Clutch Art

AKIRA MARATHON

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 16:53:00 +0000

For those of you not farmiliar with AKIRA, It was an anime movie that came out in 89. Until a week ago I had no idea that it was a manga (japanese comic book) that consisted of 6 volumes. So I took the books out from the library and read them all in a week. 2200 pages of fantastical story telling. and untill last night i never really knew what people ment when they said " the picture jumps out at you" well in the last volume of Akira, Katsuhiro Omoto made sure every fricken page would be memorable. the art was just bone chilling, it was unlike anything I have ever seen in our north american comics today. Omoto was really into hollywood and so he translated that passion into some of the best drawn panels I have ever seen, the composition of each panel was methodicly thoughout and the characters were drawn in poses I wouldnt even imagine possible. The entire book is inked, thinking of adding colour would only ruin the brilliance of the book.

I remember watching the movie as a kid, my dad and I went to JUMBO VIDEO ( i loved the free popcorn there) and to my suprise he chose a cartoon movie. and it was the only movie he rented that day...if you know my dad then this would come as a shock to you. ( he use to rent 6-7 movies at a time) sitting on the couch, i could not believe what i was seeing... drug use, swearing, blood and nudity all in a cartoon. i was about 7 when i watched the film so i had no idea what was going on with the story and frankly i didnt care, there were cartoon boobies to be seen!. After reading the manga, I realize that the movie really has nothing to do with it. it has the same characters but some of thier rolls are different and the story is way off from the manga as well. 2 hours was not enough time to explain the depth that is Akira. Ever since Akira i got into japanime and started to appreciate what it was all about. I learned at a young age that not all cartoons were for kids, there was something special about acknowledging that, because not everyone does. people till this day refuse to think as cartoons as a form of entertainment that adults can enjoy without having to be embarrassed about. I have stopped explaining myself to people when they ask why i find cartoons so entertaining. If you dont get it by know, you never will, stick to soap operas. Not to mention tons and tons of films like the matrix, equalibrium, blade runner, starwars, aliens, predetor and many many more were all influenced in some way or another by japanime.

60% of tv in japan is made up of catoons and about 80% of movies are toons as well. and why not, you can pull off all the special effects without breaking the bank, the imagery is alot more notable most of the time and when you get a good cast of voice actors you forget that your watching drawn figures. you learn to enjoy the movie for what it is... a movie. i have yet to see a message as powerfull as the one in princess moninoke or spirited away in any live action north american film i have seen.

japanime can be powerful, beautiful and meaningful if you let it be. so let it be.

An Elephant Never Forgets

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:54:00 +0000

To bad I’m not an elephant, I forgot my bloody user name and password to get into my blog for posting! After many hours of meditation and drug induced video game playing, it all came back to me. I'm just kidding about the meditation part, I was much to hopped up on meds to sit and meditate.

Well what can I say about the gaming industry today....IT'S FUCKING BOOMING!!! With over 50 titles being released per month for the next several months, it's safe to say there is a game out there for everyone, and I think that’s the industries goal. From cell phones to laptops, PDI's and consoles, games are being played everywhere I look. Little people, big people, fat people and University Proof’s are all playing video fucking games! I think it's great, except for the fact that violent acts caused by teens are still being blamed on violent video games. I'm sorry but that’s just a bunch of shit. In the odd case that a parent gives birth to a Neanderthal who has A.D.D, throws temper tantrums and kicks his mother in the shin because he was playing GTA, I blame the parents. Every game has a rating on it...EVERY GAME!!!!! So if the kid is playing a game with a gun or undead corpses or prostitutes, it's because their parent bought them that game. Games rated M will not be sold to teens under the age of 17. That being said, a 17 year old male or female should have a pretty good concept of reality and fantasy, if not, I believe that individual should seek extra help from a guidance councilor or possibly a parent to you know....parent them! "The News" has picked on just about every fucking medium to blame violence on. Music, comic books, video games, football!!!! What an embarrassment our society has become when a parent can't do their job and finds an escape goat in something young people enjoy.

I am confident that all this will come to an end by the time we hit 50. Mainly because anyone alive will have been raised into a generation where Mario spent more time with us then mom or dad. We will find something else to blame violence on, like candy or babies.

