#cartoon and film fusion art

[inapat15]

Lotte Reiniger a pioneer of animated cinema

To finish this series of publications, I would like to talk to you today about a pioneer of animation cinema, Lotte Reiniger. 

As a director of silhouette films in Germany in the 1920s, she was particularly inspired as a child by the tricks of Georges Méliès' films, as well as by the films of the expressionist movement. These two sources of inspiration are visually reflected in her films by a pronounced taste for the play of light and shadow, a legacy of German expressionism, as well as by the bold animation techniques inspired by the work of Méliès.

As a student at the Institute for Cultural Research in Berlin, she immersed herself in Asian art and then developed for her first films a technique for cutting out silhouettes with mobile limbs inspired by Asian art.

She began to make short films based on material from fairy tales and legends. Her first films included Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in 1922. This motif of adapting fairy tales into images continued throughout her career, with tales of different origins, such as Aladdin and the Magic Lamp in 1954 or the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea in 1935.

In 1926, with The Adventures of Prince Ahmed, Lotte Reiniger made one of the very first animated feature films in the history of cinema.

A fusion of the tales of the Thousand and One Nights, notably The Enchanted Horse and Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp, this first feature film, made in three years, is a technical feat with 300,000 images at 24 frames per second. The black and white film was then coloured by dipping the positives in color baths, whose colors in the film contribute to the narrative by embodying situations or emotions.

The Adventures of Prince Ahmed was also released in France where it was particularly appreciated, especially following its screening at the Comédie des Champs Elysées, organized by Louis Jouvet. This opening on the other side of the Rhine enabled her to meet Jean Renoir, for whom she directed the animated sequence of his film La Marseillaise in 1937. These international opportunities also allowed her to leave Germany, which was going through difficult years. She took refuge in Italy at Visconti’s home in 1943, then in England where she remained to work for the BCC, which enabled her to obtain British nationality. 

She once again devoted herself to making short films based on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm or the Thousand and One Nights, but also adaptations of Mozart's operas, notably The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute in 1973.

When he died in 1981, her archive was entrusted to two institutions: the Stadtmuseum in Tübingen and the Düsseldorf Film Museum. Her legacy can be measured by her influence on today's animation, which has named a file format for vector animation Lottie in her honor. Admitted homages to her work can also be found in recent American cartoons, notably in the episode "The Answer" of the animated series Steven Universe, in which the sets and characters are animated in silhouettes reminiscent of the palanquin set of the film The Adventures of Prince Ahmed.

In French animation, Michel Ocelot's shadow theatre films, such as Princes and Princesses, are visually clearly inspired by the aesthetics of Lotte Reiniger.

Eva Beutel

[mi4011ayodyarajakaruna]

Narration 01 (Oskar Fischinger)

This narration is based on his biography. It covers his journey from birth to being an animator from his point of view.

In the quaint town of Gelnhausen, Germany, my journey began on that fateful day June 22, 1900. Fuelled by an unwavering passion for both music and painting, I yearned for a way to merge these two artistic kingdoms. And then, like a stroke of serendipity, animation entered my life. It was like discovering a hidden treasure, a medium that could breathe life into my paintings and orchestrate a mesmerizing symphony of visuals. Driven by an insatiable curiosity, I set out on a grand adventure in the vibrant 1920s. With every experiment, I aimed to redefine animation, to prove that it was more than just fanciful cartoons. Each brushstroke and movement became a testament to my determination, as I sought to create an immersive experience that would transport audiences to a world where music and visuals danced in perfect harmony. My films became my canvas, a playground where I painted with the ethereal dance of light and motion. Every frame was meticulously crafted to synchronize with the music, resulting in a breathtaking symphony of colors and shapes that captivated all who beheld it. Through my work, I aspired to ignite a spark of inspiration in others, to open their eyes to the boundless beauty that could be found in the fusion of different art forms. I yearned to shatter the confines of tradition and showcase the limitless possibilities that art could offer.

[rabbitcruiser]

Public Art in Bilbao (No. 2)

Jeff Koons rose to prominence in the mid-1980s as part of a generation of artists who explored the meaning of art in a media-saturated era and the attendant crisis of representation. With his stated artistic intention to “communicate with the masses,” Koons draws from the visual language of advertising, marketing, and the entertainment industry. Testing the limits between popular and elite culture, his sculptural menagerie includes Plexiglas-encased Hoover vacuum cleaners, basketballs suspended in glass aquariums, photographs of himself coupled with his then-wife Ilona Staller, also known as La Cicciolina (former adult-film star and member of Italian parliament), and porcelain homages to Michael Jackson and the Pink Panther. In extending the lineage of Dada and Marcel Duchamp, and integrating references to Minimalism and Pop, Koons stages art as a commodity that cannot be placed within the hierarchy of conventional aesthetics. Koons’s series Easyfun-Ethereal foregrounds happy-face deli sandwiches, spiraling roller-coaster rides, and windswept hair all set against sublime landscapes. The artist combines familiar yet unrelated images to create collagelike paintings rendered with photorealist perfection. These works recall the advertising iconography and billboard-style painting technique present in James Rosenquist‘s canvases. Koons’s new brand of Pop painting cleverly engages other art-historical references, in particular Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. Sandwiches, for example, is a disjunctive, free-floating fantasy. The collage of animated deli-meats, the turkey made of ice cream, and the cartoon eye and moustache recall the free-associative visual games of Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, and René Magritte, while the background streams and splashes of milk echo the abstractions of Jackson Pollock. Koons’s fusion of Pop representations with Surrealist and abstract overtones creates a hybrid of fun and fantasy, yielding a body of work that depicts gravity-defying forms of dreamlike pleasure.

In Puppy, Koons engages both past and present, employing sophisticated computer modeling while referencing the 18th-century formal garden. A behemoth West Highland terrier carpeted in bedding plants, Puppy combines the most saccharine of iconography—flowers and puppies—in a monument to the sentimental. Its size—seemingly out-of-control (it is both literally and figuratively still growing) but carefully constructed and tightly contained—can be read as an analogue of contemporary culture. Dignified and stalwart, this work fills us with awe, and even joy, while standing guard at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. In keeping with themes in his past work, Koons has, by combining elite references (topiary and dog breeding) with those of the masses (Chia Pets and Hallmark greeting cards), designed this public sculpture to relentlessly entice, to create optimism, and to instill, in his own words, “confidence and security.

Source

#Puppy by Jeff Koons #red arc by Daniel Buren #Guggenheim Museum Bilbao #Tall Tree & the Eye by Anish Kapoor #Maman by Louise Bourgeois #travel #La Salve Bridge #flower #flora #original photography #Bilbao #Spain #España #Northern Spain #Southern Europe #province of Biscay #vacation #Basque Country #tourist attraction #landmark #public art #sculpture #architecture #cityscape #Frank O. Gehry #Frank Gehry #summer 2021

[saivvyinfotech]

What is the difference between Animation and VFX?

Animation and VFX are two key apparatuses of present day filmmaking. Despite the fact that Animation has been broadly utilized in media and diversion content for quite some time, it is more often than not erroneously thought to be as a piece of VFX. And furthermore not the slightest bit should VFX be viewed as better than Liveliness. Both fill various needs despite the fact that they make them cross-over work process draws near. Both additionally offer compensating vocation choices and you can pick the best establishments to get prepared in movement and VFX. With promising profession courses, you can fabricate an effective vocation in the media and media outlet as an Illustrator or VFX artists.

Before we jump into the critical contrasts between them, two we should consider them to keep things in context.

Like some other fine art, animation also developed without any preparation. It was at first finished through draws on a film, and consequently with the help of software. However, that was not the situation in VFX. Strategies were acquired from the ones utilized in activity like lighting, modeling and texturing.

Application: 

Animation is to creating character that creating motion. The character may be a form of human being or an object. Animation generally cover maximum field from graphics, illustrations. Animation can use advertising campaign, gaming, animated movie etc.

