I was diving into an old sketchbook, and found this little gem in it:
I’m pretty sure I drew this in 2000, possibly 2001. The man was a character I used in an animated short called “22″.
April 8, 2013
March 18, 2013
“What’s In The Bible” – video series review
(The Bible) is the best-selling, most influential book in history. It has been banned, burned, smuggled, fought for, lived for, and even died for, and yet many of us hardly know what’s in it.
- Phil Vischer (creator of What’s in the Bible)
“Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.”
- Isaac Asimov, science fiction writer
I’ve been a Christian for most of my life. I’ve been through countless Sunday School classes and Christian summer camps, which means that I’ve seen more than my share of Christian-themed videos. Some depicted Bible stories, others were about Christian morals, and some even managed to squeeze in a Bible verse or two.
However, I’ve seen nothing quite like this series. It all centers around one core idea – take the entire Bible, from beginning to end, explain it as simply and completely as possible for anyone who happens to watch it, and entertain them while doing it. The result is “Buck Denver Asks: What’s In The Bible?”, a 13 DVD series of hour-long videos.
Buck Denver, like most of the characters on the show, is a puppet, which may give you the impression that this is entirely a preschool show. Fortunately, that’s not the case: while it does go through the classic Sunday School stories like David & Goliath or the parting of the Red Sea, it goes through plenty of higher concepts too, such as how the canon of the Bible was decided, or the relevance of old Jewish laws for Christians today. It also doesn’t shy away from asking the difficult questions: why is there so much killing in the Old Testament? Why would a loving God allow sin?
While this kind of subject matter would seem dry or depressing at first glance, the show does a good job of keeping things light through witty characters (brother adventurers Clive and Ian being my personal favourites). And, to keep things on track, the show never fails to mention that the Bible is actually all about a single story: the fall of man from a state of perfection, and God’s rescue plan of redemption.
Admittedly, the show is not without its faults. Some of the humour does fall flat, and the song quality varies greatly. It also lacks a good female presence: while four of the show’s puppet characters are female, only one of them shows up with much frequency. (The lack of a female presence didn’t exactly hurt the popularity of The Muppets, but it is worth mentioning.)
When I read the news, it’s interesting to see both non-Christians and Christians are encouraging people to read the Bible, albeit with different motives. Many non-Christians believe that people only talk about the Bible as “the good book” out of ignorance, and that if they truly read the book, they’d see it for what it really is. On the other hand, many Christians believe that within the Bible are the keys for people to find life’s meaning and true joy, and groups such as the Gideons hand out thousands of Bibles for free just to get the word out.
In the midst of it all, there’s “What’s in the Bible”, doing its best to introduce as many people as possible to what the Bible is and why it matters. And although the series isn’t completely finished yet (as of this writing, DVD 10 was just released), I’m pretty impressed with how well it’s doing it.
December 9, 2012
Video Game Mashup #4: Good Samus Hunting
#4 of 4 in my series of chalk pastel art for an upcoming local art show.
GOOD SAMUS HUNTING
Samus from Metroid (1986)
Dog and Duck from Duck Hunt (1984)
Originally, I was going to do a character more modern, such as Halo’s Master Chief, shooting down the Duck Hunt duck. However, chalk pastels don’t lend themselves well to details, and the only thing distinctive about Master Chief is his helmet. In the end, Samus had a better silhouette, and it was more appropriate to use her anyway, since the ducks are used to being shot with a “light gun”, and it doesn’t get much better than Samus’ laser.
(Fun Fact: Duck Hunt and Metroid were both produced by the same man – toymaker and game developer Gunpei Yokoi. Yokoi was instrumental in Nintendo’s success as a game company, and was responsible for other classic games such as Kid Icarus. He also created many gaming innovations, such as the D-pad, standard on nearly every video game controller since the mid-’80s, and the original Gameboy and Gameboy Micro.)
December 6, 2012
Video Game Mashup #3: Creeper Got Lost
#3 of 4 in my series of chalk pastel art for an upcoming local art show.
CREEPER GOT LOST
Q*bert from Q*bert (1982)
Creeper from Minecraft (2009)
Q*bert and Creeper both come from very cube-based universes, so it seems only natural that they would meet someday. However, true to form, Q*bert is running away from everything that might hurt him, and Creeper wants nothing more than to make new friends shortly before blowing them up.
(Fun Fact: Q*bert really did say that string of nonsensical characters in the game if it got hit by an enemy. It was briefly considered that the game be named “@!#?@!”, but marketers were concerned that no one would be able to tell their friends about the game if they couldn’t pronounce the name.)
