the 24 solar terms animated illustrations by Oamul

Animated gifs are not usually very pretty, but the Chinese illustrator Oamul has made ​​something beautiful. From this relatively simple technique, his illustrations in motion become smaller stories, the simple and subtle expression. He has worked on a series of 24 animated images on the phases of the lunar calendar, named "the 24 solar terms". In his on words : "The 24 solar terms are from traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars that match a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. I want to record the changing seasons as my own way".

the Wormworld Saga

The Wormworld Saga is a digital graphic novel by the German artist Daniel Lieske. Daniel started his “art career” quite early, as he says, by selling his first drawn comics on his schoolyard. In a secluded corner of a historical frame house in the old town of Warendorf, where Daniel resides with his family, he has created a studio, where he draws and paints, reads and writes, listen to music or as he says, just surf the internet for inspiration. In his own words : “I hold dear childhood memories of playing in the woods, climbing on trees and exploring gloomy places. When I was born, the first 'Starwars' movie hit theatres and I grew up with 'The Muppets' and movies like 'Indiana Jones', 'Dark Crystal', 'Legend' and 'The Goonies'. All these and much more influences show up in my artwork today. They shaped the way I look at things and built the foundation for my own imaginary worlds.”

It’s a story about a young boy who discovers a doorway into another world tucked away in his grandma’s attic—and it’s a story about a giant dragon trapped in a mountain, and about a mysterious Firelord who rises from the fires of Worm Mountain. Wormworld contains all the sorts of places Lieske would like to wander himself: “a deep forest, a long ocean shore, a high mountain range and an endless desert,” with Worm Mountain at the heart. Unlike many webcomics it wasn’t released a bit at a time. Lieske worked through it all, and then released it at the beginning of 2011 as a completed chapter, much like releasing a book. The format is also interesting ; it is one continuous scroll from top to bottom, a design choice made to avoid page turns ; which overturns the idea of the comic book (that we all are familiar with). There are still frames, of course, but it’s an interesting experience that feels like a long, seamless page from top to bottom. [1] To give you an idea :

[1] Ref. http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/lose-yourself-in-the-wormworld-saga/

Zen Pencils : the Lucky ones

Gavin Aung Than is a freelance illustrator living in Melbourne, Australia. He has spent a number of years as corporate graphic designer before quitting to pursue his passion for illustration and cartooning. Since then he has been illustrating famous quotes, creating as he calls them "cartoon quotes from inspirational folks". His work is trully outstanding. View this sample here, and visit his website for more.

Original Post by the artist was on 28 Aug.2012 here.

Legend :

Richard Dawkins (1941-) is the world’s most famous atheist, thanks to his best-selling book The God Delusion and his tireless work to promote secularism through media and public appearances. Though he is probably more well-known today for his views on religion, Dawkins is first and foremost an evolutionary biologist. He has dedicated his life to studying evolution and to him it must be so bleeding obvious, and so much more awe-inspiring and beautiful, that the complexity of life on Earth is thanks to Natural Selection rather than Intelligent Design.

ballpoint pen drawings by Shohei Otomo

Katsuhiro Otomo is a world-renown manga artist best known as the creator of "Akira". But did you know that he has a son who is also an amazing artist in his own right? Shohei, as he simply calls himself (perhaps to escape from the hegemony of the Otomo name), creates dauntingly dense and bold illustrations using just 1 tool – a ball point pen. Having started out doodling by pencil, Shohei eventually migrated to ballpoint pen. “I realized that ballpoints are cheap, so I’ve been using them for a while now. I also like drawing bit by bit, and ballpoints are perfect for that.” Shohei often depicts furyo, or Japanese delinquents. “Their style is so uniquely Japanese,” he explains. “Japanese people can do the “uncool” thing really well. We have the originality of an insular country.” If you want to see Shohei in action, check out the latest tie-up he did with Pilot, the Japanese stationary company, creating an portrait of epic proportions using only their Justus fountain pen, in the video that follows after the images. [1]

[1] Ref. http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2013/08/01/ballpoint-pen-drawings-by-shohei-otomo/

Superhero budget illustrations

To promote their Galaxy S4, Samsung teamed up with Mashable to commission a series of unusual illustrations: Annotated drawings listing the costs of living for popular superheroes, comparing their start-up costs (from their origin years) to their current budgetary needs. As you can see, out of the five superheroes chosen (Batman, Superman, the Hulk, Wolverine and Spider-Man) it is the Dark Knight that has suffered the most from inflation and the unfortunate male urge to keep buying gadgets.