Where VFX is only applied to cinematography, like movie, TV shows and documentaries. VFX has a great demand in gaming industry. VFX is the mixture of some special effects that implemented to the real life to the reel

Software:

Autodesk Maya and 3d Max is the most important software that use in Animation. 3d Max software is specializing for 3d graphics and creates modern day animation and visual effects.

Whereas when it's terms of VFX Autodesk Maya, 3d Max, Foundry Nuke, Black Magic fusion, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe after effects software is used.

Career opportunities:

Animation and VFX both are very demanding course in media sector. While working as an animator you will working with cartoon or animated movies in your career

When its term of VFX you using painting software and other technique and effect for live action footage. VFX generally involves digital painting, rotoscoping, principles of compositing.

Salary:

The salary structure of VFX and Animator are increase as per experience. Starting salary of an animator is 3.6 lakhs per year and 3 lakhs           per year for an Animator. An animator average salary is better than VFX because its area of application.

#animation #vfx #animation institute #multimedia institute #animation course

[vickiabelson]

Today LIVE! James Lee Stanley has been my guest numerous times over the last decade-plus (including the Michael Nesmith-produced Women Who Write in  Big Sur), as a performer and in conversation. And, we’re good friends. Always crazy fun, James is a big man with huge talent. We’ll be chatting and he’ll be singing. Win/Win! 

James Lee’s shared the stage with everyone from Bonnie Raitt to Robin Williams, Dionne Warwick to Steven Wright, Art Garfunkel to Robin Trower; sometimes spending as much as 300 days a year on the road.

He’s released 35 CD’s, recording the 36th, and 37, an instrumental, is in the works;  three are duet CD’s with Peter Tork; A Beachwood Christmas with Tom Paxton, Peter Tork, and Pamala Stanley; All Wood and Stones-a duet CD with John Batdorf; All Wood and Doors-a duet CD with Cliff Eberhardt, All Wood and Stones II with John Batdorf, and All Wood and Led with Dan Navarro, as well as the original cast recording of Straight From the Heart - The Musical, which he produced, performed in and wrote the book, lyrics, and music.

James Lee wrote the Top Five hit, Coming Out of Hiding, as well as the hits I Don’t Want To Talk About It; Plenty of Reason; All I Ever Wanted; and Make It Tonight.; scored the Emmy Award Winning CATHY Specials for Prime Time CBS-TV, the Cable Ace Award-Winning Tom Parks HBO Special, and the Award-Winning Tom Parks Diabetes Documentary; has produced the artists' Mike Pinder/Moody Blues, Nicolette Larson, and Peter Tork, amongst many others.

He also spent five and a half years on the TV Show, StarTrek Deep Space Nine, as various aliens including the singing Klingon.

The documentary, The Opening Act – The Extraordinary Journey of James Lee Stanley directed by documentarian Gary J Katz (Badfinger, Humble Pie, Steve Marriott, Manassas), received a Peoples Choice Award,  was in the London Lift Off Film Festival, and was accepted into the LA, Chicago, and Atlanta Film Festivals, awaiting judging. 

Last October, just after our last visit,  James Lee Fell off his roof, broke 9 ribs and  2 vertebrae, had a concussion, and then spinal fusion surgery.  He did a concert two weeks after the surgery.  WHAT? His,  Another Radio Show on Folkmusicnotebook.com is in its third year. 

I adore this man and his music… he wants you to know, his hair still hasn’t grown back. I’ll happily take him as is. He’s got “it” with or without it. 

James Lee Stanley Live on Game Changers with Vicki Abelson 

Wed, 9/21/22, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET

Streaming Live on my Facebook

Daily by Toni Vincent & @peter_and_paul_ Cartoons

#JamesLeeStanley #Singer #Songwriter #Folksinger #StarTrek #PeterTork #BonnieRaitt #ArtGarfunkel #RobinWilliams #DionneWarwick #StevenWright #CancerSurvivor #Diet #BrokenBack #Survivor #Cancer #Thriver #GameChangersWithVickiAbelson #VickiAbelson #GameChangers #podcast #inspirationalpodcast #Celebrity #FacebookLive #Talkshow #Chat #Live #pandemic #comedy #music

[thenixkat]

The generic pop culture dragon review (4 legs, 2 wings, 1 head) part 3

Smaug from The Hobbit (1977)

8/10. Hahahahehehehehehe. What a grody nasty lumpy cat. Nice. It’s just got a cat head but in a delightfully intimidating way. I like like his fuzz, its not pretending that this obvious mammal is clearly a reptile cause its covered in scales which is a dragon design trope I hate.  I also like how his wings are very well connected with the membranes even going down his legs.

Acnologia from Fairy Tail

9/10. I know nothing about Fairy Tail and I have no interest in Fairy Tail, but this man. This man is beautiful. Black and blue is a very good color combo and very under utilized for villains/threats. I really like the short round but deep muzzle and jutting chin combo, its kind of but not exactly beaky. The thick overlapping giant scales give the impression of bird wings. And the humanoid body type makes a lot of sense given dude started out life as a human(oid?). Also this dragon Brown/Black. Nice.

Avatar the Last Airbender (all)

6.5/10. Outside of Fang, I don’t like their wings. I do enjoy how each is a distinctive individual and how noodly most of them are. Ran and Shaw have the best faces but their legs are a hot mess. Also Druk is very thick compared to all the other dragons in this series. They’ve certainly got screen presence and weight to them.

Elliott from Pete’s Dragon

5/10 (cartoon) & 2/10 (live action). Cartoon version is certainly a dragon. Fat and kind looking by the face. Like the pink accents. Live action version is just a bland green dog with poorly connected wings. Live action version is also significantly skinnier and no.

Charizard from Pokemon

5/10. A nice orange fat fire dragon. The wing and eye colors are good contrast. The flame tail is iconic. If anyone ever wanted to propose to me you need to get me the black and red shiny version.

Spyro from SPyro

4/10. That’s certainly a dragon. Drill tail is an interesting choice. Not terribly wowed by the art style.

Final Hyren from Magi-Nation

4.5/10. Its a fucking pegasus dragon as the fusion of 12 different dragons one of which is a fucking giant squid and another a volcano. Definitely a horse but not just a horse. Honestly the choice to make it a horse out of all the things that went into it is just... so odd. Would rate it higher if it wasn’t just white.

Jake Long from American Dragon: Jake Long

5/10. The second season design is a lot stronger than season 1′s design. The ears make more sense and the hooves are a nice choice. His dragon form resembles his human form very strongly. For both tho, those wings don’t look attached to the body. Kinda bland honestly. And yet one of teh better looking dragons from this series.

Jabberwocky from Through the Looking-Glass

7/10. This thing looks horrendous, weird, and vaguely like its wearing a costume/clothing. The rodent teeth are a nice touch. Very vintage and what the fuck. All the other versions don’t look nearly as iconic.

Tales from Earthsea

9/10. I have no intention of watching this film b/c of Studio Ghibli’s usual palewashing but these dragons are sexy. The wings could use more oomph and surface area, but those thick metal scales? That spark as the dragon moves? Fucking lovely. These dragons look forged rather than like living creatures.

#nix reviews #long post #dragons

[omniversalobservations]

TMNT x Star Wars (1990s?)

Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were two of the biggest names in toys in the early 1990s, and some newly unearthed concept art has revealed the designs of some wild crossover toys that sadly never saw production. For franchises so long-running and prolific in pop culture, there are bound to be loads of planned but cancelled “what if projects.” The opportunity to see what might have been, however, is rarer.

Much of Star Wars’ early success was tied to its early toys from Kenner Products. The first film’s rich, unique world of aliens and starships lent itself naturally to merchandising, and Star Wars toys quickly became some of the hottest items on the market. While TMNT never reached the same height of popularity as Star Wars, it developed a high level of success in its own right by the early ‘90s, expanding from comic books into movies, cartoons, toys, and more.

Newly revealed concept art has shown a pitched line of Star Wars and TMNT crossover toys that never ended up being made. Shared to Twitter by Warner Bros. Games’ Alan Johnson, the concept images show some crazy fusions of the two universes, including A Luke Skywalker/Leonardo figure with a lightsaber katana, a Michelangelo/Chewbacca hybrid with a bowcaster made of nunchaku, and cyborg Shredder/Darth Vader. According to Johnson, the designs were pitched in 1991 after the Kenner/Hasbro Star Wars license lapsed.

