A Cybernetic Exchange

I wish I was Maddox, because then this would be the most expensive $1800 Acer ever made.

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:40:00 +0000

I'm not going to lie, sometimes I wish I was incredibly polemic. People love polemic people - look at all the fucked up people watching Glen Beck, and people pick up the outrage of polemic discussion and run with it. I know when I get all riled up about some things - like the bullshit 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, for instance - I'm more likely to write an emotional and hateful letter to my idiot of an MP and MLA.

As some people might already know, I've been in an epic war with Acer in the last few weeks over my Acer Aspire 8930G. Yes, that's this laptop here. The model is about 1 year old, so the price I paid for it was quite a bit higher, at the $1,800 mark. I bought it in October 2008, and on Christmas day the motherboard randomly imploded.

Normally, I'm the kind of person that sucks it up and pays for the repair. I did that when my TravelMate 8100 lost it's hard drive and my HP had a busted DC adapter. But this is an $1,800 laptop less than 3 months out of waranty, and this isn't a fucking hard drive, its a motherboard. I treated this computer like my God and the motherboard broke. What the hell?

When my computer broke, I was pretty devastated. In the last year it became part of my life. I thought I would give Acer a call and see if they would honour my customer loyalty to them and extend my waranty to cover this repair. Now, this is where Acer fucked things up royally.

I have FIVE Acer computers in my home, and anyone who knows me personally knows I have recommended their computers as the ones to buy. I got the Acer customer support number from their completely unnavigatable website and gave it a ring.

Automated system. Pretty normal. The creepy robot woman asked me if I was calling about the same problem I had before. I was like, "what? I've never called before!" Whatever, I said no and it moved on. Then she wanted my SNID, which is the serial number of the computer. I gave it to her. Then the bitch told me that my computer was out of waranty and hung up. I tried to get through that automated system every way possible and every time she hung up on me. I couldn't even talk to anyone!

What the fuck, Acer? You can't hire your outsourced South Asian employees to answer questions for computers with no waranty? They sell it, and then they want you to buy insurance on their own products. When you don't have the insurance anymore, they don't want to talk to you! Not only that, but by selling you a waranty they are saying that they have no faith in their own products. "Buy this, it's great! But not that great, because it might break and be our fault. Pay more money because we can't build a computer right the first time!"

Now I'm playing email tag with a bunch of stupid idiots that either a) won't answer my questions or b) don't understand enough to answer my questions. I've asked them repeatedly to call me so that I can get the issue solved and my questions answered in like 2 hours instead of 2 fucking weeks.

Acer customer service is shit. Combined with their apparently new strategy of making shitty hardware, they don't deserve new customers. Buy something else, I don't know what yet, but Acer has a business model of sell and ignore.

I'd love to hear about people's shitty computer stories. These stupid computer companies are creating a business model that is great for them in the short term, and shitty for their customers. Our outrage can make it so that it is the most costly business model for them in the long run, and hit them in the only place they understand - the WALLET.

Fuck you Acer, you lost a 10 year customer. You would have made thousands of dollars from my business over the next 10 years, and now you will make nothing. Eat it.

For all of you that are interested, I have my email conversation with Acer attached here. It's quite lengthy and still happening, but perhaps you can see what you're in for if you decide to risk Acer Customer Service.

To whom it may concern;
I own an Acer Aspire 8930G Notebook that is less than 2 years old. Today, without any prior malfunction, the laptop turned off and will no longer charge the battery. The battery indicator light does not turn on and there is a distinct clicking sound coming from the plug input/battery port when the computer is plugged in.
I have tested the power adapter and there is no problem with it. I have even tested the laptop with different outlets in my home to make sure it wasn't a power issue on my end.
The computer has not been dropped, mishandled or had any foreign substances spilled on it. It has been working more than perfectly up until now.
Your prompt reply with this issue will be greatly appreciated. Any help that you can provide will be helpful in getting my laptop fixed in a timely manner.

Cheers,
Vanessa

Response (Abin_GWSI661) 12/26/2009 03:50 AM

Dear Vanessa,
Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you.

As per your mail, I understand that you need to replace battery.

While going through your system record in our database, we came to know that your system is out of warranty.
If you need to purchase new battery, you may please go through the following link << http://ping.fm/jrDu5 >>, << http://ping.fm/SQgpR >> or you may please call 800-826-0279, 800-317-9989.
For further clarifications, please feel free to visit our web site http://ping.fm/SqZAg.

Have a great day!

Respectfully,
Acer America
Online Technical Support

**** Question: Who the fuck is MundoCorp and why is Acer Technical Support sending me there?

This is where I called the number they provided. It didn't work. So I scoured the internet for other numbers, and they didn't work. Good job, support, for giving me shit that doesn't work.

Customer (Vanessa) 12/29/2009 07:21 PM

Hello again,

I have spent the last few hours trying to navigate the maze that is Acer customer support. In addition to several listed phone numbers that are out of date, and website links on the acer Canada website that lead to non existing urls, I have been kicked off of the phone support system all afternoon. All I want to do is fix my laptop and have itdone promptly and with little hassle. I would like to talk to a REAL person on the phone about what I can do to continue to use my TOP of the line acer notebook, of which I was one of the first people in Vancouver to purchase.

I have been a long term acer customer. After my first notebook broke (an HP) 10 years ago, I bought my first aver notebook. Now, my household currenly owns 5 acer notebooks and has up until now been satisfied. When I wen to buy a netbook in September, I chose to buy the more expensive Acer option because I couldn't imagine putting my trust in another brand. The hardware this company makes is usually very good.

The first time I have a major problem in 10 YEARS and there is no one available to help me. To say that I'm disappointed is an understatement. I expect someone at Acer to respond to my concerns promptly so that I can get my laptop fixed and get back to work on it.

My phone number is 604-***-****. I look forward to talking to a representative soon.

Response (Sumesh_GWSI673) 12/29/2009 11:23 PM

Dear Vanessa,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I'll be happy to assist you with this issue.

I understand from your mail that your system has an issue with system.

I have verified your serial number and found that your system is out of Warranty.

Vanessa, if you are ready with sending system for repair with $199 please confirm with us and we would be in a better position to help you.

Please contact us back with the response and we would be in a better position to help you.

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site http://ping.fm/pZ3Tj

Have a great day!

Respectfully,
Acer America
Online Technical Support

At this point, I had my computer looked at by a local technician. He diagnosed the problem as a blown capacitor on my motherboard, which Acer had been telling me was a battery problem and was trying to get me to buy a new battery.

Customer (Vanessa) 12/30/2009 02:47 AM

Hello again,

There seems to be some confusion in this thread about what is actually wrong with my computer. I don't know what an "issue with system" is, but the problem with my Acer notebook is that there is a blown capacitor on the motherboard.

At this point I want to know what Acer is willing to do to keep my long term business. If the person reading this thread can not offer me anything that will help restore my trust in your company than I suggest that you send it to someone who does. I know that tech support is not an easy job, and that it is often thankless, so please do us both a favour and have someone who can actually help me contact me.

My Aspire 8930G is a top of the line laptop that I paid full price for. 3 months out of warranty and the motherboard breaks? That is not acceptable. I want Acer to work with me to extend my warranty and get my system fixed. I am happy to pay for this extended warranty, but I am not willing to pay an unguaranteed $199 USD, plus shipping (will that even cover a replacement motherboard, if needed, or is that just for labour?) to fix a computer that might break again in less than a year, and that shouldn't be having problems to begin with.

