Monday, September 14, 2015

IIIIITS that time again!

Social Media Preview Night at the Minnesota Opera!

This season is going to be a good one:
The first one of the season is a comedy, and it opens to the public on Sat. Sept 26.
Watch this space (or click on those side links) for some opera art!

ARIADNE AUF NAXOS: 
When the wealthiest man in the city double-books a group of buttoned-up opera singers and a band of bawdy comedians as dinner entertainment, the fun begins. Ariadne and her fellow singers have to share their drama (and the stage) with the saucy comedy troupe. 

Next up:
The Magic Flute in November.  Yup, its that awesome one from the 2012/2013 season, and it's AWESOME.

In January, we get Rusalka--Russian fairy tale grandmother of The Corpse Bride. So love and death and betrayal, and since its Opera AND Russian, I expect it doesn't have a happy ending. 

After that, in March, Tosca makes a showing: its one of Puccini's, and he's the one behind Turnandot and La Boheme, so its gonna be sad and super pretty.

THEN in May, we get The Shining. Yesss, that  The Shining.  The MN Opera does an Orginal Work every year, and this year is The Shining. 

So, if you are here for the art: go see these shows.  If you are part of the Collective, come make art at the Opera!


Sunday, August 4, 2013

"No Excuse. Draw." is a challenge devised to help artists to get into the habit of drawing everyday. This is a challenge against one’s self.
The 24 Hour / 24 Week No Excuses, Draw challenge will officially start on August 11th, 2013! Though people can start at any time, but it is recommended to start at the beginning. This project will have direct links to the expanded week themes (plus suggestions) on the main No Excuses. Draw. website, as they get posted.
Remember to tag your Twitter and/or Tumblr posts with "#NoExcusesDraw”, so you and others can follow the progression!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

The Art and Business to Making Comics and Webcomics

So Lee and Lisa Blauersouth (Godseeker), The Gerbil (Cordyseps Tickles), and Fes Works (Ardra) were joined with Randy Milholland (Something*Positive) were on some panels at Anime Detour 2013 in Bloomington, MN.

The results were three panels all about comic making. So here is loads of fun and information, from three panels into six videos. Approximately three hours in total.

The Artistic Side of Making Comics



Breaking Into Webcomics



The Business Side of Making Comics



Here's the link to the Print-on-Demand Options podcast episode mentioned in the last video.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Woop Woop! New opera post over nyah!

 Hamlet!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Warren Ellis has a really neato post on time and space in comics. 

Read it here: Boiling Spacetime

Monday, October 15, 2012

Affordable Tablet Pc's?!

Hey all! So, there's been some interest in the nifty little tablet pc's a few of us have been getting our hands on, so I thought I'd make a post about the where's and how's in case you want to snag one for yourself.



They're made by a company called 'Motion Computing' and while they cost just as much as a new laptop, you find them re-furbished for dirt cheap. they get used a lot by businesses, so they usually come out in pretty decent condition, and the few nicks you might have are nothing for a computer marked down from around a thousand to a hundred or less!

What makes em' really dandy is that, not only are they tablet pc's, but Wacom made the screens and pens. Yup, ever wanted that cintique? Well here it is in laptop form for several hundred bucks cheaper. Now they are Pc's, so you Mac natives may be a bit apprehensive, but anyone who wants to take em' for a spin, we've got three blackhatters already who have one, so feel free to pester us at the meets, we all respond well to bribes.

 If you feel like taking the plunge, here are a few links:

The 8 inch model at deals.epcusa.com
And the 12 inch model at gainsaver

 Personally, 'd say go for the 12 inch. the 8 inch is dandy, but I had one come with a broken pen, and that was 30$ to replace, so I didn't save that much in the end. plus, the 12 inch comes with windows already installed (though the savvy user might consider re-installing with a slimmed down version of win xp tablet edition...just sayin'...)

So the 8 inch for about 60 bucks, and the 12 at 100 to 150... pretty awesome if you ask me... and yes, Photoshop works beautifully, and more importantly, so does paint tool sai! So go chek em' out, trust me, you won't be disappointed.

 /out!