High profile crossovers are nothing new in the toy world, but it’s still exciting to see some of the ones that never quite materialized. The fusion of characters is particularly bizarre, and the results are both baffling and oddly compelling. Shredder as a Sith Lord is perhaps the most natural combination of the bunch, given that Darth Vader’s suit was largely based on Japanese samurai armor, and that both characters are already cybernetic.

Source: Screen Rant

As is the case with any film or television franchise, the emergence of a toyline helps to solidify the greatest memories of that particular series, as well as provides a unique piece of history for fans to get their hands on. This is especially true when it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Wars, these being two series that have had huge impacts in that collectible market. However, it would seem as though these two franchises did not stay independent of one another when it came to the world of action figures.

Via Alan Johnson's Twitter account, detailed pictures and written details regarding the canceled line of toys surfaced during the Star Wars Day May 4th celebrations. "Back in (I think) 1991, Kenner/Hasbro allowed the #StarWars toy license to lapse. Playmates made a pitch to get it, complete with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover concepts by TMNT artist Michael Dooney. They didn't get the license, but these are so cool!" Says Alan Johnson.

Source: MovieWeb

(images via Twitter)

#cartoons #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #Star Wars

[that-bat]

@the-ruler-of-rabbits​ I made it :)

I should be working on the actual designs but instead I’m writing pretty much everything design related about the Gem AU, probably nothing about the actual story will be mentioned unless it’s something I know I’ve talked about before

The Original Three

I first started these designs a year ago after messing around on the gemsona creator because I was bored. I made Matt, Mark, and Nate then drew them based off the designs I made. Mark’s design has changed the least, the only two differences are the addition of his stripes and he used to have glasses. The style of the glasses is the exact same as the ones I gave to his fusion with Matt, Tiger’s Eye. I’m not going to show what the original looked like because a year ago my art was trash and no one will ever see the original three designs

Matt’s has also not changed much, his outfit is the only big thing to be different. Originally it was a lot more like Peridot’s in the show, with the yellow diamonds on his knees and chest. He also had four eyes and four arms when I first designed him but I dropped the extra eyes when I drew him for the first time. And he’s a Peridot and Ruby fusion because of the matching Game and Film Theory colors. 

Nate’s has changed the most. In the very first drawing he was much more of a darker purple than the blue he is now, and he had no yellow. His outfit hasn’t changed too much aside from the colors. This is the latest of his designs (not the one I’m currently working on) recolored with his original colors. 

I also considered making half of his hair yellow and still am thinking about it for his newest design

The Outcasts

Since everyone else is a lot newer there’s not as many changed but there are quite a few little details I like. I think when I first started actually making this AU Nate had just released or announced (I can’t remember) his cover of Other Friends so I had a doodle of Mare as Spinel. The lines on Spinel’s face matched the tearstreaks on Mare’s so I liked that idea. But then I liked Remus as a Spinel much more and it works more for my stroy. I breifly considered making Mare a Lapis like Nate but still wanted a way to mimic his tearstreaks so a Jasper was what I went with. And I made him a defective Jasper because in my mind Mare is tiny. 

I don’t remember much of my thought process for Phantom but I did like the idea of him as an Emerald since the Emerald in the show is fantastic. But Emeralds are green so I did some research and found that Emeralds are just green Beryls which also come in red. So just like the Emerald in the show he was in charge of a fleet of ships until he was corrupted. Emerald had two pointed teeth in the show so after Phantom’s corruption those fangs were slightly larger and would poke out when he smiled. I temporarily considered making him a Jade because I saw a cool picture of a red and black jade but Janus fit better as a Jade.

Mad was always going to be a Pearl. I don’t know why, he just was. His baseball bat is not his actual Gem weapon since Pearls don’t have them unless they’re given one, he actually stole it when they first came to Earth. The reason it changes from a wooden bat to a metal one between two of his designs is because the first one breaks during a fight. Mare gets him a new one as a gift (it’s also stolen, they don’t know what money is). When I draw Mad normally I draw him with burn scars all over the left side of his body and a grey eye (he’s blind in that eye) which is why I placed his gem on his left eye and that’s also the reasoning behind why it’s cracked. I did the same thing with placing Janus’ Gem on his left cheek to mimic his scales

The Crystal Gems

These guys swapped places so many times. For awhile I considered making Thomas Connie and having either Patton or Roman be Steven. There was a time I wanted Roman to be Greg but because I wanted him to be more involved in the story I swapped him somewhere else (still a secret). For awhile I was going to have someone else solely take up Garnet’s spot instead of having it be Virgil and Logan. If I had done that then they would’ve been Lapis and Peridot respectively. There was a lot with this group when it came to figuring out where everyone was going. But the designs were fun at least. 

Getting Emile’s colors right was pretty tricky but something I personally like is what I did with the color of his star. In his earlier design (not the homeworld one) the star was pink like how in the first Cartoon Therapy his tie was a similar shade of pink. Then, like in the second Cartoon Therapy, in his later/current design the star is blue. This is one of my favorite subtle little features.

The design on the chest part of Logan’s dress is sort of meant to slightly mimic the appearance of a tie, the triangle at the top reminds me of the top of a tie. Phantom is the only other one to have a similar design on his shirt. 

The other four designs aren’t too special. Thomas has the exact same outfit as Steven, Remy’s is very similar to Amethyst’s except green and Virgil’s is just pretty plain. Moonstone’s hair has “stars” in it because I wanted to incorporate the same design has Logan’s dress.

That’s about all I can think of right now, I really love talking about these guys so questions are both encouraged and greatly appreciated since they help motivate me to keep working. I’m fine with questions about the story and there are plently I’m willing to answer but there might be some story questions I won’t answer yet. Also just any questions about any au or art in general or literally anything are always welcome

#my ramblings #gem au #there’s probably typos in here but idc

[destiny-smasher]

I used to be close friends with one of the composers for Steven Universe. I watched them rise from a YouTube remixer living in a cramped bedroom in a shared apartment with nothing but a mattress on the floor and a keyboard beside it to owning a house, happily married with a whole backyard garden and a cat because they found success working on one of the biggest cartoon shows I’ve known. But they broke off that friendship earlier this year and it’s made my biased love for Steven Universe become very difficult to grasp with. Understanding how and why we weren’t friends anymore was likewise difficult to grasp, even after hours of us trying to hash things out and resolve it. And while we DID resolve things amicably (I hope) and peacefully, it wasn’t until Steven Universe: The Movie that I was really able to feel like I could see the forest from the trees and ‘get’ what happened. This will be a kind of review of the movie, but mostly it became more of a personal ramble relating my real life experiences with Aivi to those of characters within SU, especially the antagonist of the Movie. This is lifted from this Twitter thread, so it was originally written stream of consciousness and I’m sharing it here to keep it more readable and archived. This is a bit of a read so tucking it behind a ‘read more.’

--

"You keep on turning pages for people who don't care about you And still it takes you ages to see that no one's there Everyone's gone on without you"

Time to finally talk about the #StevenUniverse Movie. Strap in 'cause this gon' get personal.

It should go without saying BUT I am gonna be talking about the movie! Dunno how in detail per se but I can't properly say what I wanna say without diving into some of the important plotty stuff. So yea.

Don't read this thread if ya don't want #spoilers #sumovie 

First off, I wanna talk about what this movie does well. Going in, I had heard it was framed like a musical. And I wasn't sure how I felt about that idea, though it wasn't surprising. After all, the 'musical' style episodes tend to resonate quite a lot. 

