the world of uberpup

Madge Artwork

2012-02-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

She can't act or direct but god damn she does a good album cover.

Plush legends

2012-01-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

Just when you think you have made good work, these people come along and kick you in the face.

Uberpup Archive of Stupidity

2012-01-03T01:28:00.000-08:00

Olivia Bee Image

2011-11-09T06:40:00.000-08:00

I love this image so much.

Toyball alphabet

2011-08-12T03:15:00.000-07:00

I'm quite pleased with this, it might even make it into my portfolio.

Can't Start, Won't Start: Tricks for Overcoming Procrastination

2011-08-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

Can't Start, Won't Start: Tricks for Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination is the bane of my life.

LDN

2011-08-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

London was on fire for a bit.

felty letters

2011-08-05T02:46:00.000-07:00

Trippy textile art

Too Much Choice

2011-08-04T04:03:00.000-07:00

Typographic meltdown

2011-08-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

what could I do to make it more insane?

This is more random and intense yeah?

Acid is bad for typography

pixies pop typography

2011-07-28T03:30:00.000-07:00

Trying to not go mad with long soul destroying projects, I decided to try some small scale (i.e quick) typography work based on pop songs, slogans, any phrases I like. The first is from the Pixies. Obviously Morrissey and Bowie will be done typographically speaking as how can I not?

Zim and Zou: Back to Basics

2011-07-19T02:10:00.000-07:00

They mean the 80's technology in paper form. It's brilliant. Looky here.

These People Look Like Fun

2011-03-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Stitches and Glue, make disgustingly good hand made limited edition plush monsters, complete with claws. You can even buy a monster rug from them. That beats IKEA's product line any day.

Loves it! Sam Pierpoint

2011-02-01T06:45:00.000-08:00

Nowt much to say apart from blimey this work is shit hot.

Patti Smith covers Smells Like Teen Spirit in god like genius way

2010-11-17T17:08:00.001-08:00

Walter-a-Thon Crafting Event @ Wikia San Francisco

2010-11-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

Yes you heard right. Walter had a craft event held in his honour. Wikia staff made all sorts of versions of Walter for your delectation. Walter might have an identity crisis at this point. But we will put him therapy if multiple personalities develop in the non armed robot.

Leave the beer alone!

Army of Walters!

Teenage Fanclub-Everything Flows(Acoustic Version)

2010-11-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

90's nostalgia music alert now, as this was the first version I heard of Teenage Fanclub's Everything Flows. It is the best version in my opinion. Finally found it again after spending a good couple of years looking for it. My brother bought the vinyl and I listened to it endlessly when I was a pathetic teenager. I also remember the cover photo - I never realised just how much I loved the image.

Walter - Robot Wikian

2010-11-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

what are you looking at huh?

Walter - a robot I designed for San Francisco company Wikia. The mother of a Wikia employee liked Walter so much that she decided to create him in 3d for all of us to behold.
Sadly Walter has no arms. He seems to be coping well with this fact.
See more of Walter in the Wikia office here.

Setting up Cellspace Residency exhibition

2010-11-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

I am back in London after my residency. So lots of posts to come documenting my demented San Francisco experience.
It took me 10 hours of sticking stuff to walls.
Thanks to Julia Rice who helped me set up and took these spiffing pictures!

Open Studios - Uberpup carnage!!!!

2010-10-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

My plush machinations had a late one!
Thanks to the Pirate for this most ridiculous exhibition idea at Cellspace open studios on the 9th and 10th of October 2010.

Yes I know this is late, I have only got round to going through my camera now my project is over. That's right, it is OVA ( to use overly dramatic stupid text speak. ) Now I have a week to do absolutley nothing - bar trying to get up in the morning and exist.

Pictures of the World of Uberpup @ Cellspace debacle to be posted later this week for all you lucky, lucky people.

Wow, they drank a lot of poor quality beer

Look at the disgusting mess they have made

If the TV had worked I would have had Jeremy Kyle playing

Plush toys play hard!

The World of Uberpup @ Cellspace 21st October 2010

2010-09-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Uberpup Work House of Terror

2010-09-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

Started making plush toys for my residency....