Spider-Man appears to have very little overhead, though his day job as a photojournalist requires he tote an expensive camera around; judging by the $3,299 price tag, it looks like he shoots with a Nikon D800. The series was illustrated by Bob Al-Greene, art directed by Nina Frazier and designed by Emil Lendof.

the secret life of superheroes by Greg Guillemin

It may seem like superheroes spend their entire day saving us regular folk from world threatening danger on a day to day basis, but believe it or not they actual lead real lives as well. Artist and illustrator Greg Guillemin exposes superheroes daily lives in a series aptly titled ‘The Secret Life Of Superheroes.’ The series features some of our favorite heroes from both the Marvel and DC universe, doing normal things just like me and you would. What kind of things you ask? Well Superman can be seen picking his nose, Spider-Man hooking up with Mary Jane, Batman brushing his teeth before getting fresh with Robin, and Wonder Woman stuffing her bra before saving the world. [1]

Superheroes are from Marvel and DC comics. View and purchase online here. Check out the whole series I and II here.

[1] Ref. http://hiconsumption.com/2013/01/the-secret-life-of-superheroes-by-greg-guillemin/

Good Ideas, Bad Ideas

Whether you're writing a story, making crafts or coming up with a new business venture, a good idea can be hard to find. But with a little ambition, a dash of determination and a pinch of creativity, you'll be well on your way. In this comic, Grant Snider of Incidental Comics shows us that there's only one way to find out if an idea is good or bad ; chase it.

the iMadeFace craze

According to the iMadeFace Facebook page the app has become number 1 in; United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, Indonesia, Honk Kong, Taiwan, Macao, Brunei, Singapore and many more! So when I said it was popular, I wasn’t joking. The main purpose for this arty little app, created by SW company Keyloft, was initially to make Caller ID’s for your contacts, best of all you have full control over each persons look. Alternatively, you could share your creations with friends to attach to your ID on their phone. [1]

What’s great about iMadeFace is that it’s quite simple to use. Just by swiping, you can create a customized cartoon face in minutes. Touch and slide to select different parts of the face. Slide left or right to choose different shapes or styles of that selected part (for instance, different shapes of the face, or different hairstyles), and slide up or down to change the colors.

Keyloft Chief Brand Officer Athena Wang told e27 that the team is “super excited” by how popular the app has become. “Now we are open to all of our fans for expectations and suggestions,” she said. “There are hundreds of emails received each day about what they are expecting. The new features and packs will soon be ready.” [2]

“We are trying to combine pop art and traditional Chinese printmaking, and create the new Asian pop art. The lines and shapes of traditional Chinese printmaking can create varied details of features of different people, which can create better motions,” she said. [2]

iMadeFace is currently available only for iOS, however an Android version will be available soon. You can download iMadeFace for free, here. Check out the iMadeFace page on tumblr as well.

[1] Ref. http://www.n3rdabl3.co.uk/2013/02/imadeface-available-for-ios-coming-to-android-soon/

[2] Ref. http://e27.co/2013/02/14/cartoon-fun-with-imadeface-craze/

Angry Alien productions : the famous 30-second bunnies

30-Second Bunnies Theatre is an original and Webby Award-winning Flash cartoon series featuring films re-enacted by anthropomorphic animated bunnies in 30 seconds. The series is produced by Angry Alien Productions. The series debuted in 2004, when website creator Jennifer Shiman was looking to create a funny web series. She created a version of The Exorcist, re-enacted by animated bunnies in only 30 seconds. It was a huge hit, prompting Shiman and company to create more "30 second bunny movies". The clips set here, are for sampling reasons. For the full gallery visit Angry Alien Productions.