What guarantees will Acer give me on this repair? If I get it fixed at my local repair shop, I know I can bring it back if there is an issue with the repair and have it fixed for free. Will
Acer provide the same guarantee, or will I have to send it back for another $199USD?

Lastly, why is it so difficult to talk to someone on the phone about this? I could have had this issue solved days ago with a quick phone conversation! I am an incredibly unsatisfied long-term customer and I want Acer to address this in the fairest way possible. It's just good business practice.

I look forward to your immediate reply.

Sincerely,
Vanessa

Response (Mary LincyKM) 12/30/2009 05:36 AM

Dear Vanessa,

Thank you for contacting Acer America.

Having reviewed your e-mail I understand that you are facing an issue with the mother board.

Vanessa, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience experienced.

As the system is out of warranty, as per Acer policy we are unable to pull the system for in warranty service.

The cost of out of warranty repair is $199.

NOTE : you will have to pay one way shipping.

If you are ready to send the system for repair, please inform us and we will do the needful.

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site http://ping.fm/ZGA6W

Have a great day!

Respectfully,
Acer America
Online Technical Support

Customer (Vanessa) 01/03/2010 04:10 PM

Hello again,

Well, at least someone can extend a completely useless apology and work to make sure that I don't get any help at all. Not a single one of my questions was answered from my previous communication. How about I break it down for you?

1. Does the repair cost include parts, or is it just service? What are my quote guarantees? Will Acer honour the $199, or can it raise the cost once they have the computer?

2. What guarantee does the repair have? What if I get the computer back from your service and it still doesn't work? If a part is replaced, will that part have a one year waranty? If the repair is not successful and I have to return the computer for further repairs, will I have to pay another $199 plus s/h?

I'm sorry, but after doing some research, Acer does not have a very good track record for fixing a computer the first time. Considering I don't have my computer under waranty, I don't want to pay $199 every time I receive a broken computer back.

3. What is Acer going to do to restore my confidence in them as a company? Right now I am not going to be buy another Acer computer, and additionally recommending that everyone I know do the same. Unless Acer does something, they are going to lose a ton of customers.

I look forward to your quick and COMPREHENSIBLE reply,
Vanessa

Concept Art for Airship Arc Winds

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:13:00 +0000

Hello people out there on the intarwebs! I've finally set up my ping fm so that I can update previously neglected corners of my internet personality, like blogger and livejournal. I would love to have the time to update each individually with customized content, but I only have two hands and 24 hours in a day.

I'm still getting a feel for the features provided for me on this platform, so if I have missing images or HTML where I shouldn't, please bare with my stupid technical issues. I have terrible luck with these things and always end up doing some back tracking. If you only review my stuff once and a while, you probably won't notice anything wrong. That's cool.

I feel like I've been a busy beaver with the drawing for Airship Arc Winds. At least I used to be before I went on Christmas holidays. Now I lost the groove. Here are the images from said groove, hopefully I will it up again soon.

I'm looking forward to making the Airship Arc Winds website this week, brief stints of web design definitely sustains my addiction for random coding.

Without further interruption, here is the concept art I have diligently been working on!

I hope you enjoy! Until next time!

-Anise

Webcomics Wednesday: Flipside

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:09:00 +0000

Flipside by Brian Foulke
Fantasy/Drama

Technical: 8/10
Writing: 6/10
Originality: 7/10
Impact: 6/10

While I was still in highschool, I stumbled across the first incarnation of Flipside, a manga-style graphic novel by Brian Foulke. Back then, the comic had an amateur charm and I, in all my teenage glory, was in awe of Foulke's ability to draw page after page, with characters I enjoyed.
This part of the comic has been retitled 'Book 0' and since I fell out of reading webcomics, he's began a new incarnation of Flipside.
Much like the incarnation of the comic, I've come back to Flipside with a new perspective as well. I have been delightfully surprised by the new version, it's technical advancements and character development. At times I have also been disappointed by plot lines seemingly contrived from thin air and a rather awkward beginning.
The new flipside began with the energy of one of my favourite comic characters, Maytag. I was excited to see her new conceptualization, buy found her initial speach quite trite and heavy handed. Luckily, Maytag quickly becomes the cornerstone of the series. Her ability to talk down a situation is impressive, and her humanizing of a situation brings an interesting twist to the fantasy genre.
Flipside is an online comic that effectively broaches philosophy, sex and gender issues. Much like 'book 0', the supporting characters leave a bit to be desired. Crest in particular is quite a two dimensional character and I was relieved when the story line moved away from his girl troubles and cliché dislike of the knights.
In a world where webcomics spring up like weeds, it becomes difficult to know what is worth your time and what isn't. Flipside is a top 10 webcomic on TWC and a long time favourite of mine. If you enjoy a good fantasy story, but are also looking for something a little different than a weak Tolkien rip-off epic adventure, flipside is a good place to start in the webcomic world.

Anatta Commentary: Chapter One, Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:53:00 +0000

Anise: Well, hello out there to our Anatta readers. I'm Anise Shaw, the colourist and co-writer for the webcomic Anatta and we're going to do a collaborative commentary for our first chapter. What we would like to touch on is our process, different ideas we've had, how we've worked together and the challenges we've had.

threeeyesworm: And I am Wei Li (threeeyeswurm), drawer and co-writer for Anatta. I guess we will start with page 1.

Anise: Page 1 was probably the most difficult page we've done, it was very stressful.

threeeyesworm: yea it was and it was stressful on many different levels. I mean it was the page we set the style, the panel, the characters and the general entrence into the world of Anatta. So, a lot of fundamentals of the comic was dealt with here. But the most of the stress was from collaborating together. Afterall, it was the first time Anise and I actually worked together on one image.

Anise: It was interesting to hash out our different roles and what we needed each other to do in order to make a successful comic page.

I remember when we came up with the idea to do a weekly webcomic, were we not showering and getting ready for the day?

threeeyesworm: Oh yea! that's true! Haha it was pretty random and I remember it was because both of us felt kinda lost in exactly what we wanted to do with comics...

Anise: and we had this idea for this science fiction comic that seemed so grand, yet we were frustrated with how we were going to get it out. Wei had just submitted his last short story to a few publishers and we were worried that we didn't have enough experience to get published

I had done webcomics before, and I have great admiration for the medium, so I thought it was an option

threeeyesworm: yea, i remember I worked so hard and spent so much time on drawing and redrawing (like 4 times!) the comic that I submitted... When Anise suggested just turning the science fiction idea that I wanted to make a comic of into a webcomic, I was like fuck it what the heck. Let's just do it. Yes it was grand and seemingly larger than life, but in the end... we just had to do it. Oh yea and I remember learning from my past mistake of not writing a script out first. Thus Anatta was born as the first comic that I wrote a script for.

Anise: The script writing was hard for us too, because Wei is a very solitary creator and I was wanting to get in on how the story was going to progress. Chapter one was conceived mostly by Wei and I did a lot of the post editing. For Chapter two I had to ask Wei to write a script out specifically for me for chapter two so I could do a real edit and discuss the plot more in depth.

Now we have actually typed out scripts, which is really nice.

threeeyesworm: So, page 1 was quite hard for the both of us but especially hard for Anise because I thought it would be a great idea to go over the page with an ink wash... which is why page 1 seems more... gray than the other pages... Anise can umm bitch more about this than I can.