Fishermans Wharf

2010-09-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

view from Municipal Pier

Alcatraz!!

Cali Jelly Fish

2010-09-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

As seen at the California Academy of Sciences. They also have penguins. So there.

Breakfast!!!

2010-09-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

I ate this!

San Francisco snappy snaps

2010-09-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

View along Eddy street on the way to the "art walk' at Fillmore street.
Art walk lasted about 10 mins, but involved free wine and cheese combined with street dancing.
Nice.

Hot Pink Fuzz @ Giant Robot San Francisco

2010-09-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

Well Uberpup has wondered about in San Francisco and found this amazing exhibition of epic felt mashed up machinations displayed in the Giant Robot store. Look at all the pretty colors..........

Uberpup is off to San Francisco for 2 months...

2010-08-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

You heard right, the pupster is jet-setting to complete an artist residency in SF.
I will be away from 1st September and back on 1st November.
If I can I will try to update this blog with work in progress for my residency project!

factual depiction of Uberpup's trip to San Francisco

Paper Cuts

2010-06-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

My arms hurt after all of this pointless paper cutting.

Animating a Blockbuster: How Pixar Built Toy Story 3

2010-06-07T02:48:00.000-07:00

Animating a Blockbuster: How Pixar Built <em>Toy Story 3</em>

'Cardboard is the new paint' - Picasso 1920

2010-06-03T03:42:00.000-07:00

Look here, I designed some nifty Laaandon themed artwork for a commercial office space in Shoreditch town with the help of those brilliant art employers Acrylicize. Look they only went and made the piece out of flipping cardboard/ MDF/ glue and other materials taken from the locker of defunct late 90's horrendous BBC interior design show Changing Rooms. Somewhere Handy Andy is crying in his sleep.

It looks totally cool, so chuffed with the final work. Thanks to Acrylicize who make insane artwork dreams come true!

Non significant pop post

2010-05-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

Pop scientist Cathy Dennis co-wrote cat warbler Diane Vickers' recent number one single 'once'.
This explains why the song has embedded itself into my skull without my permission. Seriously this is a problem as I would like to listen to something else now.

Sarah Illenberger is going to make you spew

2010-04-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

This work is awe inspiring. The use of paper and assorted multi media materials composed into subtle, mysterious sets are mesmerizing. Her work sort of reminds me of those conceptually impenetrable Benson & Hedges advertisements taken by Duffy donkeys years ago.
She also gives good face in her publicity photo. Surreal set design constructions can only be a good thing.

I can't think of a smug title for this post - mural design by the pupster

2010-04-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

I designed a mural for a NHS community hospital in Braintree. Some people spent a long time and a lot of effort to paint it by hand, on a very large wall. It's now completed and apparently its massive. I'll post the completed work on uberpup.net. That's where all the premium content goes for the avid 6 readers browsing my portfolio.

Olivia Bee

2010-03-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

Found this photographer via Dazed and Confused, but other bloggers have picked up on her. Quite rightly too.This girl is 15 years old. Love the use of light in her work. She clearly has a fantastic eye for composition and editing selected work with real flair. Her friends, who feature in her photographs and films, conveniently look like they fell out of a Marc Jacobs' ad campaign. When I was 15 I had achieved precisely zero artistic sensibility, which makes her precocious talent all the more slightly infuriating. Just to recap, this person is still AT SCHOOL LEARNING STUFF. Just imagine what her work will be like in 5 - 10 years time, when she will still be young, but even better than you and me put together.

Cute Merchandise Alert

2010-01-16T09:17:00.001-08:00

A new post for a new decade. My blog exile has ended. I am terrible at new years resolutions. So I haven't made any, thereby avoiding inevitable disappointment in this particular area. I have got loads of projects on the go - and I have managed to update my portfolio. Expect the remnants to end up on here in happy obscurity.