Keep playing players, just make sure it's violent

Stop the Hate, You're Not That Cool

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 23:09:00 +0000

The on going rivalry between the PS3 and Xbox 360 owners has got to stop. First of all it's not "your" system. You had nothing to do with the development; design, the pricing or the engineering of the system so SHUT THE FUCK UP! Also, when shitty games are released for the systems, it's not the hardware’s fault, it's the lazy ass / inexperienced or pressed for time developers fault that the game looks and plays like dirt. Now as far as launch titles go, 90% of all launch titles are crap, the developers don’t have enough time to play around with the system and are not familiar with the new components in the system. Good things come to those who wait. Only recently has the X Box 360 started to show it's true potential. GoW is a fantastic, short, sweet and fun to look at game. Lets hope there is more where that came from really soon.

Now I understand that when a customer drops $500 + accessories they can get pretty emotional. But get over your self. Graphics will fluctuate from game to game, no matter what system it's on. I went into some further investigation to prove my point and did some comparing of games that were out for both systems. While some looked better for the PS3, they ran smoother with a higher frame rate on the 360. Some games looked identical, others had a noticeable difference from level to level, but when it came down to it, a coin toss was the only way to decide wich console made the game "better".

Ideally it would be nice to own both systems because of games that are exclusive to their consoles, but because money doesn't pour out of milk jugs, it all becomes a matter of bang for your buck. So lets weigh the options. BOTH systems require the owner to possess an HDTV to truely take advantage of the software. So there’s $2500 already. PS3 plays Blue Ray, nice feature, BUT....Blue Ray DVD’s are going to cost up to $50 per disk, that’s a little silly if you ask me. I think DVD's look great. Both systems have wireless controllers, 360 rumbles ps3 does not. PS3 has TILT technology, 360 does not. I can imagine a couple of years down the road, both the rumble and tilt will be available for both systems, it's only just a matter of time and money. All and all the money you save not having to buy a separate Blue Ray player when owning a PS3vmore then makes up for the 360's more affordable price range. The only deciding factor left is; what games would you rather play that are exclusive to your system

What ever it is you choose, know that it's YOUR decision, that doesn't mean you're right and everyone else is wrong. Some console biases out there are worst then Jehovah witnesses, it disgusts me.

Keep playing players; just don't tell me yours is better than mine.

Rumor Control

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:46:00 +0000

Hey hey all, well I havent posted in a while, so I wanted to update some people on current entertainment rumors and news.

Lest we start off by falsifying the Metal Gear Solid debuting on the XBox 360. Konami was apparently considering giving the 360 the rights to the new Metal Gear game because of sonys PS3 terrible shotrage problem. The head chief at Konami hear the rumor and denied that it was true, and thank god. Is nothing sacred anymore?

Next on the list is the talks about an animated Star Trek show, and yes, it's true. According to G4 TV the show takes place 100 years after Next Generation and will show a darker side of the Trek Universe.

Star Wars enthusiast are not being left out though, don't you worry, while Trek is going animated SW is going live action. It will be a show taking place (surprise surprise) 100 years after episode 6. This will infact be an on going tv series, not a mini series. The series will also be Canon, you can expect to see some plotlines on your home tube that you have in fact already read at home. I think everyone will at least be interested to see the pilot of the show, other then that who knows how long it may air for.

Other then me, who has been really excited for Assassins Creed? If your not sure what I'm talking about, I'm referring too Ubi Softs Gem for the PS3. What's so appealing about the game, well other then a couple of screen shots and some really kick ass CGI trailers, we know nothing about the game...until now! Some one let the cat out of the bag at ubi soft, and according to the grape vine the game is actually Si-Fi. Your trying to track down an old ancestor who use to be an assassin. so I guess you get to play both ends of the story, or at least I hope so. According to Ubi Soft, this will change the genre forever, how...I dont know, but I'm almost willing to believe them because Ubi Soft almost always delivers. Only time will tell.

Keep reading entertainment enthusiasts, just not about celebrity gossip.

Choose Other

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:41:00 +0000

Ok so after some investigation, I have found out one of the reasons that peopl aren't posting comments on my blog is because they are under the impression that they need to creat an account with blogger. This is not true. all you have to do to post a comment is click on comments, write in the little dialoge box and choose the option "other" and that way you dont need to creat an account. I am pleased to tell you this because I would love to hear from you all.

kepp posting comments people, just choose "other"

Bagpipes for the Win

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 04:55:00 +0000

Having been read a piece of Canadian history the other day, I can’t help but say our history is BORING. There was a battle in which we had men play the Bagpipes really loudly to scare away the enemy….and it worked! So were boring right, but it’s still a funny story, needless to say that tactic wouldn’t work so well nowadays, but it was innovative.