I think they work great when it's one song in a 10 minute episode, but an hour and a half of songs? I wasn't sure how well that would go. Turns out, pretty well. This is due to many factors but primarily the variety of song styles and art styles used throughout. Basically every scene has a primary song that drives it home, and basically all of them have a different genre/tone as well as visual presentation style. A lot of work went into getting it all to work together and feel cohesive. TBH for me personally the main highlight of the movie was honestly the animation. Average TV goers might just see "yup sure looks like a cartoon" but on the whole, on average, the movie is CLEARLY animated and framed with much more dynamism and detail than the majority of SU. Getting to see these characters we've gotten to know over the past few years a couple years in the future, generally at peace with things, but animated with more detail than ever, THAT is the true highlight of the film for me. Naturally, there was a lot of bits of comedy, often relying on knowledge of what the characters have been through, and I felt a lot of bittersweet smiles throughout as this felt like a good send off for Steven and his Space Moms. It managed to work in cameos from basically everyone you'd expect, some of which...didn't work out as well as others (specifically, the Diamonds bookending the movie was a bit forced and weird IMO but they ARE important to the lore even if I find them boring tbh) It was nice getting to 'catch up' with everyone, and the plot itself uses a generic 'gotta save the world again' thing (bleh) in a creative way, at least -- it all becomes an excuse to "re-live" the four primary heroes' stories through song. Cool enough. Something the movie inadvertently highlights, however, is the fact that SU as a series really started spinning its wheels a lot for its second half, in particular. Much has been said about how and why and why or not this doesn't matter, etc. etc. I was just along for the ride. I've repeatedly expressed my personal bias in the series' favor for a long time, and now? I kinda don't really have that personal bias anymore. I still love the show, I still think it's one of the best cartoons I've ever seen. But those rose-tinted glasses are off now. Taking said glasses off and actually listening to and looking up what critics of the show had to say kind of unearthed a bunch of things I had kept sweeping under the rug for the sake of personal bias/support of someone I loved and cared for a lot. We'll get back to that. I say all of this because the movie ironically failed to do much of anything NEW, something the series itself kind of struggled with for a while until it finally got around to the conclusion of Steven's story arc. The film ultimately kind of ends with "yeah Steven can change!" Which, um yea? Obviously. He's a completely different person than he was in S1. But he's kiiiiinda been the same person for....some while now. The weird irony of SU as a series is that about halfway through the narrative, the protag has essentially grown up, done. The last half or third or so of SU's narrative was basically Steven having to cheer everyone around him up and help them deal with their shit, and...kinda just going about that essentially the same way every time. The power of love, the friends we made along the way, etc. To be clear, there's nothing BAD about this, and in fact it's what sets Steven apart from most every other narrative of this type. The protag is almost always forced to change in ways they don't want, do things they don't want to do, etc. But when you put it side by side with something like Avatar or Gravity Falls, those series saw everyone growing alongside each other. There are clear arcs for everyone, almost all of which get resolved in ways fitting each character. It's imperfect but it's varied. SU has a tendency to just...hammer everyone's character flaws and arcs with ONE option: just love yourself and be nice, and everyyyyyyythinggggg 'll work out in the end! Which is fine, but when a story does it for so long, over and over, always the same, it gets a bit weird. I specifically LIKED in the film, at the end, that Steven actually does have to fight, because THAT is what Spinel needed to do. She needed to let out all of that anger, and that violence was her own way of doing it. 'you can't just sing a song to make everything go away' etc. It's typical, perhaps, for protagonists to have to tackle problems in different ways because that's LIFE. The fact is, Steven's approach will NOT save everyone. Lapis stilllll kinda stands as an example of this but an as of yet unresolved one. I liked that at the end of things, Spinel still doesn't come into the same fold as everyone else. Basically "sorry, I already fucked this up too much, I can't really deal with this," and that is IMPORTANT and I really liked it. Before really digging into the personal angle, I want to bring up how fascinating it is that the movie essentially had a real BUDGET and so they deliberately seemed to design an antagonist that would take full advantage of that animation budget. EASILY, by far, Spinel is the most interesting-to-watch antag in the whole series imo, in terms of how she moves and fights, etc. They really just wanted to flex and they did it, but like any SU antag there's (somewhat predictable) motives. This gets back at what I was saying before -- how the series spins its wheels a lot -- but Spinel's motivation/back story isssss kiiiinnndaaaa a lot like many many characters' issues and, like, I get it. We get it. Steven's Mom was Not The Best does that have to be the basis behind kinda EVERYONE who goes against Steven? Or the Gems? Lapis, Bismuth, and Peridot all offered more varied motivations, and even THEN, Bismuth was still essentially in the same boat? Anyway, I digress. I DO appreciate the way the series set up Rose as this wondrous lovely lady and has severely dissected and broken that down to the point where I really do not like Rose, in any of her ID's, as a character or a fictional person, and it did so gradually. A lot of what the movie did was kind of expected. Right? Songs, singing, check. Steven going about things the same way, check. Re-living/celebrating how far he and his moms have come, check. What I didn't expect was -- OK, well, there WAS that one fusion...which, um

