Geek Art Gallery: March 2015

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Featurette: A Decade Of Doctor Who

This past weekend (March 26th, 2005) marked the tenth anniversary of the relaunch of Doctor Who. Ten years ago this week, the Doctor was reborn for a new era and we were introduced to a new incarnation of the character. Time really does fly.

Visual FX artist John Smith created this short compilation of the most memorable moments of the last decade. If you feel a little teary-eyed, good for you. That's so human

"Ten years ago today, "Rose" first aired on our television screens and reintroduced Doctor Who to a whole new generation. So to celebrate its re-birthday, I decided to make a little video looking back at a few memorable moments from the last decade."

Short Film: Josephine and the Roach

"Josephine and the Roach" Directed by Jonathan Langager

"Josephine and the Roach" is a sweet, if creepy, animated romance film in the vein of Ratatouille. In it, a solitary Roach lives in the walls of Joesphine's kitchen, accompanying her accordion practice on his violin. Then one night, he has an idea for how to woo her face to face.

"A woman. A cockroach. The course of true love never did crawl smooth."

Short Film: Artoo In Love

"Artoo In Love" by Evan Atherton

"Artoo In Love" is an adorable short film in which R2-D2 falls head over gears in love with a blue mailbox. It's very reminiscent of the first half of Wall-E.

"Follow our intrepid, droid-hero R2-D2 as he tries to find love in our galaxy."

Short Film: A Darwinian Future

"A Darwinian Future" by Shutter Authority

"A Darwinian Future" is a short science fiction film that imagines a world where humanity has been enslaved by robots. The technology evolved out of the control of humanity, like a bacterial infection, beginning with smartphones. Soon after, humans began hardwiring chips into their own biology. The emerging AI took advantage of humanities willingness to enter the net in order to seized control. Now, sentient AI units control every aspect of people's lives through SIM cards. Called "Reapers" by those who despise them, the robotic overlords patrol the streets ceaselessly.

"Technology evolves like any organism. We've witnessed this in the field of telecom. In 2014, there were 4.55 billion mobile users worldwide, 50% of which were Smartphone users. Being the dominant species, Smartphones had taken over our lives by 2028. It seemed as if the future was exponentially progressing and too fast for most of us to keep up with. The innovative 'Project Glass' promised many different exciting advancements. Some were well received by the world, while others bordered on privacy violations. They had to pull out of the market eventually. The next stage in the evolution of telecommunication seemed logical. But with the advent of the 'Machines', it became our greatest weakness."

Short Film: Stealing Time

"Stealing Time" by Finitefilms

"Stealing Time" is a short science fiction film about time travel in the same vein as Primer or Timecrimes. In it, a down-on-his-luck inventor complete his time machine just in time to learn that he's lost his funding to a long-time rival, but thanks to his machine, he has a chance to change the past. Predictably, his time travel sets off a disastrous chain of events that trap him in a time loop.

Despite its use of time-worn tropes, Stealing Time still manages to be an attention-grabbing adventure worth seeing. This film was created for Finite-films.com, a site where up-and-coming filmmakers accept creative "constraints" from visitors to the site in creating their films as part of a competition that ends with users voting for their favorite film.

"When a down-on-his-luck inventor builds a time machine to change the past, he unwittingly sets off a disastrous chain of events."

Typography: Hand Drawn 3D Art

Hand Drawn 3D Typography by Nottingham, England-based Lex Wilson

"StormTrooper" by Josh Frey (@liveevil19)

"Steam-Babel" by Marc Mandril Ferrario

I love the fact that this is bionically-inspired steampunk. This could become a whole new art genre. I don't think I've ever had 470 hours of patience for anything, much less the talent to bring something like this together. If I ever did muster the talent to draw something like this, I'd end up making some horrific mistake about three hundred hours in.

"After 470 hours of work, I finally finished my picture inspired by the Tower of Babel in a post-industrial steam victorian replay. Come on ! Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach the sky and let us make us a name so as not to be scattered all over the surface of the earth. "(Genesis 11.2)"

"Ultron" by Ruben WestSide (xoramos661)

I had a hard time believing this wasn't Photoshoped until I browsed through the rest of WestSide's account. Evidently, a buttload of talent is a perfectly acceptable substitute for the Adobe suite.

