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Seneca Coalesce

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:56:53 -0400

Coalesce was amazing! So much great work there. I was suprised at how big of a presence the Art Fundamentals students had at the show. Our work probably comprised almost half of the work that was there.

This is where you want to go today. This is where Coalesce will...

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:52:08 -0400

This is where you want to go today. This is where Coalesce will be. http://coalesce2013.ca

Tomorrow Seneca is holding an art show at the House Of Moments...

Mon, 06 May 2013 12:46:58 -0400

Tomorrow Seneca is holding an art show at the House Of Moments at 386 Carlaw Ave., in Toronto. The opening reception will run from 6pm to 12pm. The show will showcase the work of graduating students from their creative arts programs. Some of my work will be in the show as well as the work of my peers. For more information see the website. http://www.coalesce2013.ca/

radiomaru: rebloggable version of this answer for...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:45:50 -0400

radiomaru:

rebloggable version of this answer for you

I’ll never understand why people continue to ask questions like this about anything.

evilsoutherngentleman: cosmic-cunnilingus: zenpencils: Vincent...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:29:04 -0400

evilsoutherngentleman:

cosmic-cunnilingus:

zenpencils:

Vincent Van Gogh - ‘In spite of everything’

this is beautiful

I have a lot of deep and personal feelings about this. It is going to take me a minute, the wind has been knocked form me.

Kevin Cross Blog: Hey Illustrators! Get Clients Without Doing Any Promotion or Marketing

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:49:23 -0400

Kevin Cross Blog: Hey Illustrators! Get Clients Without Doing Any Promotion or Marketing:

laserbeamsgo:

Hey Illustrators! Wanna know how to to get clients without doing any promotion or marketing? Its easy! Here’s how I do it:

Pick a personal project that will take some time for you to finish. (i.e. children’s book, comic book, or animated short)

Get really excited about it. I mean the kind of…

I have officially finished my first year of college! I will be entering Illustration at Seneca in...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:35:35 -0400

I have officially finished my first year of college! I will be entering Illustration at Seneca in the fall.

christopher-lai: Pretty much final enviros for my teacher Jim...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:18:32 -0400

christopher-lai:

Pretty much final enviros for my teacher Jim Graves and for this project. That said, would like to continue to develop them for Seneca’s Coalesce Art Show in May.

Koko Be Good Is Good

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:56:00 -0400

“Koko Be Good” by Jen Wang, is a graphic novel that lives up to its name. This book is not only good; it is the best graphic novel I have ever read. This is because it features complex and flawed yet likeable characters, entertaining and innovative visual storytelling, and a truly uplifting and universally relatable message. The story is about a selfish and immature young woman called Koko. When she meets a young man called Jon who is moving to Peru to help the needy she is inspired to become a better person.

The characters in “Koko Be Good” are complex and flawed but due to their earnest desire to be better people they are not only sympathetic, but endearing and likeable. The central character is Koko, a frenetic girl in her early twenties who is decidedly not a good person at the outset of the book. When she is first introduced we learn that she has just been fired from her job as a member of “Peachey’s Puffs” a group of girls who go to parties selling cigarettes and candies in skimpy outfits. Rather than find a new line of work, she steals merchandise from Peachy’s Puffs and sells it at a party that they are scheduled to attend with her teenage friend Faron. When her old boss, Janey, shows up at the party she is forced to flee the scene. It is revealed in a later scene that Janey was not only her boss, but her roommate, who had taken her in after finding her homeless and broke. Koko never paid her any rent and never showed any gratitude towards her. By this point Koko should be a character that is despised by the reader. However, the book cuts to a scene that serves to endear us to Koko’s character. Koko is now living in an attic apartment that she pays for with an “Optional Rent Donation”. Despite the optional nature of her rent she is still shown putting the money that she has just earned at the party into the rent jar, showing a small but noticeable amount of growth. Her landlord has made her a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich and left it on the counter with a note saying that he hopes that she had a good night. He has even drawn a little heart in the bottom corner of the note. Everything from the choice of a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich to the note is constructed to show that her landlord treats her like she is a child. By portraying Koko as being so immature that she has the mind of a child the author makes her more endearing and makes her actions seem more forgivable. She is then shown taking pictures of herself in a bear costume, playing with stuffed animals and sleeping in a blanket fort. All of these things contribute to the idea that despite being in her twenties, she is just a child at heart. Jon appears to be the opposite of Koko. He is the epitome of what people consider to be a good person. He is moving to Peru in a month to do humanitarian work with his girlfriend. However, Jon is not the good person that he is trying to be. Whenever he talks about moving to Peru he looks anxious or sad. It is clear that he is only moving to Peru because he thinks that it is the right thing to do but it is not what he wants to do. Faron, Koko’s sidekick, also tries to be good by doing what he thinks is right. He lets Koko take advantage him and he puts aside his dream of being a Broadway actor to help with the family business.

