From Creepy to Cartoony

After giving it (too) much consideration and looking towards more locally based companies I have decided to develop a more cartoonic and stylised approach to my work both in regard to 3D and 2D since my work has a lack of...fun, happiness and jolly good joy, where as the dark, brooding and monstrous elements may not be as appealing or marketable as i would have wished. This is also to address the lack of fundamental, even basic 3D elements in my portfolio at present but also the lack of variety in 2D aspects and having plenty of cartoon and comic sketches scribbled on paper around me it makes sense to advance this style/skillset further to a point where it is not only fun to do but also self promoting in regards to employment. In context to games it's ideal, as my main 3D skills lie within having a low poly count and simplistic texturing, also it will give me the chance to practice basic animation within Maya which I have been waiting to do for a long time, although for now just some render snapshots will be fine. So whilst I listen to the darker tunes of bands like Danzig and Rammestein I will try to remember fond childhood memories of FraggleRock or Rupert the Bear as I draw, paint and model, somehow I think something scary/creepy will sneak its way in and it'l look like something out of Watership Down: the directors cut. Anyhow in closing, I don't like to leave a post without a picture so heres a quick coloured sketch of some plant people (a bit creepy...again).

Thought Provoking: Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie

I recently discovered a discussion from pioneering comic book couple Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie posted on YouTube which was hosted by the University of Nottingham, it was so interesting I've decided to share it on my blog. However apart from the fascinating topics of politics, magic, philosophy and the role of art in society, I must also warn readers that issues of sex and pornography are also featured along with the fact that the talk is approximately 2 hours long, if u can spare your ears and minds for this time I highly recommend it. If not I have written a small summary and discussion below on some of the issues I found particularly interesting.

Alan Moore, famed for writing such comics as V for Vendetta, Watchmen and From Hell and his wife Melinda Gebbie a fellow comic book artist and writer possibly best known for Lost Girls talk about their work, passions, political views, the challenges facing modern society and the vital role of art as a solution to that. 

The talk mostly looks at the comic book genre yet movies, web comics and other digital mediums are also mentioned and how they fair out as creative mediums, the main themes discussed could be described as: The Role of Art, Art as a Commodity and Artist/Audience Interaction. These themes will be summarized and explored in relation to computer games, opening questions for further research.

The Role of Art

Art was described as constant cultural commentator and since ancient times it has reflected where we are in the world and our place in it, providing a constant revision of our ideas about ourselves. Its main purpose is to address the important and serious issues of life even if it is upsetting, if art was always pleasant it would merely reaffirm your existing prejudices. Art was stated to be of vital importance now more than ever in a fragmented and chaotic storm of information.

If arts main role is to act as a continual catalyst for political, social even spiritual change from status quo thinking for the society/individual and if computer games can be assumed (or not) as an art medium, what does this potentially mean for the purpose of games? Do games break mental moulds? or do they propagate a form of cultural laziness? According to Alan and Melinda in some regards they do, yet both also acknowledged that interesting things can be achieve by digital forms but that printed paper was ultimately a superior technology, a more thought out and perfected form compared to more modern mediums.

This opens up more questions that answers but offers interesting food for thought, the debate to whether or not games can be consider as art will rage on and I will make no attempt to enter that maelstrom. However more light may be shed on this position within the other themes.

Art as a Commodity

Alan Moore, as a great storyteller goes colourfully further into the history and roots of art and reflects on its change in modern times, more so in regards to the cartoon/comic genre, he states:

''Art should not be a commodity, Art should be an explosive substance that changes the world.''

The influence of money in the art world is seen by Alan and Melinda as a corrupting element yet note that you can be rewarded from art but the reward should not be the motivation. Moreover, emphasizing that a creative career was a calling, not a job and that creative work should be the purest form of play, both your own joy and mark in the world.
They also expose the hypocritical nature within certain elements of the comic book industry, when artists and writers give in to the enslavement of corporate/money masters rather than upholding the principles and values of the art/ hero/stories they produce. They argue that most artwork had become money driven, especially when art work including comics had been adapted to become movies, animations and even computer games. Furthermore it was hinted that the issue may lie with the artist themselves, that they should find their own self-esteem and confidence to create art for themselves rather than churning out products for companies and cowardly escaping into their work. Indeed both wished for the continuation of underground elements or the 'gutter medium' of comics as a voice for the dis-empowered and dis-enfranchised.


Are such issues visible within the games industry? Are the largely ambitious and big budgeted  games primarily money driven, do we see a dominance in developing innovative experiences and artistic expression or money making franchises and products to merely be consumed? perhaps these ideas are old fashioned (even anti-capitalist) and not getting-with the business buzz of these creative mediums and neglect the issue of purchaser demand for them within a consumer culture, yet again it draws more questions. Perhaps with more indie game developers we see more independent and less money/franchise driven game creation, those that see the rewards of  such development but whose games are not driven/motivated by such rewards. However it is acknowledged that most of these ideals exist within the realm of concepts and ideas, it is questionable and perhaps permits further research into whether such values can be practically and realistically implemented.

