This Talk is a very huge deal for Dieselfunk Studios. The primary characteristic being that we go through the process of how we create Visual Afrofuturism. There’s so much about SHOW in this business that one rarely gets the opportunity to go into the TELL part. A big thanks goes out to The Design Futures Initiative and my partner in crime Jim Fielder, maestro behind BlackPi Studios. Enjoy!
GREETINGS DIESELFUNKATEERS! WEBSITE RELAUNCH! As those that know can attest, I have many initiatives that I undertake. We are believers that if mugs see something, it’s REAL to them. We apply this philosophy towards presenting our work in the best possible light. Perfection is not the goal. Iterative Improvement is the goal. After months of planning we have relaunched the Dieselfunk Studios website.
Some elements look the same while other sections are brand new. Plus we’ve added some elements under the hood. Quick features are a nice social media feed to always ensure that there is new content on the site. Additionally, there are new project pages for Matty’s Rocket, and our up and coming release, INFINITUM. More updates and tweaks will be coming as the days and weeks go on.
We have had the pleasure of working with Webmaster David M. Littlefield, aka DMLWORX to construct a site that very much employs the ‘Dieselfunkcosphere’ idea that all things Dieselfunk must be integrated and accessible. He has experience in many areas of design, web creation and virtual experience. Just a few samples of work he’s done…
If you need webdesign, this cat is a viable option. As a personal endorsement, Dmlworx built my first website back in 2001. Plus he’s a hell of an INSTAGRAM PHOTOGRAPHER! So there you go!
Greetings Dieselfunkateers! BLACK METROPOLIS RETURNS! It’s looks like its gonna be one of those days. Back in 2016 I had the privilege of presenting a career retrospective of my work at Gallatin Galleries curated by Keith Miller. This show has formed one of the pillars of my present efforts, which is to SHOW THE WORLD MY WORK!
Black Metropolis: 30 Years of Afrofuturism, Comics, Music, Animation, Decapitated Chickens, Heroes, Villains, and Negroes.
The Hammonds House Museum is very clear:
Our mission, “to preserve, exhibit, interpret and increase public awareness about the contributions that visual artists of African descent have made to world culture” is the underpinning of the of the institution’s ongoing work.
Presently, the Legendary Carrie Mae Weems is exhibiting with as well as amazing artists such as Felton Eaddy. Also please note: Hammonds House is presently celebrating their 30th year anniversary. BLACK METROPOLIS will be the GRAND FINALE for this Celebration taking place during the final quarter of the year. More NEWS to Come! Check out the news link HERE http://artsatl.com/tag/hammonds-house-museum/
For you folks who didn’t get around to it before now you’ve got another chance. You’d best believe Daddy is gonna be putting on a show and drawing portraits. You betta dressup and whatnot:-)
Greetings Dieselfunkateers! Just getting back in from our most recent stop on The #mattysrocketbooktour. Just before leaving, I was honored to be interviewed by the Legend, Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor ofPUBLISHERS WEEKLY. I was recently having a conversation with a colleague about how important Calvin’s work is with regards to the medium of comics and graphic novels. The medium has in this gentleman, an ambassador and town cryer; something every industry needs in order to survive. Everyone has that thing that they do well, do with passion, and would do for free. Calvin LOVES COMICS.
We talked about Matty’s Rocket, my process, Black Panther, Dieselfunk Studios, and our upcoming graphic novel, INFINITUM.
Calvin is like ‘The Shadow’ with that frikin ring. He turned it towards me and I suddenly got dizzy and had to follow his commands. Unwillingly!:-) I gave a scoop for MATTY’S ROCKET BOOK TWO!
Greetings Dieselfunkateers!The Schomburg Black Comic Book Day happens this coming weekend. Part of life is a continual assessment of one’s goals.We rate, compare, retool, and strategize steps based upon our past , present and future. Our present thought, based upon past experience: No company can survive without content in the present and future. Thusly, right out the gate, Dieselfunk Studios is committed to DELIVERING PRODUCT, no matter how large or small.
I’ve always loved the fully painted Calendars of the early to mid 20th Century. Whether the subjects ranged from naval, aeronautics, or Santa drinking a coke, I respect the craft and detail that each artist put into the work. Further, such a product extends the world-building of the primary Matty’s Rocket Story.
Consider the month of January: Matty pilots her Strato-capsule into Earth Orbit.
Or perhaps, June: Duke, the famed Jazz composer, comes to the Harlem Sector’s Apollo Pavilion. What sort of ride would Duke fly in look like? (Closeup below) Check out the Matty’s Rocket 2018 Calendar to see.
Greetings Dieselfunkateers! LIGHTS, CAMERA, REFERENCE! Lighting in film and videogames is essential to storytelling. Meaning it’s a requirement for entry. But in comics, lighting is often a victim of technical limitations and time. Of course, masters like Eisner, Steranko, Gulacy, and Miller, have used cinematic techniques that derive from film. Lighting, what you can see and what you cannot, is all about communication.
Can you imagine Citizen Kane without the cinematography of Greg Toland?
Or more recently, Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Arrival’ would not have worked without Bradford Young’s lensing (Hey, cat’s on Ron Howard’s ‘Solo: A Starwars Story so don’t sleep on em).
This even extends to videogames. Take for instance the cut scenes from the Starwars: OLD REPUBLIC games. The level of detail, and to be frank complexity of story, largely dwarf the actual movies.
But for the monthly comics schedule deep lighting is a difficult task to do. Which is why I have a preference for the more methodical intricacy of Graphic novels. Take the beautiful example of Canales and Guarnido’s ‘Blacksad’.
Comics and graphic novels are all sequential art of course and, oddly enough, it’s where all of the mediums of animation, storyboarding and film meet. In fact, I’ve had film students that have limited drawing skills, who refuse to believe a rough stick figure or crude image can reveal all sorts of dramatic information. In the climax of those lessons, I take their “crude” drawings and add simple coloring overlays to demonstrate that any image is capable of evoking emotion through light. Photoshop MAGIC Baby!
ARTISTS!, Don’t let ANYONE tell you your work has no value or style, regardless of polish or crudeness. The fact is, light can illuminate even the most mundane of drawing.
Furthermore, I cannot state the importance that reference has played in my work as of late. This can be in the form of a photo shoot, images from the internet, or even stills from advertisements and film stills. You see a cool lighting scheme in a photo, steal…err, USE it. Also, consider using newer online tools that are utilized by photographers to bring dramatic narratives to form. I’ll speak on those tools in the future.
I try my best to take advantage of light. YOU should too.
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