I mention this heroic bagpipe victory for transitional purposes only. I really want to talk about Canadian Politics vs American Politics. It seems to me that everyone around me is more A) Interested in or B) Informed on what’s going on in the States then what’s going on right here in Canada. Maybe because a lot of people are under the impression that the decisions the United States make will affect Canada, or maybe because, like history, Canadian politics are boring compared to American politics. This is mostly due to Canada not having a total retard leading our country.

Personally I think it’s the amount of exposure that America gets compared to Canada. I mean American news gets soooo much coverage it’s kind of gross when you think about it. Most of the shows we watch on TV are filmed in the States, Celebrity news ( which I personally think is a waste of time, I hate it ) is mostly about American celebrities, even movies that are filmed here are portrayed as some cities in the U.S, combined with the State of Florida ( where the weather is opposite of what we experience here ) I can see why people take such an interest in American culture and politics.

Taking into consideration that the majority of the population in Canada is made up of immigrants, I can see how Canadians would be more concerned with American politics because the U.S has relations with just about everyone right now. So naturally an immigrant would be more concerned with how America and X ( X being their native country) relations are doing, as apposed to Canada and X, because really, Canada is no bully.

Now my question to you, the reader, is, do you think most Canadians know what’s going on in Canada on a daily basis but would rather talk about American politics, or do you think the majority of the population ( which are immigrants) are more concerned with American politics because they are interested in how America is dealing with their native country?

Please post COMMENTS!!!

TJ out

Slung into Action

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 04:28:00 +0000

Ok, I’m playing NFS Most Wanted, know I know the game is old and we have all moved on to NFS Carbon, but the issues in both games are older then the original NFS. The bloody rubber band effect, my goodness when are they going to make a racing game without it.

For those of you who don’t know what this is, I’ll explain. When you’re in the lead in a racing game, the cars behind you get a “boost” to catch up to you, totally ignoring the lagging cars actual top speed. I think the last racing game not to have this wonder that Banjo Kazooie racing introduced to the world was the fist PGR. Then it was introduced to PGR 2 to make it more challenging.

Now I get why it was introduced in arcade style racing games, it’s not fun when you’re 2 laps ahead of the 2^nd place car, it’s really boring actually. BUT, when a Honda Civic fly’s by my Lamborghini Gallardo while it’s clocked at 200 mph I draw the line and just stop playing the game. WTF, why can’t developers figure out a way to regulate the rubber band effect to certain cars or even in certain conditions. Like while on a straight away they cannot catch up, maybe on turns they can be more technical and hit the apex of every turn which would in turn make me ( the player ) try to be more technical as well. I mean, I try to be as technical as possible, but when a fricken civic is trying to take me on a straight away my first and only reaction is to smash into it and make it one with the wall. It’s so angering.

Keep on playing players, Just not racing games with the rubber band effect.

Agent 007 is Back

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 23:26:00 +0000

After winning some money in poker and still in the beting mood, the boys and I decided to gamble on wathcing Casino Royale. Well it's safe to say we all came out winners. Finaly a 007 flick that doesnt rely on a Bond Missle to blow the audience away. Bond has found his roots again, with shear charisma and intelect getting him through yet another life and death situation, it was refreshing to see a Bond film not caked with CGI and invisible cars. James Bond has been (dare I say it) humanized, he was actually relatable, with professional street runner involved to lead the most exciting opening chase scene a movie can start with, Casino Royale was nail bitting to the end.

With all praise aside I must say, the story could have been a bit more clear, sometimes writteres and directors get so caught up in multiple plot fusion that it often gets lost in traslation, and I think thats definatly what happened here. 5 of us went to watch the movie and we all had different guess's as to what happened during the film, either we all missed something, or there was a loop hole written into the script and no one caught it during the editing procces. Aslo there was a character in the film who will be unnamed, I dont want to ruin the film for anyone who hasnt gone to see it yet, but the character was introduced one way and was the total opposite by the end of the movie, it would have been better if the character stayed the way they were introduced. You'll know who I'm talking about when you go to see the movie.

All in all the movie was great, if you're like me and not a fan of the Bond movies I assure you, you have nothing to worry about, it's my favourite Bond film to date.

Keep it fresh people, like the new Bond film.

Up Up and not so far away?