As you can tell from past posts, I have a fondness for anything eye candy and mildly cute. What can I say I'm shallow and stupid. None of this conceptual art cack, but dedicate a small room to Takashi Murakami in the Tate Modern's Pop Life exhibition, and I am there. The barriers of entry to creating a cute character is low. How hard can it be? Put some eyes on a manky old tennis ball and hey, you have a character! Of course it's not that easy. It has to have a personality. It has to connect with the public. Product choice is important too. You can't just slap any old character onto a product, you know like a machete or cheese. Although a Hello Kitty machine gun is well over due and would be worth the wait for sheer audacity.

No you have to pick your products, brands and collaborators carefully. Then watch the sales explode if it works.

Look above and see the exciting brand collaboration between Gola and monster cutey pie illustrator titans Tado. See the results of this rather unpredictable pairing here. Seriously, this doesn't make sense but it doesn't have to. Fans of Tado will flock to it, and existing customers of Gola who don't necessarily know about cutting edge illustration, will purvey a refreshed product line for this season and spend. Gola get Tado's credibility to rub off on them in a dirty capitalist type of way. Notice that Gola, have also tapped Eboy for some pixel action. Who will they phone up next? Clever Gola.

Tokidoki ridiculous brand extension

2009-10-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

Wow pure genius, limited edition Karl Largerfield Tokidoki toys! They should do one with Posh Spice to create a fashion alien skeletor toy. That would be beyond magnificent!

ATA Designs New Collection

2009-09-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

The incredibly talented designer Annette Taylor Anderson has a new collection out entitled New York Reflections. ATA designs will be busy at Designers Bloc k for this year's London Design Festival where you can see the new collection. My personal favourite is the fantastic 'City Works' interior products on display with Urban Upholstery. Plus if that's not enough, Annette recently designed a beautiful poster for TFL. So prolific it puts me to shame!

A decade of Big Brother | the logo

2009-09-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

A decade of Big Brother |
Now that the pure mind filth of channel four's cacktastic Big Brother is ending, here is a really decent article on how the logo changed over the last 10 years. I like the testcard version myself.

Lasseter preaches fail-safe philosophy

2009-08-31T15:54:00.001-07:00

How cool would it be to work at Pixar?

Lasseter preaches fail-safe philosophy

Posted using ShareThis

A watch you might find in Argos

2009-08-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

Second CGI attempt. Modelling was fine but texturing was a bitch. My mac also started to generate fire when rendering which is not good for healthy living.

Disgusting Ego Boost

2009-08-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

I stepped off the tube on Friday and walked into my art work for the Big Chill Festival 2009 on a billboard! Cue surprise and a fuzzy warm feeling.

A modo car

2009-08-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Took a while, but the frustration and fists of anger were worth it as I did get the hang of basic modelling in the end. Currently making a watch then will attempt my own character(!)

Bird of Prey (with fetching Mohawk)

2009-07-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try out felting as another method to develop and model characters.
Yesterday I trundled to the make lounge to a felting class and made a deformed birdy. All you need is wool rove, a felting needle and a foam pad. You stab the model using the needle repeatedly until you sculpt the shape into the desired form. If you like stabbing things then this is the craft form for you.

I am all ready planning to try out some simple character ideas with this technique. Plus with a wire or pipe cleaner armature the model can have a degree of movement, which is a big bonus for animation.

Here are the other methods to create characters in 3d:
1. cgi modelling in modo (steep learning curve_large amounts of tutorials, long process to get to a final rendered image)
2.hand sewing felt plush models (fun, must try to do more!)
3. plasticine modelling with wire frames (not that stressful, but hard to stop colors merging, getting figures to stand, and its very difficult to work in small scale)

All of them are valid methods to make weird creatures depending on the project.

Any way I hope to get better at this felting gubbins.

Uberpup Empire colonizes part of Heathrow (British Airways Kids Lounges to be exact)

2009-06-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here is documentary evidence for my latest Uberpup project commission, art work for British Airways Kids lounges in Heathrow, Terminal 3 and 5. Proper photos to come in a decade or so.

I have been working honestly

2009-05-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Putting up some evidence to prove that I am being productive, not just eating biscuits while listening to the entire back catalogue of Adam and Joe. It's a bit of character design, which took down my computer in the process. Ah, to go down in a blaze of glory! Made myself learn the pen tool after putting it off for five years. It really is worth learning.

