Fantasist's Scroll

No, this is not a bad acid trip.
Actually, it’s a pretty interesting web comic set in the not too distant future. What’s even more interesting is that it takes place in an Islamic-centric desert country torn by war and terrorism. Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought it might. And, trust me, this is a very different look at how that dynamic works. Very thought provoking.
So, check out The Spiders and get ready to be blown away.

Have a fun freaky Friday!

Making art is fun and easy!

I’ve never understood people who spend all the money on high-end graphics software only to claim they still can’t produce any art. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s not the tools, it’s the workman. I’ve seen artists who painted with coffee and rusty water. I know a guy who takes old bill-board canvas and makes collage art out of that. (In fact, I hear it sells for a pretty penny!) But, me, I’m a computer geek, so I make computer art. Hmm, I wonder if it’s worth putting a copyright statement on these?
Oh, you may notice that this is a square instead of my regular full-screen rectangle. “Why?”, you ask? Well, simple. I was over at Cingular, looking at graphics, and it occured to me that I could use their custom picture tool to send a nice picture that I created to my new phone. So, I made a square graphic that I can compress with their program and fit onto my phone’s little, square screen. It may have taken all night to render, but, I think it was worth it.
In any case, I hope you enjoy it.

Yes, I keep making more art.
I know, this has got to get boring for you few regular readers, but I’m having fun. I’m really enjoying making some pictures of things that have bounced around inside my head for ages. Vue d’Espirit really lets me take some basic shapes and objects and combine them into very interesting pictures. The islands floating in the sky in this picture has been a theme for me ever since I first saw Views by Roger Dean. He had the most wonderful paintings of floating islands that just fired my imagination beyond belief. So, you can imagine how thrilled I am to be able to create my own visions of that theme. You can expect to see more!

Look, I made more art!
I needed a fantasy world to escape into, so I made one. Well, part of one. So far, I’m just experiementing with some stock images, but at least I’m producing things. ThisVue d’Espirit program is really intuitive, for me, and makes great output very easy to produce. Or so I’m told. So far, I’ve only made really good output, but I see the potential for great. Who knows, one day, someone might actually donate money for the art I produce! Yeah, okay, that might be asking too much, but, still… On the other hand, I’ve been thinking about saving up the money for a new color printer. Rumor has it that Epson produces archival quality inks for their inkjet printers. In theory, I could use them to produce prints that I could sell. Make a limited number of prints, frame them, and sell them on eBay or, dare I say it, my very own web page!

Now, this is what I call “assault and battery”!
Ever wanted to build your very own trebuchet? How about a mangonel? Well, now you can! Just head over to How To Build A Catapult and go nuts. They’ve got lots of plans using different materials and even different sizes of devices. There are a bunch of links to other resources, too, including a link to CatapultKits, where, obviously, you can buy kits and save a lot of hassle.

Anyway, it’s a fun, if somewhat violent, hobby and it’s Friday, so click the links!

Not just water and rocks!
Nope, this time, I included some free science-fiction objects with their “skins” mapped differently. In their original forms, they weren’t shiny enough to be science-fiction. If it’s not sparkly and shiny enough, it just can’t be high-tech! (Hmm, I should make sure my brother in R&D at Motorola knows that…)
Anyway, I created this because someone who reads my site complained that my digital art was all a little too antediluvian for his taste. And, I have to admit, it all did seem somewhat, well, “prehistoric”. Now, keep in mind, these pictures are all done with the FREE version of Vue d’Espirit which is several revs behind the full version and severly lacking in features. Also, all the good free stuff is done for the newer versions, so my subject matter is fairly restricted. Still, I think I do a fair job, all things considered. I can only imagine what I could accomplish if I spent the money on the full version. Someday, perhaps, someday….

My favorite fantasy author is experimenting.
Specifically, Lawrence Watt-Evans is serializing an Ethshar novel called The Spriggan Mirror. Apparently, the fans are clamoring for more Ethshar, but not loudly enough to be heard in the halls of the ivory towers of publishing. So, dedicated author that he is, Lawrence has begun serializing the novel on his website. Every week that he has recieved $100, or more, in donations, he will post a chapter, until the entire book is “exposed”. Of course, if he hasn’t recieved the required donations, he doesn’t post anything that week. So, all you rich kids who like Lawrence Watt-Evans, go spend your allowance on this project, so I can read this fine novel for free.

Oh, you know I’m going to contribute, but it’s Friday, so I thought I’d have a little fun. Now, go read as much of The Spriggan Mirror as you can before the boss catches you!

Science-fiction comes to life.
William Gibson wrote about this ages ago, but it’s finally coming true. A video “screen” that is projected onto glasses. From what I read in this article on Australian IT, it seems to work on any kind of glasses at all. They say that if you’re one of those lucky few that don’t need corrective lenses, it will project just fine onto sunglasses. “It”, incidentally, is the TeleGlass which was developed by a Japanese microscope maker called Scalar. The article talks about people using this to watch portable DVD players, but it also mentions the recent update of the Sony Walkman to include digital video. Coincidence? Knowing how the Japanese kieretsu do business, probably not. Do I care? NO, because this is that damn cool.