April 2006 Archives

I'm packing up house and clearing out. Off to a new life and need to fund it. My favourite possession is my old faithful iBook special edition. Made from hardened resin and kevlar compound this model is near indestructible.

If you've ever wanted to own a Mac or a piece of history this is your chance. Those who know me are aware of how well I keep my possessions, this is gonna be sore to miss. I only ask $500.

Questions? leave a comment or email me.

I loved this newspaper report. When animals attack! What chance do you have of getting bitten by a Golden Retriever? How about a Dolphin? What do you think you'd have to do to piss off an Orang-utan. Hey, spray it with cold water in a cold climate!

You'd have to be the most hated person in the world to be bitten by one of these guys. Seriously, they are pretty pissed about being taken away from their environment. Wouldn't you take a nab at someone who keeps you away from relatives?

Seems I had it all wrong, thank someone there are mathematicians about to solve marriage crisis.

NEXT time you and your partner cannot agree, agree to disagree and move on.

Research shows that couples who compromise the least usually stay together the longest.
In the US, marriage counsellors are being retrained in the way they counsel couples.

"A lot of therapies focus on empathy and the idea that if your partner has done something you should be empathetic," Sydney University mathematician Clio Cresswell said.

"Mathematics is showing in fact that the people that stand their ground in conversations ... that stick to their guns or high standards are actually fighting for a better outcome."

Dr Cresswell will explore this theory, and whether there is a formula for the perfect orgasm next month in a free public lecture as part of the 2006 Sydney Science Forum on May 17.

Not only can they assist like this, i'm fascinated in knowing how a mathematician can provide a formula for the perfect orgasm!

Water + Hops + Yeast + Malt + Barley x 9 to the power of 2 = Perfect Orgasm

When someone asks me about why I get tattooed, I'm gonna refer them to this site to take the heat off me. That's not dedication and they definitely don't look like fans.

I got an email. I realised it is about the same topic so many share.

There are two things I've learnt that will destroy you. Procrastination and pessimism. I'm a known risk taker. Artists are known risk takers. That's what seperates us from the rest. We move ahead with the unknown in mind, whilst the rest remain behind us letting fear drive them. I've only learnt about these two things and how they once drove me in many ways. Human nature unfortunately has developed to focus on the darker side to life. The things that you fear. Instead of taking the steps forward, you actually are taking steps back. Pessimism it seems is todays new virus. Procrastination is sparked by it.

I realised that having noticed it myself, i quickly change my attitude before both have the chance of settling in. Once they are on your mind they take a hold that is harder as time goes on to reverse. With my work i still struggle to journal/entertain whilst having to look at life in so many different ways be they cynical, pessimistic or truthful.

Thousands of years ago society looked to artists as advisors and as windows to the future. They sought comfort in knowing that these people had great vision as the world developed along the way. DaVinci was the most famous of these with great foresight and inspiration.

Progressively over the years societies fear grew and they looked to economists to help them predict the future. What does that say about us? do we not believe the artists? what kind of faith has been or gone? economists have predicted eight of the last two downfalls. Can you name an economist that has inspired the world for better?

Are people scared by artists? is it because we are optimistic? is it because we challenge thoughts so much? or is it because we choose not to fear and live life as a rollercoaster. As I grow, the stronger the ability to shed slight where there is dark. I've been on a rollercoaster these past 3 years that has taken me to newer heights and greater lows. I now have new benchmarks and more to set. Is that something to be scared by. It seems to scare others more than me. I'd rather people stand beside me than behind me. Better to surround yourself with a positive energy than to be brought down with those who will drain you. Look around you, have your friends changed? was that for a reason? do they need to change?

I'm lucky that even when i feel drained myself, i have friends who lend me their time and energy to bring me back to life.

Nothing is impossible. It's only impossible until someone makes it possible.

For the email, please ignore your thoughts. You are doing the right thing. Only you will be able to make your efforts fruitful. Have more faith in yourself and your artwork will develop in time. The greatest lesson i learned in art school was not to show my work to family or friends. They're not the ones you should impress. You need to impress yourself.

For the rest of you on this rollercoaster, let's rock!

I needed to get out tonight and away from the drawing table. Thought this might interest those whove asked where I live. This is a shot from the end of my street. Bloddy lights are annoying. Wish they'd turn them off so I could get some sleep...

I'll let you guess where this is taken from. Google Earth you geeks!

For the internationals this is an inner city wharf where the local harbour ferry is about to come in. I just missed it.

I was having coffee with Mr K yesterday, we were discussing people and cancer. Something I wish I had known earlier was what the hell cancer looked like. Well thanks to modern technology here is a snapshot of some rare tumors found in me.

Creepy huh? What ever you put your mind to is what will happen. If you think you'll die from cancer you're only telling your body to give in. Imagine what could happen if you stayed positive about it? I could write a whole story about it but i'll save it for another day. In the meantime I suggest you choose your own destiny.

Retro fashion and art has always been a favourite of mine. Ever since I was racing motorcross (I started at the age of 5) I have worn Oakley eyewear. I was wrapped to know that they are expanding their RX range of O-Matter and in particular there was a style I was after that was not in the country as yet. So a call was made to Oakley Australia and they ordered them in for me especially. I picked up my new specs last week. The proud owner of Gasket frames.

