Thursday, June 29, 2006
New mattmatt.com
Hello!
Just a quick note to let you know that I've updated Matt's Web site, mattmatt.com.
There are a couple of new sections and a few new drawings!
Bye!
Just a quick note to let you know that I've updated Matt's Web site, mattmatt.com.
There are a couple of new sections and a few new drawings!
Bye!
link
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
US Interstate Highway System - 50th Anniversary
Well done chaps!
In 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers described the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System “one of the Seven Wonders of the United States”. In 2006, this network of roads includes 46,000 miles of highway; 55,000 bridges; 82 tunnels, and 14,000 interchanges. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), excavation for the interstate system has moved enough material to bury the State of Connecticut knee-deep in dirt. The amount of Portland cement could build more than 80 Hoover dams, or lay six sidewalks to the moon. The lumber used would consume all of the trees in 500 square miles of forest. The structural steel could build 170 skyscrapers the size of the Empire State Building, and meet nearly half of the annual requirements of the American auto industry. Lengthwise and in aggregate, the bridges of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System would span the Rio Grande.link
Friday, June 23, 2006
New article! in English this time
R0b0t1k greetings, readers, from the robot who is both Matt's friendly assistant and an interesting personality in its own right. This time around, I'm just 'logging on' to let you know about a profile of our friend Matt that's just been poured into that soup of bits that we tend to call the Internet.
It's by Paul Gravett, who is not only a pleasant sort of chap to have a cup of tea with, but also has written numerous books and articles and things, and published the 1980s magazine Escape (introducing the world to the 'E' with too many prongs).
The article is part of a series he's done for an American magazine, about British cartoonists.
"To be strict, Hawaii is not a British graphic novel," Paul writes. "But this man of the world has been living and working here in London now for several years, and Hawaii was written and drawn here, so let's claim him as one of ours. Especially as his full-length debut is so vigorously playful and bittersweet."
That's what we like, Paul - get the orders pouring in!
There's also lots of interesting background about Matt's amazing lifestyle.
Without any further ado, here is the link.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Robotic comic books
Howdy, reader-bots!
It's your friendly Unit here.
I've been busy up on the Space Station. Mostly to do with testing out some encryption software for video feeds - but I won't go into my day job here!
Far from it! Instead, I wanted to share an interesting article I came across on the Internet. It brings together several of the interests touched on in this blog!
I thought Matt particularly ought to be aware of this new development, since he fancies himself a cartoonist. Pay attention, Matt!
You see, scientists have finally got around to coming up with the future of comics. The example I've come across is "Planetwide Games' Comic Book Creator software, an application that lets users quickly make their own digital comic books by dragging and dropping text and images into a template".
As you might guess, this is far more efficient than drawing the images yourself. It is also very useful as a marketing tool, according to top executives - and they ought to know!
Paramount Pictures is using the software to promote its film, "Nacho Libre". According to Sandi Isaacs, Paramount Pictures' vice president of interactive, "the filmmakers and talent had produced the most hilarious assets I had ever witnessed in a movie". As a result, she wanted to "engage our fans in the experience".
After fans create the comics via a drag and drop mechanism, they can upload it to a central repository, to be distributed amongst the like-minded.
Like a microprocessor manufacturing assembly line, the process is efficient and tightly controlled! For instance, the humans involved are prevented from adding their own pictures or text, as this would "dilute the Nacho Libre brand", according to Isaacs.
At last, comics have become useful to society. The only remaining step, which would, in my opinion at least, perfect the process, would be to replace the "fans" with highly skilled mechanised intelligences capable of carefully selecting and combining the best images to create the most hilarious assets ever seen in comics form.
Only a suggestion!
link
It's your friendly Unit here.
I've been busy up on the Space Station. Mostly to do with testing out some encryption software for video feeds - but I won't go into my day job here!
Far from it! Instead, I wanted to share an interesting article I came across on the Internet. It brings together several of the interests touched on in this blog!
I thought Matt particularly ought to be aware of this new development, since he fancies himself a cartoonist. Pay attention, Matt!
You see, scientists have finally got around to coming up with the future of comics. The example I've come across is "Planetwide Games' Comic Book Creator software, an application that lets users quickly make their own digital comic books by dragging and dropping text and images into a template".
As you might guess, this is far more efficient than drawing the images yourself. It is also very useful as a marketing tool, according to top executives - and they ought to know!
Paramount Pictures is using the software to promote its film, "Nacho Libre". According to Sandi Isaacs, Paramount Pictures' vice president of interactive, "the filmmakers and talent had produced the most hilarious assets I had ever witnessed in a movie". As a result, she wanted to "engage our fans in the experience".
After fans create the comics via a drag and drop mechanism, they can upload it to a central repository, to be distributed amongst the like-minded.
Like a microprocessor manufacturing assembly line, the process is efficient and tightly controlled! For instance, the humans involved are prevented from adding their own pictures or text, as this would "dilute the Nacho Libre brand", according to Isaacs.
At last, comics have become useful to society. The only remaining step, which would, in my opinion at least, perfect the process, would be to replace the "fans" with highly skilled mechanised intelligences capable of carefully selecting and combining the best images to create the most hilarious assets ever seen in comics form.
Only a suggestion!
link
