Skin Alphabet

This is kinda nasty but its something creative!

alfabet in huid

You Can Never Leave Dripbook. Ever.

I’m updating this blog post after a few e-mails with Dripbook. They are a group of people trying very hard to make an excellent service. Most of my reasons for writing this post could have been dealt with better communication on their website. I suppose that’s been done by now.

Photographers, illustrators, hair stylists etc are typically a little crap at keeping their websites maintained, if they exist at all. I appreciate any efforts to help these busy creative people show their work to the world. Dripbook is one of those efforts. I found out about them through a comment in one of the Virb art groups and Mashable have written about them too. I’ll check anything out and it seemed like a good project. Easy portfolio tools combined with a social network aspect to help you connect and promote. So I sent them an application. I had to apply because… they’re pulling the exclusivity card as a marketing stunt really. I said I’m handsome and make nice work and sent them my portfolio site (ironically). Thank goodness I was let in or my street cred would have collapsed like an underfed model. The feature I wanted to explore was their ability to publish to third party sites. Widgets that create a bit of code that refers to your dynamically updated portfolio instead of you having to create the books on your own site. I use viewbook.com for a site I built for a photographer which does that exactly. Unfortunately I never did get to trying that feature.

Most of Dripbook is fine even if it’s a bit dull in the design stakes (a web 2.0 phenomenon apparently). The upload of images was easy enough, the networking idea is a good one. After I uploaded I found that my images came out looking soft. Which is odd considering they were sized down for web use and were sharp, black and white images when they left my desktop. Even that I could figure out given enough patience. My irritation is that the site is not recognizing that I have “published” a book of drawings. It says it’s published. But it’s not visible to anyone else it seems. I’ve tried every “publish” button three times and now I’m bored. If you can’t publish, you can’t promote and then the social network is useless.

Turns out that because I put a “Mature” marker on my book because it contained drawn nudity, I encountered a legal fix:

You followed the instructions exactly and did exactly what you were supposed to do. When a user goes to look at your book, he / she is asked whether he / she wants to look at mature content. Then a cookie is places on that user’s computer, and the warning does not show up again.

 A fact that would have been good to know a few days ago.
Not wanting to spend any more time on the site I figured that I’d cancel my hard won account and focus my efforts on other tasks, like my real job. Except I can’t find anywhere to cancel, suspend, deactivate, kill my account. Really. I’ve looked pretty hard. The FAQ neatly ignores the fact that anyone would be brazen enough to leave their services. I wonder what happens when you buy a premium account ($9 per month)?

Dripbook have informed me that they hadn’t got to that detail yet.  It’ll be done now.
Dripbook is in Beta phase which may excuse any screw ups and my decision to leave their site is based on a few personal impressions, not only some basic technical glitches. The site is slow, I don’t like their presentation options and I don’t like their design.

I‘d leave, but I can’t.

ps. Turns out that no one had ever asked to leave. I have that dubious honour. My apologies, Dripbook, for being that guy.

 I have been deleted. After the short e-mail chat with Dripbook I appreciate that I was rather harsh on their Beta site. I only wish they had been a bit more forthcoming with how Beta they were. I mean, who doesn’t have a delete account button?  If you think I was a putz let the comments fly.

A Quick Art Culture Catch Up

A friend asked to see some art that I reckon is fairly decent at the moment. Instead of hiding it in an e-mail, let me share with everyone. I’ve blogged about most of these people or sites before but there’s no substitute for an easy to click blog post to get motivated to look again. So, in no particular order, here’s some food for thought:

Serious Painting

Painting removed by artist’s request

John Copeland – Probably my favourite painter at the moment.

Slightly Different Painters

Jim Woodring – A great contemporary Surrealist

Jeff Soto – Giant robots and rainbows never looked this good. Jeff’s work has been translated into a short film by 3 Legged Legs. It’s amazing to see this fine-art-street-type style in motion.

Ashley Wood – Famous for concept art, comic books and being a “little” brash at times. He paints on real boards and sells the original pieces to collectors. He qualifies as a real artist.

Interactive Media

Hoogerbrugge – A Netherlands artist who uses drawings of himself to lay waste to the repititions of modern culture. Or something like that. This music video is the quick sampler of his work but check out the website for classic focussed Hoogerbrugge.

Kooky

Michel Gagne – This is his 6th book, Frenzied Fauna: From A to Z.

ICanHasCheezBurger -The meme called Lolcats is something that many would not consider to be art, but it has been accepted adopted by the masses and shares some of the traits of art: visual aesthetic, an underlying theory, self-imposed executional rules, a sense of history. Is it -ism or is it -crapism? Will people in 100 years time have retrospectives of Lolcats? And in case you think I’m writing total rubbish look up the definition of Art.

Where to find more

Artshole – A UK listing for art
Art Krush – The e-mail publication and this list will see you right.
Drawn! – All about Drawers!

Why Can’t Every Site Be Lateral?

 

Sometimes I despair of social networking sites. They have a promise of interesting connections and influences and then fall a bit short of the dream. Much like any kind of technology I guess. I’m thinking that Virb is not going to live up to it’s designer promise. The pages dedicated to Art, Photography and other creative output have not arrived, despite months of promises. I’m sure they’re busy and music is the easiest way into this business, but c’mon! Most of the people I chat with on the site are designers of some sort and how awesome would a chart of top illustrators on Virb be? Anyways, every now and then I’m surprised by someone that wants to be friendly and what they’re attached to.

The other day a guy called Franks contacts me on Virb. And it turns out he is the Head of Design (and a damn good drawer) at a company called Lateral, based in London. They’re an interactive type of agency who’ve done boat loads of work on Nintendo DS and Levis. While their portfolio is impressive, it’s their website that caught my attention. It’s a damn clever piece of information design. Slick, simple and fast. The expandable blocks provide excellent bite size pieces of information and the colour work is fun and intuitive. I think it’s built in Ajax.

It’s a lesson in how a single page can be an entire information architecture.

Lateral 

Awards show Virgins!

If you can’t remember your first time or if you still are this might be entertaining for you!

Click this link :letusbeyourfirst.com

Bite Me

 

I’m always on the looking for talented people who make ad guys appear to know what they’re doing (I need all the help I can get). Bite Animation are one of those crews. They’re a small motion graphics & design studio in Johannesburg who’ve done some impressive work for some very picky creatives. They’ve just relaunched their website so go visit them.  If you’re a fan of heavily layered illustration you’ll enjoy the experience.

Bite Animation 

Jill Calder – Stabbed Typography

Jill Calder is a Scottish illustrator who has an amazing line style that she applies to type on occasion. I’d love to see some of this sensibility applied to standard corporate brand work. People might actually pay attention. Her illustration work is beautiful as well.

Link

ps. There are some more images at Friend & Johnson, just look in the Illustrators section.

The Screaming Quiet: Julia Fullerton-Batten

 

Julia Fullerton-Batten is a photographer who creates compelling images from the seemingly mundane. The old woman in the washroom. The school girls in a playground. The house of cards on a table. They all take on an unreal quality that just sucked me in. They’re sophisticated paintings of light and quite beautiful to sit and look at.  The visual depth she puts into her images make them seem like stolen moments. Julia has shown her work in The National Portrait Gallery in London and the work must be quite something to see in person.

Link  (via)

Yann Le Coroller – Angels In The Sky

 

Yann is a French digital designer plying his trade in NYC. His character design is totally charming and he’s made them available as desktop downloads.  As I was digging through his work I found his Product & Interface Design page, projects he does in his spare time because he apparently can’t help but try and make the world a better place. And we have nothing but respect for people who design a better iPod like object.

Link