Anise: yeah, for sure. It took me a million years to get rid of that wash, I had to do it with a small, hard eraser in photoshop. It took me several hours just to prep the page for colouring

Wei had never done a colour comic before, so he was used to cross hatching to create depth.

threeeyesworm: This also created problems for later... as you shall see (and some have pointed out).

threeeyesworm: Another difficulty I had with page 1 in terms of the writing is having faith in the readers to understand the technology of mind switching without any exposition... I was worried that just jumping straight into the world would have been confusing for the readers.

Anise: I really love the juxtaposition in this page...

threeeyesworm: So far however, having faith in the readers seems to have worked out well. No one complained about page 1.

Anise: it was a great opening to our comic.

threeeyesworm: let's move on to page 2... I recall Anise HATED painting this page. She stalled so much on it.

Anise: stalled, I call it procrastination. I would like to point out that phrenology picture in the second panel, which is awesome. And of course, Gerald Lee, who has a much larger role in Chapter two.

threeeyesworm: Yea I really hope people would make that connection when they read chapter 2

Anise: Lastly, the mindscan picture is credited totally to Wei, he created a great representation in that.

threeeyesworm: aww thanks.

Anise: I sure didn't have the patience for that by the time I coloured this page...

On to page 2!

threeeyesworm: Yea, I nitpicked so much in terms of the coloring for page 2. Remember that Anise?

Anise: Yeah, I had to lay out some serious boundaries.

We were really trying to come into our own with these first pages

threeeyesworm: But then again, I nitpicked about my drawings too... the background scene took especially long.. because I wanted to draw an realistic picture that hinted at Vancouver East Side...

Anise: If anyone has been there, they will get the references right away, especially harbour centre in the background there.

threeeyesworm: You know... now that I look at it... I am quite happy with page 2... The posters and graffiti were a bitch to draw but totally worth it

Just hope people pay attention to those details!

Anise: with those colours, how could you not?

threeeyesworm: Lol. Onto page 3?

Anise: but our furry joke! We understand internet subcultures, hurray!

threeeyesworm: hahahaha

Anise: Also, Chad. Great dialogue for that guy.

he's such a wannabe.

threeeyesworm: Yea... Some people find him to be too stereotypical "black", someone actually said it could be offensive... but what they don't know is that Chad's last name is actually Bukowski. He's polish.

Anise: very much not black. Identity is a slippery issue in the Anatta world, and racial identity has shifted as well.

threeeyesworm: Yea, so I find it ironic and actually satisfying to have someone think he was offensive hehehe

So, Page 3 is actually one of my personal favorites and I am quite happy with it aside from some perspective issues.

Anise: That's so technical and boring though. I love Alex's movements and the ad for the mind exchange party.

Plus, BBQ duck, so tasty.

threeeyesworm: Oh! thanks for pointing that out! The location is suppose to be Vancouver China town.

Anise: a very historic place in our city... full of good and bad history.

threeeyesworm: And yes, I do look forward to exploring the idea of mind exchange party in one of our short stories.

Anise: Yeah, I'm on it, I'm on it. Procrastinator, remember?

threeeyesworm: -_- That doesn't justify anything.

Anise: I know, that's the point

threeeyesworm: Now that our readers know of it. I will tell them to bitch at you about it.

Anise: good, then the guilt will overwhelm the feeling to procrastinate

threeeyesworm: Anything else to add before moving onto page 4?

Anise: I kind of want to segway into some of the concepts so far, especially in our storytelling. Technical aspects are interested, but mostly for people that make webcomics.

threeeyesworm: fire away

Anise: I think juxtaposition is a very important concept we've folded into the comic, especially ironic or illuminating juxtaposition. I know that one of Wei's great influences was the Watchmen, the great graphic novel of great juxtaposition.

threeeyesworm: Yes. And I am always trying to find ways to out-juxtapose the Watchmen. I declare a juxtaposition duel on Alan Moore... :|

Anise: I remember getting all Alan Moore on you with this page, because you wanted to add the clicking sound when she hung up the phone.

I'm not a huge fan of sound effects, they are quite cheesy.

threeeyesworm: Me neither... but I had a moment of weakness in terms of, again, having faith in the audience.

Anise: It take a lot of the cinemagraphic elements out of a comic when sounds are represented as words.

Anise: I know I feel like I've broken out of the illusion of the story when I read western comics with sound effects. I really love to read Japanese comics because I generally can't understand the sound effects, and katakana often looks like it is part of the picture or panel

threeeyesworm: it's true. I found it very rare that sound effects add anything, content wise, to a comic. A good picture should allow the reader to subconsciously hear the sounds themselves. Afterall, we are not counting on the readers to read the dialogue outloud. What we are counting on is that they will place different voices into the characters themselves when reading the words. It's the same with sounds from surroundings. In comics we are counting on the readers to place the sounds from surrounding objects themselves.

Anise: Unfortunately, writing out a sound gives it another level of representation that is so abstract, so we've pretty much agreed to leave them out.

Page 4 has to be my favourite page of this Chapter.

threeeyesworm: Now that I look at it, I wish I hadn't cross hatch it. But then that would have meant Anise had to do a lot more work in terms of coloring.

Anise: I wouldn't have minded too much, it's really only three colours.

blended, of course.

I love how Wei represented the switch, it's so visceral.

threeeyesworm: It will be the only time I show this though. Although I do think it's enough.

Maybe we can do something with this representation in one of the short stories

Anise: Ha! I was just going to say that! I actually have a story where the switching process is looked at closer and all the strange, psychological events that could probably happen.

So you never told me why you put Alex in a fat dude's body.

threeeyesworm: ...... It explains later in the comic....

Anise: I know that part, but where did the initial idea come from?

threeeyesworm: Nah, at first I just thought it would be funny and physically interesting as an experience. Haha

Anise: quite painful...

threeeyesworm: I wish I had went more into the experience in terms of the huge physical changes, hormonally, the feeling of being out of shape... the sudden surge in cholesterol, high blood pressure, the feeling of clogged arteries... but I didn't want to be too explosition-y. Maybe will dive in more details in a short story.

Anise: I couldn't imagine suddenly being hundreds of pounds heavier. That would be such a shock. Alex does have a significant moment of pain here that I think expresses her distress, especially considering she wasn't expecting it.

I'm so glad we changed the way we do speach bubbles now, they look much cleaner when done on the computer

threeeyesworm: Yea haha I should really go back and fix those

Brilliant coloring with the TV lighting by the way. That was all you Anise.

Anise: I spent a bit of time looking at people in only television light, and it's quite a bit more dramatic than this. I am so fascinated by how my senses are confused by shifting coloured lights, the mood of everything becomes so muddled.

threeeyesworm: It really fits the confusion experienced by Alex

Anise: It's definitely a lot of information to take in at once. I love the way Alex rags Chad out here. I really want the hierarchy of their relationship to be delved into further, especially because Chad is so.... characteristic.

We were a bit worried with these next few pages, because we weren't sure how the audience was going to take the body shift.

Would they understand it? Would they be totally confused?

threeeyesworm: It worked quite well at the end actually. No one was confused it seems.

Anise: Wei's original idea way back in the day had the technology operate quite differently. He initially wanted people's physical looks to shift along with the mind and I spent a long time trying to convince him that is was more interested, but narratively more difficult to have the physical appearances remain unchanged.

threeeyesworm: Ah yes. Overcoming the narrative challenge was quite satisfying.

Anise: It really gives us a deeper connection with our audience, I find. The more stock we put in them to be active, intelligent readers the more rewarding it is to receive the feedback we have.