But the actual thing that really latched onto me was how much I conncted with Spinel. As is the case with any story that has well presented characters, you can attach to SOME part of just about all of them. I associate most closely with Pearl overall but can relate with just about anyone prominent. I see parts of me and Jenny in Steven/Connie, in Ruby/Sapphire, in Peridot/Lapis. I see what kind of woman I might've become in Amethyst (and sometimes am). Spinel, though, is a really weird case because I see my adolescent self in her SO MUCH and yet fairly recent events in my life -- directly tied TO the show itself, mind you -- make that connection weirdly poignant and present. For some context, I used to be good friends with Aivi, one of the musicians who works on the series with their husband. Spring 2018, Aivi and I vocalized to each other that we considered one another one of the closest friends in each other's lives. We're no longer friends. To make sure this is clear, I think Aivi is a wonderful person, and our breaking apart wasn't violent or dramatic or anything, Aivi just...decided they weren't interested in the relationship anymore. And neglected to tell me this until like a year later. The context is of course not at ALL as severe or dramatic as Spinel/Pink, so please don't assume there's some one-to-one there. But OOF are there some harsh similarities and it really made Spinel's backstory sting in a very confusing way. I say 'confusing' because, as I mentioned, I see my adolescent self in Spinel. The way I was going about making friends matches her 'happy' self. The way I acted in my senior year of college matches her 'angry' self. There was no single person that created any of that, though. In high school, I was like Starfire, in college, I tried to nurture that, play to my strengths. I failed miserably. And what I feel is a big part of why is inherently tied to my transitioning (which is, still, something I feel I am failing miserably at). By the end of college I was more like Raven, and there I remained through the duration of my first long-term romance, into a very weird and atypical marriage and breakup, and then I moved to CA and started changing. Fittingly, my current self can't quite ID with any single Teen Titan. I'm not a teen anymore, after all. Throughout a lot of my friendship with Aivi, they really seemed to fixate on comparing me to Pearl. It sometimes made me uncomfortable the particular ways they did, though. I strongly identified with Pearl's flaws and strengths in personality (though we're obviously different people), and so seeing Pearl go through redemption via self-love and self-acceptance meant a lot to me. "It's Over, Isn't It?" I was IN THE ROOM listening to Aivi and their husband work on the chorus to that song. Obviously they couldn't talk about it but I knew damn well what it was about, and anticipated that piece for a long time. Now it's even more weirdly painful. I met Aivi because they made Mario arrangements they put on YouTube and they happened to live a few blocks away when I was subletting my first summer in CA. They seemed very kind and caring and eager to Be Nice and at the time I really needed that at a very vulnerable and fragile time in my life so I latched onto that. -In The Garden- The week when the LiS terfs freaked out on me and that Bad Spinel side of me lashed back, and I found myself suffering from being gaslit and facing the fact that the worst part of myself that Trigon in Raven's mind that Angry Spinel was still THERE was still ME It was too much For the first (and thankfully, only) time in my life, I experienced suicidal thoughts. And Aivi REACTED to that shit. Strongly. In a way no one ever had for me before, ever. They drove across the Bay to my house, picked me up, had me over, and helped me process it. And in the months to come, as I was healing and coming to terms with how That Worst Part of Me That I Wanted to BE RID OF was still THERE and apparently could just fucking show up, through all of that, Aivi helped me work through things, and we really bonded. In retrospect, though, it's SO damned hard for me to tell if Aivi and I became so close because of mutual respect or pity or just conditioned behavior to Be Nice and Keep Up Appearances. I dunno. What I know NOW is that apparently Cost More than I would've thought. I'm not Aivi so I don't want to really dig into 'dirt' (again, Aivi is a great person who works very hard and that's WHY their work is so good) but looking back, it's wild to see their progression into SUCCESS and fame while I just stood by, floundering The thing is, Aivi was a super busy person. We barely got to spend time together -- when we DID, it was a multi-hour affair and apart from like, Jenny, Aivi is prolly the person I've had the deepest, most vulnerable conversations with. They were next to me when I realized 'oh huh I'm maybe trans??' because they were there when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I never ASKED them to be there, to Be So Nice and as it turns out, Being So Nice is harder than it looks. So to kind of loop this back to the movie, I wasn't some Skullgirls Peacock Cuphead grinny goof or anything like that but I AM WILLING to bet that from Aivi's POV the way Happy Spinel acts toward Steven is prolly how I felt in Aivi's life at points, at the least. The irony is that we would go weeks, months, barely interacting. But looking back, the way Aivi talked about things, the same phrase keeps dominating my mind: Aivi got bored of me. I wasn't 'useful' to them anymore. Aivi said that day in spring 2018 was like 'the climax' of our friendship, or something like that. Way they talked about it was like...the finale of a season of TV. Our character arc together was over. Even though we TALKED about it, came to mutual understandimng of The Logic behind Aivi's decision to cut ties, I don't think it ever REALLY made sense to me, how Aivi must've felt about our friendship, until Spinel. By spring of 2019, my role in Aivi's life -- from what they have told me, from what I can perceive -- was more like I existed in a separate space from the rest of their life. I was that one interesting person always waiting in The Garden for them to visit when they felt like it Because while Aivi had gotten BIG, gotten MARRIED, gotten a HOUSE, found legitimate SUCCESS in their creative field I was still poor still stuck in retail still unable to find an audience still unable to understand the pressures of Success And OOOOFFF in those last couple years, interacting became more and more strained for both of us, from opposite ends of things. Aivi had responsibilities, PEOPLE vying for their attention, people wanting to hire them, projects to complete, a house, a spouse, etc etc My life was (and kiiiinda still is?) nothing like that, and as our Mutual Creatives Struggling to MAKE THINGS and Get By transforming into Yep I Am Still Here but you are SUCCESSFUL I think that really put a lot of strain on things I never accepted until Spinel. After Aivi hit it big with SU, in particular, they gradually started...acting differently. Acting in ways that made less and less sense to me. They were a Diamond now. And I was still just what I was. When drawing comparisons to characters on the show, Aivi persistently compared me to Pearl. A fact I once took pride in. They repeatedly compared themself to Garnet. Which...always kind of didn't make sense to me. Aivi wasn't really like Garnet. They are more NOW, though? In the sense of how they act, I suppose. Specifically, one of the last things Aivi said to me was that trying to be friends with me had started feeling like Pearl trying to force Garnet to fuse with her. This was problematic because from my POV nothing of the sort was happening. All I was looking for was occasionally hanging out a few times a year. Like. Ya know. Actually a lot less than what I was looking for with basically all of my other friends. And that was still Too Much? But when I start looking at things like Pink Diamond and Spinel instead of Pearl and Garnet, somehow things make a lot more sense. I was probably too clingy, too exciteable, and what amusement or relief I could provide eventually stopped being useful. Aivi eventually didn't even want to spend time with friends to just...spend time with them. Everything had to have some kind of practical Purpose to it, it had to be contributing to a Goal. I still don't get that, tbh. But I'm also not A Diamond. I'm not Successful. The most responsibility I have right now is fucking hanging up the laundry to dry. I have college loans that have and continue to feel pointless to try and repay. I have severe dental problems I haven't been able to fix. My body fell out of shape because of retail hell, and what energy I’ve had to spare from that always ends up going into the people I love, and trying to keep Making Things. Let's not forget The Complications of coming out and wanting to transition but not possessing the resources to do so. (Aivi was actually super supportive of this btw and was the first person to make me feel comfortable wearing feminine things so yea) Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that MY LIFE is not together. My personality is? I feel like I am finally Myself in terms of mental/emotional stability. And that is largely because Jenny helped me get there. But Aivi helped a lot with that, too. But I think Aivi got to a point where Success was more of a measure of how Grown Up and Healthy one was because despite my behavior, my personality, my mood, what I was asking for, and what I was giving, all changing DRASTICALLY after being with Jenny, I think Aivi still...looked at me the way Pink Diamond looked at Spinel during that song. Like, "yeeeaaaa ok kiddo it's time for me to go now, kinda done here" This is what's so confusing about all of this metaphor/etc. I'm not...like Spinel anymore? My current, post-coming-out self doesn't really relate with Happy OR Angry Spinel. It's almost like Aivi couldn't see me for who I became, and could only see me for who I had been. And maybe that's like why Spinel can't be friends with Steven at the end. It's too painful. I used to take pride in being associated with Pearl because "I'm enough" and "being strong in the REAL way" but now it's more like "oh you just think I'm still hung up and needy and clingy?" which uh don't feel so great a comparison. I can't help but wonder if while working on the movie, Aivi saw some of themself in Pink. Because I'm not the only person who apparently wasn't 'useful' to them anymore. And I'm not saying we should've kept forcing something that wasn't working. Not at all. What we had was good for both us, but it also entailed a lot of patience on my part and effort on theirs. And unlike any of my other long term friends, I often ended up waiting weeks, months, "Happily wondering night after night, Is this how it works? Am I doing it right?"

