Video game controllers play a big part in the success or failure of a video game console, like that nasty Atari Jaguar joystick. Now that had you thinking, “WTF Atari?” I’m somewhat of a video-game gal, but I don’t remember any video game consoles before the 1990s, unlike my fellow Retrenders super-blogger Stephen Jang, he’s an old-fart. I’m just kidding. This is a super-duper geeky photo project by artist/designer Javier Laspiur. “Controllers” is a photo history of video game consoles through the eyes of the controllers or joysticks, if you prefer calling it that.
Video Game Controller History by Javier Laspiur
July 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Viral Video Friday: Getaway Day – Trip to Mexico
July 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment
With all the hustle and bustle that is all things San Diego Comic-Con, I can’t wait for my comp days! And this video reminds me the need to getaway.
Gallery Nucleus: Heroes In A Half Shell Celebration
July 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Way back in the 1980s when Mirage Comics published Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s creation The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, nobody had any idea how big these green turtles would get in pop-culture. From all the movies, cartoons, toy lines and other merchandising, the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still here today kicking butt.
On July 12, 2014 in Alhambra, CA, Gallery Nucleus and Nickelodeon presented an “official” TMNT art exhibition for the 30th Anniversary. Over 30 artists were involved showcasing TMNT artwork. Also featured, were production stills, memorabilia, storyboards and many other neat things from Nick’ cartoon series. In collaboration with our LA outfit Project 760 Productions we give TMNT-fans a glimpse of what happened at the event.
Interactive Art – Musical LED Swings on Tour
July 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Even as an adult seeing a swing set on a playground can just bring out the kid in all of us. These special swing set installations have LED lights and plays music. The Swings – An Exercise in Musical Cooperation project was developed by Daily Tous Les Jours, a Montreal-based design studio.
The Art of Films: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes & Rise of the Planet of the Apes
July 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment
As I kid, I remember watching Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston on TV and like Star Wars, Star Trek and Buck Rogers made an sci-fi impression on me. And then I got all excited in 2001, with Tim Burton’s vision of Planet of the Apes and that was hot mess of suck, kind of like X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Now after many years, 20th Century FOX has gotten the re-boot Planet of the Apes franchise in the right direction. To celebrate, Titan Books publishes The Art of the Films: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes & Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Turn My Hat into a Artful Face Mask
July 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Let’s see, take my baseball cap and my old raggy sweatshirt and turn it into a face-mask, so I look like a bank robber. Not really, this is art and wearable for the icy cold weather. Artist Shin Murayama latest project is: Yankees Extreme Cold Weather Face Mask Unissued 2014.
Only 8 of 8 produced and sold in Japan!
London Calling: House of Vans
July 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Like the one in Brooklyn, New York, kicks-maker VANS will be opening a House of Vans in London on August 9th, 2014. Not only will there be an in-door skate park, but a venue for musicians and artists alike. So the next time you take the Tube in London, stop at Waterloo Station.
The 30,000 square feet palace will be hipster fresh. Tunnel One will feature an art gallery; Tunnel Two will have the VansLab artist studios and a 100 person capacity screening room; Tunnel Three will hold a music stage for around 850 concert-goers and of course, a bar; Tunnel Four will hold the in-door skate park and restaurant/cafe; and Tunnel Five will hold another in-door skate park.
For more information, go to: House of Vans – London.
The Art of Fred Gambino: Dark Shepherd
July 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Do you know who Fred Gambino is? I admit I don’t, but I’ve probably seen his work on book covers, video games and films. You will now know who he is with this Titan Books release – The Art of Fred Gambino: Dark Shepherd.
This is not a typical art book collection of personal works, it also includes Fred’s own personal passion project – his screenplay, concept art and snippet graphic novel intro to Dark Shepherd. Along with this, there are various paintings, illustrations, sketches, Photoshop images and book art covering Fred’s career with commentary.
The Typewriter is BACK by Qwertytoys
July 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I remember my dad telling me word processing was different in his time, like they had these ancient machines called “typewriters.” What no cut and paste? No spell check or auto-grammar correct? How could you live with yourself? Turning term papers and thesis must have been nuts! But now if you want that “old-school” feeling Qwerkytoys has got it! Introducing the Qwertywriter – the typewriter-inspired product.
Travel Gear with Pilot & Captain
July 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
If you find yourself traveling the country this summer by bus, car, plane or train and in need of getting gifts for family and friends, or just yourself, then make sure you check out this Philly outfit Pilot & Captain. From the award-winning design house The Heads of State, the founders Dustin Summers and Jason Kernevich stamp their own design touch to Pilot & Captain. Just dropping into Pilot & Captain are new molded souvenir magnets, postcards, mugs and notebooks.
Pilot & Captain Magnet – MSRP: $4.99USD each
Pilot & Captain Postcard Pack – MSRP: $15.00USD
The Doodle Artist – WalgDP
July 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It’s all about textures and layers for this doodling artist. Currently living in Singapore, artist Dhanedra, Dhan aka WalgDP gets his ideas from film, comics, and games.
Food & Music in SF’s Mission District
June 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Celebrate food and music in this happy and trippy music video. By the musician/teacher DJ Overeasy. He records the sights and sounds of San Francisco’s Mission District and mixes it up to give us “Mission Foodiez”.
Dwell on Design LA 2014
June 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Our special guest host Anett Mende takes on the biggest modern home/office living event Dwell on Design LA 2014. The 3-day design showcased over 2,000 products and our Spotlight crew highlight products that caught our attention.