I think it also engages people more with the story, giving them a sense of ownership over the interpretation. I know that happens with me when I read or watch something that challenges me to understand it.

I'm not a big fan of passive observation.

Anise: The whole note thing left by Xiao Ming in page 6 was a big bone of contention for me. I really didn't like the idea initially, it felt too gimicky to me in the telling.

threeeyesworm: Yea I wish I hadn't done that either. I think I lost some of our readers in that transition as well. Some people didn't get that the person who was originally in the fat male body was a girl frim China. Although the page turned out well, I should have thought of another way to deliver this content.

Anise: it might have been okay to let people know later when we introduced the detectives, perhaps a more intriguing investigation?

threeeyesworm: Well, can't really do much about it now. Got to move on. :

Anise: it's okay, we learn from our mistakes.

Most first episodes are quite awkward, Battlestar Galactica being the only notable exception that comes to mind.

threeeyesworm: In terms of visual representation, I am most unsatisfied with page 8... If I could rewrite chapter 1, I would have redone page 8 as well. It's just not interesting enough and fits the dialogue mediocrely. Not to mention the coloring that Anise was suppose to go back and finish. -_-

Anise: Yeah, I was totally sick.

plus, two blue pages in one chapter.

threeeyesworm: Yea, we should finish that before printing.

Anise: definitely. Our print version will have many goodies and high quality art not available on the net.

Anise: So, it's getting quite late and we're going to call it a night for now. We'll be back for part two of our commentary tomorrow.

Anatta Commentary: Colouring Page 5

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Anatta is a webcomic by Wei Li and Anise Shaw. It updates every Monday and Friday and can be viewed here.

So we meet again, good Anatta readers. I want to put up some WIP images of my colouring of page 5 to show everyone how I go about it. Hopefully I can also convince Wei at some point to write a commentary on how he draws each individual page.

To start off, I have a number of materials I use on a regular basis. I have, of course, my wonderful computer. It's a laptop, Acer 8930 with the biggest monitor I have ever seen on a portable computer ever. It's wonderful for drawing, not so wonderful for carrying around. I also use a copy of Photoshop CS3 (on Windows Vista, you can't convert me yet, Mac!) and my Wacom Bamboo tablet. I highly recommend the Bamboo, especially if you've never used a tablet before. It's inexpensive, easy to use and a good size for drawing.

This tutorial expects that you have prior knowledge on how to use photoshop, and specifically CS3. I won't have time to explain the basics, but I will use photoshop terminology so you can easily look it up in an online manual or tutorial.

Okay, so let's go step by step in the colouring process of Anatta.

Step 1: Clean up Wei's line art and get it ready for painting.

So the first thing I do is turn off the visibility of all of the superfluous layer (text and speach bubbles) so I can work only with the layer I want. First I make a copy of the lineart layer and name it "base colour". I put this layer under the original layer, which I have named "lineart".

Next, I turn the visibility of the lineart layer off and work only on the base colour layer. I go to image > adjustments > brightness/contrast and turn up the contrast several times until I have almost no grey left. I have to pull the slider up to 100 several times to do this. This will make the lineart look stark, but not to worry because we're not going to use this layer as line art, it will be base colour! After the contrast, I go back to image > adjustments > threshold and adjust the threshold of the layer to 99. This number is relatively important for what I'm going to do next.

Now, I have a special filter that I have downloaded for CS3. It is called BPelt flatting and can be found under the filters menu. With only my base colour layer visible, I go to filter > BPelt > multi-fill and hit okay. Next, I go to filter > BPelt > flatten. This is what results:

I know, it looks totally funky! You may be wondering "What the hell? Why would you want it to look like that?" Well, let me assure you, it will all make sense in a moment.

Now it's time to go back to our original line art layer. Let's make this one visible again. Due to the line art layer being on top of the base colour layer, the funky colours will disappear when the line art layer becomes visible. Now we're going to transform the line art layer into lines only, with no white space.

Select the line art layer and then click on the "channels" tab beside the "layers" tab that you are currently on. We're going to press the "load channel as selection" button at the bottom. It looks like this:

After hitting this button, all of the white area in the layer will be selected. Hit ctrl + x to cut the selected area and you will be left with your lines plus transparency where all the white space used to be. The colours will come through the lineart.

Now let's go back to the layers tab, make sure the line art layer is still selected and lock the transparency of the layer (the button is at the top of the layers tab). Choose a big, hard, round paintbrush and set your foreground colour to black. Now paint all over the line art layer (you will notice with the transparency locked, the only things that get painted on are the lines and the black paintbrush makes them much darker). You can actually change your line art to any colour you wish with this technique. I choose black because that's the style of our comic, but in the past I have used a coal grey, browns or even darker colours of the base colours a la Alpha Shade.

Now it's time to move on... This is the page I have right now, before step two...

Step 2: Base Colours

On the base colour layer, select the paint bucket tool (hotkey g). Remember how we made all those funky colours with the BPelt filter? Well, instead of having to fill in our line art, we just grab the colour we want and paint bucket it in. This save me about 1-2 hours of painting, and when I found the filter on Questionable Content, I nearly fell to my knees to that the great God of Webcomic creation that this tool existed. I still have to use the regular paint brush to fill in some areas, mostly because the filter is a bit picky about cross hatching. Our comic has quite a bit of it, but if yours doesn't then this filter will make things even faster for you. With Questionable Content, the artist uses the filter to do cell shading as well, while I save my shading for the painting stage. Either way works well, depending on what you're going for.

So, after about 20 minutes of paint bucket plus a little bit of paint brushing, this is what I have:

The base colours are finished, and now it's time to move onto the shading.

Step 3: Giving the image depth

This step requires quite a bit of knowledge about colour theory, lighting and digital painting. I'm not really an encyclopedia (although my friends like to think that I am), so I will not impart the depth of my knowledge on these subjects here. Suffice to say, spend some time looking at other paintings and tutorials, read a few books on colour theory and really pay attention to the world around you and you will see your rendering of shadow and light improve.

I will tell you all one really useful piece of information though: shading and highlight are NOT simply lighter and darker versions of the base colour. Light has its own colour, and that colour will reflect at different intensities depending on the material it is reflecting off of. Shadow is the opposite colour of the light on the colour wheel. In everyday light, sunlight, lamp light, etc, light and shadow are relatively desaturated. Saturated light can be found in the setting sunlight, light coming from televisions, neon lights, and others like this.

Anatta Commentary: All I want to do is Draw!

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:04:00 +0000

Anatta is a webcomic by Wei Li and Anise Shaw. It can be viewed here and updates every Monday and Friday.

I am a huge fan of the webcomic community, both in terms of the work it produces and the ideology it inherently espouses. To be a successful webcomic, one may have to be adept at more than simply drawing a good comic, one also has to be a marketer, promoter, convention booth slave, t-shirt designer and internet sales guru. I am, of course, defining the success of a webcomic as having enough momentum that the author(s) of said webcomic can work on it full time with relative economic stability.

This is a falacy, essentially. One can be successful at their work without attaining popularity or economic stability, but as someone who wants to avoid the forever "day job", that place of employment that I go to in order to finance my other, more important aspirations, the other definitions of success taste bittersweet.

So, with Anatta, Wei and I have plans. We are producing our new pages as fast as we can, with a fervour that only a new project can inspire. I've also started writing some short stories that will take place in the Anatta world, but will not encompass the characters or major plot arc of the main comic. I haven't decided if they will be written or drawn, but I'm leaning more towards a simple strip style comic.