Years and years of broken friendships, one after the other, most lasting merely 6 months, MAYBE a year at most, with a handful that have lasted since middle school (but which are so much harder to maintain) took a toll on my Adult Self until Jenny, anyway. For quite a long time - the majority of my life, currently - I assumed I just was Too Different and that was why my friendships didn't seem to last, didn't seem to extend to the depths I was looking for. That's perhaps one critical difference between Spinel and I: she's looking for FUN, for smiling faces, for attention, for creating smiles, I just want some fucking consistency. At this point, I'm not even sure WHY I still reach out to people. I don't NEED friendships in that desperate way I used to, back in the Happy/Angry Spinel times. And I've come to terms with that Other Max part of myself and integrated it, accepted it. My worst parts are still me and instead of suppressing them (often by relying on bids of deep friendship with others) I just have to let them EXIST and let them do their thing once in a while. This is ALL why Celeste hit me as hard as it did. Because even if I'm not actually much like Spinel anymore, and Aivi's not really like Pink Diamond, even if I don't actually share much in common with Madeline (other than the subtle 'I drink sometimes to deal with my problems' thing, which I don't anymore) I still comprehend and resonate so much with that concept of just needing to accept the worst parts of yourself and work with them rather than trying to keep them caged up and then they escape and rampage every 5-10 years or so and ruin your life As I felt myself coming to all of these Good Feelings I FINALLY felt like I could help Aivi in the ways they had helped me. That I finally had something to offer I didn't before. Turns out, I didn't, apparently. Aivi had More Important Things to do than visit me in The Garden. And I couldn't blame them. Not a bit. Especially if they had gotten bored of visiting me. I didn't like feeling like a burden on them, either. Can't really argue with that. During the last time we talked, Aivi didn't use the WORDS, didn't literally say them, but I finally could see it: I wasn't Useful anymore. I couldn't Understand, either, because I wasn't Successful. Our friendship was rewarding, but because it required effort. And that effort was still worth it to me, but no longer to them. I was no longer worth it. And despite that, despite starting to feel those hunches, I spent those final months -- as had been the case before, they were afraid to hurt me so avoided actually confronting the problem -- I remained "Happy to listen, Happy to stay Happily watching her drift away" I have no idea if any aspect of our friendship impacted anything Aivi had worked on creatively. TBH Aivi seemed to approach even relationships themselves with more of a logical, pragmatic style -- it was entirely unique compared to anyone I had ever connected with. But if you've read @lis-allwounds then it might not surprise you to know that a lot of what I expressed through Stella and Max, as well as Other Max and Another Stella, channels a lot of these things. I even quoted Aivi directly in the story's end (perhaps foolishly optimistic) And yes, that epilogue moment of sorts is gonna be entirely different if I ever do finish the visual novel. The fact is that we were ALWAYS very different people and our friendship was weird and complicated and hard for one or both of us throughout its, what, 8 year duration? Ironically, I think I took away the opposite 'Character Arc Lesson' they did from all this. But that's just the thing, nothing is permanent for a Human Being. We aren't Gems, we don't actually fuse, we can't just change our appearances when we feel like it, or project ourselves to look how we want to look, or exist for thousands of years. But we DO all have different needs, different ways of understanding those needs, and different ways of needing to adjust or change ourselves or our environments in order to pursue what we want to pursue with the limited time we have here. We tried, hard, and it lasted long enough. If I'm not useful, I'm not useful, I guess? I don't have any ill will toward Aivi, I loved them as a friend and I know they loved me, too, and were better at showing it than most any friends I ever have had. If I'd been better at reciprocating in ways that were actually useful, that would've been good -- but then maybe we wouldn't have become friends in the first place if I hadn't needed 'saving' in the first place, I don't fuckin' know. And I hope my saying all of these things doesn't make anyone think any less of Aivi because your relationship with them is, very likely, not at all personal like mine is. And you know as well as I do how good they are at what they do. Aivi took the time to ease me out of things. Aivi did NOT suddenly up and vanish for thousands of years. While the dynamics of the situation might bare sharp points of similarity, Aivi is not like Pink Diamond and I'm not like Spinel -- not in the present, anyway. Stories help us because they share THREADS with reality but it's always important to recognize those threads for what they are and not confuse them for ropes. And me ranting and tossing all of this out there is something part of me has wanted to do for months but needed to take the time to grieve and process and accept. And maybe it's selfish to be posting all of this, I don't know. But it helps me accept myself and them a lot more. "Finally something finally news about how the story ends" Aivi likely has brand new friends, better ones than me, and I'm willing to bet some of them worked on this movie. And it turned out pretty good, all things considered, probably in part because Aivi was able to focus on it That person I became friends with, she doesn't exist anymore. Just like how who I used to be when Aivi first me, he doesn't exist anymore, either. We both changed, and grew in opposite directions, I guess. We've found happiness and growth and relief in different ways. In the end the Movie helped me come to terms with all of this in a way Angry Spinel younger me couldn't have still hurts yo

"Isn't that lovely?

Isn't that cool?

Isn't that cruel?

And aren't I a fool

to have happily listened,

happy to stay,

happily watching her drift away"

#Steven Universe The Movie #Spinel #Personal #SU #SU Spinel

[surfingthesealand]

(SPOILER WARNING! Do not read ahead if you haven’t seen the latest Steven Universe episodes.)

Steven Universe and the All-New Crystal Gems

Since I last posted about Steven Universe, a new series of the Cartoon Network show has debuted. Steven Universe: Future takes place some time after the events of the movie, with new gems on the block joining the Beach City squad, and old familiar faces returning. As with every new season, Steven and his gem friends get a redesign – and some new faces have become Crystal Gems.

The main three CGs – Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl – mostly keep the new designs they first got in the season 5 finale, as does Steven, with his undershirt being changed from turquoise to black. He has aged a couple of years, being 15 in the movie and 17 in the new series. Steven certainly doesn’t have Bart Simpson or Ash Ketchum Syndrome – while Bart and Ash have permanently stayed ten years old since they first appeared on TV, Steven has grown a lot since the show began in 2013, and his audience will also have grown up with him.

You may have noticed a few new faces in the Crystal Gem squad. Once thought to be enemies of the CGs, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot and Bismuth are now firmly on Steven’s side in their fight against the tyranny of the Gem Homeworld. Like the other CGs, they’ve also received redesigns. Lapis and Peridot have lost the diamond motif from their old outfits that was symbolic of the Great Diamond Authority (reinforcing their origins as Homeworld Gems), and Peridot gets the star that Steven wears as a sign of her new allegiance to the Beach City squad. Lapis has noticeably more yellow and gold colours in her new form. This echoes the actual lapis lazuli mineral; real-life lapis often has tiny golden specks in it, which is caused by the presence of pyrite (AKA fool’s gold). These little golden sparkles are what caused lapis to be viewed as so precious by ancient civilisations, who thought it was real gold – notably, it’s the mineral used on the blue parts of the Egyptian pharaoh King Tutankhamun’s mask.

Bismuth is a rather new addition to the Steven Universe roster, only making her debut in the last two seasons or so – but she’s already calling herself an ally. Instead of an apron as she wore in her old form, she now wears overalls – she is meant to be based somewhat on a steelworker, and her arm can turn into a hammer. The rainbow colours of her hair reflect the multicoloured iridescence of the actual bismuth element, which is number 83 on the periodic table. Although bismuth in real life is a metalloid and not typically considered a gemstone, Bismuth in Steven Universe is classified as a Crystal Gem. (Fun fact: Bismuth is voiced by the actress who played “Crazy Eyes” in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black.)

Sunstone’s New Fusion

Smoky Quartz’s New Fusion

Rainbow Quartz 2.0’s New Fusion

Steven’s fusions with the main Crystal Gems also get redesigned, mostly updating their looks to match whatever Steven is currently wearing. Rainbow Quartz 2.0 is the star of the Christmas special A Very Special Episode, in which he plays Mary Poppins to Onion, one of the Beach City kids. But on the same day, he’s also supposed to be filming a public safety video as Sunstone, which gives Steven – and Pearl, and Garnet – a bit of a dilemma…

Some people say Steven Universe: Future is the sixth season, but the creators and producers have said that it acts as a sort of epilogue to the first five seasons (Future takes place two years after the movie, which takes place two years after the end of Season 5). Whatever the fans or the makers may think, Steven and his gem friends are certainly heading towards a bright future. Pun definitely not intended! 😁

We… are in the future!

Here we are in the future and it’s bright

I can’t believe we’ve come so far

Steven Universe Future, here we are!

Steven Universe Future! 

🎶🎵

Steven Universe: Future Fan Art (2020) (SPOILER WARNING! Do not read ahead if you haven't seen the latest Steven Universe episodes.)

#2020 #cartoon network #crystal gems #fan art #fusion #fusions #gem fusion #gem fusions #gems #new crystal gems #steven universe #steven universe future #year 2020

[askkury]

Steg sendo feito para print em eventos! Gostei muito deste personagem, mas não vou entrar em detalhes! Quem já viu o filme? 💗 Este final de semana estaremos em Guarulhos, no @animeguarulhosfestival Who watched Steven Universe movie? #fanart #stevenuniverse #stevenuniversethemovie #steg #stegfanart #fusion #fusão #anime #manga #cartoonnetwork #cartoon #art #artistoninstagram #desenho #kyuumangaka #kyuu https://www.instagram.com/p/B2SgvQklzAk/?igshid=1dk47cu2mqxto

#fanart #stevenuniverse #stevenuniversethemovie #steg #stegfanart #fusion #fusão #anime #manga #cartoonnetwork #cartoon #art #artistoninstagram #desenho #kyuumangaka #kyuu

[hungryandliterate-blog]

Zap Black & The Sixth Century Future Recovery Group - ‘Coulture’

This is one of the the most complex, challenging, and rewarding albums released recently, and I swear some big film studio is just going to pick it up for the token ‘character accidentally takes acid’ scene.