More from FanimeCon 2014!!!
June 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Here’s more videos from FanimeCon 2014! Interview with Hayashi from Akai Sky an indie-American Jrock band.
The Artist Series: NEW ERA x Kid Cudi
June 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Look fly with this NEW ERA’s Artist Series collab with musician/actor Kid Cudi. It features a couple of cool looking snapback hats and urban-style backpack. Check this video as Kid Cudi explains his vision and thoughts about his NEW ERA Artist Series Collection.
Dwell on Design LA – June 20-22, 2014
June 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
This week is Dwell on Design LA at the LA Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The home living/modern design hipster chic event will take place from June 20-22, 2014. Our Retrenders Spotlight will be back in action to cover the 3-day event and bring all the cool stuff from Dwell on Design LA.
The Xeric Award Winning Web Comic – Pang by Ben Costa
June 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
At FanimeCon’s Artist Alley we find artist Ben Costa with 2 published comics already. His Xeric Award Winning Web Comic follows Pang, a Shaolin Monk in 17th Century China.
Realistic Pokémon Art by RJ Palmer
June 14, 2014 by 1 Comment
If you ever wondered how Pokemon animals would look like in real life? Well, artist RJ Palmer draws many of the Pokemon animals in a real-world realistic way. A mix of art, imagination and paleontology by artist RJ Palmer.
Our host Ramon Angel interviews RJ Palmer at FanimeCon 2014.
You can follow RJ’s work at: arvalis.deviantart.com
Carhartt WIP x P.A.M. Ladies’ Collection
June 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Carhartt is known for their blue-collar working man’s clothes like jackets, jeans and overalls. Over the years they branched into skate/street wear and now Carhatt WIP will introduce their very first ladies’ capsule collection. Carhatt WIP will team-up with fashion label Perks and Mini (P.A.M.) for this women’s apparel line. The collection features graphic tees, shirts, dresses, jackets, pants, caps and VANS shoes.
Calvin & Hobbes Bill Watterson Returns, Sort of …
June 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I look at my cousins now who grew up in the 2000s, I know that technology has spoiled them from the sleek smartphones, the sexy iPads, the 4G speed, and the big-screen LCDs. I grew up without the internet and like many kids went out to the playground or played baseball with my brother. But the most enjoyable memories was waiting to get our hands on the Sunday newspaper with my siblings. Of course, we would dig through all the cool Toys R Us ads, the Sports Section, but also the Sunday comics section. One section was just dedicated to cartoon strips like Peanuts, Garfield, Doonesbury, Hagar, Beetle Bailey, and others. Out of all the comic strips we liked was Calvin & Hobbes. I used to cut out the strip from the newspaper and collect it into a photo album, until they published trade paperbacks of Calvin & Hobbes. Every time my family was at the mall, I would directly head to the bookstore like Barnes & Noble and make my mom buy me a Calvin & Hobbes trade paperback.
The Art of John Harris: Beyond The Horizon
June 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
If you read lots of science-fiction books from authors like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Nova, Orson Scott Card and John Scalzi, there is usually a beautifully painted cover book art of the galaxy, outer space world or spaceship and that artist is John Harris. The Art of John Harris: Beyond The Horizon is a collection of his many works since the 1970s.
The Art of Watch Dogs
June 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The video game media went bonkers when Ubisoft unveiled Watch Dogs at E3 2012. The much anticipated and delayed game is now finally out and does it live up to the hype? I don’t know yet, but will get on my hands on a copy for my Xbox 360 soon. Just a quick note, you can also look for our review of Watch Dogs by our Retrenders video game guru Ramon Angel soon. But for now, I’m reviewing the release of The Art of Watch Dogs published by Titan Books.
In Watch Dogs, the GTA-type game, you play hacker anti-hero Aiden Pearce. Now on the path of revenge he uses Chicago’s Central Operating System (ctOS) to hack into security cameras, lock doors, control traffic lights, locate targets of interest and grab information on his enemies. The city of Chicago is now your playground.
The Paleoart of Julius Csotonyi
June 4, 2014 by 2 Comments
“Fossils are evidence of prehistoric life written in stone.” Dr. David C. Evans
Dinosaurs and extinct animals have always captured my imagination as a child. I’ve played with dinosaur toys, pretended to be a dinosaur, drew dinosaurs and read lots of dinosaur books. Plus I’ve spent many hours watching dinosaur specials on National Geographic and Animal Planet. The kid in me always wondered how an artist can draw extinct animals so realistically and prehistoric landscapes? This is where Paleontology comes in, the merging of art and science to paint an ancient environment. “The Paleoart of Julius Csotonyi” collects the top works of Paleoartisan Julius Csotonyi.
X-Men: Evolution Steven E. Gordon @ Big Wow! ComicFest 2014
May 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
One of the most popular Marvel cartoons was X-Men: Evolution which lasted 4 seasons (52 episodes) on Kids’ WB from 2000-2003. Our Ramen host Eddie Ballar interviews well-known artist Steven E. Gordon who was the Character Designer of Evolution. The show that gave birth to X-23, Steven talks about his role and what it was like working on X-Men: Evolution.
Fold & Glue: Square Headz
May 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Build your very own paperboard designer toy figure with Square Headz. Square Headz made its debut at the Big Wow! ComicFest 2014 showing off their simple and fun product. Just a warning – there is assembly required and you need a stick of glue.
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