Our first issue will encompase 22 pages, and when it's complete we will be seeking out reviews, link exchanges and on demand printing. In webcomics, it's all about gaining and keeping the momentum, and being able to identify what your readers are looking to gain from your marketing attempts.

One of my favourite examples of this being done successfully is with Errant Story by Michael Poe. His integration of ways his readers can help him out financially is both sincere and economically sound. He's not looking to exploit his readers as "consumers", but to have them as active participants in the financial wellbeing of the comic. It's a very symbiotic relationship.

I don't want my readers to feel that I'm in it for the money, because if I was I wouldn't really be doing a webcomic. I'm bypassing the publishing process because I feel that it's a broken system, one that is far more worried about its bottom line than its impact on popular culture.

Until next time... Anise is gone!

Anatta Commentary: So You Want to Make a Webcomic?

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:19:00 +0000

Anatta is a webcomic by Wei Li and Anise Shaw. It can be viewed here and updates every Monday and Friday.

So here's the big thing, I'm pretty much done with my bachelor's degree and faced with the looming years of the rest of my life. I'm not the only one in my house in this boat, my partner is also facing the same existential conflict and to an almost greater degree. Wei has a degree in Business Administration specializing in Marketing, but he really doesn't want to work in business. He's an artist at heart, but was too turned off of the poor life to get the BFA.

So, he wants to draw and I want to put my education in Visual Arts to good use at something that I enjoy doing. Seeing that it's so much easier to tackle big problems in numbers, Wei and I put our head together to decide what we were going to do.

We have been doing comics for a long time. Wei has made several short stories and is incredibly dedicated to getting projects done. I was part of the major wave of webcomics between 1999-2003 with a stupid little ditty I made while I was in highschool, but I have a problem with procrastination. I, however, do have more experience with narrative and the technicalities of making a webcomic. Wei looked at me one day and said, "Let's make a comic together" and I replied almost immediately, "We should make a webcomic."

The world of comic book publishing is an annoyingly closed one, even with the popularity of comics rising so quickly. It may be a few years before publishing companies have enough confidence and monetary reserve to take bigger risks on new comic artists, and unfortunately Wei and I don't really want to wait that long.

So, we decided to make a webcomic with a story we had been discussing for about 8 months. I initially wanted to write it, but I'm a procrasinator, so Wei did all the initial writing and I polished it for him. He finished the first page in November and I got started with colouring.

We were initially hoping to have 10 pages up on January 1, plus 2-4 in reserve. We over estimated our ability greatly, especially our ability to work together. It took us almost a month to fully iron out the kinks of working together, what my job is and what Wei's job is and how we can both do them as to not hinder each other.

I remember when Wei finished the first page. He had spent several days trying to ink it just right, and then he went over his lineart with grayscale markers. He was so proud of it, and he held it up with with such joy to show me the beginning of our greatest project yet.

"What the hell is that?" I asked immediately.
"What is what?" He replied, with an almost innocent disappointment in his voice.
"That marker? Do you want this coloured or not?"
Wei looked down, puzzled, "What's wrong with the marker?"

It took me almost an hour to explain that greying in the lineart was pointless, because he was trying to define form that was really the job of the colour. I also tried to explain that grey desaturates all colours and that it will take me hours to get the colour laid in properly.

So, we began going back and forth, me trying to find a colouring technique that both fit the story and Wei's style of drawing. Wei has had a difficult time getting used to making simple, flat lineart, especially after years of trying to define form with greyscale and crosshatching.

On January 1, we launched with 6 pages and 6 in reserve, uncoloured. I look forward to working on this project, I really think that most of the difficult snags of working together have been solved.

Until next time, Anise is out!

I am Bipolar (iambipolar.ca)

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:51:00 +0000

I am Bipolar

Questions of an existential nature fill my mind as my awareness continues to perpetually fuel the inquiry into the disassociation and unreal feelings of my surroundings. Do I exist? What does it mean to exist? Where do I exist? Is this all a fabrication of mind? Am I my mind? What is mind? Who am I? Most of the time the questioning is not even linguistically formulated, but is simply a process of thoughtless analytical observation where my awareness silently questions my experience through experiencing the experience itself, by becoming vividly aware of the contents of my consciousness and watching them play out in an endless cycle of disassociation that is felt throughout my body and mind. (Random Scribbles 2008 July 20)

Iambipolar.ca is a Canadian website created as a resource for those who are diagnosed or believe that they have bipolar disorder or some variation of the mood disorder. The website offers a variety of resources to its visitors, including articles, videos, podcasts, suggested readings, a blog tree and a forum. It is not immediately clear who runs the website, but from the manner in which many editorial paragraphs are written I have deduced that the website is created and maintained by one or several individuals out of personal interest and a desire to fulfill a perceived responsibility to network and communicate with other individuals afflicted with the same disorder. Their front page greets visitor with a short introduction:

Welcome to I Am Bipolar!

I Am Bipolar is an online resource for family, friends and people who are dealing with Bipolar Disorder. Here you will find news, videos, articles, book reviews, a forum and many other resources to help you cope with a difficult and sometimes confusing mental illness. You will also find my bipolar blog called Random Scribbles where I'll be writing my about my experience with bipolar disorder, books that I've read and other random thoughts that cross my mind (I am Bipolar 2008 October 21).

Within this paper, I will examine the variety of networking opportunities created for people who find an interest in bipolar disorder, be they individuals who have it, their families or individuals looking to educate themselves on the disorder. Through the blogs and forums I will make an extensive examination of how people relate to the disorder, their understanding of how it operates within society and how they relate, through the internet medium, with other people with the disorder. I will first discuss bipolar disorder and analyse the foundations of the website, what it purports to provide and how it operates for its visitors.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of affective mood disorders bipolar disorder is a spectrum disorder that is characterised by periods of mania and depression (Wikipedia 2008 October 21). The disorder has a long history of recognition in a variety of forms, and it's psychiatric definitions have greatly changed to finally arrive at its contemporary diagnosis. Bipolar disorder is no longer seen as a cycling disorder, where depression and mania alternate, but rather a single episode of either within a specific time period. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association categorizes four subtypes to the affective mood disorder. Bipolar type 1 and Bipolar type 2 are both characterized as having manic and major depressive episodes, where Bipolar type 2 has a less intense hypomanic trait. Type 2 also displays no mixed episodes and at least one major depressive episode. Cyclothymia is the third subtype that contains hypomanic episodes and depression that does not meet the criteria for major depressive episodes. There is one last category, Bipolar Not Otherwise Specified (NOS), which is a catch all category for individuals suffering from mania and depression, but do not fit in the first three categories.

Bipolar Spectrum disorder has a genetic component, and is currently believed to be influenced by a single nucleotide polymorphism (Baum 2008). Due to the varying symptoms observed in identical twins, the theory of stochastic neurobiological effects being a major factor has favour over a genetic causation theory.

Entering the iambiolar.ca Website

Iambipolar.ca begins it impression on a visitor simply with its name. The phrase I am Bipolar connotes an identification with those who have the disorder and immediately positions itself as more than an informational site. As an emotional, subjective and identifying phrase, I am Bipolar brings a sense of bio responsibility to creating a fragment of ones identity as bipolar. Questions of who a person is and how they are identified are on the surface as one navigate further into the website. Through the access of information this website highlights what Rose describes as a neurochemical individuality [that] becomes a field of choice, prudence and responsibility. One of the major themes of the website is the experimentation and contestation that is packaged with that neurochemical identity (Rose 2007: 40).