I think it’s fair to say some bands harken to a certain time period when they make an album. Maybe it has 80′s new wave influence. Maybe it has a 90′s grunge feel. But Zap is an artist out of time. With ‘Coulture,’ the SCFRG (wow what a name) gives you an entire era of culture deconstructed and reimagined. While I’m not up on fusion jazz, and can’t speak to the academic successfulness of the arrangements of ‘Welcome to Hudson,’ ‘La Chismea,’ etc, or the technical correctness of the improvised tracks like ‘Legions In The Ocean,’ I can say that they’re important goalposts for a record that breaks in and out of seriousness, reflection, and nuanced reference for something far greater than the sum of the parts. Whether or not it’s intentional, most of the ‘jazzy’ tracks remind me of classic backing scores to ‘golden age’ cartoons like Pink Panther and Scooby Doo. While at first I attempted to fight viewing the music through that lens, the skit tracks, which pulled me into a Monty Python-esque tongue-in-cheek mentality reaffirmed that the band is well aware of the canonical time, and to what media their music is going to reference. Stepping beyond instrumentation, the album pulls you through several pop-adjacent tracks that sound like a blender full of less-dramatic King Crimson, more technically apt B-52′s, and a dash of The Brave Little Toaster. While the record doesn’t necessarily feature any absolutely ‘pop’ moments, it does dance lightly around the ideas of composition as a whole, and plays between tightly arranged boppy vocals, hard-panned and spoken delivery that harkens to retro advertisement, complex but articulate instrument melodies that blend jazz and psych-rock, and absolute pitfalls into chaos like the (in my opinion) epicenter of the album, ‘It’s Really Important’ where the narrator pleads with the listener to understand: “It’s - okay - it’s - you know it’s really - *crying sounds* *laughing sounds* *screaming sounds* It’s really just simple. Please. Please. Please.” ‘Coulture’ is, of course, not simple at all. But it does so much work to invite the listener into the space it’s creating, which is both as familiar as old ‘I Love Lucy’ episodes and as complex and unique as a dream being described by a friend, that anyone with any associations to American media circa 1950 - 1980 are going to have a certain emotional response to the content presented, but not be prepared for it. This album is a dialogue, largely between the artists involved in it��s production, but also with the consumer, that begins with the fractioned and digitally-augmented cover art that screams ‘classic’ with it’s vapor-wave color scheme and faux dust and scuffs, and bleeds into the ‘hands-off’ production, which feels very much like this is happening in a room in front of you, but with the occasional modern touch of panning or modulation that reminds you how self-aware the production is as a whole. The conversation this album wants to have is complicated, but not serious. It’s absolutely one of the headiest things I’ve ever experienced, and I’m barely able to even touch on the nuance of the music itself. If ever there was a record to hang in an art gallery, this is it.

Overall Rating: 4/5 skateboarding skeletons (My 5 point system, detailed) 1. Is it well produced? (The recording sometimes leaves me wishing for a bit of overall mastering push, but then the idea that the ‘implied room’ is so clean begins to become central to the album. So... call it a draw?) 2. Is it an album, not just a collection of songs? (Dear lord, yes) 3. Is it challenging itself / it’s genre expectations? (More than anything I’ve heard in a long time) 4. Does it say something? (Immaculately) 5. Do I personally like it? (This is too complicated to enter regular rotation for me, but I respect it)

#music #reviews #diy #jazz #psych #fusion

[threedservices]

Visual Effects USA

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We pour our passion into film, TV series, commercials, virtual reality and gaming to deliver breakthrough visual effects and digital content. Use our wealth of experience, creativity and expertise as the cornerstone to keeping your ideas grounded. With our joint efforts, fantasy becomes reality. We look forward to working with you and bringing your vision to life. We always look forward to in-depth communication with your creative team to bring the perfect work to your audience.

We are visual effects and animation studio, and its creators are a core team with a strong centripetal force. From concept and animation at the creative stage to ingenious special effects and creatures, we are committed to delivering the highest quality standards for you. Whether it's a feature film, TV series, commercial, virtual vision or game, it's all within our scope of offering VFX screen and digital content services.

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Using the best methods and technologies, we strive to achieve the perfect fusion of internal and external solutions. In addition to technical work, efficient front-line collaboration with clients also enables us to deliver any intricate project on time.

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We use a custom binding system to complete the project. Using this system, we were able to create controllable real-time muscle movements. We also applied a full CG production pipeline, and we were able to process even complex shots with a dozen or more manually VFX animated characters.

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Even if your request is "I want a creature with a dozen arms and legs that walks and runs slowly and wobbly!" That's fine! Let our magic do the trick.

Our purpose-built motion system can customise limbs of any shape, size and number. Our tech wizards can take control of it and make it move, bend, transform and even form at your will! With the freedom and flexibility these custom bindings provide, you'll see your characters come alive as you expect.

Our full-time design experts can create characters with stories. They are completely integrated with the environment in which they were created. From robots to enchanted creatures, whether realistic or stylized, each character has a unique personality.

If you come up with a concept or an image you want to make real, we'll work with you to give them life and personality from your imagination. Concepts and ideas become fully modelled in 2D and 3D vfx, and finally fully rigged and moved.

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[quokkacola]

steven universe - a loving list

1) the art has improved SO MUCH, it’s no longer the ugly calarts style but its evolved into something of its own. its grown into itself. same with the cinematography ....!! 

1.5) i feel like everyone mentions this, so i’ll make it brief, but the backgrounds have consistently stayed splendid. Also, the amazing songs have stuck with me for years.

2) the plot and every twist that it has are amazing and always surprises me.

3) the writing feels very authentic and the characters say things that i feel like real people - including myself - would say. it’s probably the MOST relatable dialogue i’ve ever seen in film.

4) how the show depicts healthy relationships is SO important. same with how it clearly depicts unhealthy relationships as well. like, when malachite would speak, it would be jasper and lapis talking over each other, instead of having a new v/a like every other healthy fusion would be given.

4.5) it’s the first show on cartoon network to show an onscreen lesbian proposal and polyamorous couple.

5) the idea of fusion is unique and very creative. even if steven universe didn’t create the idea of fusion, it definitely popularized it.

6) the characters use fiction to help with their reality. i.e., using a comic book character so that ruby can relate to someone and doesn't feel dumb or alone. this is super relatable and makes the gems feel human to the audience. i really respect that.

7) pls watch it, it’s made me cry happy tears and i’ve held my head when i found out what happened to rose in the half hour special. im begging u lmao

EDIT: 8) the body language! the attention to detail that was put into how the gems/people physically act when they feel a certain way, is the best most accurate representation of how ppl act irl

9) also, i really appreciate how mrs. sugar herself doesnt really dye her hair, or wear makeup for the most part. for me, personally, it’s nice to see a woman with mainstream media attention be unconventionally attractive. i also really appreciate how she’s a soft-spoken, polite + shy individual.

she doesn’t have an ‘in your face’ kinda personality and in this day-in-age i can rlly appreciate and respect that.

#steven universe #long post #su #mrs. sugar isnt extroverted lmao thats my point

[architectnews]

Beta Cinema, Ho Chi Minh City

Beta Cinema, Ho Chi Minh City Interior Design, Vietnamese Building, Architecture Images

Beta Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City

23 Jul 2021

Interior Design: Module K

Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Beta Cinema

Bold colours, strong geometric shapes and a ‘flashback’ to the famous buildings of old Saigon come into focus in the new Beta Cinema design in HCMC.

Vietnamese interiors company Module K have completed their first cinema. Located on the ground floor of an existing shopping mall, the 2000 m2 cinema for Beta Media seats 1000 and is aimed at millennials with its Saigon vibe and architectural vocabulary.

Each detail of the design references significant Saigon landmarks dotted around the city: the Municipal Opera House, Ben Thanh Market, Central Post Office, Tan Dinh Church, Paris Commune Square and the small alleys.

“But we gave it a different take,” says Jade Nguyen, director of Module K. “We captured the iconic features of Saigon and transformed them by stripping details, condensing the basic lines and turning them into geometric shapes. Then we applied a technique of solid colour treatment, as used in graphic design and cartoons, to bring a unifying element.”

The pastel palette, reminiscent of art nouveau, features hues of flamingo pink, sea green and bright orange. The various coloured blocks and cubes transition the different spaces and the stretches of colour give the space a seemingly endless depth. The main entrance features alternating geometric shapes, and a strong simple impact. The vast central hall and sitting area features a dome in Indochine green recalling the colonial Central Post Office with its towering vaulted ceiling. A circular staircase in the Beta Media logo blue colour is also a meeting place for young people. The floor is paved with encaustic cement tiles with oriental Asian patterns. A flock of pigeons flying above reminds audiences of those at the Municipal Opera House and the Paris Commune Square.

