One of my favorite subjects to feature on this blog , and in general as well, is a good rough layout. For me, that's where you see the finished piece starting to come together, and even sometimes, just wish it would stay at that 'rough stage'.
Herge
I know, especially since my foray into the graphic novel realm, seeing my pencils get inked can be disheartening. Seeing all of those rough sketches and doodles and lines, reveal the train of thought that goes into any piece, all to be rubbed away forever when the final inks are put on paper.
Chris Ware But, with the beauty of the digital age we can marvel at some of these roughs in all of their glory. Here's some of my favorites I've picked up along the way:
About 8 years ago, I produced a show called Hip Hop Massive, and, on a weekly basis, we updated a website full of content. Everything from interviews, to mixes, anything relating to a weekly guest. We had DJ QBert on one week, and, we knew he was a huge Atari fan, so, I put together a Flash game for him based on his mascot, Scratchy Seal (a seal puppet he wears on his hand which should demonstrate his insane silliness). So, I layed out a few 2600 style, 8-Bit, frames of artwork, and rigged some simple coding, and was left with this.
James
BTW there are 3 levels to this game. Whoever out there can get past the third level (and send me a screenshot), a free Simpsons Season 10 DVD will be yours.
I came across this online, as I was looking for old brochure layouts. I love this double decker bus illustration on the left. The guy in the middle there is General Kassem. He was Iraq's leader until a hit squad, working with foreign assistance, had him killed. One of those hitmen was named Saddam Hussein.
In late '06, I had a chance to work with Romy Hoffman, otherwise known as the Australian rapper Macromantics. A friend of mine from Melbourne had mentioned he knew her, and that she was interested in a music video. She'd just been signed to Kill Rock Stars here in the states, and was ready to start a tour in the US. I was excited to direct the video, but little did I know it would become on of my biggest dissapointments. We talked on the phone and she told me she'd be in town for just the weekend. We met at a Halloween party that she was slated to perform at and talked ideas. She'd just flown in the day before with her DJ (DJ Amy) and manager. We were set to shoot her against a blue screen the next day, after which they were off on a flight to New York that night. My friend Davon Ramos, who produced the shoot, and I put together a makeshift blue screen in his basement. Davon was dubious it would work but I pressed ahead. They showed up the next morning on time and we shot her in front lip synching. Romy was a real sport and performed numerous takes for us, and we wrapped it up in 6 hours. It was my first time working with a blue screen and wasn't at all prepared for the challenges that lay in post. We said our goodbyes, and I set to start on the animation that would encapsulate the live footage we'd shot. First off, the footage didnt key as well as we;d hoped. The footage ended up being pretty low-res, and we seeing actual jaggedy edges on her performance.
I was determined to finish, and forged ahead. The idea was pretty vague, but I knew I'd wanted to incorproate some 3D with some classic cut out imagery. With other deadlines looming, and time running out on this project, the finished product just never seemed to come together. Sometimes letting a project stew for to long can cause it to never quite jell. While it was big learning experience of what NOT to do, I regret not producing the kind of video she'd deserved, especially for such a great album.
Since every issue of the comic will come equipped with a new mix, this time it was only natural to ask Kutmasta Kurt to submit. Not only is he a Santa Cruz native, he's also included in the story. Kurt, at the time, even had his own radio show (88.9 KUSP). While none of us even had our own turntables, Kurt, at 15 years old, had a weekly, Saturday night 2 hour radio show which he would play all of the latest funk and hip hop.
The mix Kurt ended up submitting includes some clips and cuts from his radio show, along with the tracks on the mix. Listen HERE for a sample.
I've spent the last couple of months on the re-design of VIBE.com. It's a pretty extensive re-vamp that is correlating with the magazines new look. The publishers had wanted to avoid a 'blog' look, so, we're mixing a somewhat editorial look in with a updated 'post' system of layout. VIBE is a big photo magazine, so, the majority of the pages and sections are devoted to different photo spreads, and methods of navigation.