Btw: I have realized this is my third post in a month which is a shocking rate of frequency. I must apologize it won't happen again!

a very good thing: Adam and Joe

2009-05-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ah there is a god.
Look at the comic goodies I found. Excellent.

The Flower! The Flower!

2009-05-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

I have been so flipping busy with random work, that I have had to neglect this blog for those two people who might happen to scan it on the web by mistake on a rainy day.

Any way, I was looking on Print Pattern (an almighty source for everything surface design), and I magpied the work of Nadia Flower. Her work is so good it makes you hurt, adding weight to any inferiority complexes you might harbor about your own pathetic existence. Spent an enjoyable hour going through her blog peepshow and puppets. I especially love the watercolor abstractions and compositions, evocative and delicate, I could stare at them all day.

Muppet Fashion literally

2009-03-11T11:15:00.001-07:00

Muppet decapitation on the fashion runway! By designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's Paris fashion show for fall 2009 RTW collection. See more insanity here. Total eclecticism, mixed in with a liberal dollop of pop iconography and kookiness made for mad people who can afford to wear frog head bands! For more JCC's website is pure gold.

Work in progress

2009-03-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

These are my house designs for the Moops (the space minstrels see below.) I messed around with all the different methods of colouring and shading.

Hiroshi Yoshii

2009-02-16T14:23:00.001-08:00

I am staying true to form, managing a paltry ratio of one blog post per month! How do people blog everyday? But this rambling aside I found a ray of light from heaven itself! A fantastic cgi character artist, discovered by the 'pup while reading an article on the Modo site. I am attempting to learn Modo to start character modeling, so this was incredibly inspirational and a standard to aspire to for the future! Yoshii has a character archive which is flipping quality. It will make you sick it's that good. Apparently he makes one 3d character a day and posts it online. Prolifictastic!

Plasticine figures of insanity

2009-01-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

Some fruits of my labour, wire frame, plasticine, space minstrels!

Uberpup makeover

2008-11-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

Today I have been trying to work out how to shade characters in illustrator. Lots of methods, all confusing me, but I tried gradients and blurs. My first attempt, but an ok practice I reckon.

Clay Creatures

2008-11-10T07:10:00.001-08:00

Look what I have been making!!!!

Ghost Monster Bag!!!!

2008-10-10T05:43:00.000-07:00

Here is my Ghost bag that I made for a friend!
Felt and embroidery thread!

Tokyo Bunnie

2008-09-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

Fantastic set of repeat pattern prints by LA based Tokyo Bunnie, seen on their flickr page. They maintain a rather brilliant blog full of contempo artsy inspiration.

Pietari Posti

2008-09-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Really stylish illustration from Spanish Pietari Posti. Kind of a mixture of figurative fashion illustration, use of selective colour and block screen print aesthetics. Found her while on the WIRED site.

frustrating day

2008-08-26T11:50:00.001-07:00

Face OFF! Uberpup style

2008-07-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

A felt bag containing dual personalities on iether side. The reason for making such an insane fabric monstrosity? It contains my application for the Hospital Club Creative in Residence course. They will have to open up the head to reach inside for the application materials! I amused myself in making such a felt contraption for an application. Any way maybe it will totally scare them.

Another happy customer - Uberpup@Cockpit Arts 2008

2008-06-22T11:11:00.001-07:00

Finally did my first show in donkeys years at the open studios at Cockpit Arts, last weekend. I was really pleased with my stand and the overall general reaction. I even made some sales. Lots of response to the toys, which was fantastic to watch. Young children especially girls from 7-16 and adult females 20-35 with young families etc seemed really captivated by the toys. My prints attracted attention, adults tended to respond to the images which was curious, but the pictures were received well! Yay.

Another happy customer, originally uploaded by SgtRock333.

Here is a happy customer who has purchased an evil killer rabbit.