"The Companion" by London-based Maria Tiurina

"I guess that this is my biggest work to date. It’s an A1 format ink in cardboard - a drawing that took almost half a year to complete. Also used watercolor, pencil and markers.

I call it “The Companion.” A story about two friends - a girl and her imaginary pet - who traveled for a long time, saw many beautiful places and met a lot of new people, creatures and animals who joined them as their journey continued. They arrived to something that resembles the edge of the world, and at first it might seem that their adventure has come to an end, but the girl is pointing at something high above that we cannot see, showing to her companion that there are more things to discover and enjoy together if only they wish to continue moving forward.

It’s a metaphor for the life experience and the luggage of our imagination. Everyone has a friend - the creature of mind - that follows them from the first day of their life, picking up experience, memories and emotions. We decide for ourselves what to load the vessel with, what the faithful creature of mind and memory will carry along with us to the edge of our existence.

Travel, see, feel, collect everything you find in your life - you never know what things you will want to have with you when the journey comes to an end."

"Rocket Raccoon"

Guardian of the Galaxy Portraits by Namecchan

Prints available for purchase from Society6. US$15

Assassin’s Creed by Italy-based Namecchan

Portraits of Arno Dorian, Edward Kenway, and Ezio

"Something about Memories" by Lauren Dawson (IguanaMouth)

[ Previously: See Yourself ]

"Life Cycle" by Raynato Castro & Alex Culang of Buttersafe

Why is it raining on my face?

Humor: Strip D&D

"Strip D&D" by Kris Wilson of Cyanide and Happiness

Via: Reddit

I tried to convince my girlfriend to try this with me once, and it didn't work.

Humor: Phoebe and Her Unicorn

"Phoebe and Her Unicorn" by Dana Simpson

This looks like its going to be a great new series. It feels like Calvin and Hobbes from a female perspective without explicitly being a comic for girls. I'm looking forward to reading a lot more of this series.

Comic Round-Up: March 31, 2015

"Hanging Out After a Hell's Kitchen Team-Up" by Randy Bishop

Event: Artist Matthew Fox will appear at Elite Comics in Overland Park, KS on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM to sign the first issue of UFOlogy from BOOM! Studios! RSVP on Facebook!

Event: Award-winning and best-selling artist Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen and Kingsman: The Secret Service, will appear at Flying Colors Comics on April 22, 2015 from 4:00 – 6:00 PM! This event is co-hosted by Madefire. RSVP on Facebook!

Interview: Doctors, Secret Wars and Hitchhiker’s Guide with Ninth Doctor issue 1 writer Cavan Scott

Interview: Nate Powell Has Plenty to Say You Don’t Say.

Interview: Nick Abadzis discusses his work on Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor

Interview: Rich Tommaso talks about working with indie publishers, his decision to return to self-publishing, and why he goes to comics shows.

"The Avatar State" by Germany-based Maren Marmulla (Rennerei)

Interview: Robert Bailey and the Art of Star Wars: Like World War II in Space!

News: Academy Buys 2001: A Space Odyssey Shuttle for $344,000

Bandai's Latest Star Wars Model Kit Is A Gloriously Shiny C-3PO

Batmobile Tumbler iPhone Cases for adults who need an excuse to own a toy car.

Here's the Cover of the Fully Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter, which you can pretend you don't care about, even though I know you do.

How Autodesk's Experimental Lab Gave Us an Odd Little Star Wars Movie

If only all sports teams adopted Game of Thrones-style houses and jerseys...

These Nerdy Thermoses Are Shiny And Bigger On The Inside

Monday, March 30, 2015

Quick Pic: Pizza Receipt

Pizza Receipt by by Caboosium

Source: Imgur

I'm guessing the pizza wasn't the only thing that was baked that night.

Short Film: Mankind

"Mankind" written and directed by Yanothai Kongboon

"A man believe in fate,russian roulette is command of the god. One day he find female corpse and something that make he confuse to survival...."