The typeset for the website title is handwritten and scratchy, bring both a sense of individuality and non-conformity with a touch of the “insane”. Only those who are unwilling or unable to follow the rules write outside the lines. There are only two other images on the front page: a post-it looking image, complete with a thumbtac, inviting visitors to enter the forums to communicate and network with other bipolar sufferers and a small picture of the human brain with different areas of it highlighted in a variety of colours. This pictoral “map” of the brain is reminiscent of early scientific maps used to categorize the brain into sections that control different aspects of the body, personality and all abstract aspects of life. Juxtaposed with the opening statement, the connotation is that bipolar disorder, its effects and its relationship with the person are conceptualised through this abstract and scientifically objective form called the human brain, and that the brain can be split up into readily identifiable and understandable areas.

As the website prompts one to visit the forums quite prominently, that was the first area of the website I ventured into.

Iambipolar.ca Forums

The iambipolar.ca forums are frequented by 111 registered users and a number of guests. Most of the registered members who have listed their location in their profile are from different areas of Canada (I am Bipolar Forums 2008 October 21). There are six subforums titled General Discussions on Bipolar Disorder, Treatment Options, Personal Stories, Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder, Family and Friends (helping someone with Bipolar) and Jokes, Humorous Stories, Etc. The most topics are posted in the General Discussions subforum and it also has the most number of posts.

Within the General Discussion subforum there are many threads of introduction, articles of interest and quick and interesting discussions. One of the leading threads that caught my eye immediately was titled “best type of work?” (I am Bipolar Forums 2008 May 5). In the thread, the original poster (OP) asks a general question to other members of the forum:

Have there been any studies or articles published on what type of careers tend to fit people with bipolar (I am bipolar Forums 2008 May 5)?

The answers vary from personal accounts to different books read by individuals that helped to shape their decisions on their work and careers. Many members were quick to point to creative and low-stress jobs, as people with bipolar have a perception of being quite creative (almost to the point of genius during manic and hypomanic periods), and unable to deal with stress during low periods. There is very little discussion talking about medication and it's ability to mediate problems with work, except to say that it does very little to stabilize some of the major symptoms of the disorder. One member discussed their previous work history and how they eventually came to choose their career path:

Before diagnosis following an incredibly prolonged mania three years ago I worked in a fairly uncreative marketing position for a high tech company... I was never fully happy in the role but stuck with it as it seemed the best possibility out there at the time. For seven years attendance was definitely an issue for me. I didn't know I was bipolar, so didn't know the reason, but I would often just not be able to go into work and it was frustrating to say the least to try and explain what was going on to my employer when I didn't have a clue myself. In hindsight, all my manias and depressions directly affected my work performance. I just didn't know it at the time.
Post-diagnosis and during recovery I thought it best to look for a career that I could control better. My major motivation here was to reduce the amount of stress I'd have when faced with yet another situation of not being able to go to work or to perform at my regular level, and avoid also having to explain the reason why to a future employer. In my last job I went on short-term disability following a manic episode and the response from my boss and colleagues was completely negative. Then the insurance company rejected my claim based on a technicality ... I decided I should work for myself, and in something far more creative than what I had previously been embarking on.
While working for yourself includes a huge amount of stress, it's at least stress that seems manageable to me. I'd rather feel guilty to myself and myself only when I'm unable to perform at work than have to answer to a boss and a group of colleagues that may and most likely not understand. Most people in my experience just don't get bipolar... I can't say I love every minute of it, but I love a big part of it. I love the freedom and the challenge and the room for creativity. I'm figuring I'll start loving it fully once I get through the "start-up" phase of owning and operating a business. (I am Bipolar Forums 2008 May 22)

The sentiment of being misunderstood in the workplace, being unable to keep a consistent schedule and the negative influence an uncreative job has on a bipolar person was repeated by most members replying to the thread. There was an undercurrent of difficulty and isolation, but also extreme individuality. The bipolar individual can not be tamed and will not fit into the regular mould. For some members this was the crutch of their difficulty, while for others they saw it as a mark of pride and the difficulty lay with hegemonic conceptions of their disorder.

One short, concise reply came from an individual that dissented with the idea that profession was chosen by one's mental disorder:

My feeling is that one's diagnosis should not influence one's choice of occupation, except to the extent that shift work is probably not healthy for us. Practically speaking, one's career is probably already chosen long before the diagnosis, given the typical 8 year lag between onset and correct diagnosis, by which time most are in their late 20s. (I am Bipolar Forums 2008 August 27)

The argument that one must live by the rules of their disorder, or that bipolar is an overriding personality disposition that must take priority over other decisions fell moot on this particular poster. Their one precondition, of course, was mitigation of some of the more undesirable physical side effects, like insomnia.

Within this thread, another member discussed their job and how they felt it encompassed a return of the experiences they had with mental illness in the form of positive information, empathy and counselling for other people seeking help with a variety of psychiatric disorders. This person works as a peer support counsellor at her local hospital and describes their experience:

Here is one job where living with a mental illness is a benefit... I find that there are a lot of common experiences...feelings...emotions and fears that can be mutulally shared. I offer hope by example... I offer whatever positive examples I have experienced. I try to play down the negative side of the illness and show the postive side of the illness. I also [offer] whatever coping skills I have to help manage symptoms. (I am Bipolar Forums 2008 September 4)

In the Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder subforum the administrator of the forum describes Bipolar disorder as a managment disorder that includes medication, therapy, eating healthy, proper sleep patterns and learning what in one's life will act as a trigger for different episodes (I am Bipolar Forums 2007 October 30). This sets the tone for the subforum, as discussion about medication and pharmacology are expanded to include genetic factors, environmental factors and the difficulty in getting diagnosed. With anti-depressants being one of the highest prescribed medication in the United States, the forum members skeptically view the pharmacology industry and their motivatons in providing bipolar medication. The administrator comments in this subforum, and their blog, that the medication for bipolar disorder is not 100% effective and should never be perceived as a miracle drug (I am Bipolar Forums 2007 October 30; Random Scribbles 2008 August 17).

The I am Bipolar Forums engage its members in conversation on a variety of related topics to their disorder. As one member comments:

This definitely is the most supportive and informative site I've found. (And Canadian! Yay!) It has really been a great help for me to come here and read that other people are going through similar situations as me. I feel less like a victim and more empowered to improve myself (I am Bipolar Forums 2008 July 9).

Through this peer networking there is a desire to remove some of the vunerabilities associated with mood affective and psychiatric disorders. The expression of hiding oneself from coworkers, friends and society due to this disorder is common, with a subsequent expression that the anonymity of the internet allows a forum for these discussions to happen with the fear of ostricisation removed from the equation. Through this networking portion of the website these individuals have located and further developed a safe social space for themselves that is both socially engaging and informational.

Blogs

Iambipolar.ca offers a page with a link tree to other blogs written by individuals with bipolar disorder. They range from individual accounts of living life with an affective mood disorder to advocate journalism on pharmaceuticals and psychiatry. The main blog of the website is Random Scribbles, written by the site author.

Random Scribbles takes a name with an unfinished, draft and automatic art (such as that utilized by the Surrealist art movement in the 1930s) connotation and captures an element of the subconscious nature of bipolar disorder – many afflicted with the disease feel it's beyond their immediate control and is an intricate part of who they are as a person.