Also lots of people loved Crump the fallen poet and now homeless hobo uberpup critter. He is a character who had everything and now has lost it all. His popularity is good to know for the future. I made a large felt toy version of him (see below) and he sold along with my fat punch bag like Sweeney toy.

Shameless PR Plug

2008-06-01T10:00:00.001-07:00

I have a group show in about two weeks time at Cockpit Arts Studio in Holborn. This is my first major group exhibition doing Uberpup stuff so I am crapping myself as we speak. Still making lots of work all though my canvas images are ready and most of the toys apart from the large giant sized surreal plushies which are lying in my studio half stuffed. There is so much organization of a stand, I never actually thought I would be able to do it. I have it all planned out in my head as to how it will look, but whether it actually turns out like my imagination is another matter! Is it quite labour intensive. But will give it a go and see what the reaction is. You never know until you try, and hopefully I will learn lots of useful information from it. Loads of other talented craftpeople and artists will be there, selling work.

Chiho Aoshima

2008-05-25T05:33:00.000-07:00

Really inspiring nerve tingling work by Chiho Aoshima.
She is part of the Kaikai Kiki collective. I really want to visit Japan. NOW!

And another thing......!

2008-04-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

Before I forget, a found this tutorial a year later, on the GoMedia site. But despite my lateness, it is still a really informative and comprehensive guide to drawing in illustrator with the pen tool. I always just use the freehand brushes but even that gets boring after a while. Plus there is a guide to colouring which is just as illuminating.

Summer Heights High

2008-04-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have a confession, I found out about this excellent Aussie comedy series from that trash juice monger Perez Hilton. I know, I can't help it everyone has guilty secrets. My interest was aroused when reading that SHH was a 'mockumentary' about a school, recently bought internationally by the BBC and HBO. It is made by a guy called Chris Lilley, who I admit I had never heard of until watching the show. This show has many fans and the praise for Lilley is deserved. It is utterly charming and a pure joy to watch. It is the lovable bastard child of Christopher Guest, brilliantly acted and tackles similar social subject matter such as racism and disability in a less uncomfortable cringe inducing manner found in The Office. It's light like Kath and Kim with horribly exaggerated yet some how strangely lovable characters. Particularly so of 'Jonas' the Polynesian foul mouthed disruptive schoolboy, by far the funniest creation. This character is universal - there is a 'Jonas' in everybody's classroom no matter what!

Update: Since I am fantastically obsessive to OCD levels, I sought out Lilley's earlier work "We Can Be Heroes" in 2005. I can't gush enough about the show. He really is up there with Guest. He doesn't play one 'type' of character doing their shtick which could be applied to Ricky Gervais, Larry David or Gary Shandling. Lilley is a chameleon, versatile enough to believably play a teenage vacuous girl, a club foot frumpy housewife, and an inexplicably exuberant Chinese student for detailed comedic character studies. It mixes different reportage/film techniques into the program, which helps create a very sophisticated yet realistic 'documentary'. What's more, it's all written by Lilley which is ridiculous. Everything is spot on, you will find it difficult to distinguish between reality and fiction!

ATA Designs Galore

2008-03-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

Annette Taylor-Anderson is a surface designer for interiors and textiles. The work is printed on bespoke ceramic tiles, and specially treated wallpaper among other surfaces, to produce vivid and striking products which dramatically alter humdrum spaces.

Taylor-Anderson's signature style is laced with an abstract urban approach to repeats. It is 100 percent modern and even futuristic for interior surface designs. The work features geometrics or unusual graphic motifs of clocks, rail tracks or frenetic squiggles. It's a far cry from the traditional dull fare stocked in the local Homebase.

Notably, Anderson has previously exhibited at Maison Et Object, Paris and will be displaying new work at the upcoming trade show ICFF in New York, summer 2008.

More importantly, we can look forward to a new luxury range of cushions featuring distinctive surface patterns from Taylor-Anderson in 2008. What more do you want!?

Pop! What is it Good For?

