I have never had my work compiled in any structured or comprehensive manor. Finally, I’ve got a portfolio setup, to house my work, including the personal more abstract stuff. Please have a look and spread the word if you like what you see. I should have a lot of new stuff coming soon (watercolors!!!).
Karen Elson – Truth Is In The Dirt
Amazing visuals here and a really nice tune. It’s interesting. The majority of the big models I know have an amazing eye and visual vocabulary. They are artists. In this case, it’s easy to see Elson heavily pulling references from the fashion world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7utJmxbBa
Are you a drive-by teacher?
Someone will show their work and I’ll see an opportunity to make it better. But instead of spending time with that person to teach them what I see and how to make it better, I’ll drop some quick comments in Campfire (or IM or email) and then just move on. Things like “That sentence is a bit wordy – let’s try it this way” or “I think there are too many horizontal lines going on here… Can you remove some?” It’s not that the comments aren’t useful, it’s that I drop them and move on. That’s not teaching, that’s just critiquing and suggesting and that’s not going to help people get better. Teaching is about encouraging understanding — and patience.
(Emphasis mine.)
Apple Mimics Breathing
In July 2002, Appled filed a patent for a “Breathing Status LED Indicator” (No. US 6,658,577 B2). They described it as a “blinking effect of the sleep-mode indicator in accordance with the present invention mimics the rhythm of breathing which is psychologically appealing.”
The average respiratory rate for adults is 12-20 breathes per minute, which is the rate that the sleep-indicator light fades in and out on most Apple laptops. Older models such as the Macintosh PowerBook, however, use a blinking LED indicator, with discrete pulses in one-second intervals.
The other day, I noticed that my friend’s Dell laptop had a similar feature but with a shorter fade-in-fade-out period. Its rate was around 40 blinks per second, or the average respiratory rate for adults during strenuous exercise—not very indicative of something in sleep-mode.
Pixel Patterns
Ever want to make a dotted line in Photoshop and then freak out cause you have to make a pattern every time, because you forgot to save yours? “pixel patterns,” should take care of that problem.
From Naomi Atkinson Products. via SimpleBits – Pixel patterns for Photoshop or Fireworks.
How was Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” cut?
Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs,” was recorded using 24-track tape, mixed down and pressed to 12″ vinyl. Then the vinyl playback was recorded to a digital master.
In short, “The Suburbs,” is a recording of a record. A re-recording.
The vinyl cutting process introduces many new elements that transform a mastered record; giving it smoother mids, more solid bass, and other textural transformations. Recording vinyl back to digital for distribution is an interesting way of controlling the experience, indifferent of the medium used for consumption.
I know this has been done before, but I have a feeling it’s going to be more common as we navigate the era of vinyl superiority and digital distribution.
Contra Cover Girl Sues Vampire Weekend
So, the girl on the cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Contra,” is suing the band. She says that the photograph was taken at a casting call and that she never gave permission for the band to use the image.
When I was doing model tests for various agencies in NYC, there was never a release of any kind. The models were basically property of whichever agency they worked with and if they let you take their picture, you owned the right to it. They did, after all knowingly sit in front of the lens. It was always an iffy business, and the agencies never wanted to sign any type of release.
It’ll be interesting to see how this works out.
In a new Vanity Fair piece, the woman on Vampire Weekend’s Contra cover explains her $2 million lawsuit against the group, their label, and the photographer who may or may not have taken the picture, Tod Brody. Her full name is Ann Kirsten Kennis and she used to be a sought-after model in the 80s and early 90s. (An amazingly dated portfolio of her work can be seen at Vanity Fair’s site.)
The lawsuit revolves around a photo release allegedly signed by Kennis in 2009, though she denies its authenticity. Brody stands by the release, though he’s been accused of shady practices in the past. Also, Kennis says her mother took the photo; Brody says he took it during a casting session in 1983.
Vanity Fair astutely points out that the lawsuit highlights a generation gap and our increasingly blurred notions of copyright and permission of use. Kennis said, “You start to see interviews from fans of the band, and they are like, ‘I would just be glad that my picture was on it.’ Well, not really. They are using it for their gain. Something is wrong here. It’s like, don’t just use my picture all over the place.”
via Pitchfork: Vampire Weekend Contra Cover Girl Speaks Out About Photo Lawsuit.
Scott Pilgrim Was Amazing
Scott Pilgrim was amazing. The effects, the editing, the cast, the way it made my heart swoon for Ramona Flowers. I think I may have been more in love than Scott. Just go see it. If you don’t like it, I’ll comp your ticket (or not).
So, if the movies have been so bad—if, as we complain, there’s nothing good playing—why is a good movie having such a hard time finding an audience? Scapegoats include Michael Cera’s ability to “open” a movie (though pretty much every actor gets that stigma these days); the inability of audiences to understand what the movie is (so we see only movies that can be easily summarized in canned tag lines? Like what, for example? Inception?); and, of course, comics and fan boys. (Right, because those people definitely don’t pay to go see movies.) Maybe Scott Pilgrim’s target audience—the Facebook generation—is downloading it instead of paying for a movie ticket. It’s hard to say if that’s true, but if it is: please, even if you’ve already illegally downloaded Scott Pilgrim, posted it on your Wall, and exported it to your iPhone 4, I assure you it’s much better on the big screen—almost as if that was the way director Edgar Wright intended it to be seen. And guess what, it wasn’t hastily converted to 3D either, so you don’t have to pay an extra $5 to wear funny glasses, watch an underlit screen, and get a migraine. So, put down the iPad (especially if you’re driving), turn left at the multiplex, and go buy a ticket. Tonight. Come on, it’s a Tuesday in mid-August, where else do you have to be? Plus, if you live in the lower 48, I can guarantee it’s a lot cooler in that theater.
via Go and Pay to See Scott Pilgrim Right Now | Little Gold Men | Vanity Fair.
Aaron Draplin in Detroit This Thursday
If you don’t know Aaron Draplin, you’ve been living under a rock.
The man runs the Draplin Design Co., and has done some fantastic work for companies such as: Coal Headwear, Union Binding Company, Snowboard Magazine, Grenade Gloves, Gnu Snowboards, Ride Snowboards, Forum Snowboards, Giro Helmets, Richmond Fontaine, Chunklet Magazine, Exit Real World, Timberline, Snowboarder Magazine, Wired Magazine, Chuck Prophet, Nike, Cobra Dogs, Uncle Buck, and the Obama Administration.
This Thursday AIGA Detroit is bringing Aaron to Detroit. He’ll be “showing work, sharing some harrowing accounts, hocking DDC merch and making friends.”
It’s gonna be awesome and it’s only $10 if you aren’t a member.
See you there folks.
“Three of my uncles are deaf. Five aunts died as babies. Why? My grandparents were first cousins who married.”
The source may not be the most prestigious, but it’s quite astounding.
In the UK more than 50 per cent of British Pakistanis marry their cousins – in Bradford that figure is 75 per cent – and across the country the practice is on the rise and also common among East African, Middle-Eastern and Bangladeshi communities.