The latest entry posted was entitled To Tell or Not to Tell and examined bipolar disorder, secrecy and the event of telling those around one of the affective mood disorder that one has been diagnosed with. As in the forums, the author of Random Scribbles points quickly to the workplace relationship with mental disorders. They highlight how confiding in a employer and/or coworkers about ones disorder can have one of three effects: A negative reaction where the employer and coworkers begin to treat the person afflicted differently, by thinking they can't do anything for themselves or actively discriminating against them out of fear or misinformation. A neutral reaction where the employer or coworker seem to think the disorder has very little to do with their employment (the author then points out, while not an outward act of negativity, this can be negative as people with bipolar disorder often need special consideration when it comes to mood episodes, stress and attendance). Lastly, a positive reaction where the employer and coworkers empathize with the afflicted individual and take care to help them have a healthy work environment to minimize their episodal triggers (Random Scribbles 2008 August 17).

The author laces this article with their philosophical and personal perspective:

It is unfortunate that revealing bipolar disorder needs to be considered so carefully, but until it is accepted in the mainstream as just another aspect in the spectrum of being human then it will remain hidden in the shadows of daily life. The reality for reaching this mainstream acceptance is kind of a catch 22 though because in order for bipolar disorder to become mainstream and accepted, people suffering from it need to speak out, but by speaking out you potentially face being persecuted for the natural biological functioning of your brain because it does not function exactly like the brains of the majority. (I am Bipolar Forums 2008 August 17)

There is a real sense of fear in this article, brining to light the authors view of the marginalised nature of mental disorders like Bipolar. Throughout the blog, the author's articles are spotted with a sense of isolation and fear, as well as caution. As the author builds a website to bridge this isolation, they can not help but discuss the existing rift between what is perceived as our contemporary hegemonic society and the negotiation of people with bipolar within it:

It sometimes seems like the world isn’t made for us. Like we don’t fit the mold of what a human being should be. Employers don’t want workers who will suffer uncontrollable bouts of depression or mania and exhibit associated behaviors. Friends don’t want the unpredictability of friends who one moment are filled with energy and excitement and the next moment won’t leave their house or talk to anyone because they are so depressed. They want consistency. They want reliability. They want to know that who you are now is who you will be tomorrow and 6 months from now (Random Scribbles 2008 July 20)

Conclusion

Biopolar Spectrum Disorder is a neurological disease that effects an indeterminable amount of people, it is a disorder that is often misdiagnosed and inaccurately medicated. The most common confusion is diagnosing individuals with bipolar with a depression disorder, as the American Psychiatric Institute identifies that most people seek help when they are in a depressive period and tend not to see manic (and especially hypomanic) periods as a serious threat to their mental wellness. This affective mood disorder, as with most similar disorders, is open to constant contestation; within diagnosis criteria as well as the classification as a disorder. Bipolar has many myths and preconceptions that come with it, including the idea that the greatest creative genius in the Western world has come from persons suffering from the disorder and so, by extension, all those who go through manic episodes must also have the potential for equally creative persuits.

There is a negotiation that individuals with bipolar disorder go through with their identity, their mental disease and the perception of that disease. These human dramas, understandings and relationships are played out in several different ways on the iambipolar.ca website. Through the blogs and forums, individuals with similar issues and common neurological and biological interests meet each other through the anonymity of the internet. They tell their stories, critique articles on their disorder in the media and try to find a sociological common ground for their circumstances. Simultaneously, they highlight their differences and enjoy the freedom of their individuality, not only within themselves in relation to other members, but also in the social order of individuals with bipolar and all those who do not have and continue on with “normal” actions in society. Individuals see their fitting a social mould as a reliable, working and emotionally stable citizen as both a difficulty and an undesirable path to embark on. Many revel in their “fringe” lifestyles, while others want nothing more than empathy and understanding, while still other yearn for a sense of normality and happiness. There is a consensus that the affective disorder is generally misunderstood and misportrayed in popular culture and media and they discuss the variety of ways they view and live with the disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a highly contested disorder, leaving those who have it with contested identities. Due to their contested neurological individuality, and the experimentation and negotiation happening with the definition, effects and understanding of the said neurological disorder, these members get together to exist within this contestation and to relate to others that allow them to feel part of a larger, and less vunerable social group. This group's primary purported purpose is to inform, but the relationship delves deeper into a biosocial sphere created by the participating members.

References:

Baum, A.E., et al. (2008). A genome-wide association study implicates diacylglycerol kinase eta (DGKH) and several other genes in the etiology of bipolar disorder Molecular Psychiatry, 13(2), 197-207.

I am Bipolar. “Welcome to I am Bipolar!” Canada: Retrieved October 20, 2008 (http://iambipolar.ca/).

I am Bipolar. “To Tell or Not to Tell.” Canada: Retrieved October 20, 2008 (http://iambipolar.ca/blog/?p=51).

I am Bipolar. “Consistency is Key.” Canada: Retrieved October 20, 2008 (http://iambipolar.ca/blog/?p=52).

I am Bipolar. “Pervasive Emptiness.” Canada: Retrieved October 20, 2008 (http://iambipolar.ca/blog/?p=50).

I am Bipolar Forums. “Hi Everyone.” Canada: Retrieved October 20, 2008 (http://iambipolar.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?id=71).

I am Bipolar Forums. “Best type of work?” Canada: Retrieved October 20, 2008 (http://iambipolar.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?id=58).

Rose, Nikolas. 2007. The Politics of Life Itself. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Wikipedia. “Bipolar Disorder.” Retrieved October 20, 2008 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder).

Existentialism and Garfield

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:18:00 +0000

I came across this wonderful piece of detournement while researching a paper on bipolar disorder and online communities. It made my day, so I'm passing it on in hopes that it will make yours as well.

Garfield Minus Garfield - Dan Walsh highlights some strange happenings when you take Garfield out of the Garfield comic strip.

Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.

I will post my paper on bipolar and internet communities in the near future. For now, sleep!

Pleasantly Disengaged

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:43:00 +0000

Referendums, elections, coruption, graduation and art play little tunes in my intestines, as my reproductive system refuses to work again. This is the moment to disengage, embrace melancholia in my femine genius and produce a body of work that will help age me like a fine wine. Apathy has become a baneful word, the frustration of all doers everywhere, especially people who would like to be one's representative, but find a lack of quantity to justify their excessive actions. There is necessity in apathy, as humans we live, die and try to come to terms with both events in the middle.

Now apathy is desired. Don't worry about your fiscal health, your disengagement will be satisfied through your material goods. I use my melancholy to deal with a rather obsessive form of stress, and a brain that deals in constant activity to the great dismay of my lack of ability to control my emotions.

Disengage from the art assumptions, but not from the political rhetoric. Rhetoric is portrayed as a negative, something the world could do without. Rhetoric is simply a system of convincing, something that humans must do because as of yet we are not telepathically linked. We are experiential in our understanding, and rhetoric is a tool to convey that understanding in the most appealing way possible. The rhetoric of the student society at my university is to out me as a conspiritorial participant, my very nature bringing negative connotations to whatever I touch. I have disengaged, because I am too personal. I'm authoritarian, I believe things must be a certain way because it is right. My path to disengagement is healthy for an authoritarian, a necessary step in the quest for empathy, or whatever the goal of life happens to be.

Apathy is the disease of capitalism, the free world doesn't care that it's free, it simply wants to be righteous.