2008-02-28T03:13:00.000-08:00

Thank the BBC for Iplayer. Just enjoyed Paul Morley wax lyrical amusingly about the best pop records ever in the history of the world. BBC 4 shows are the sort of quality you used to get on BBC 2 but now shunted onto the freeview ether. But no matter, where else can you get a bunch of old men deconstruct the lyrics of 'This Charming Man' and a Kylie pop vid? Or best of all, put forward the theory that a pop track sucks if you can't imagine Elvis crooning to it? More I say, more! Bring back Smash Hits, the irreverence and Simon Amstell to Pop World. We need this for pop....

Yuki Me Now!

2008-02-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hello you lucky lucky people. I have realised this is my first post on the old Uberblog for 2008! To lethagy and inconsequential blogging! I have found loads of interesting things on the net. You can get lost in it all and never surface for air. Any way enough, I have digressed, -look what I found on Flickr. Graphics and illustration by Yuki. A young whipper snapper at 22, but just look at the quality art will you?
Nice mix of collage, hand drawn and beautiful color synergies! Will probably see lots of this illustrator in advertising and editorial even clothing, its so different and eye catching. We loves it at Uberpup! Three thumbs up.

Ryan Prado Photography

2007-12-29T06:09:00.000-08:00

Ryan Prad o produces striking fashion photography. Setting up surreal fantasies with bold compositions and sublime tones makes Prado's work one to watch for the future. The subjects are whimsical in theme, yet they still act as autobiographical works according to the creator. You can see influences of Ritts, LaChapelle, Bourdin and even Hockney submerged in the imagery. Top notch!

Loungefly=Supafly

2007-12-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

Predictable headline, but fashion accessories line Loungefly make eye popping products for everyone. Street yet inexplicably cute bordering on deranged, the LA label approaches design in an invigorating way. Materials like denim and appliqué methods are combined with edgy print graphics, bundled up with juicy colour schemes.

Loungefly are selling rebellion to you, in a post - rebellious corporate age, along with a liberal sprinkling of corking graphics! Look good while you bring down the system, or just pose while you drink your tenth cafe latte in Starbucks sporting the new bag under your arm.

One down side: they don't do international orders to Europe Booooo! Sort it out will you? Admire this retro grey skull and heart tote bag which I want for Christmas. Tasty....

Update: Loungefly will be in the UK soon. They have a distributor and will undoubtedly have British retailers eating out of the palm of their hand within the next 6 months, as I saw the goods in question displayed in all their glory at the January Top Drawer trade show. And in real life, the Loungefly goods are even better than I imagined!

Bruno 9Li

2007-10-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Brazil is a hive is artistic ingenuity.
Found Bruno 9Li while on coolhunter browsing away as you do. The work is reminiscent of Escher and Op art. The images are relentlessly bombarded with a hypnotic use of geometric and repetitive patterns. Illustrative and figurative, the art is hand drawn, using ink and marker pen.

Gakbook, you know?

2007-10-09T04:25:00.000-07:00

A humorous rant on the merits of Facebook and the link to mass murder. I agree with most of it which is the scary thing. I should disappear and delete my account if I really meant what I said, which I don't, truth be told.

Organised Chaos

2007-09-30T04:46:00.001-07:00

Dzark aka Virgil Santos digitally cuts up fashion shots with the finesse of a skilled surgeon. His graphic aesthetic is rare, I can't find any one else in the graphic/illustration genre producing similar work with such explosive execution.

It might look easy to mash up studio shots, but it involves real technical and composition skills, to create images that jump off the screen kicking and screaming. Negative space is liberally punched in between form; faces are spaced out with minute decorative patterns and extensive free flowing abstract shapes, ultra hip clothes are dragged through a hedge backwards in Photoshop, but hey they still look ultra modern and cool.

Santos' work reflects distortion; its electrifying like the flickering you get on the old analogue TV screen or the crackle of the vinyl record. He visually captures the idea of disturbance, yet magically keeps the whole of the image intact. The chaos is controlled and reined in, never overtaking its subject. This juxtaposed with the compositional simplicity and muted colors of the fashion shots, create an enticing clash for the viewers.