December 3, 2012
Video Game Mashup #2: ANGЯY BIЯDS
#2 of 4 in my series of chalk pastel art for an upcoming local art show.
ANGЯY BIЯDS
Red from Angry Birds (2009)
Various blocks from Tetris (1984)
Twenty-five years after the first iteration of Tetris for the Electronica 60, Angry Birds was hatched, and mobile phone gaming was changed forever. Both games have become cultural phenomena, embraced by gamers of all kinds.
(Fun Fact: The Я in this piece’s name is a reference to the Nintendo Gameboy version of Tetris, which had the letter R reversed in the word “TETRIS”. The Я is a Cyrillic letter, and sounds nothing like our R, but it made Tetris look more “Russian” to North American audiences.)
November 29, 2012
Video Game Mashup #1: The Wrong Ghost
In January, there is a local art show entitled “Pixel Culture”. It will be showcasing art inspired by video games both past and present (but mostly past). I’ve had the good fortune to be able to have a space in the show, and so I’ve decided to make four pieces of art for the show. Each one combines two well-known video game characters that normally wouldn’t meet each other, and you guys get a sneak peek of what I’ve created!
THE WRONG GHOST
Ms. Pacman from Ms. Pacman (1982)
Boo from Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
While Pacman is more famous for chasing and eating ghosts, Ms. Pacman was actually the more successful arcade game, with over 115,000 arcade cabinets produced. Boo, the ghost who would only chase you if you were looking away, has appeared in nearly every major Super Mario title since 1988.
(Fun Fact: Ms. Pacman and Boo have actually been in the same video game together. Mario Kart Arcade GP was an arcade version of Mario Kart, Ms. Pacman was a playable character, and Boo was an item that could be used in the game.)
The medium for all four images is chalk pastel. I’ll be showing the other three sketches over the next two weeks.
October 29, 2012
Club Penguin Documentary: Screenhog Commentary
On October 24, Club Penguin released something that I’ve been anticipating for a long time – a documentary. Or at least, the first part of a documentary. Either way, I was stoked to see the story of Club Penguin put to a video of some kind, and this video does not disappoint. Despite being only a 4 minute video, there are lots of little hidden tidbits about Club Penguin sprinkled throughout the video that you might not realize.
First, if you haven’t already, watch the video! Now!
So awesome. Now for my commentary!
0:01 This is Club Penguin’s hometown of Kelowna, BC.
0:04 “New Horizons” is about the perfect name for a Club Penguin documentary. Club Penguin was originally created by New Horizon Interactive, and when we made Club Penguin, we had to make our own rules about how our virtual world would work, because so few had been made before ours.
0:11 There’s Lane (Billybob). If you look closely on the shelf behind him, there is the super rare plush of the golden Viking Helmet penguin.
0:16 There’s Holly (Happy77). In the original New Horizon Interactive office, Holly and I worked on the first issues of The Penguin Times together.
0:20 There’s me (Screenhog). That room, in my opinion, is the coolest room in the Club Penguin offices. Every time I visit CP, I make a point to check out that room again.
0:27 Nickname1 was the first penguin Lance created for testing Club Penguin. Swampy was also Lance’s penguin.
0:30 There’s Lance (Rsnail). The framed picture is the original Far Side comic that inspired him to use penguins in his chat.
0:34 “massive multiplayer snowball war game” – this would have been called Snow Blasters. I still would love to see how that game would have turned out.
0:41 This was from my first attempt to create an animation model sheet for the penguins. It was not nearly detailed enough, and resulted in the penguins looking very different from one another for the first two years.
0:43 My first possible designs of the Tour Guide Hat (clothing ID# 428). After drawing these up, it was decided not to use the actual word “TOUR” since we were considering taking Club Penguin to other languages, and the question mark hat was used instead. (In Club Penguin, when a tour guide holds up a sign, it’s translated into the proper language).
0:45 I sketched these, but I can’t quite remember why. It might have been for an early Card-Jitsu prototype.
0:48 Here’s Dave. He funded the Club Penguin prototype, and was the third co-founder. Ironically, I don’t think he ever created a penguin on CP.
