The librarian's tangents.

Hey guys, miss me?

I jest. Hi Mum.

What’s changed since last I was on? Hmm well, most pertinently to my calendar I’m now program manager for not one but two courses (because if you do a job well my employers believe in then throwing obstacles in your path to try and stop that from happening again) and heavily involved in a third which will come on stream in Sept 11. Also: my class sizes will double in ’11.

Hey ho. In ways I can’t complain – even the troubling students I have this year I have a like for and enjoy their company, when they’re not doing the things that may find them leave the institution they currently reside in. have had a couple of issues with anger management, drugs, drink and all that jazz but, for the most part the likeable side of the kids involved has never been blotted out by the less likeable actions they fall into. Hopefully the words passed on will make a difference, that’s the plan. Then again maybe my waffle floats away like all other sermons they’ve been subjected to. Time will tell and unlikely I’ll know the end result, just a small window of time and emotion.

Also: been doing a lot of covering classes for sick or stressed teachers.

Hmm.

Also also… well, loads to tell but for the moment but tired as a clam at the moment so will shut up for a while. Sylver news not really forthcoming – too tired busy and stressed to do much on that score bar pray which is awful but utterly in keeping with the gestation and release of the book. Artwork news slightly less tumbleweed like only because while on a bus I can draw happily and ignore the world I’m travelling on in a metal box at the time. Did draw this:

which somehow has ht 100,000 clicks on Twitpic. Yowsa. Whether that can be leveraged into anything I don’t know… Hmmmm again. Am aiming to send a pitch of the book this is from to a couple of publishers (it’s a children’s book, fully illustrated, very emotive). I;ve got a nice idea of how to show the pitch but hope that it leads to a face to face meet so that I can go through it outside of writing the bare bones.

Anyhow, time to clam up:

(pics taken from a series of 50 which are the backbone of my new business cards. Gotta love Moo ) They’ll also be a part of the pitch that I send out – nearly all of my artwork – and all that I want to do on the illustrated book side – being done on the Brushes app on an iPod touch, generally on a number 34 bus).

Video file of the clam? Comin’ rightatcha:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJrIvhSl6gM[/youtube]

Music by the lovely Mr Jon Black.

Night all

… Book news coming soon…

But today one iPod pic from last week (Popeye – inspired by the excellent work as always on Comic Twart. Doc Shaner’s image is a total JOY To behold) and one from this week (Cap ‘n’ America). Cap’s been a pickle as, for the third out of four pictures, Brushes on the iPad has glitched on me (not showing one layer when rendered) which is a bit worrisome.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FUd4MSvmVA[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw7v2RttoQc[/youtube]

I think the glitch comes when I press the home button to escape the pic while painting, I think, but regardless it does add an element of worry when using the otherwise excellent paint package. That said there’s no other way I could have drawn and painted so enjoyably from 8.12 am to 10.44 am on the bus and train from Guildford to Bristol

In other news I’m trying to get an IAMDA UK meet organised to fit in with the mobileartcon.com meet in NY. We’ll see, as ever. Something I do one day must work, surely We’ve got an amazing plan in mind so hopefully that’ll come to fruition.

Also: son boys birthday today. Lots of Mario themed stuff including a power star cake and a lamp and lightshade that look like they’ve come straight from the Mushroom kingdom Been a long and lovely morning…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-TfxlI3O9s[/youtube]

Carried on doodling on the bus last night. Think I’ll probably stop here, for the mo’ at least… Other things I have to get onto.

(Music on the vid by the lovely Gford based Natalie Ross. Ace stuff – she does a heckofa gig if you can get to one).

So Comic Twart again. I do find that some things take over my mind creatively and I’m loving following this website week in, week out. Wish I could be a bigger part of it  but tbh it is for bigger fish than I. Week 11 of the Twart program offers the subject Man Thing (a Marvel comics character notably derided for hims slight similarity to a more well known DC comics character – ahem – and beautifully pastiched by Dave Sim in his Cerebus masterpiece) and I doodled this on the bus to and from work as always on my iPod touch.

On which subject – very sad to see that the new iPod touch has the retina display (good ) and a hamstrung camera (very bad). In two minds about it – it was the thing I was keenest on people clubbing together to get me for Christmas – and knowing that it’s only half of what it should be is a little sad to see. Apple computers are a fab company sometimes but when they’re not they’re very much not.

Anyhow: Man Thing – 3 hours or so, 80% Brushes app, 20% Pixelmator finishing off (pretty much left side/ride side as a distinction) and now distractions over, back to work

(posted all three, don’t know which I like the most…)

A new scribble! Drawn on the iPad on the bus journey yesterday. Sort of worked/sort of what I wanted. Still trying to get fully into the larger screen but still feel much more comfortable on the smaller one. I know this sounds like a very small whinge in the scheme of things, and it is, but it’s funny how such a small thing can nag at the back of your mind. Every time I pick up a new art package I end up asking myself if I can even draw at all and whether I was any good at this in the first place. The something clicks and I go back to massive egotistical business as normal

Spidey. One of my two or three favourite comic book characters, certainly the one with the more interesting pyjamas…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxkl_0bpIiA[/youtube]

Ba doom, TISH!

Although that said I do wonder. Hey ho…

Drawn, if anyone’s interested, using Faber Castell water soluble pencils on Khadi cotton rag paper on a number 34 bus between 10.19 and 11.25.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ZUvGDXtKo[/youtube]

(drawn on the Brushes app, music by the very groovy http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/heartsunderfire#mce_temp_url#)…

Drawn on two bus journeys (hmm spell checker only accepts that one as opposed to what I thought was correct: journies? Odd. Hey ho good job no-one’s looking at my writing eh?) As often – drawn on an iPod touch using the Brushes app… Which isn’t to say I’m not also using the iPad when time allows but for bus journies (?) it’s the iPod that gets the workout.

So, so sooooo much to do on a multitude of angles yet my mind strays little from playing with the Brushes app on the iPad. Sigh. When it comes to deferring gratification I’m not the best of the best.

Witness these for example. I’d also like half a dozen other doodles, finished and some less so, taken into consideration.

(although this one was, admittedly, done on the trusty iPod touch )

(and this one fought finishing for flipping yonks…)

Doodled on two busses. See? They are useful for something. Not much on this evidence I’ll grant you, but hey ho.