“What We Do In Life, Echoes In Eternity”

Never forget. Never give in. Never give up.

Maximus: “Three weeks from now I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line. Stay with me. If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled; for you are in Elysium, and you’re already dead!

[The soldiers laugh]

Maximus: “Brothers, what we do in life, echoes in eternity.”

— Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius in Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic film Gladiator

THE GREAT RICHARD HARRIS AS THE ICONIC MARCUS AURELIUS IN RIDLEY SCOTT’S GLADIATOR, 2000. HE PLAYED KING ARTHUR IN CAMELOT ON SCREEN AND WAS A TRUE KNIGHT IN REALITY BEING KNIGHTED BY THE QUEEN OF DENMARK IN 1985.

“How will the world speak my name in years to come? Will I be known as the philosopher? The warrior? The tyrant...? Or will I be the emperor who gave Rome back her true self?”

— Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator, 2000

Marcus Aurelius: “When a man sees his end... he wants to know there was some purpose to his life. How will the world speak my name in years to come? Will I be known as the philosopher? The warrior? The tyrant...? Or will I be the emperor who gave Rome back her true self? There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish... it was so fragile. And I fear that it will not survive the winter. Maximus, let us whisper now, together, you and I. You have a son. Tell me about your home.”

Maximus: “My house is in the hills above Trujillo. A very simple place. Pinkstones that warm in the sun. A kitchen garden that smells of herbs in the day, jasmine in the evening. Through the gate is a giant poplar. Figs, apples, pears. The soil, Marcus- black. Black like my wife’s hair. Grapes on the south slopes, olives on the north. Wild ponies play near my house. They tease my son. He wants to be one of them.”

Marcus Aurelius: “Remember the last time you were home?”

Maximus: “Two years, 264 days, and this morning.”

Marcus Aurelius: “I envy you, Maximus. It’s a good home. Worth fighting for. There is one more duty that I ask of you before you go home.”

Maximus: “What would you have me do, Caesar?”

Marcus Aurelius: “I want you to become the protector of Rome after I die. I will empower you to one end alone: To give power back to the people of Rome, and end the corruption that has crippled it. Will you accept this great honor I have offered you?”

Maximus: “With all my heart, no.”

Marcus Aurelius: “Maximus, that is why it must be you.”

Steven Soderbergh on Steven Spielberg: The Master of Blocking

Celebrating Spielberg through a “Raiders” Soderbergh case study by Danny Boyd of CinemaStix.

This inspiring video posted by Danny Boyd of CinemaStix thoroughly explores Steven Spielberg’s master strokes of blocking, staging, and other key directorial techniques as presented in Steven Soderbergh’s unique presentation celebrating the iconic director. Through isolating the essence of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark by removing color, dialogue, and replacing the music with tracks from The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Soderbergh celebrates Spielberg’s genius.

“Maybe So, Sir. But Not Today.”

Extinction? No. Mach 10+. Yes!

Hammer: [going through Maverick’s service record] “Maverick. Thirty-plus years of service. Combat medals. Citations. Only man to shoot down three enemy planes in the last 40 years. Distinguished. Distinguished. Distinguished. Yet you can’t get a promotion, you won’t retire, and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star Admiral by now, if not a Senator. Yet here you are...Captain. Why is that?”

Maverick: “It’s one of life’s mysteries, sir.”

Hammer: “This isn’t a joke. I asked you a question.”

Maverick: “I’m where I belong, sir.”

Hammer: “Well, the Navy doesn't see it that way. Not anymore. Those planes you’ve been testing, Captain... one day sooner than later they won't need pilots at all. Pilots that need to eat, sleep, take a piss. [glares at Maverick] Pilots that disobey orders. All you did was buy some time for those men out there. The future is coming, and you’re not in it. [to the Masters-at-Arms] Escort this man off the base. Take him to his quarters. Wait with him while he packs his gear. I want him on the road to North Island within the hour.”

Maverick: “North Island, sir?”

Hammer: “Call came in with impeccable timing just as I was driving here to ground your ass once and for all. It galls me to say it, but...for reasons known only to the Almighty and your guardian angel...you've been called back to Top Gun.”

Maverick: [in disbelief] “Sir?”

Hammer: “You are dismissed, Captain. [calling after Maverick as he goes to leave] The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction.”

Maverick: “Maybe so, sir. But not today.”

“The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction.”

