Paul Chadwick's Weblog

Alas

All creative occupations involve interesting ideas that never made it off the drawing table.  I paged through the Ray Harryhausen retrospective once and marveled at all the unmade films for which  he prepared material.  I think if the art ran as large as that in the section on actual films, the unmade section would have more pages.

The Matrix Online is no exception.  The Unlimit story arc once involved an abundance of surreal imagery we never were able to do.  Anome and his elixers were to confer a variety of powers -- you'd even find some on missions (consumables) and briefly have them yourself.

In addition, there would be horrible misfires.  Not so much powers, but mess-you-up-bad effects.  Even after Anome's downfall, you'd come across these unfortunates -- tiny people caught in spider webs, obese blobs filling rooms, trapped, on missions.  In exchange for confessions of where their hovercraft was, you'd mercifully terminate them (they were stuck in the Matrix in this form).  I called these "booby prizes."

It was not to be.  I think a week or two after I pitched these to everybody, to generally positive nods, we lost our art lead to another game.  It's no rap on Sony; we had to downsize to break even on this game.  But after that, we just didn't have the manpower to execute this stuff.

So, wistfully, I present them here.  Click to enlarge.

A New World

I've taken on an intern for a short time, and he's introduced me to a new subculture that he's really into: skateboard art.  There are limited editions of skateboards with unique designs, and a gallery art scene that's grown up around it.  This guy, Franx, is my favorite I've seen so far.  But Addie showed me links to dozens of artists.  Who knew?

Art on the cultural edges.  In my teens it was underground comics and newspapers, and rock posters.  This has the same feel...unclear messages, angst, creative ferment, humor, a rejection of prettiness.  Interesting.

Oops

I got an email from Ken Steacy, who's coloring a DC book I'm working on.  One panel looked kind of funny, he said.  A character's face seemed to be missing.

I checked my xerox. He was right.  I'm basing the character on a real woman, and left drawing it for later, when I could check my reference.

Except I never did.  I sent in the pages without the face.

Now, remembering my early days pencilling Dazzler, I remember how irksome it would be when Marvel Art Director Johnny Romita would redraw my faces occasionally.  They were perfectly well drawn, but they never matched.

Times have changed, and I emailed Ken a new new head which he photoshopped in.  For what it's worth, here it is.

The character bursts into flame if she's touched, hence the headgear.  Later, I decided it looked too much like an orthopedic device, and changed it to a projected repulsion field in issue three. 

It takes me back to Junior High, wearing braces and a retainer at night.  Ugh.

No way to treat a lovely lady.  Click to enlarge.

Scorch the Sky

I recently watched The Second Renaissance episodes of the Animatrix.

They include the most disturbing scenes ever animated.

The moment where the soldier is pried screaming out of his APU makes my neck hair prickle.

But I just read something that reminded me of humanity's choice to deny the Machines solar energy by "scorching the sky."  We saw this depicted in the film, planes dropping smoke bombs, trailing blackening trails, bringing everlasting night.

It seems this is global warming plan B.

Seriously.  From the US response to the IPCC report on climate change:

"Modifying solar radiance may be an important strategy if mitigation of emissions fails. Doing the R&D to estimate the consequences of applying such a strategy is important insurance that should be taken out. This is a very important possibility that should be considered."

They think we should fill the sky with smoke to cool the Earth.

My neck hairs are really prickling, now.

Seraph

It's no small thing to remove a beloved, respected character like Seraph from The Matrix Online storyline.  During his occasional appearances, he always seemed to elicit awe and deference from Redpills, though this guy is typically snide  about his watery demise.

Not that he should be counted out, until his deletion is confirmed five ways to Tuesday. 

He's one tough bird.

Me, I wonder about that river.  Matrix code streams like rain, one of the lovliest metaphors of the films. 

To carry it further, that dark river of code must have currents and eddies of toxic information beyond one's sanity to endure.

As Agent Pace always says, there's no shortage of finta in the Matrix.