Not only am I a cartoonist, I am starting to look like one.

Tomorrow will be ANZAC Day, my grandfather was part of Australia's military force even though he was a kiwi. Of all things to come to mind during this rememberance day i can't help but sing an old song that a legendary Australian made a hit some time ago. It was number one in the UK charts for seven weeks. Two little boys. With a song title like that you'd get arrested these days. But the nice thing about the song is it's about mateship and rings true to the spirit which makes us Australian. I recommend you to seek out the song for yourselves and listen to it. You can read the lyrics for it here.

And if you haven't already been there, visit a fellow colleague. Rolf has a website even at the age 0f 76! Hear that Fletch you slacker!

Oh, Denton did a great interview with Rolf. I had no idea that Van Gogh was his uncle!

Something I wish I had written, but Mr Kroeger beat me there...

Well I’d rather start off slow This whole thing’s like some sort of race Instead of winning what I want I’m sitting here in second place

Because somewhere
the one I wanna be with’s
with somebody else
Oh god, I wanna be that
someone that you’re with
I wanna be that someone
that you’re with
And I can talk about it all day long
‘til I run out of breath
But I still wanna be that
someone that you’re with
I’ve got to be that
someone that you’re with
And I’m pacing by the phone
‘Cause I hate to be alone
And if you’re out there with him
somewhere and just about to kiss
God I wanna be that
someone that you’re with

Well I hear your favorite songs
you sing along with everyday
And I borrow things that
I don’t need for conversation sake
Last night I heard your key,
it hit your lock at 4 AM
Instead of being out with me
you must be out with them

nothing like shared frustrations huh? ;)

I started life with nothing and yet still have most of it. But if the good things in life are free then why am i so broke :(

I'm responding to what many freelance ask me when we get together or simply communicate over email. The common question amongst many has been what do I charge. I've written before about how to calculate your time and there are some set prices recommended by the Australian Cartoonists' Association. I thought I'd cover another area that I'm sure will upset some as I reveal another secret that freelancers keep to themselves.

It is perfectly okay to ask for a budget. When a client calls to get a quote you should always ask if they have a set budget to adhere to. In many cases a corporation is given guidelines on expenditure and the more intelligent client will work with you on enhancing what they get given their budget. Still there are a lot of clients out there that are newbies to the scene and are very cautious when they are asked for a budget. Their belief is that your quote will match their budget rather than you giving them a price up front for the task.

There has been a real boom in the industry or change in what companies we are now dealing with. Public Relations companies are now starting to expand in to traditional areas that would normally be covered by Advertising Agencies or Direct Marketing companies. Unfortunately with this comes staff who are unfamiliar with how to deal with the creative industry and tend to talk or haggle their way to get a quote.

Too many times in the past year have I had the unfortunate circumstance of having to deal with clients who have no clear defintion of what the final product is they want or what they are trying to achieve. Gone are the days of being given a creative brief that could be quoted and fulfilled without hesitation. Now the trend seems to be that an idea sparks a thought which is passed on via chinese whispers to a staff member who must now complete the project with no real idea on budget or goal set in place.

Here is something that I hope will set in place a way of weeding out the clients who will be worth working for. Lets find those who have a budget or close to one in mind. At least they know what talks.

If the client cannot answer what their budget is, try asking this...

What has been spent on similar projects?
At least this will give you an idea if they have done something similar before.

What is the annual budget and how does this project fit into it?
Here you're asking for a measuring stick ie. if they say the budget is $100,000 per year then you can roughly estimate how much they're used to spending.

You need this information to provide an accurate quote. If this seems to become an issue sorting out the money side of the commission then it is a safe bet that the job will be a painful one. Every client I take on board now must be organised enough to be able to inform me of a rough budget, timescale and a brief that I can work with to create the final product without hassle.

My maternal side of the family come from Patea, New Zealand. My Grandfather taught me leather carving before he passed away many years ago. I've recently gone back to some carving to help break my routine up. So for those who asked, when I ain't drawing i'm carving leather. And yes this is a Tiki.

I haven't actually shown myself with the cherrybomb red in my hair to some yet. This concludes yet another style and colour to my library of interesting shades to date. Kind of shudder when I see the photos that appeared in the papers. Can't be as bad as when The Age wrote that article and then included a photo of some bald dude in my place! Ha.

I actually didn't read that many comics when I was a kid. I was much more active and tended to play more outside than hang around indoors. Though when it came to that time of the afternoon, i'd be running home to watch the ABC channel as they had the best lineup of cartoons during the week. Recently I came across a scent I could smell in the air that gave me quick flash backs to my youth. For some weird reason this led to thought after thought running through my childhood memories of things like this ...Baron Karza!

I actually had this figurine. I was into alot of japanese animation as a kid. One of my best childhood friends was chinese and his father would import or buy videos whilst visiting the homeland and bring them back. Many school holidays were spent swimming and playing around until you were too tired to do anything else. Then we were found inside watching the latest BETA vids. I had no idea what the hell was being said as it wasn't translated but it was the best time I'd had. It was a shame that TV here didn't play as much anime as they could have.