— Ed Harris, Rear Admiral “Hammer” Cain addressing Tom Cruise, Captain “Maverick” Mitchell, Top Gun: Maverick

Helluva Good Times Ahead

Back in the day, circa 1997, the creative brains and brawn at Blizzard released Diablo 1. It rocked the gaming world with all of its hellish wizardry. To this day I prefer Diablo 1 compared to its sequels. I even prefer it to Doom, Dark Forces, Quake, and Unreal Tournament 2004.

There were so many clever aspects to the original gameplay that keeps me coming back for more melee madness even 26 years since its original release. Every Diablo 1 game is randomized and unique which fosters repeat gameplay for years to come. With an open mind and NVidia 3090 in hand I’m stoked to experience Diablo 4 on my PC this summer. It’s gonna be a helluva good time! But will Diablo 1 still remain my favorite?

I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll still hold the original Diablo above the latest incarnation. For me it’s all about the entire experience, not just another 4K graphics FPS. I had similar experiences with Battlefront and its sequel Battlefront II. I still prefer Dark Forces. There’s just no comparison playing Diablo 1 or Dark Forces on my Blueberry iMac in good old vintage OS9 with those retro graphics. :-)

ABOVE: MEET PALLADIUM, MY INVINCIBLE WARRIOR, FROM DIABLO 1, RESURRECTED ON MY 1999 BLUEBERRY IMAC I PAID $60 FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO. CAN’T WAIT FOR DIABLO 4 TO DROP! THUS FAR, DIABLO 1 REMAINS MY FAVORITE INCARNATION OF THE GAME SERIES.

ABOVE: MEET CLEVER CLEAVER, MY LATEST DIABLO 1 WARRIOR I’VE BEEN BUILDING UP IN ANTICIPATION OF DIABLO 4. HIS OPTIONAL OBSIDIAN SHIELD MAXES OUT HIS MAGIC, FIRE, AND LIGHTNING RESISTANCES FOR HELLACIOUS COMBAT SCENARIOS.

High Fidelity Storms are Brewing at The Pixel Lab

Have you ever wanted to play Emperor Ming and control the weather? With these 50 VDBs from The Pixel Lab you’re one step closer. Available in three mesh densities. This pack also includes high resolution renders with alphas for immediate comping.

VDB CLOUDS PACK VOLUME 5: “STORM” FROM THE PIXEL LAB. A COLLECTION OF 50 ULTRA-REALISTIC CLOUD FORMATIONS.

FLASH GORDON, 1980. DIRECTED BY MIKE HODGES.

The Emperor Ming: “Klytus, I’m bored. What plaything can you offer me today?”

Klytus: “An obscure body in the S-K System, Your Majesty. The inhabitants refer to it as the planet...“Earth.”

The Emperor Ming: “How peaceful it looks.”

[He activates a console, and watches as earthquakes, floods, etc. start to occur. They both get a good laugh out of it.] 

Klytus: “Most effective, Your Majesty! Will you destroy this, er, Earth?”

The Emperor Ming: “Later. I like to play with things a while...before annihilation.

[laughs evilly]

— Max von Sydow as Emperor Ming the Merciless, and Peter Wyngarde as General Klytus in Flash Gordon, 1980

A Designer’s Curriculum Vitae

MAKE AN IMPRESSION AT FIRST GLANCE BY INCLUDING YOUR LOGO AND OTHER DESIGN CUES THAT ALLOW YOUR CV TO COMMUNICATE YOUR UNIQUE STORY.

I’ve always strongly believed that designing the right CV should directly reflect the one who’s being represented in said CV, especially when the position calls for a creative individual. I understand that many companies allow for their CVs to be sorted into priority bins by a set algorithm. The first thing I would ask if pursuing a company for potential hire is simple: do they take the time to hand-select candidates by human or machine? If it is initially by machine I’d be rather wary. I go for the companies that are smaller in scale that actually go the human route. While some consider this as old-fashioned I disagree that it’s really more of a dying art form that requires resurrecting. My CV is designed to highlight my skills as a graphic designer, i.e. to produce a real connection with the reader through a well designed piece of communication. That’s all in it’s simplest form a CV is; a tool to communicate the details of a candidate’s mindset, toolset, work history, and accolades.

I’ve designed many CVs for friends and family for over 30 years. Every one of them aided very directly in them landing the job. I understand that there’s just “not enough time or people power” to personally view every resume, but if the resume stands out at just a glance it’s far more likely it will be read by a human. Machines are fine with things that can follow an algorithm, but where they are weak is with anything that makes us human. How many fingers do we usually see in A.I. art? The A.I. models forgot to teach human anatomy. I’m sure they’ll eventually get it right. For now though I will be reviewing CVs for what’s next for me and my friends just around the corner…

Mind the Details in Client Contracts

Balin: “It’s just the usual; summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth.”