In terms of plot, “Koko Be Good” is a book in which few notable events transpire. The characters spend most of the book talking to each other, talking on the phone and talking to themselves into a tape recorder. When tangible action is required of the characters it is usually a seemingly mundane action. The majority of the story’s development takes place in the characters heads. In the hands of a lesser storyteller this could very easily have been a dull read. It is only due to the entertaining and innovative visual storytelling that Koko Be Good is not only tolerable to read but incredibly enjoyable. People who are new to comics may have difficulty following the narrative at times as Wang does not always use conventional rules of reading order but instead may have word balloons flow from right to left using only the natural visual flow of the page to guide the reader’s eye. Some word balloons don’t even have tails. This does not detract from the book as it is always clear which character is talking based on narrative context alone. Wang makes use of brilliant storytelling skills throughout the book, however there are several scenes which stand out. There is a scene where Jon is writing a song and the sheet music is drawn into the panels as the scene cuts from Jon’s perspective to Faron’s as he is sitting at an audition for a school play, to Koko’s as she is lying in bed, defeated. The length and pitch of the notes contributes to the pacing and tone of each shot. Quarter notes quicken the pace and contribute to a hopeful tone. Full notes slow the pace down and cancel out the hopefulness of the previous panel. One chapter that stands out in particular is called “The Ballad of Faron Lau” which expands on the character of Faron. The entire segment is told through pictures, eliminating all dialogue. It is also drawn in a style that is different from the rest of the book. Everything is represented in a simpler and more symbolic way. This has the effect of feeling as though you are viewing Faron’s memories. It also feels like watching a play which contributes to the narrative that Faron wants to be a broadway actor.

At its core, what makes “Koko Be Good” a great story is its uplifting and universally relatable message. Nearly everybody can relate to the desire to be a better person. Whether people are educating themselves, applying to jobs, or raising children, they are constantly looking for ways to better themselves on a daily basis and they frequently fall short of their expectations. When Koko meets Jon and discovers that he is moving to Peru to do humanitarian work with his girlfriend she feels that her own life is inadequate. She decides to change this and begins to try to be a good person. She sponsors a child in a foreign country, she helps out at a soup kitchen, and she attempts to help out at a nursing home. In chapter 7 Koko poses the question “[Do] …you think you’re good people? And if you are how would you know?” (p. 251). The message behind the story is more complex than “people should be good.” The message behind “Koko Be Good” is that simply doing good acts does not inherently make you a good person if those acts are done in an effort to earn respect or admiration or to get vindication. Ironically, Koko has a better grasp of this concept at the beginning of the book than she does once she starts trying to be good. During the scene where Koko and Jon are in the diner Koko says “You’re giving up a reasonably good life… just so you can hang out with some goody-two-shoes girl whose behaviour makes you feel better about yourself?” (p. 77) However once Koko’s do-gooding has reached its peak and she is going so far as to sell her few worldly possessions to raise money for charity Koko is further from understanding this idea than she has ever been. When her old boss, Janey mocks her efforts to better herself Koko tells her “I am a hero to someone. You’ll see. Someday I’m going to be this amazing person. Everyone’s going to look up to me, and you’re going to be so, so ashamed,” (p. 229). This statement demonstrates that all of the good deeds that Koko has been doing have been in an effort to earn respect and vindication. Shortly after this exchange Koko receives a letter from the foreign child which she sponsored letting her know that due to her donation he was able to afford ear surgery. Koko is finally a hero to someone. However, she doesn’t have the joyous reaction that she expected. Instead she looks as if she is about to cry. This is because she knows that she doesn’t deserve the respect that the child is granting her. It feels empty. Her motivation for sponsoring him came from a completely self-centered place. It’s not until the end of the book that Koko is able to feel what it is like to be a hero to Faron. At the beginning of the book Koko treats Faron as if he is there to serve her. She orders him around and remains completely oblivious to his desires and the problems that he is having at home. When Koko offers to take Faron to New York at the end of the book she is finally doing something for someone else without any other selfish motivation. This is Koko’s first genuinely good act.