Art/Audience Interaction 

The couple also touched greatly upon the relationship between the artist and audience and the limits to so called 'interactive' elements that would actually comprise both what the artist hoped to achieve and what the audience needed to experience. It was mentioned that people are becoming increasingly divorced from not only their bodies but also their own minds and that experiences were becoming more and more virtual, with people focusing primarily on a need to be entertained. Alan mentioned that his favourite movies were the ones that left ''you to do most of the work in your own head'', Melinda also mentioned that paintings held an interaction which is fading in modern art forms, a 'pregnant moment': the still anticipation of a moment about to occur and the viewers imaginative efforts and interpretation of that. Arguing further that in most movies nowadays, its all done for you like in such films as Avatar, which she described as a computer game without buttons. Her opinion on computers games (which she enjoyed) such as Tomb Raider made people do repetitive actions that ultimately left them cranky and exhausted and that there was no 'real' contribution from the part of the player. Both had addressed the concept/reality that art had become a form of entertainment rather than a a cultural commentator that has if anything ‘’propagated a form of cultural laziness’’ and that the interactive decision making was meaningless, leaving the both audience and artist disempowered. Moreover, Alan argues that the artist is not suppose to give the audience what they want but rather what they need, he states:

''If your going to chose your own ending, why not chose your own beginning while your at it?''

 In this regard, it is hard to see computer games as an art form as its experience greatly hinges (or solely relies) upon the interaction between what the creator has created for the audience/player to part take in. However it could also be seen as an extension to these named ‘pregnant moments’ of art, providing the audience a vehicle in which to act out (or give birth to) their own interpretation, imaginative continuation of where the artist had originally brought them. I am not of the opinion that answers can be found on such issues, seeing this as a subjective rather than objective debate.

My conclusion (at least for now), is that despite the perhaps some overly critical comments from the video above concerning the nature of computer games it is healthy to take this on board, especially when your own passions lie within such and also ‘’It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it’’ (Aristotle). Therefore, It seems to me that the boundaries between the artists works and the audience interaction with that work will continue to grow fuzzy, the artist is increasingly being made to detach their own empowerment and ability to create in the face of a colossal consumer culture and the medium of games is being stretched between a conflicting identity as an art form and as a product. However within this struggle hope( or even balance) may emerge, I would partially agree with Alan’s opinion that such new mediums are not thought out enough or have been perfected as art forms like that of the printed page as many are only decades old. This may also raise the question, does the money driven motivation behind the development of computer games stifle their innovation and self-perfecting process? And does the rise of indie developers herald a new wave of alternative/underground games to come forth, standing out against consumer conformity and for independent creative expression and experience? For this blogger only more research and time will tell.

Taking the Blog off the shelf

''Oh Dear'' This was what I said once I had remembered about my forgotten blog, dusting it off from the digital and creative shelf life. I hadn't given much time or thought to it yet it now seemed the perfect way to express imaginative thought, ideas and research, art work and critique as I didn't keep a journal and my poor friends ears had become weary of my informative onslaughts. Along with the neglected blog had been a dwindling productive art life and a failing pursuit of a creative career.

''No More!'' I then said to myself, knowing that a return to the blogging platform would not be a one shot answer to my creative woes, It was a start in the right direction or rather in finding the right direction. The Blog would serve as a particularly useful area in which to address research, articles, interviews and other information I had taken in, It would serve as a place to express the ideas and imagination of myself (or others) and of course as a gallery of my work depicting my overall progress and future course.

''Why Bother?'' Then crept into my mind. Doubt is a pain but it brings questions worth answering, I mean, blogging takes time, is it worth blabbing on, serving your own ego when time is a precious commodity. I argued with myself (sanely) that it was worth it, writing time could be restricted, posts could be planned, noted and time could be saved. Furthermore, it was a blog it wasn't like i was writing a book. Its primarily function was to serve myself as an online track record of what I had actually done towards what I wanted to do or learn  and if it helped others by sharing, all the better.

''Get to it!'' So that was then, this is the idea and its justification. What does this mean in practical terms? The blog was only one element of a larger action plan to actually get myself into an ideal career, that came with some practical steps to it. As mentioned, this blog not only serves as a digital log of my artwork but also  as a brainstorm for my ideas on a potential career/pursuit, gathering general insights towards the games industry in particular but also traditional and emerging forms of media, art and communication. Its serves not only myself as a melting pot for ideas, concepts, designs and insights but also as a tool for those possible employers (or general viewers) to gain a wider understanding of where my mind and passions lie and along with the processes and results of such. In short, the blog is back!