Bilbo Baggins: “Funeral arrangements?”

[reads contract] 

Bilbo Baggins: “Oh, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth total profit if any. Seems fair.”

“Present company shall not be liable for injuries including but not limited to laceration, evisceration...incineration?”

— Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Ken Stott as Balin, James Nesbitt as Bofur, and Ian McKellen as Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

COLOR GRADED SHOT OF THE MECHANICAL DRAGON FROM THE WALT DISNEY WORLD PARADE DURING ONE OF OUR FAMILY TRIPS TO ORLANDO, FLORIDA.

Bofur: “Oh, aye. He’ll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye.”

Balin: “You all right, laddie?”

Bilbo Baggins: “Yeah, I’ll be. Feel a bit faint.”

Bofur: “Think furnace, with wings.”

Bilbo Baggins: “Yeah, I-I-I need air.”

Bofur: “Flash of light, searing pain, then poof, you’re nothing more than a pile of ash.”

Terminated

Looking forward to sharing what’s next…

“The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too.”

— Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2

ABOVE: LINDA HAMILTON REPRISING HER ROLE AS SARAH CONNOR IN TERMINATOR: DARK FATE, 2019.

Raise Your Glass of Blue Milk

May the 4th Be With You!

Carrie Fisher was given her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. The illustration above was rendered by Drew Struzan, everyone’s favorite movie poster illustrator icon. We miss you Carrie!

Above: Family Guy “Blue Harvest” parody on TBS. This title was the code name for Revenge of the Jedi before it became known as Return of the Jedi.

Above: The original version of Drew Struzan’s iconic movie poster illustration for the third Star Wars film. The title was changed closer to the release date to Return of the Jedi. George Lucas felt that the Jedi being portrayed as vengeful didn’t quite line up with their core values.

The origination story behind the code name “Blue Harvest.” George Lucas was also paying homage to Kurosawa’s “Red Harvest.” Lucas borrowed many themes for Star Wars from the lore of Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress.

Read The Manual (or fondly, RTFM)

Where did you experience and render your first pixel painting? Mine was at age 11 on my Commodore 64. I drew Indiana Jones with the cursor keys and had no way to save the image to my 1541 drive. If only I had remembered to take a Polaroid snapshot. Little did I know, like so many of us, I'd make a living rendering pixel paintings for nearly 3 decades while riding the waves of technological and artistic pairings of software and hardware intersecting rather naturally.

In the early ‘80s our lives were forever changed as artists by a small company in Newbury, England. Art and technology were fused together and being released as the Quantel Paintbox. The Weather Channel placed the very first order after discovering it at NAB in New York, 1981. In the mid ‘90s I joined The Weather Channel Art Department, and Harriet was my new best friend.

As the broadcast industry grew so did our access to digital tools. Every couple of years we would be introduced to another game changer like Discreet Logic’s Flint/Flame/Inferno/Fire. TWC bought two Flints and one Fire initially. One day I asked my friend if I would get the chance to learn how to transition over to the Flint from the Quantel. His dry response was priceless: “read the manual,” he said.

That night I pored through the 6 inch thick binder. The next day I started the transition. From this experience I was able to do the same moving forward by reading manuals and watching VHS tapes. The Masters of Visual Effects by Puffin Designs and Brian Maffitt’s Total Training proved to be my favorite sets of training thus far. One day while waiting for a render to finish I called Australia. I wanted to know what exactly was the D1 Desktop? It was the key to transitioning completely over to a Mac platform and gaining access to so many tools rather than using one rigid set like those found on black boxes.

By 2002 I upgraded my home studio with a Blackmagic Design Decklink card, Sony deck and monitor, After Effects, and Final Cut Pro. The gear had changed, but the end product was the same as when I was 11. Digital art. Let’s get back to Quantel for a moment. See below what artist David Hockney thought of this new form of artistic wizardry in “Painting with Light.”. His reaction reminds me of my typography professor from college when QuarkXPress introduced H&Js. He was as giddy as a six-year-old on Christmas morning. Enjoy Hockney’s exploration of digital painting wizardry.

