On escaping your dreams

For Illustration Friday's topic of the week : Escape

On the importance of cabling

For Illustration Friday's topic of the week : Roots

On priorities

For Illustration Friday's topic of the week : Reflection

The speaker phone feature

mophone beta

I've been doing a bit of beta testing on mophone, (well enough so I can fill out the questionnaire!) It's pretty neat. Imagine your phone was an ipod; well mophone is a bit like itunes for your phone. You can manage and store cameraphone photos. phone wallpapers, ringtones & even games. You can also share them with your friends, or the world. It’s also a lot like flickr with moblog’ing & ringtones built in. Once a decent community gets going in there I'm predicting it will be a winner. If you are already there why not add AlvinP as a friend and join the “meet the people” group. You’ll then be able to get my cartoons directly on your phone

Is it free?
Yes (well largely free, you must have internet access via your phone to use it and you will have to pay for that access at your normal rates)

…Norm (for Alvin)

On the petrol price

For Illustration Friday's topic of the week : Empty

On Home Theatre

After a 7 hour struggle, Alvin jubliantly gets his new remote controlled home theatre projector to work.
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How these cartoons are created

Alvin & lila came to life suddenly one day, during a creative cartooning workshop given by Kevin Burgemeestre. During the story boarding part of the afternoon kevin demonstrated a method of using "cut out" shapes of body parts to put together and adjust composition. The idea was also presented as a good method to help exaggerate movement and make the illustration more interesting. Alvin literally dropped out of nowhere and onto my page. Lila soon followed, her hair and eyes where a way to balance the simplicity of Alvin's component parts


Not only is then method fun, it is also quick. I just get the pieces I want, and assemble the cartoon. If I need something extra I drawn a new piece. I slide the assemble pieces into a photocopying carrier sleeve (it has a white backing and an acetate cover that folds back and holds the pieces in place). I scan this and if necessary do a bit of tidy up in coreltpainr. Then run it through coreltrace, in outline mode and take the shapes into coreldraw for colouring. This takes as little are 5 minutes, a lot less that a fully handrawn cartoon.

... Norm

Alvin visits Norm's Photo Blog

Norm: Hi Alvin what’s up?

Alvin: Hope you don’t mind me interrupting.

Norm: No, what are you looking for?

Alvin: Well some advice on the camera I buy next.

Norm: “Next!”

Alvin: Well my 5megapixel digital is nearly 9 months old and it doesn’t have GPS

Norm: How sad, but if you had of really read my blog, you would know I don’t have a GPS in my camera (which is much older than 9 months by the way) and I never written camera reviews

Alvin: I still think a camera with GPS to automatically geotag my photos would be WAY cool.

Norm: To do the geotagging I use the net to get the geotag positions and google earth, if you are on the net and have broadband they are free.

Alvin: Who doesn’t have broadband?

Norm: (changing subject) Do you read my blog regularly?

Alvin: Intermitently more than regularly…. I loved the Photo Project posts you used to do

Norm: So you’d like more of them?

Alvin: Definitely


Norm, who creates Alvin, has another blog, wandering in the light which covers things they forgot to tell you about digital photography.

On automated phone services

Introducing Alvin

Alvin People is a pretty normal likeable sort of guy. He loves technology, he loves lots of buttons. He knows he has the second most boring job in the world, it could not possible be the most boring as that in itself would be interesting, but it does pay well. He is easily talked out of anything, especially his money. He is a legend in his own mind and dreams of becoming a celebrity in some yet to be invented X-treme sport, where he can make his fortune on the merchandising of his individual taste in footwear He just wants to be noticed.

Introducing Lila

Lila People is a totally modern women. She might just occasionally feel that she is living on the edge, not in control of her relationships, that she is trapped by the glass ceiling, her biological clock, .needs time to reduce the stress factors in her life and the general unreliability of tradesman.

Well! actually she might worry a lot, and that makes her angry, very angry. Angry at herself and especially angry at anyone close by. She does like hugging (because her life style trainer recommended it)

cameraphones

Hello

Alvin & Lila People are moving over here now from their geocities home at cartoonette. They are a thoroughly modern couple, living a modern life.




now added to Illustration Friday's topic of the week : Fresh