The ticket counter in shades of acqua with eye-catching shapes is inspired by the rhythms of the colonnades and roof of Ben Thanh Market. Circular cut outs in the walls and the ceiling bring contrast to the repeating shapes.

The side lobby and hallways are reminiscent of the fascinating alleys and street life of HCMC. The corridor leading into the hall has rainbow coloured arches. The mezzanine and ground floor are connected through corridors running around the building. Several semicircular loggias are formed to create check-in corners and panoramic views of the space. The asymmetrical arch pillars on the right side of the space reference the rose-coloured Gothic style of Tan Dinh Church’s design, as does a bright pink waiting bench.

Pastel pink staircases wrap themselves around bold columns, their stepped forms repeated in balustrades.Circular and square shaped chairs dot the mezzanine meeting area inviting relaxation and connection. The bathrooms are another shot of strong colour with asymmetrical motifs creating a striking impression. Inside the cinemas orange and lemon coloured lozenge-shaped reliefs on the walls alternate in shape and are backlit to contrast with deep turquoise coloured seats.

“The client wanted to convey a message of pride in Saigon landmarks, but not with the usual Indochine style. And we wanted to move away from the typical cinema design – dark and moody – so we tried to create a funky and welcoming space with locations for connecting, eating, drinking pre and post film showings.”

Mr Minh Bui, CEO Beta Group says: “Module K’s strong design response and their passion made a big impact and matched our own.”

The goal was to give audiences a brand new destination for movie-watching, with an urban art style resonating with a dynamic and bustling Saigon vibe.

“We wanted to create an “instagrammable” moment, a buzz, a wow feeling for Gen Z to tell friends to come and check out the design and remember the name” added Ms Nguyen. Module K used modelling from geometric shapes to generate the different scenes within the spaces. Materials include Indochine tiles, epoxy floor, steel structures, with furniture by local companies Soulroom and RPB Furniture.

After having won the project competition against 30 other design firms, Module K came in under budget and construction was completed in just 35 days.Beta group already has 20 cinemas in the northern part of Vietnam – this was their first in HCMC – and Module K is now working with them on another cinema on the tourist island PHú quốc.

Beta Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietman – Building Information

Architects: MIA Design Studio

Location Hcmc, Vietnam Client Beta Group Status Built 2021 Size 2000 M2; Seats 1000 Partners Soulroom

Practice Credits Module K: Nguyen Anh Huy, Jade Nguyen, Ngan Giang, Diep Binh Quyen, Phuong Dung, Phu Binh, Thuy Vi, Nguyen Hiep.

About Module K An interior design company based in HCMC, Vietnam, Module K specialise in the fusion of old and new, east and west. They design objects and colours in harmonising proportions through the integration of contemporary and local culture, meeting the need for authentic Vietnamese design with current needs. With years of experience they achieve their designs through listening, insight and responsible construction. https://ift.tt/2UCVA8w @modulekvietnam

Images: Do Sy

Beta Cinema, Ho Chi Minh City images / information received 230721

Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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Website: Ho Chi Minh City

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[artblog-johnarelychavez]

Isolated-Effect of the Pandemic: Aesthetic from the Hidden Minds of the Different Artists

Everyone thought that “It will just be a year” in fact, it could go worse and some of us did not thought about it. Isolation disabled many industry along the lines of infrastructure, face-to-face education, and corporate businesses. But some industry feels like they are not affected by it. Art industry is an holistic industry that everyone could fit in depends on his/her styles or genre. We have so many ideas and thoughts that has been counted for the past year, but what about the arts that has been spawned from our isolated minds?

Paintings and Photography.

Creative via canvas, or since as a nature of human we cannot be so isolated inside our homes, creative juices are unleashed through different canvases like digital art or light-captured activities. Some of them is for themselves, their expression and free-time, and some of those are going professional who really entered the depths of art industry. Paintings and Photography could be combined, depends on the artist if he/she do it for financially, what matters here is how they express their art from their creative juices. Here are some examples of works created by these holistic, dedicated, local artists: Maria Evita Miraflor Instagram: @evitamariz Behance: [email protected]

Marianne Luces Gas Instagram: @maightcri

Architecture and Designs.

As a past aspiring architect, their industry is very alive at the moment especially those who have the mindset of a great architect. Even those architect student can mainly improve themselves insides their homes by harnessing through freehand or digitally (e.g., AutoCad, SketchUp, LumionPro). For those who are already professional, many companies are looking for them since these companies took this pandemic as an opportunity to create more infrastructure, entertainment and other businesses that includes professional designs (e.g., Resorts, Casino, Hotel). Not mentioning those freelancers who own their time, and also could express their art talents professionally.

Like this project of Armando Chavez, which is a design of A Villa Resort soon to be located in Vietnam.

Here are some examples and progress in one of the rooms in the Villa Resort.

The Finishes:

Film/Theater Arts.

People use their time to rest and to entertain themselves in various ways, as such watching a series, movies, or an animated cartoons. In this pandemic we tend to use a huge amount of time binge-watching these films for us to cope for what is happening outside our home. Entertainment industry did not stop producing quality films just because of this virus, but also used it as an inspiration to produce more real-life related movies that the audience will also associate.

The most enlarged industry in Films/Theater Arts are the animation or animated cartoons, since they only spend time on animating using digital art and less interactions with humans. Anime Series like Boruto, One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen are having the most of their time producing good quality storyline and entertainment for those who liked Anime. Aside from anime, Indie Films are also explosive around the world, giving a lot of wholesome and creative stories that audience would love to watch. Filipino Movies that are not cliché is emerging though some of the audience have expectations, producers still manage to fill up their satisfaction.

Of course, let’s not forget the K-industry, when watching k-dramas and k-movies, their color grading, cinematography, storyline and the performance of actors/actresses hits different. Those directors and producers know how to get inside the nerves of their audiences that gives them unexpected events in the given series.

A N I M E First photo: Jujutsu Kaisen Author: Gege Akutami

Second photo: One Piece Author: Eiichiro Oda

Third photo: Boruto: Naruto Next Generation Author: Mikio Ikemoto, Ukyo Kodachi

“Iska” Directed by Theodore Boborol

K-DRAMAS “Itaewon Class” (upper photo)    Cast: Kim Da Mi, Park Seo Joon 

“The King: Eternal Monarch” (lower photo) Cast: Lee Min Ho, Kim Go Eun

Music Industry.

In this pandemic, the most alive art industry that is living in the moment is the Music Industry. Within every single night we could hear a sound or a beat that can be manipulated and turned into a melody. As an aspiring musician, I found this time as an opportunity to discover and dig deeper to different kinds of music that also produce different kinds of artists. I have discovered many new artists, new styles for now as the school band helped me. These styles that I have learnt, first of all I am from Alternative rock, Emo, Pop, and a little bit of Blues. Pandemic introduced Jazz Fusion to me which I find very difficult. Later on, this people can find different artists within their music styles rather they were expressive, instrumental and sometimes overloaded with effects and stuffs that most of people really are unsatisfied with that. In other perspective, music saved many lives in this pandemic since it is always by their sides in lone times, finding the right mood, right lyrics and right sound will pretty much help the listener. Financially speaking, music industry is still alive in terms they could create this by themselves and it is much easier by today since we could do this digitally and produce it all over the world. Here are some new music and old music that everyone could enjoy:

Erotic Cakes album by Guthrie Govan

No Such Thing by John Mayer

Deja Vu by Olivia Rodrigo

To sum it all up, different industries of art has saved the whole community with different persons and characteristics. Without the holistic manner of art, the world will have a pale, vicious, muted visuals and sorrowful mental conditions. In these days, people need something to cling on, hope to grasp and a new tomorrow to foresee, as art could bring this to everyone and it could be enjoyed by anyone.