Scarygirl: 2d needn't be a bore

Scarygirl Game Trailer from Touch My Pixel on Vimeo.

What a job. Part of my work right now involves Unity3d a gorgeous gaming engine. As a result I've been kicking around in gamedev circles more than ever, especially indie games. Some of my favorites are those with 2d graphics that pull out all the stops. This trailer for Scarygirl showcases an endless variety of stylish designs. The characters are lovingly detailed and produced, the colors incredible. I'll be posting some more of my faves this month so stayed tuned if you're into that.

Nerd Music

I found myself thinking recently about how to integrate science and art. Honestly, I think scientists do it better. Well, put it this way: I can forgive imperfect art better than bad science. If an artist wants to make art about science, they'd better know their stuff. Sloppy, goofy, off the cuff art is merely expressive, and that's an asset in the arts.

Arduino Percussion with PureData

I wonder what the neighbors think about all that tapping on the pipes? What I love about this thing is the objects are chosen so astutely for their sounds: I think it's a lampshade making that gong sound. Nice work.

YouTube - Sesame Street: Geometry of Circles

YouTube - Sesame Street: Geometry of Circles
Once I took my mom, a former preschool teacher, to a Hawaiian music festival and a band got up and played the hokey pokey in Hawaiian. After she got up and danced around I asked if she had learned the Hawaiian words for body parts. She said she didn't need to, she already knew the dance. Then, with a scornful look at me lounging in the sun she said, "I'll never be too cool to do the hokey pokey." It probably explains a lot, the fact that my mother was a preschool teacher. I still love the avant-garde aspects of Sesame Street. This video has a soundtrack by Phillip Glass. Is it brainwashing? Is it math? Is it wonderful?

A Fairy Tale Ending, Sort of.

Here's a nice piece of work; not too long, not overworked, and the score is evocative. The sketchy technique keeps it light.

Paper Animation

Part of me thought, he's cutting up a book! But it's worth it. Art begets art in this charming video. Check out other work by the artist at this site: 6 Die
I loved the interplay between the paper and the form. Elegant.

Bobby McFerrin Never Gets Old

It's hard to say whether the amazing thing here is the ingenuity of the presentation or the energy of the artist. Bobby McFerrin has had one of the most interesting careers in modern music. He pops up now and then in the strangest places, but I always look forward to what he has to say or sing. Inspiring.

Apollo 11 Launch in Slow Mo

This astonishing video is making the rounds on several sites. I love the voiceover: he's talking as fast as he can for eight minutes, and I was rapt. Its hard to understand forces of this magnitude. There's fire and ice and steam and swirling mad floods. Posted by Spacecraft Films

The Future of Music

Dig this video from Beeple There's an interesting article in Create Digital Motion where he talks about his process. I loved that he admitted to struggling with the software. A lot of people don't realize that even geeks don't automatically absorb new software. You just buckle down and keep working with a program until you have the hours to know it. I just finish a book by David Levy titled 'Love and Sex with Robots'. One of the things he discussed was progress in developing emotion in artificial intelligence. It might be easier than you think, and someday, robots will have their own feelings, feelings we don't have and they will express them with their own art.

Eigenharp Alpha: What the Hell Is It?

I found this YouTube Video with three cats playing controllers (MIDI) that have wind, and keyed interfaces. Kind of cool. The two instruments traditionally most poorly represented by MIDI are brass and guitars; brass because there's a certain technique of expression via embouchure, and guitars because they have tactile expression. The wind mouthpiece seems more like a woodwind, which means you can control attack and velocity, but not yet pitch, like a trumpet. The keyed interface is limited in the same way as electric guitars, meaning attack and velocity are limited, compared to the tonal characteristics of a classical instrument, which are much more subtle. Still, this is an interesting display of controllers. The instruments pictured allow more intuitive playing for certain types of musicians.

Spacious Thoughts

I don't do much double posting, but I put this on facebook a few days ago. Tom Waits in a vid that showed up on Boing Boing; mad animation makes a brilliant display, and the tune is over the top. Rap and all, I loved this thing. The project is NASA, North America, South America: a collaboration. The interview with the animators on Boing Boing was a trip too! They used every technique they knew, and learned some new ones in an effort to animate the voice of Tom Waits as a dark cloud, a hollering spere!

Muto, by Blu

I started babbling about this at work: astounding animations painted on public walls like graffiti art. The artist has been traveling all over the world working on his projects. There's a groovy portfolio and flash site at his link.

Alice Cohen imagines Three Girls

Electric Literature just released a new single sentence animation on YouTube. I'm a bit twisted as to where to post it: generally, book news goes on my other blog, but I just posted a trailer over there for Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, and besides, these always strike me as groovy technology, more than literature. I'll link again, though, to an article in Slate critical of the rise of book trailers. The author, Troy Patterson, laments the practice as degenerate, literary commercialism. Somebody should show him the single sentence animations.

The Apple Store Wasn't Very Helpful For Me Today

A discussion of the Pantheon on an architecture blog linked to this gem on YouTube. Built with 3D Studio Max, a software that only works on PC, the ending was like a punchline to me. I went into the Apple store with a minor issue after loading Windows on my laptop; I need a double boot system so I can better troubleshoot my web design. I ended up having to answer my own question online. I wish they would hire geeks instead of 'promoters'. I'm actually enjoying working on another OS; makes me feel like I have a choice.

Lucid Living, by Miwa Matreyek

Miwa Matreyek at the CalArts Experimental Animation Program is both the musician and the artist of this compelling video. The breakdown of traditional media is happening faster than ever before: there is little reason for a digital artist to commit to audio or visual work. The processes are all performed with software.

Eclectic Method: Live and Now

Create Digital Motion » Eclectic Method: Audiovisualists Talk Streams of Perception in Babelgum Featurette
The techniques these cats use are great! One of the reasons their stuff works so well is the underlying narrative philosophy creates obvious visual relationships. Also the echo effect of pop historical (i.e. Fraggle Rock) and cutting edge news balance each other; the juxtaposition of politics and play, for example. Put it all to a dance beat and you have an awfully cool party that's information rich. Is this the future of social studies education?

Blink: An Installation by HC Gilje

Blink
Interesting project here from HC Gilje. The room is defined via the projections; flat projections, actually cleverly fitted to create three dimensional spaces and effects. What I really enjoyed about the projections was the attention to detail in the quality of the light. While in many respects quite minimalist, some the projected images have a very natural quality; sunshine on water or glass, light moving behind a tree or through grasses or reeds.

Bruce Lee Plays Ping Pong

Funny how these things go. A fabulous video of Bruce Lee playing ping-pong using a martial arts device is being used to launch a Nokia phone. There's arguments all over YouTube about whether or not its real. I don't care actually; it's real cool.

Hand from Above

Hand from Above | Interactive Architecture dot Org
Does God exist because we crave dialog with something above us? This piece is really great, I think. I love the reactions of the audience; how they immediately begin to play with the image. It's evocative, godlike, and yet playful.