Short Film: The Microwave

"The Microwave" by Daniel Koren

Daniel Koren completely nails the hilarious truth about using the microwave late at night and how our initial goodwill for silence is negated by our stupidity and desire for hot food. We all start out as a do good superhero and end up as his goofy klutz of a sidekick.

Lego Creation: CUB3

"CUB3" by Tyler

Personally, I always prefer art that's somehow in motion to static pieces. When I was little, I was a huge fan of those bead and wire contraptions that seem so ubiquitous in doctors' waiting rooms. As an adult, I've always had a fascination with executive desk toys. And, quite frequently, I'll loose hours at a time just browsing Rube Goldberg machines on YouTube. So naturally, ball mazes are right up my alley.

Flickr user Legohaulic has created one such ball maze out of Lego. It's almost Escher-esque in its twists and turns. Inside the "CUB3," as Tyler's calls it, there are four separate runs that the metal ball bearings are able to snake through after being dropped. Watch the video below closely, and see if you can distinguish between them.

"Interstellar" by JP_Velociraptor

Interstellar is being released on Blu-Ray this week! The movie turned out to be one of the best high concept science fiction films ever created, so it's no surprise that AFOL have been racing to capture some its magic in LEGO form ever since its box office release. This set nails it perfectly. From the Ranger ship to the spot on TARS, this build gets my vote as the best of the lot. Box it up and take my money already!

Project: Ikea Print Presented as Fine Art

"Showing IKEA print to Art experts" by Lifehunterstv

The Amsterdam-based group Lifehunters recently played a prank that involved exhibiting a €10 print purchased from Ikea in the Museum Arnhem in an attempt to pass it off as a museum-quality art. They then asks an assortment of "art experts" are asked to assess the piece, after carefully implying that they were going to be shown something special.

As you might guess, the so-called experts fell hook, line, and sinker. Of course, the print itself is actually pretty cool. It was created by a pair of Swiss street artists, Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni, who collaborate as NEVERCREW. (We've previously featured some of their work.) It's just not hobnobbing with champagne cool.

Personally, I think I'd take the print over most of the things I see hanging in the background of the video, but the point that Lifehunters is making is about how the value of art is entirely dependent on perception.

"Brands vs Zombies" by Josh Namdar and Aditya Hariharan

A pair of Miami Ad School students have launched a fantastic Tumblr dedicated to re-imagine big brand marketing for the zombie apocalypse. The friends were inspired by the television series The Walking Dead.

"So one day, while watching another tastefully graphic installment of the Walking Dead series, Adi turned to Josh and asked, “Ever wonder what would happen if brands could use their existing resources and influence to help mankind survive? Also, wouldn’t it be a cool way to get a potential employer to see how clever and insightful we are?”"

Some examples of their work include ads for an IKEA line of furniture that keeps your home safe from zombies and an Airbnb that lists safe accommodations for people to take refuge from wondering hordes at night.

We've included a few examples of their best work below, but you really need to click through to see the site. It's quickly growing into the kind of Tumblr that you can loose track of time browsing.

Steampunk Wasp by GEORGE Leontiev BALABANOV
Photographed at the House of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo, Bulgaria.

Winner of Grand Prize “GOLDEN AESOP,” 2011.

Me thinks someone was a Gulliver's Travels fan.

Metalwork: Steampunk Chess Set

"The New Battle of The Nuts" by Ram Mallari Jr.

I'm a sucker for a pretty chess board, and Mallari's steampunk sets are truly a sight to behold. I would love one of these for my living room. There's a whole series posted to his Facebook gallery.

"Made" by Ram Mallari Jr.

[ Previously: Gallery: Steampunk Iron Man, Fresh Take: Steampunk Iron Man ]

A sculpture depicting a steampunk War machine (from Iron Man).