Enjoy the full Quantel history here: http://quantelpaintbox.com/index.html

“I’m painting with light on glass. The only equivalent where you would get colors like this is stained glass itself where you can get a richness of color that even paint can’t give.”

— Artist David Hockney’s response while painting on a video monitor canvas with the Quantel Paintbox

Pixie Dust to Swirling Sandstorms

I’ve always had a fondness for particles. From African tsetse swarms to F5 tornadoes tearing through Tornado Alley I’ve animated, composited, and enhanced blowing blizzards, monstrous blobs, and conjuring wizards.

Particle simulations add an extra touch of detail that kicks a comp up a few more notches. Sometimes giving the sense of a windstorm pushing the hero back. The shot just feels better, richer. It’s hard to put a finger on it sometimes, but it adds an extra bit of dimension and drama to a scene. Sometimes barely noticeable and other times pulling the viewer directly into the eye of the storm.

The best compliment our talented promotions compositors and VFX artists at The Weather Channel ever got was during a Storm Week promo review by the chief of the Marketing Department, Wonya Lucas:

“Where did you get that shot in the promo?” We humbly replied: “we created it by combining multiple shots, adding particle simulations, stock footage elements, and a touch of compositing wizardry.”

Whether adding snow, rain, sleet, or hail we always rose to the task at hand doing whatever it took to hold the viewer’s attention and engage with them for a few more seconds.

For ten years as a full-time or freelance broadcast designer I created detailed explainer graphics for the meteorologists at The Weather Channel (TWC) with my fellow artists, ET & BS; ranging from hurricane anatomy breakdowns to rainstorms and gully washes.

During the course of those ten years, we created a plethora of shots reminiscent of those found on the silver screen to promote Tornado Week, Flood Week, Hurricane Onslaught, Extreme Weather Week, It Could Happen Tomorrow, Storm Week, Storm Stories Avalanche, Heroes of the Storm, and Wrath of Winter. The Discovery Channel began creating dramatic promos similar to ours. After my ten-year tenure ended, I collaborated with TWC for an additional four years, while I was working full-time at Artifact Design and Outpost Pictures.

TWC EXTREME WEATHER WEEK | RIGHT : GARY WRIGHT AND THE TREK FOR THE ULTIMATE TRIP

Three years later, as a Red Giant Guru, I was given the opportunity to design and animate particle effects preset packs for Red Giant Software and Trapcode Particular. I also designed a concept for a custom splatter effects engine based around Trapcode Particular for them. They passed on the concept, but you can check out the proof of concept on the “AE Lab” page.

To top things off, when working as Motion Design Director at Outpost Pictures, we delivered an Indy-inspired video for Southern Living At Home titled Gary Wright and the Trek for the Ultimate Trip (above right) complete with giant mosquitoes, flocking birds, sandstorms, splashes, dust, debris, smoke, and epic whiteouts. Over a two-year period we created three corporate marketing videos that were shown at the yearly General Incentive conference headed by Gary Wright, chief of marketing, for Southern Living At Home.

Introducing “Flux” & “Blood Type”

I’m pleased to share that I’ve decided to design a font based on the custom characters I created for the “Design” part of the Vinson Design logo refresh. The family is codenamed “Flux” and will feature varying weights, custom characters, upper and lowercase, small caps, and ligatures. Here is a preview of the work in progress.

I’ve also finally gotten around to utilizing the custom splatter textures I created years ago as part of a concept for Red Giant Software called SplatterFX. The concept didn’t go any further than a proof of concept, and they decided to pass. So, with that said, “Blood Type” is also underway and will be available as a free font.

Guiding the A.I. Moral Compass

Do you remember in Animal House when the Deltas stole the carbon copy sheets for the answers to the wrong exam? Yeah, some of A.I.’s architects are getting nailed for the same thing. Did Galen Erso design the first set of blueprints for how to build A.I. tools? It’s rather ingenious. Teach A.I. how to lie and cheat and steal. Then leave a breadcrumb trail to take it out of commission instantaneously.

What’s the easiest way to tell if A.I. art is using legally licensed content to build on is to look very closely at the details. A.I. generated typography wouldn’t include ligatures and glyphs because the person that taught and coded the A.I. wasn’t a graphic designer. They were just a thief plain and simple. It’s a dilemma so easy to fix: universally build all of the A.I. tools with a heavy helping of morals as the keystone of the code’s foundation. We get asked all the time if we accept the agreement to a new app we’ve downloaded, and they change those agreements all the time so we get updated ones as well that we’re again asked if we accept. Do we read the agreements? Most of the time, no we don’t. Without any hesitation we just check the box and click accept.