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 23:05:00 +0000

The curse continues as Superman Returns: The Game, plummets to the ground with a sad sad score of 4.1

Well what the hell do you expect when Superman’s biggest threat is a fucking giant Robot. Well what it comes down to is bad mechanics, lousy controls and graphics that would insult commodore 64. Long Live Batman Begins: The Game.

Keep playing players.

Bet ya just can't pick one!

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 04:18:00 +0000

Well today’s topic was inspired by a conversation I had in my head, that’s where I have most of my interesting conversations. When asked who my favorite comic book character is, I tend to have a really hard time answering. There are so many factors involved in making such a huge decision. I like so many, so what differs one from the other, personality, good, evil, black, white, these are all things to be considered.

Superman for example stands for everything noble. He’s a Universe hero, he not only save people in metropolis, he saves everyone in the world, it takes him 3.2 seconds to fly around the earth on a good day. Now a guy like Batman who also fights for everything good is more focused on Gotham City. It’s rare you see him acting out of his little nest he likes to call home. He vowed to clean up Gotham, not the world. I love old battsy, his origin, his constant struggle, the fact that he’s human. It’s that one little detail that separates Batman from most of the hero’s and villains that fill our pages. He’s unaltered, just a human with lots of brains and resources to make all his gadgets and gismos possible.

For just about my whole life I have wanted to be Wolverine, who hasn’t. He has healing powers which make him virtually impossible to kill, bones made of Addamantium, and this God damn claws are just about the coolest accessory a hero can possess. Most times he’s a vigilante, plays by his own rules, kills if he sees it necessary and doesn’t think twice about it. You can count on one hand how many times Logan has cried or regretted anything he has ever done. He’s a hard ass, but deep, deep down inside he loves. The X-Men have taught us that being different isn’t so bad after all, and they also taught us how to accept those who are different and not to be prejudice. Wolverine was defiantly apart of that lesson.

Magneto is one of my all time fav’ villains, he’s smart, fights for what he believes in and the guy is a war vet. The Joker is also on the top of that list because he makes reading batman entertaining. Lex Luthor’s portrayal in “Lex Luthor the Man of Steel” opened my eyes to a side of Lex I never even knew was there. He’s the only American president I actually like.

So you see, many questions branch off the original question; “who’s your favorite comic book character”. I’ve mentioned, aliens, humans, mutants, scientifically altered individuals to which I can all relate too. I am or would like to share some of the traits as all of the above characters. Being asked to pick just one is like being asked what my favorite condiment in a sandwich is. Take that one condiment away from the sandwich and it’s not as good, unless your Lisa thinking about cheese right now.

If I absolutely had to choose just one, it would have to be Superman (surprise surprise) I think a small part of us wants to save the world anyway we can, we want to be remembered, and we want to be loved. Superman almost mirrors the second coming of Christ. I don’t think I’ll live to see the day Christ walks the earth again, so I’ll take Superman thank you.

So I’m left with the burning question. Who’s your favorite character and why?

Please post comments, I’d love to here who your favorite character is, even if it’s not a comic character.

For the mother land!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 18:30:00 +0000

well ps3 has launched and all i can say is WTF! Other then "Resistance Fall of Man" the games are shit. camera angles are horrible, game mechanics are insulting compared to the ps1 and some of the graphics have no buisness being showcased on a next gen system. boourns i say to the developers of these huge let downs. Everyone knows what the ps3 is capable of, but one one is doing it, i think its pretty sad that we have to wait a full year before some next gen games are released. its the bloody x box 360 all over again. i think at this point in gaming life id rather buy 2 nintendo wii's and save 100 bucks.

keep on playing players...just not any ps3 games.

Fantastical Fantasy XII

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 22:29:00 +0000

Other than yelling out " Finaly an FF title thats better then 7" what else is there to say about FF12. Well, alot. We needed refrshing, captivating, and exciting and we definatly got it. If your like me and disliked FF10 because it just plain sucked and didnt live up to the recent FF titles, and you have been waiting for an rpg (never mind ff title) worth 80 hours of your precious time, then your boat has arrived. FF12 is by far the best looking game on the ps2 to date, and probably will go down as the best looking game due to the ps3 arriving.