"Darth Maul" by Chile-based Carlos Valenzuela

Posters: Storm Troopers

"Storm Troopers" by Allison Sohn

Posters: Dragon Ball: Goku’s Dream

Dragon Ball: Goku’s Dream by Carlos Dattoli

"Goku’s Dream" (Dragon Ball Z) by Mexico-based Carlos Dattoli

Posters: Samus: Battle Damaged

"Samus: Battle Damaged" by Canada-based Leon Jo

Posters: X-Men Blue Team

"X-Men Blue Team" by Adelaide, Australia-based Dave Atze

Posters: Marvel Tribute

"Marvel Tribute" by 2Minds Studio

Prints available for purchase from Society6. US$17.68

Guardians of the Galaxy Illustrations by Lauren Smith

Illustrations by Montpellier, France-based Bastien Grivet

[ ArtStation | DeviantArt | DrawCrowd | Facebook | Twitter ]

Bastien Grivet is a freelance concept artist who has worked for Activision, Ubisoft, Blur Studio, MANEKI LAB, DONTNOD Entertainment and Onyx Films.

"Princesses Playing DnD" by Romania-based Alexandra V. Mihai (Madam-Marla)

I can't help but feel that Belle, being an avid reader, would make a better DM than Snow White. I mean, can you imagine how Snow must favor people playing Dwarves?

Fresh Take: Adorable Monster Cereal

"AlieYUMS!" by Gimetzco’s Damaged Goods

Merchandise and prints available for purchase from Society6.

"Opportunity" by Randall Munroe of XKCD

Do you realize that we share a solar system with planet inhabited entirely by robots? Decades of science fiction have warned us against this fate, and yet here we are.

Humor: Every Nerd’s Greatest Nightmare

"Every Nerd’s Greatest Nightmare" by Magnolia Porter

This is why I immediately burn all of my character sheets as soon as I've finished a campaign.

Gaming Round-Up: March 30, 2015

Game OverCreated by Isaac Fragoso Abdelrrague

"Game Over" by Campeche, Mexico-based Isaac Fragoso Abdelrrague

About six months ago, Richard Cobbett launched a new series on writing in games that came to an end this past weekend with an excellent piece on the representations of depression in games. The article uses Life Is Strange’s display of contact information for a suicide hotline as its starting point. Cobbett's series was both engaging and thought-provoking. It will be sorely missed.

Brendan Vance offers an historical essay entitled The Ghosts of BioShock that traces the popular game's roots back to the Wounded Knee massacre of the Sioux.

Eskil Steenberg, the developer of EXO, writes about the mental arithmetic that working on a strategy game entails.and writes about what that means. If you've ever considered striking out on your own to develop micro games, this one is a must-read. In a related piece on Gamasutra, Bryant Francis writes about getting real about the financial expectations of "going indie."

Faith in gaming: Ben Davis reflects upon The influence of Christianity in videogames.

"Batman"

Lines by Garry Brown and Colors by Mike Spicer

Interview: Comic Artist Greg Scott Interview On Bleeding Cool Podcast

Interview: Erik Larsen Goes In-Depth on CostumeGate, Costume Design

Interview: European graphic novels with Titan’s new editor Lizzie Kaye

Interview: Tenth Doctor Comics Writer Nick Abadzis

News: President Obama won the internet this week by posing with the above Girl Scout troop who has arrived at the White House for a Science Fair dressed as superheroes. Perhaps emboldened by this, he talked about his interest in comics in a letter to supporters.

Reviews: Kashmir Hill on The Private Eye.

"Darth Maul" by Mark Hammermeister

Prints available for purchase from Etsy.

All The Game Of Thrones Fan Theories You Absolutely Need To Know

The Instagram account bladerunnerreality is dedicated to taking photos of the world that look like they could be straight out of Blade Runner. Is the knowledge that we are sort of living in Blade Runner comforting or distressing?

The latest Star Wars drone is a fearsome Star Destroyer

Nautilus asks Should Science Save Modern Art? Keeping Father Time at bay is more than a question of chemistry.

See the First Pages from the Illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

#VeryRealisticYA shows Youth Life Outside of Fictional Narratives

What It’s Like to Watch Hodor DJ a "Rave of Thrones"

Why Millions of Grownups Are Buying These Coloring Books For Adults

Friday, March 27, 2015

Video: Moonwatch

"Moonwatch: The Most Unpopular Lifeguard Show of the 90’s" by CH2

"Moonwatch" is a quirky "what if" of a science fiction comedy. Here's a look back to an alternative 90's - a 90's in which we had something as awesomely bizarre as BAYWATCH in space.

