Akiyuki Nosaka about a boy and his sister dying of starvation just days before Japan's surrender in 1945. Nosaka wrote the book to come to terms with his sister's death, because he blamed himself for it.

The film depicts a dangerous reality but doesn't overdo the sentimentality, although it has to be said this is an intensely moving film. If it doesn't at least bring a tear to your eye you are not human.

8. Project A-Ko

(1986)

I saw this at the start of my "I'll watch any anime no matter what it's about" period (1998–2001). It inspired me to do comics/graphic novels with unlikely protagonists. It's got plenty of elements that people like about anime: the main character's a girl, it's set in a school, it's got massive robots that explode and some great rubbery animation, with facial expressions you never knew existed. Old-school anime that still matches up to the visually-sophisticated '90s/'00s stuff. The first anime film I saw, and a good introduction to anime, looking back.

7. The Lion King

(1994)

Many consider the 1990s to be a 'gold' era for Disney, and this film had dramatic scenery complemented by its soundtrack. I saw this at the movies when it came out and the "Circle Of Life" sequence had everyone amazed, no one said a word when the film's title came up with that big thumping drum beat sound. Impressive.

6. Ranma ½: Kessen Togenkyou! Hanayome O Tomoridose!!

(Ranma ½ The Movie 2: Nihao My Concubine)

(1992)

I doubt this was shown in theatres as it was a movie-length episode of the anime series. If it had been, I'm sure they would have given it a snappier title. Many fans like this for its beach scenes (I don't think I need to spell that out), but I like it for its tropical setting, colour styling, over-the-top comedy and visual gags. And, get this – the English dub is really funny, and I like the actors' voices a lot.

5. Rupan Sansei: Kariosutoro No Shiro

(Lupin III: The Castle Of Cagliostro)

(1979)

An early Hayao Miyazaki feature, based on a manga by Monkey Punch, with goofy slapstick animation and a freewheeling, melodramatic style. Action mixed with screwball comedy is a genre better suited to animation, as Miyazaki himself said. Visually incredible – check out the auto-gyro in the climax of the second act – but the definite highlight is the car chase near the beginning, where Lupin's Fiat 500 does everything you wouldn't expect a tiny car to do.

4. The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie

(1981)

(1981 only refers to the year this was compiled – the cartoons themselves date back much earlier.)

Now, this is how real cartoons are done. These Warner Bros cartoons had a sense of comic timing, and storyline pacing that just gets more frenzied as it builds to the climax, that 'zany™' 'toons in recent times can't replicate. Friz Freleng had a style that cannot be imitated and his best work is showcased brilliantly here. And if you've seen the shorts in their original form, so much the better.

3. Chicken Run

(2000)

Aardman Animation's classic, which I also saw when it came out, and the work that went into making it is staggering. I remember reading something like the animators would work for a full day and only end up with 3 seconds of footage at the end. I used to use Flash in design class, so I know how they feel. The wide banana-mouths of the characters (an Aardman signature) makes the mouth movements much more realistic. I also like the way the characters interact with other objects, such as sets and props. It's very hard for me to watch this without thinking 'I wonder how they did that' every 2 seconds, but I'll keep trying anyway.

2. Wallace & Gromit in The Wrong Trousers

(1993)

I don't think anyone does 'claymation' better than Aardman and Nick Park, and this is my personal favourite of the Wallace & Gromit short films. Aside from the stunning animation this film also uses sound effects and music to maximum dramatic effect. People always mention that Gromit doesn't talk. Why should he? We know how he feels just by looking at him. If only more people were like that, eh? The train chase scene at the end is one of the most beautiful things to see in animation (in particular Gromit laying down spare track at lightning speed). To be honest, that scene is one of the finest things committed to film, ever.

1. Kurenai No Buta

(Porco Rosso)

(1992)

There are plenty of top Miyazaki films which might be tough for the Studio Ghibli enthusiast to rank. I haven't seen that many, but this is my solid favourite. The scenery is depicted so realistically that the opening pan shot of Porco's secluded bay may fool you into thinking it's live-action. The film's Mediterranean backgrounds are very detailed, with dramatic use of light and shade. The animation of course is of an amazingly high standard and the aerial combat scenes are incredible, the animation and camera angles capture the sense of speed perfectly, not to mention the designs of the planes themselves. The aeroplanes in this film are based on actual 1920s aircraft, when plane designs were more freeform. Miyazaki himself used to sketch WWII fighter planes as a teenager.