My Little Tado

2007-09-02T06:09:00.001-07:00

Tado are supreme cutie pie vector illustrators Mike and Katie, who have catapulted their insane creations onto the UK design scene. The duo are enjoying sustained commercial success with high profile clients, collaborations, and vinyl toy sets, popular among discerning designer toy aficionados.

There are so many images to look through when googling Tado. Do it, you won't regret it. Check out this introduction with links, a recent cocktail of images and brief interview.

fish nouveau for sir?

2007-08-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

fish nouveau, originally uploaded by Feanne.

Antiquated, simple and stunning. All you need is imagination, slick pen skills and an ethereal eye for mysterious natural cascading forms.
See more art by Feanne here:

Daniel Rodrigo: a life of beauty

2007-07-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

Daniel Rodrigo opens a window into his vibrant Brazilian existence. The subject matter of his photos strike a chord. They are honest and wild, documenting his freely hedonistic lifestyle of partying and beautiful friends. The images display a love of youth; what it is like to be perfect, free and young. They capture relationships, moments in time, friends who come and go, the lost nights out - the time of your life which burns bright fleetingly. So you might as well live fast while you can.

Stylistically, Rodrigo has an appreciation of the human figure and classical forms. The constant appearance of bright neon tones submerge Rodrigo's portfolio, making your heart swell. Tightly cropped and experimental composition are used to achieve intense euphoric results. The group fashion shots, evoke camp magazine spreads unashamedly free of inhibitions. He even finds the time to document beauty in nature, with surroundings which have undeniably influenced his work.

Lost classic? Black Books

2007-07-07T03:57:00.000-07:00

I have been nostalgically watching Black Books, the comedy aired on Channel 4 from 2000 - 2005. The series was written by and staring Dylan Moran as an incorrigible, grumpy, lush book shop owner. He is the amusingly misanthropic centre of a quaint trio - Tamsin Grieg playing the offbeat friend 'Fran' and Bill Bailey as 'Manny' the eternally sweet long suffering stooge.

I first watched this and loved it, when it came out seven years ago. But it is interesting to see how time can change your first impressions of a sitcom. It doesn't live up to how good I thought it was. It seems old fashioned and drab.

This show was produced by the same people behind the seminal 'Spaced', featuring a top list of cameos such as Rob Brydon, Simon Pegg, and Lucy Davis. Black Books at the time of transmission was sandwiched uncomfortably between three genre busting programmes; preceded by the naturalistic shooting style of the 'Royal Family', the cultish magnificently inventive 'Spaced' and the landmark 'The Office' mockumentary - all altering the comedy landscape in Britain for the foreseeable future. You just have to listen to the trite laughter track used in BB to be reminded of how the modern sitcom has evolved. BB appears to be an intentional anomaly, which defiantly flied against the current trends permeating TV land. And it paid off: it was popular and successful - winning respected British Comedy and Bafta awards to name a few. It helped pave the way for a run of three series, all filmed in front of a studio audience.

Black Books suggests there is life for a buoyant traditional comedy. But it will be increasingly hard to create a long lasting piece of work which maintains its relevance in the British comedy cannon. The 'IT Crowd' a sitcom set in an office has tried lately, and it was funny. There is nothing weirder than seeing renegade Chris Morris play a stereotypical 'boss' character, in light of his groundbreaking past work. Both sitcoms have, at some point, featured the writing talents of Graham Lineham - one half of the the team behind the sheer genius that will always be 'Father Ted.' The unlikely comedy based on a bunch of isolated, eccentric Irish priests living in Craggy Island, is hard to beat if you want to watch one of the best surreal British comedies made in the last decade. It is undoubtedly the last great traditional sitcom broadcast by Channel 4. The re-runs show 'Father Ted' in a good light, after all this time. It still makes me laugh, which is what you want from a sitcom isn't it?

Steve Jobs: Life Coach!

2007-06-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

For the days when you think there is no hope left, and you won't ever find your calling:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

A speech made a couple of years back, tackling universal themes which apply to us all. Nuff said.

Gay Bomb Alert

2007-06-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Pentagon once contemplated making a 'gay bomb' to defeat enemies by turning them gay. Wtf?
The world has gone mad.