"If there's water on the moon, there must be lifeguards, right?"

Video: Wolverine at the Office

"Wolverine at the Office" directed by SamMacaroni

Let's face it, there aren't a whole lot of jobs that having knives in your hands qualifies you for.

"Wolverine gets an office job. He's no good."

Quick Pic: R2-D2 Refrigerator

R2-D2 Refrigerator

Source: Daily Picks and Flicks

They dressed it up like R2, then ripped off the legs so he can't go anywhere.

Short Film: Robert's Circle

"Robert's Circle" directed by Chris Hanratty

Chris Hanratty offers this single-shot thriller featuring Alex House from Todd and the Book of Pure Evil.

"Bobby's in trouble. It's big this time. Unsure where to turn, he instinctively runs to his sister's house. Thrown into a situation she doesn't fully comprehend, his sister must decide if she should help her little brother once again."

Lego Creation: Amortug

"Amortug" by Marco den Besten

When Marco den Besten sets out to build a Lego castle, he doesn't mess around. He's dubbed this one "Armortug," and it took nearly four months to complete. In addition to its towers and walls, you might find a small blue box tucked into the landscape.

"Amortug is being ruled by The Tartan family for two centuries now. Two hundred years ago the great Or Tartan, who was a general than, overthrew the old steward who was gathering treasure just for himself. He also invaded clan lands several times and was provoking the Elves constantly by mining underneath there outposts. This made Or decide it was enough. He cut of the stewards hands and feet. Than he hung him in the middle of the gate while wearing lots of jewelry. The steward died from hunger while hanging there, like lots of Amortug's citizens did because of him. He died while staring to himself in the reflections of the diamonds and when his last breath came out he said he'll be claiming his treasure some day. Because of what he said Or also slaughtered his whole family by burning the old citadel to prevent them from taking Amortug back again some day...

Since than Amortug is know for being one of the best fortified cities with it's high walls, fortified gates and large citadel. Or was able to make a treaty with the Elves to restore some balance, while this guys will never get a long. And he made peace with the clan lands. Most of his daughters even married clan leader's sons. So that explains why most of Amortug's inhabitants aren't recognized as being dwarves. But the dwarf blood and spirit is still running through the vanes of Amortug's inhabitants!

This is the display at it's largest, build on 4 by 6 48x48 baseplates. The whole rim on the right side(4 by 1 48x48) was build by Tijgersan for our exhibition at Legoworld Copenhagen: www.flickr.com/photos/tijger-san/"

"The Planet"

Lego Record Turntable by Korea-based Hayarobi

Photography by What Hi-Fi

"The Planet" is a fully functional built entirely out of LEGO bricks - 2,405 pieces to be exact. Run on a LEGO Power Functions M-Motor and powered by a LEGO Power Functions Battery Box, the only component of the device not made out of LEGO is the Audio Technica phono cartridge. This was recently exhibited at the 2014 Seoul Brick Pop Art Exhibition along with a matching LEGO tube amp and cases for the speakers.

"Amy Pond" by Brian Stelfreeze

Paintings: Anakin Skywalker

"Anakin Skywalker" by Bill Sienkiewicz

Posters: Superhero Smoke Portraits

Superhero Smoke Portraits by Octavian Mielu

Prints available for purchase from Etsy. €14.24

These fantastic looking pieces appear as though they consist of nothing more than smoke. Octavian also uses iconic colors of these superheroes to represent them in his portraits. For instance, Superman is seen in blue and red outlines, and the Hulk in green and blue outlines.

"World of Warcraft" by Italy-based Nicola Saviori

"Lake-Town" by Matt Ferguson

Prints available for purchase from Bottleneck Gallery. US$35

A collections of posters created as part of Ferguson's solo art show, "Distant Lands," opening March 27th, 2015, at the Bottleneck Gallery. This Hobbit piece is also available as a timed release until 11.59pm EST on Sunday March 29th, as part of Matt’s previously released Lord of the Rings Trilogy poster series.