Here are the actual comic pages from the motion comic that I...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:25:24 -0400

Here are the actual comic pages from the motion comic that I posted for those of you who prefer your comics in static form.

christopher-lai: Character Line up. Whooo… So exhausted, but...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:29:30 -0400

christopher-lai:

Character Line up.

Whooo… So exhausted, but quite happy. : )

A motion comic preview of the next chapter of the webcomic Lemon...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:23:00 -0400

A motion comic preview of the next chapter of the webcomic Lemon Inc., which can be read at lemon-inc.com. It’s Andy’s dream to be a rich business mogul, but how will he get there if he won’t even serve a single customer? The background music is “Kiss Me, Son Of God”, by They Might Be Giants. I reccommend watching it in HD. It improves that quality a lot.

Illustration: “Congratulations on your acceptance.”

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:38:00 -0400

Illustration: “Congratulations on your acceptance.”

gunkiss: Kevin Smith: Criticism vs. Creation -S.I.T This is...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 01:25:00 -0500

gunkiss:

Kevin Smith: Criticism vs. Creation -S.I.T

This is worth watching if you’re an artist because you can decide, as imperfect your work is it’s yours, you used your time, put your personal thought to it and you decide the rules, If you don’t like something then just go and create something you like instead, why do you need it to be canon? You just need that something to exist so you can like it and you can make that happen, just create and share it if you work on your own stuff and create, and equivocate and emote someone, that’s the greater gift and if it comes with money, the merrier ;) So, This sums my thoughts exactly. I’m glad that guy (who’s name I’ve no clue) asked about it, thanks man!

Thanks to my friend Hyoga for sending me this.

I haven’t seen any of Kevin Smith’s movies or read any of his comics but this sure makes me have a lot of respect for him.

christopher-lai: Poses! Surprising difficult. Long long hours...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 21:46:02 -0500

christopher-lai:

Poses! Surprising difficult. Long long hours spent tweaking. But satisfying to complete.

Follow my brother, he is awesome.

Starving Artist's Sage Advice: hey look its a post of some art reference/tutorial blogs

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:51:48 -0500

Starving Artist's Sage Advice: hey look its a post of some art reference/tutorial blogs:

my-chemical-nopants:

http://drawtosurvive.tumblr.com/

http://fyeahartisthelp.tumblr.com/

http://art-tutorials.tumblr.com/

http://fuckyeahreferences.tumblr.com/

http://artrefsforyou.tumblr.com/

http://artistdirectory.tumblr.com/

http://thecandyjar.tumblr.com/

gingerhaze: guess who’s rewatching Pushing Daisie (it’s me) I...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:09:47 -0500

gingerhaze:

guess who’s rewatching Pushing Daisie (it’s me)

I love these two. They just like, get stuck together because they’re the only two left.”Hi Emerson!” “Hi Olive……”

OMG! I want to do Pushing Daisies fanart so badly right now but I have homework to do.

torontocomics: TCAF 10th Anniversary Poster, by Maurice...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:28:36 -0500

torontocomics:

TCAF 10th Anniversary Poster, by Maurice Vellekoop.

My expressive type project for Digital Design. I used the lyrics...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:39:18 -0500

My expressive type project for Digital Design. I used the lyrics from Birdhouse In Your Soul to make a birdhouse. Most of the fonts I used are actually from TMBG albums. It figures that I would notice a typo in it after submitting it.

flickfreak: theanimationarchive: Early Hotel Transylvania...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 22:59:55 -0500

flickfreak:

theanimationarchive:

Early Hotel Transylvania character design by Fabien Mense.

Oddly enough I really love this bold design much more than the later execution. This seems more like Genndy’s gig

Oh man, these designs are amazing.