Fantasist's Scroll

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.

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!

What if Darth Vader were a chick?
Okay, so I saw “Revenge of the Sith” last week Sunday afternoon with a friend and it was good. Not great, but, considering we all knew how it would end anyway, it was pretty good. Special effects were first rate and seeing it on the IMAX screen was, well, like the “old days” of movie going. Well worth the $10.
Anyway, someone said something the other day that got me thinking… How different would all these movies have been if Anakin Skywalker had been, say “Anne” or “Annabelle” Skywalker? How much more tragic would that scene in Episode V have been when Darth told Luke the truth? “Luke, I’m your mother!” After all, mothers are supposed to be the source of all comfort and care and light. Imagine the horror of your own mother turning to the Dark Side and trying to twist you to a path of hate, fear and anger. What a powerful image that is!
Now, do any of you faithful readers, either of you, dare to re-write the Star Wars story with that one twist? I dare you.

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!

No kidding.
Ever wonder how those really neat Jedi weapons actually work? Well, Howstuffworks.com has an article about How Lightsabers Work. I love these psuedo-scientific looks at science-fiction technology and lightsabers have long been a favorite of mine.
The funny thing is, I once had a long conversation with my brother about this very topic. Now, that might not seem like much, but my older brother has a PhD. in Physical Chemistry and worked with lasers for years as part of his doctorate research. The man knows lasers. He told me that it might actually be possible to focus a laser, or array of lasers, in such a way that you could actually create a sword-length beam. The trick is getting the engergy to power it. To make a laser or lasers powerfull enough to get lightsaber-like results, would take an enourmas amount of power that could not possibly be contained in a handle-sized device. Today. Who knows what might happen tomorrow.

Anyway, that’s enough deep thoughts for a Friday. Go, click the link and enjoy the fun!

More art!
Yeah, I seem to be stuck in a “water and rocks” phase, but that’s mainly because the free version of Vue d’Espirit that I’m using has very limited materials and objects from which to choose. Still, it is fun to mess around with now and again. I’ve been thinking “nature themes”, lately, but I’ve also been messing around with some more, well, abstract stuff as well. It’s a little strange, like most modern art, and, again, defined somewhat by my limited toolset, but, I think it’ll turn out okay. In the meantime, you can enjoy this simple scene.

I need strange, metaphorical symbols.
I’ve been thinking about surreal imagery lately. Things like the anthropomorphic caterpillar from Disney’s version of “Alice in Wonderland” and the dancing mushrooms from “Fantasia” keep popping into my head as wonderful symbols of some strange story that’s hiding just below the surface of the “real” story. And, too, William S. Burrough’s work with the exterminator/giant cockroach theme has been a frightening inspiration as well. Not to mention the “bug” in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”. So, I’ve been thinking about doing something similar. Taking a list of semi-random symbols and imagery and mashing it into a story. And, I’m going for something very Dali-eseque, but in a literary sense. Of course, the challenge is to get the symbols to use. The stranger, the better, I think.
And, now, gentle readers, here is my plea: Give me your wildest ideas in the comments. Suggest the strangest, most disturbing, funniest, most unusual symbolic references you can think of. As long as we keep it “family friendly”, anything goes. But, you have to give me their “true” meaning, as well. For example, “A giant, talking, anthropomorphic caterpillar => The main character’s SuperEgo”. (Actually, that may just be where I start…) So, there we are.
I’m open to suggestions!

Here’s a variation on last week’s writing exercise.
Instead of using a “cliched” title or phrase, use the title from one of your favorite books or authors. Of course, you must write a totally different story than the one associated with your chosen title, but that can be half the fun. For example, you might want to rewrite a favorite story but with your own ideas about what the characters would do. Or, perhaps you want to continue a story where the author left off. Both are fine ways to start, but remember that you’ll need to go back and edit the characters so that they are yours, not your favorite author’s characters anymore. And, keep in mind, that means more than just changing the names!
Another possibility is to take a favorite title and write a story in a totally different genre. As an example, I love Ernest Hemingway and I think his titles are often quite evocative, but I love fantasy and science-fiction. So, perhaps “The Sun Also Rises” might be a good working title for a sci-fi epic! And, “The Old Man and the Sea” might take on some interesting connotations as a fantasy story filled with old gods and high magic.
The point here is to let your imagination run wild. This is meant to be an aid to creativity that gets you writing when you might have some trouble starting. As always, though, remember to change the title to your own and edit anything that doesn’t belong in your final work out before submitting your story for publication.