If every A.I. tool had a checkbox regarding accepting the agreement when using the tool just make sure there’s an algorithm in the tool’s code that checks for any illegal inputs. Have a built-in set of rules that gives A.I. a conscience, a moral compass. When the user or the tool itself decides to scrape sites like Getty without any knowledge or consent we must blame the architects and coders of the A.I. tool.

Send A.I. to preschool, kindergarten, and so on. Learn to be kind, period. Don’t steal or lie either. We can forgive A.I. because it only knows what it knows. The A.I. tool designers and coders are the ones that go to jail. The tools are just another hammer or nail.

The key problem is that rushing to produce yet another A.I. tool ahead of the competition sometimes gets the algorithm completely wrong and uses brute force rather than careful consideration. Why use “a bulldozer to find a China cup?,” baddie Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Learn from George Lucas and make sure you have all of the rights for toys, etc. tidied up so A.I. will know who to contact when it doesn’t know why it keeps using Disney logos and mouse ears hidden in every piece of AI art out there. Remember those posters with the hidden images in them? Cross your eyes and the hidden image appears? Yep. Just like the weakness buried deep inside the plans for the Death Star. It’s right there in plain sight, but cannot be seen until…Boom!

Be kind, rewind, and teach A.I. a generous code of ethics and best practices during the input phases of large language models machine learning.

“There’s nothing wrong with the planet [or A.I.] It’s the people who are f#ck3d.”
— George Carlin

Ghost-Busted

Successful industries can be defined within a construct that relates very closely to how well-oiled its machines function as a whole. Somehow I’ve broken that model on a few occasions giving me insight as to the flaws in each system. Machines, not people, scan resumes and decide, based on algorithms, if someone is a good fit for a job based on key words. A.I. can generate a resume in an instant that will get the job offer while a professional designer’s resume doesn’t fit the model Word Document format for scanning so it goes directly into the trash bin. Another major missed opportunity. Have you ever been ghosted by the machine?

A few years ago I tried an experiment. I sent out 3,000+ resumes and heard back from less than 1%. Then without sending any more out I was approached by three potential top-notch employers. None of them had I sent a resume to. Two of the three went as far as presenting me an offer. I was still on what I call my “mental health walkabout” so I ended up declining both offers.

A couple of years later two more companies approached me. At one I tried interviewing for two different jobs within their organization. According to their recruiter they decided I was intentionally trying to deceive them by doing so. I figured it was a compliment that I’d like to work there in either capacity, but they didn’t see it that way. Another company pushed me through three rounds of interviews. Then out of nowhere they disappeared entirely. I reached out to their recruiter three times with no response.

Both companies black-balled and ghosted me. Thankfully, as it turned out, it was a blessing in disguise according to some mentors of mine. They told me I dodged a bullet.

So, with that said, I find it rather odd I was briskly pushed aside since nearly every job I’ve ever gotten since middle school was from a soon to be lifelong friend. One job always led to another, and so on. The times I was either let go or had to step down was directly due to my poor mental health at the time. If you know me, really know me, you know I’m a sharpshooter, but I’m also a straight shooter. Sometimes I’m rather frank in my response that sometimes offends people. My career history proves this statement is accurately assigned. Repeat business tells the truth. I have no apologies to offer to those folks that ghosted me or anyone else that displayed poor form to any other potential candidates. Don’t we deserve better?

Be kind, use your manners, and never make assumptions, especially if you’re on a hiring team. It’s more hurtful to the hiring company’s reputation in the end than the individual being ghosted. Word travels fast especially by word of mouth. A leader I follow and admire on LinkedIn pointed out I was very lucky having not gone to work for them. She pointed out if that’s how they treat someone they’re pursuing then just imagine how poorly their full-timers are treated. Whew! Dodged that bullet!

Karma has guided and protected me since I started freelancing when I was 12. I learned early on that my path contained many overlapping paths of others. I am thankful to be all in one piece. My childhood passions for art, technology, and storytelling have never been stronger. I’ve been playing, not working, for decades to make a living. I’ve never liked the term work/life balance. Drop the work. We’re here to play.

Many thanks to the folks at TTI for calling me, apologizing, and making things right. Others were not so kind. Be wary and vet your potential clients just as they vet you.

“For whatever reasons, Ray. Call it fate. Call it luck. Call it karma. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that we were destined to get thrown out of this dump.”

— Bill Murray as Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters, 1984