New Illustration

What with Tony Hart's recent passing away, we've been struggling to think who could inspire a nation of kids to pick up a pencil in quite the same way. Devotees of Tony Hart know that many rainy days can be happily spent with some A4 paper and a pencil, just drawing and making noises of whatever it is you're drawing.

We've picked out some of the best illustrators we've seen recently, who've made us reach for our Crayola.

Mario Hugo is very good with a pencil. And type. And making stuff look dribbly.






Chrissie Macdonald is very good with a bit of card and some double-sided tape.






And David Foldvari nails the whole black and white/scribbly thing.

Datamoshing

So it looks like we have a new visual-FX device.

I first saw this used in Becks's 'Youthless' video a few months back and wondered when it would rear it's ugly-beautiful head again. Takeshi Murata has been using it in his art for ages and the term "datamoshing" (the effect that fakes the glitches that happen when video is compressed) was first coined by the Youtuber, paperrad. But, no doubt, we'll now see it everywhere from Channel U to Hollywood, after Kanye's jumped on board.


KANYE WEST "Welcome To Heartbreak" Directed by Nabil from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Via Gui, cheers fella.


Beck “Youthless” from chickengang on Vimeo.

!WARNING THIS VIDEO CONTAINS FLASHING IMAGES!

Simian Mobile Disco - Synthesise.
Live Visual Performance.
Directed by Kate Moross & Alex Sushon.

(Blogger likes to crop Youtube vids that are wide, hence the click through.)

Bars and Tones, Andre Chocron

Aaaahhhh. Much sweeter than what I remember post production to be.

Kai and Sunny on a winter's evening

This Saturday I dodged the cold and stepped into the StolenSpace Gallery just off Brick Lane, London. Inside were intricate prints that warmed the soul.

Printed on canvas and paper, the batik-y folk feel of the work would normally have me running for the hills. But up close it was beautifully crafted. I couldn't help leave feeling a little lifted.

(Couldn't bring my cynical self to like the tee-pees though. Yuck).


More from the duo.

Tilt-shift time-lapse

You might have seen some tilt-shift photography before. It's mainly used to make stuff look like a teeny model.


What we haven't seen before, though, is tilt-shift photography being combined with time-lapse techniques.


Metal Heart from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.
Try it for yourself if you're feeling inspired, in an online version.

Say AR

In the 90s virtual reality was the thing that was dropping jaws. But interaction with the virtual world has moved on since then. With mouths agog, we've been checking out augmented reality (AR).



Simply put, AR is a field of research devoted to blending real and virtual environments. It's interactive in real time and registered in 3D space. And the virtual objects can be moved about, remain still, and interact with the real world.

The implications for the technology are vast. Ever wondered how they manage to paint the Barclay's Premiership logo on the pitch, then clean it off so quickly after the whistles blown. Now you know. Of course that's a simple application. Soon you'll be able to hold your camera phone up and see information linked to buildings and geography appear on it's sceen. Get a wriggle on TimeOut.

Gaming will be brought into the real world, virtual wallpapers will line the walls of homes and car sat nav will appear on windscreens. The holo-deck from Star Trek is not far off.

Of course there's plenty of room for fun. Click for last year's Specialmoves Christmas card.

Superbowl Ads 2009

Bit of a let down this year, even if they did air some porn to those watching at home. We picked this one as our favourite. It's an ad by Wieden + Kennedy Portland for jobs website Careerbuilder.com.



Here's a Ridley Scott anti-IBM Orwellian classic, from the time when people said 'Macintosh'.

The Wire

Senator Clay Davis in the best TV show since Twin Peaks. We love you and your drawn out expletives, Clay.

Catch Generation Kill, David Simon and Ed Burn's (creators of The Wire) new series currently on FX.