If you are too poor for Ikea: Foldschool

2007-06-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

Foldschool offers a free collection of furniture for kids. Made from cardboard. Built by the consumer, following a pattern downloaded from the site. All the designs, just in case you are wondering, have been created by Swiss based architect stroke designer Nicola Enrico Staubli.

Taking DIY to a whole new cost effective level, Foldschool puts Blue Peter craftsmanship to shame. Except you don't have to wait and use your Mum's washing up bottle or root out a battered old toilet roll to do it. Foldschool provides a tutorial sample for the uninitiated to get stuck into, before daring to assemble the more complex pieces available.
The idea crosses over into a form of functional origami. The downloadable tutorial uses specialised 'diagraming' with graphic symbols instructing the beginner how to make a sample from scratch. But you aren't making a swan from paper. Foldschool's structural designs are made to be used by the little people among us, serving a real purpose.

The philosophy behind cardboard furniture fully supports the DIY ethic and encourages an ecological outlook towards product design. In other words, less homogeneous 'superficial' mass production, ala the wobbly plastic table leg from Ikea sitting awkwardly in the lounge. More the product and the user being able to share a 'face-to-face approach to design' experience, through making a usable piece from an accessible ordinary material. And if you lose yourself in the whole activity, why not get the kids in to run riot with the old crayola to customise the pieces for full on family fun.

Foldschool is a worthy practice promoting craftsmanship, involving the consumer in an unique experiment into cardboard furniture making........

Impossibly cute character graphics and textile toys: Mondopanno

2007-06-15T04:45:00.001-07:00

These tiny beautifully simple character icons belong to the mind of Paula Mantelli an artist residing in Brazil. Mantelli's work stems from illustration, using character designs in an effortlessly charming manner to draw the viewer into her unique community of benevolent, sweet animals.

Where it really gets good, is the collection of textile toys hand made by the artist. Simply put, they are wonderful in execution and design, and a real achievement given the minute scale Mantelli works in to bring her creations to life. Made primarily from felt, painstaking work has gone into stitching and gluing the smallest of details, just take a look at this munchkin like vertically challenged Mondopanno Monkey if you don't believe me. Now think of the nimble hands, and experience needed to make such a monkey!

On the flickr side of things, you can get an insight into the process of creation. Take a look at the initial character pencil sketches or the more ambitious textile art Mantelli has produced with real dexterity and finesse. It makes you appreciate the individual unique craft skill invested in hand sewing as an enterprise. You won't get a Mondopanno creature anywhere else in the world. This is what gives the toys such value and distinction.

To see the whole infuriatingly accomplished portfolio on Flickr and to keep up with the hive of creature creation, visit Mondopanno's Flickr blog and get lost in the sunny Mondopanno world!

Pure Trash: Sarah SIlverman Kills Paris Hilton

2007-06-15T04:02:00.001-07:00

My first attempt at the world of Uberpup to post a Youtube video which amused me. What is it? The rather funny, yet car crash TV experience of pure mega bitchiness voiced by comedianne Sarah Silverman towards Paris Hilton; before her first outing to jail during the MTV Movie Awards.

Did she deserve it? Do most people go to award shows on the eve of serving custody time? It is hard to feel sorry for PH's skankiness, lack of humility and the prison debacle, but ouch this was painful. Jack Nicholson's reaction is the best part. But is it a good thing to see one female tear strips off another so publicly for humiliation?

Vicious.

The Uberpup Inaugural Post

2007-06-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

The World of Uberpup is a place for dogs to relax.
Don't ask me to explain the above, you take what you want from it. Cryptic eh?
It will feature all my thought(s)! Enshrined forever online for detractors to potentially blackmail me with in the future.

This blog will attempt to construct an urbane, sophisticated, taste - making dialogue (!) about the stuff I like:
Graphics, Design, Photography, Pop and Trash Culture. Whether I am capable of creating relevant insights into the above is not confirmed. But I do like the idea of sharing my whimsical musings about all things low brow or aesthetically intriguing. So get your pipe out and smoke that.