0:59 This was taken from the SWF file of the original www.newhorizoninteractive.com. I always liked that site design. New Horizon Interactive’s main job until 2005 was video editing and webpage creation. (Side note: There was a company based in the USA somewhere called www.newhorizon.com that also did some kind of web applications. After Club Penguin launched, they actually had to put a disclaimer on their homepage saying that they were not the New Horizon that makes Club Penguin. I feel so sorry for the amount of e-mails they must have received every day asking for a beta hat.)
1:09 The art here appears to be taken from my storyboard drawings for the first Card-Jitsu power card animations. The Ninja is from the Ninja power card, and the faint sketches behind appear to be from the Puffle Roundup card.
1:20 See that construction crane and those girders behind the fence? That was the only art I made specifically for Penguin Chat 3.
1:25 The original Snow Trekker (called the Snow Cat in Penguin Chat 3, renamed in Club Penguin for legal reasons). I think there’s a tiny version of it in a bottle in the Lighthouse.
1:49 “Items and places and minigames”. Penguin Chat 3 had no items (besides the ninja outfit, and briefly, the hard hat). It had no minigames. The Gift Shop existed so that you could buy actual, real T-Shirts and get them sent to you (but hardly anyone did).
2:00 That sketch of the party hat penguin was drawn by the second artist hired for Club Penguin. The song is “I’ve Been Delayed”, which played in the Night Club of Penguin Chat 3.
2:07 The first Club Penguin homepage. Lance was the one who designed it (as well as the New Horizon circle homepage).
2:28 The Beta Test party was a genuinely exciting day for us, if for no other reason than for the fact that the servers didn’t die. That was a big concern for us, but we had over 150 penguins on at one time, and for us, that was HUGE!!! (Fun fact: the original world we used for doing a beta test is now one of the safe chat servers.)
2:34 You know why they keep showing the same room over and over? Because it was the only one decorated. That was the entire Beta Test party. Ah, how times have changed.
2:50 My personal prediction of how big Club Penguin would get was demolished about 8 months after we launched.
2:57 This photo appeared on the front page of a Canadian newspaper, and was the very first appearance of a red puffle (see the bottom left).
3:01 Gin was the original “voice” of Aunt Arctic for the Penguin Times.
3:06 I’m not going to even try to point out details inside the pictures of the Club Penguin offices… I’m sure there are many. The important part is to notice the people. Club Penguin is still being run by an amazing team.
3:16 This was taken from this year’s Anniversary party. Rsnail, Gizmo and I were invited to the office to be special guests for the party. (I can only access my Screenhog penguin from within CP offices, so before you ask, no, I can’t meet you online. It’s locked for a reason.) This is Gizmo’s only appearance in the video, but if the rumors are true that a longer documentary is being made, I’m sure you’ll see him.
3:21 Looks like someone was playing too much New Super Mario Bros 2!
3:26 Man, Club Penguin has some awesome fan art.
3:39 Chris Heatherly, who’s taking over for Lane. EDIT: According to the Club Penguin blog, his penguin name is “Spike Hike”. (Thanks for pointing this out, Trainman1405!)
3:54 Say what you will, but I really like the room redesigns. They are slick. After seven years of growth, Club Penguin’s needed some changes to reflect the new features and games.
That’s it! I’ve heard rumors of a longer documentary coming… I hope they’re true.
September 21, 2012
July 17, 2012
July 13, 2012
Caring About the Globe… and Why we Don’t
Last week, CBC radio – Canada’s national radio station – were discussing a question: why don’t people care more about global climate change? Now, there was a lot of discussion back and forth, much of it from people that were genuinely surprised that there even WERE people who don’t care about it.
It doesn’t surprise me at all.
There was a study done once on how people donate to charity. (I promise this will relate to the climate change thing in a moment.) The study did two tests. In the first test, people were given $5 for performing a survey, but after the survey, they were told about how there were a million people in some African nation who were in desperate need of food, water, and medicine. They were then given the chance to donate some of their $5 towards the charity.
In the second test, other people were still given $5 for performing a survey, but after the survey, they were told about a single child in that nation who was in desperate need of food, water, and medicine, with some details were given about that child’s life and family. The second group was also given the chance to donate some of their $5 towards the charity.
The people who donated towards the million people in Africa gave an average of $1.14. The people who donated to the child gave an average of $2.38.1 That’s more than double. Crazy, but true. See, when people see a challenge that they truly can’t do something about on their own, they’re less likely to even try. A million people? I can’t possibly help that many. One person? Sure, I can help!
So, what does this have to do with climate change?
(click to read the rest of this post…)
- Source: “Made To Stick”, written by Chip and Dan Heath, 2007 ↩