Some words from Shiman’s bio : “I've been drawing since 1976 or thereabouts. I have an undergraduate degree in International Business and a graduate degree in Media Studies. After grad school, I took a sabbatical while working part-time to make my first animated short. I started my sole proprietorship Angry Alien Productions in 1998 in order to earn income through more creative projects”.

In 2005, the "bunny troupe" was commissioned by Starz! to make new shorts. Each Starz-commissioned re-enactment has premiered on Starz on Demand as well as Starz Ticket before moving online. The series take on Star Wars was also featured on CNN on April 16, 2006. 30-Second Bunnies Theatre has won in 2008 two Webby Awards for Online Film and Video/Animation, plus the People's Voice award in that category. For a full list of clips check out the Wikipedia entry here. For online viewing on Starz go here.

Retired Superheroes by Donald Soffritti

Donald Soffritti is an illustrator with a passion for superheroes. After many years of following the adventures of Spider-Man rather than Captain America he has posed the fatal question, "But what will happen to the superheroes when they get old and retire ?". The answer came through a series of drawings that have suggested how people who have superpowers will be as seniors. Soffritti's Thor has become decidedly overweight since taking on beer. Captain America is a symbol of the American dream will spend the rest of his days at the table of a fast food restaurant.

Italian cartoonist Donald Soffritti imagines the later years of superheroes, with hilarious results. Original titles "retired superheroes" or "superheroes decadence". His brilliant cartoons have been collected into a book, available here.

Zen Pencils - Work & Play

Gavin Aung Than is a freelance illustrator living in Melbourne, Australia. He has spent a number of years as corporate graphic designer before quitting to pursue his passion for illustration and cartooning. Since then he has been illustrating famous quotes, creating as he calls them "cartoon quotes from inspirational folks". His work is trully outstanding. View this sample here, and visit his website for more.

Original Post by the artist was on 28 Aug.2012 here.

Legend :

L.P. JACKS (1860-1955) was an English Unitarian minister and philosopher. I only used one sentence, but the full version of this quote is beautiful:

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well.”

Such great words, and I’m trying my best to apply it to my own life. This is a companion comic to my early Find a job you love piece. I really liked that comic and I wanted to recapture that same sense of joy and fun. So this comic is pretty much exactly the same but with a different vocation. I know it’s a little bit lazy to rehash old ideas but I loved the quote so much I think it warranted another comic. And it’s my website and I can do whatever I want – so there!

Sex is no accident

Illustrator: Gary Davidson

Creative Directors: Moritz Grub, Regner Lotz

Advertising Agency: Grey Worldwide, Düsseldorf, Germany

[Ref.] http://adsoftheworld.com/creative/gary_davidson

theoatmeal : at the gym

original post from "theoatmeal" webcomics site, to be found here.

SMBC : Superman

Read original on SMBC (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) here.

Zen Pencils - On hapiness

Gavin Aung Than is a freelance illustrator living in Melbourne, Australia. He has spent a number of years as corporate graphic designer before quitting to pursue his passion for illustration and cartooning. Since then he has been illustrating famous quotes, creating as he calls them "cartoon quotes from inspirational folks". His work is trully outstanding. View this sample here, and visit his website for more.

Original Post by the artist was on 14 Sep.2012 here.

Legend :

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American writer, poet, philosopher and one of the leading figures of the transcendentalism movement. Besides writing Civil Disobedience, which inspired such revolutionaries as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jnr, Thoreau is most well-known for his book Walden, in which he recounts the two years he lived in a small cabin in the woods near Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau used the time to immerse himself in his writing and to live a more simple and self-sufficient life. As he put it:

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.

Zen Pencils - Confucius

Gavin Aung Than is a freelance illustrator living in Melbourne, Australia. He has spent a number of years as corporate graphic designer before quitting to pursue his passion for illustration and cartooning. Since then he has been illustrating famous quotes, creating as he calls them "cartoon quotes from inspirational folks". His work is trully outstanding. View this sample here, and visit his website for more.

Original Post by the artist was on 3 Feb.2012 here.

Legend :

Confucius (551BC-479BC) was a Chinese philosopher, moral thinker and all-around wise dude. His work has been formulated into Confucianism, a doctrine of philosophy which teaches that human beings are responsible for their self-fulfilment through moral actions towards others.