After reading alot of reviews on FF12 I noticed that the only negative comments about the game is the newly introduced license system. The reviewers have been complaining that it's confusing. I think maybe if your 7 years old and have never played a video game before it might come off as alittle technical, but if you can add, or tie your own shoes or even pour milk in a cereal bowl without spilling all over the place, i think you will have no problem adjusting to the new license system. Honestly Kayla was playing the game with no problems. ( for those of you who dont know Kayla, she's my 10 year old sister)

if you have a surround sound system I encourage you to use it while playing the game. what an experience! I love the MMO feel to the game, I think it was a bold but brilliant move, and judging by player feed back it was the right move. It's time for developers to step up and make every game count, because with the price of consoles and accessories, gamers are going to pinch their penny's. And when they are willing to give up thier hard earned dollars you better believe it's going to be on a game that they feel is going to be revolutionary. Gears of war is a great exaple of just that revolution I'm talking about. 3rd person shooter will never be the same again, and with good reason, its time to move on. and the developers that refuse to move forward and instead make the same old game because of nastalgia, we will remember them as such. FF12 could easily be called a next gen game even though it's running on 11 year old hardware. I just hope this is the start of something good, if developers follow suite gamers will be much better off.

Keep playing, players.
TJ

me on the wall

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 08:15:00 +0000

fianly got a pic of my self conquring the V3. Im having a great time climbing I cant even express the feeling it gives me. some people want to fly, but I'd rather climb to heaven one rock at a time.

Digital Gangsta

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 07:40:00 +0000

Skills to pay the bills

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 03:32:00 +0000

This my good friend Warren running the V4 course on the 7 meter wall at Joe Rockheads. If you havent done rockclimbing before, I recommend you start right now.

Halo Director

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 01:12:00 +0000

Biggie ups to Yasin for the info.

This guy is Directing the new Halo movie. He's sick. check out his short Tetra. Amazing animation, I like the concept of the short as well. check him out and his video if you want a taste of what Halo movie has in store for us

Rocky Mountains

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 23:16:00 +0000

I'd like to start off by saying, Rock Star is just getting desperate .
I've had all that I can take from those little bitches. Why do they feel the need to be contravercial all the time, why can't they just make a good fucking game and be done with it. oh well.

So I have been rock climbing as of late, and I have to say I'm in love with it. I'll never go to a gym again. I am also getting excited about Guitar Hero 2. Thats going to be goos times. Big ass Base here I come.

I'm working on this piece right now. It's taking me a little while because I have been busy, but it will get done. I'm only painting the picture, it was penciled and inked by someone else. I have my second test and Seneca tomorrow night, pretty excited about that, a little worried too, there is a drawing test. I just hope they dont ask me to draw any animals, that will suck. Anywho, time to go, live long, prosper, all that jazz.

The Posse

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 23:57:00 +0000

This is probably ranked in the top 3 of my favourite pictures of all time. I was about 16 here and norman and tom were 14. Crazy how the years fly by when your not paying attention. I still remember the day that picture was taken. Good times good times.

They call it Poison

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 15:17:00 +0000

So I go to this party on saturday and I get food poisoning. I spent all day yesterday bowing to the porcelin god and sleeping. Thanks! Now I cant eat anything solid until tuesday night.

Ran across this link on vg cats, they are a commador 64 music band. The Monkey Island theme song has never sounded so good before. Norman, I recommend you check out Q-unit. Strictly for entertainment purposes.

The Uploading begins

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 18:12:00 +0000

Well I'm at home sick with Bronchitis so I figured this would be a good time to start posting some art. I dont have alot so i'll put up one or two a week . Click on the image for the full sized piece.

This was done in PhotoShop using a mouse. I started off with a blank canvas and worked with mulitiple layers. It took about 40 minuets.

First Post.

noreply@blogger.com (Clutch) — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 05:45:00 +0000

Holy shit I can't beleive I have fallen into the " Ya I have a blog" category. I guess it was just my time. This wont be a daily thing, that I promise, it'll probably be a weekly thing. My blogs are mostly going to be videogame and art related.

As part of my first entry I'd like to share with everyone that i finally pulled my self to finish Kingdom Hearts 2 and I have to say I can't help but feel a little violated. There were some really REALLY intimate moments between Sora and Riku. The game was a total disappointment and the strategy guide was the most useless waste of paper ever printed on, it's also the most expensive door stop I have ever purchased. I'll never play the game again, but i'll keep it in my library for my little sister to play, I don't think she will catch on to the gay vibe as quickly as I.

For anyone interested in some really good drawing instructional tutorials or books visit
http://www.animationarchive.org
There is some information that can help you out in so many ways.