As the 20th century turned to the 21st, Studio Ghibli would no doubt go on to produce more groundbreaking work but the visuals in this film blow me away every time – which ensured its no.1 place on this list.

Honourable Mention: Urotsukidoji

(1987)

It's only an OVA and didn't get a theatrical release, so it misses out on the list, but it'll take a couple of hours to watch and it's made of drawings on acetate sheets, so it's an animated movie as far as I'm concerned.

If you were into anime in the early 1990s before every Tom, Dick and Harry started watching Naruto, this was the one that was off-limits to under 18s. The term 'tentacle porn' sums this up admirably. But it has lots more: humour, dark perversions, climactic battles, exploding bodies, and this, possibly the best "let's introduce a major female character with a pervy vertical pan shot" ever done.

Any questions?

The End Of Nonesuch Design

2010-08-07T10:48:00.005+10:00

Wow, the previous post racked up a whopping 8 comments! Sure, two of them are mine and the rest are a couple of idiots arguing, but it's still an entertaining read. But enough about that – it's time I posted something for August. And it ain't good.

After using the name Nonesuch Design for two years, the various little Hitlers and tin-gods that make the rules have informed me that I can no longer use the name. Why? Because someone registered the name several years ago, and let it expire. So using it as a legit name is now a no go area. Off-limits. Verboten.

I suppose this blog will still keep its name though (can't change the URL now). It takes me forever to think of names for things. Sometime in the late '90s I originally started using the name Half Baked Productions (because one of the bricks in my driveway was a different colour), but people thought that was amateurish. So I changed it to Starlight Division, but people thought it sounded like Starlight Foundation, which is some childrens' charity. Then in 2006 it became Nonesuch Cartoons before becoming Nonesuch Design in 2008. And no one could fault that because no one knew what 'nonesuch' meant.

Well, I'd better go throw out my 150-odd business cards and trash all my letterhead and self-promo designs which all featured the old logo, and take another two years trying to think of a new name. Suggest a new name for me if you want. Or don't, I don't really give a stuff. Perhaps this photo of protesters in Iceland sums up how I feel at this point.

The Road Message Mystery

2010-07-27T14:43:00.009+10:00

Here's a mystery to boggle even the most hardworking minds:

I took these photos on July 22, 2004. Several months before that, someone painted (i.e. with a brush) a bizarre message on the road not far from where I lived, in the Perth suburb of Manning. It was blacked out, but after several months of traffic the message began to reveal itself again.

As you can see, the writing stretches almost all the way across the road. I can only make out the last part of the message, which says:

"DISREGARD THAT
PAPAL BULL!
I DO!!! ('do' is underlined twice)
(picture of a cross) CHRIS CROSS (VERY!)
JUMP!"

I have no idea what this means. It sounds like a swipe at Catholics and a reference to these teenage rappers' hit song from 1992.

Okay, so these photos were taken six years ago. What does Ley Street, Manning look like now? With Google Street View, we can check it out.

Ley Street isn't much of a busy road. I have to wonder why the writer chose this location for his message; it just has houses on one side and an empty field on the other. You can see that the road now has that stupid 'strip' thing down the middle that serves no purpose at all. And disregard the fact that it says 'Como' as the suburb name at the top. UBD may think so, but this is Manning as far as I'm concerned. I don't know – you leave town for 5 years and they change the suburb name. Como, indeed. Ridiculous.

This Google Street View image is taken from the same point of view as my photos from 2004, using telegraph pole as a reference. No sign of the message at all. Just a bus stop that wasn't there before and someone's clapped-out blue van. Well, I doubt we'll ever get to the bottom of this mystery but if you've got anything to add, comment below. You might just restore sanity to the residents of Ley Street, Manning (not bloody Como), Western Australia.

World Cup 16 Series – No.1: Spain

2010-07-12T10:08:00.005+10:00

Well done Spain. I hope you (as in the readers, not Spain) enjoyed the World Cup 16 Series, brought to you by Nonesuch Blog. Read my initial post on this series for what must happen in the event that I picked the winning team.

Now get out of here, I'm tired from doing all these drawings!

World Cup 16 Series – No.2: The Netherlands

2010-07-11T18:20:00.003+10:00

When watching the World Cup final tomorrow, be sure to turn down the colour contrast on your TV, or else all that orange will do you permanent damage. My eyes, my eyes!