Everyday Copyright Woes

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:02:00 +0000

Imagine this: You just got an iPod Video from the greatest parents in the world and you are really excited about how it's going to change the way you watch video, listen to music, work out, travel, and everything else you had to do with that brick of a 90's discman you had forever. You plug that pretty piece of shiny new technology into your computer via the USB port and start synchronizing with your newly downloaded version of iTunes. You start inserting CDs and copying the information to your library: Old school stuff first, like 2Pac, maybe some Smashing Pumpkins, whatever your fancy. Then you get to the fantastic exit CD of the Gorillaz, push it into the CD/DVD drive and get ready to upload.

Then you get an error. The CD is copy protected and you're SOL. Now, you have a couple of options of course: you can buy the whole CD (or your few favourite tracks) on iTunes to put it on the iPod. You're mad all of a sudden, you already bought the CD, you paid good money to the record company and now they want you to buy it again to use your iPod. Why the hell should you have to do that?

Then you remember that you live in Vancouver, Canada. The DMCA doesn't apply here and circumventing copy protection (or DRM) is not illegal here. You bust out the sharpie, draw you line and you're good to go. Gorillaz on the new iPod sweetness.

A couple of days later you pick up the Vancouver Sun and read that some MP in Alberta named Jim Prentice wants to introduce a copyright bill in Canada that would be strickingly similar to the American DMCA. You read more about this on the internet and get the impression that this is not something that the Canadian music industry wants, but more the American corporate special interests that seem to have their hands in Canadian politics. You feel that Canada is a different place than America, we have different values and we think that having to buy a song, CD or DVD more than once in order to use it on the hundreds of dollars worth of equipment you've bought is way too anti-consumer. But what can you do?

Realise that the best form of democracy and advocacy is still organisation. Protest, petition writing, and contacting your provincial and federal representatives are the avenues that individuals have to make change. When enough of us get together, we can't be ignored, because a politican can't be anything without the people.

Here's where you can start, know the issue:

Fair Copyright for Canada
Michael Geist - Tech Law Blogger
Digital Copyright Canada

And of course, contact the government! All mail sent to parliament is free, no stamp necessary!

Find your member of Parliament
Write the Prime Minister of Canada
Write Jim Prentice

Lastly, join the effort and join the facebook group here!

Say no to the CDMCA!

The first ever Comic Pie!

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:57:00 +0000

It's done. I've finally finished printing and binding the first Comic Pie, a compilation of students' work from my Cartooning and Animation class for 9-12 years olds.

They chose the title "Comic Pie" after some convoluted stream of consciousness discussion about teamwork and multiple comics (ingredients) being mixed into one. I think I will keep it for my future compilations with this class. I'll print one per season (as the class runs that often) and probably look into joint projects with the library art gallery and local businesses to get it distributed to other children besides those who contributed to it. I would love for children to be able to borrow it from the library and become inspired to make their own and print their own books from home. The world needs way more independent comics and zines floating around!

I do have some lessons learned from this run, it being the first and all. For anyone thinking of making a class publication may find these tips helpful as well.

Size and scale are key. Pre-plan what size the book will be, how many pages and what kind of binding.
For anything over 75 pages, use a gum or coil binding, staple or codex binding is slightly more more time than it's worth.
Allocate the page maximum as a calculation divisible by four (especially if using folios, because they save quite a bit of paper). For example, if there are 10 kids in the class, they can each have 4 (or 8) pages in the book, totalling 40 (80) pages bound and 10 folios (4 images per page of paper).
Title pages are cute, but use up space and paper that can be better allocated to content
No "The End" pages, waste of paper
Set up the assignment with margins to ensure that no content gets cut off during copying (a 1/2-1/4 inch margin on all four sides is pretty good).
With comics, everything should be inkined or it might not show up during copying
The originals should be large and then shrunk, getting 9-12 years old to write in tiny spaces is a bad idea.

These are some things that I noticed about the process. Regardless of difficulties, everything turned out really well!

No More Artist Statements

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 19:28:00 +0000

While this looks like text, it is actually an image, so fuck off

I'm being forced by the institutional overlord that is my professor and TA to produce a document that statements my art. This piece of travesty against all visual understanding is known as the artist statement. It is a document that is necessary to prove that one is not a slack ass, retarded artist like all those bums on the street. It's to prove your work is the product of a well trained and educated brain instead of just from some dood who accidentally splattered some paint on some wood. When you use the phrase "rejection of form and representation" you are worthy of money regardless of what your quotational piece of crap painting looks like.

I'm having an "artistic response towards negation" of this whole contemporary art business. If someone can't figure out what my drawing means, then too bad. I shouldn't have to write to defend my visuality, that merely expresses that visuality is subordinate to writing in expressing ideas. If I have to always write to justify, why don't I skip the whole "making art" bit and just write philosophy?

Now, the ultimate goal here is to channel all of this frustration and hatred into something visual that I can beat suckers over the head with. Fuck the gallery and those stupid white walls. Text is for suckers.

The Terra Nova Schoolyard Project presents Terra Nova Tea

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:24:00 +0000

The Terra Nova Schoolyard Project is a large community park in Richmond that strives connects elementary and high school students with the earth, the community around them and agriculture at large. Students learn to grow, monitor, harvest and eat nutritiously on a weekly basis. Students are involved in hands-on activities that integrate the complete food cycle – from seed to table, from table back to soil – (in the form of composting.) There are multiple learning outcomes and extensions that this project encompasses. Some key outcomes include social responsibility, science, math, wellness and cooperative learning.

This Fall, Terra Nova Schoolyard Society partnered up with T Room teas to create a custom Terra Nova blend. It is an organic Rooibos with orange and lemon notes. Money from tea sales will go to support the Terra Nova Schoolyard Project, which runs entirely on donation, municiple funding and with dedicated volunteers.

Each tin (~50 cup yield) sells for $15 and can be purchased directly from the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society. Orders placed before November 23 are guarenteed to arrive before the holiday season. All cheques should be payable to the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society.

For more information or to place an order, please contact Ian Lai at ianlai@telus.net

Anise & the Art

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:38:00 +0000

I've started a daily comic on artistic musings, ideas and conceptual problems. Boring you say? Nonsense. This is the future.

Sometimes it's nonsensical, other times I have the wit of a rabbit on cocaine. Today's update will probably be funny because I'm in that kind of mood. You can read Anise & the Art on the fabulous drunk duck comic server along with other treasures that comic artists have kept hidden!

On another note, I hate art! Okay, just today and only because my so called mentors aren't being very mentor-y. They're sucking actually, and making my life difficult at the same time. I just want to make comics of all sorts, what's wrong with that?

Graphic Novel Class for Teens and Adults

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:09:00 +0000

Subject to Financing Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 02:53:00 +0000

My short story comic - Subject to Financing - has its first part in the first issue of Spiked!Punch.

The comic and Spiked!Punch can be read in its entirety here

My piece is about two roommates who live in an apartment together in East Vancouver. They are facing a variety of issues when their landlord decides to sell the apartment and refuses to acknowledge their lease to sell his property faster.

Vancouver is currently going through a real-estate market boom. It is the result of a variety of factors: the 2010 olympics, lax regulation on development and the increasing demand for housing from people moving into the city. The fact is, there is so much residential development going on, and it's worth so much money, that the Vancouver municiple government recently put regulations on building residential in our downtown core. Aparently there is more residential there than commercial space and businesses are being pushed out.

When something of this nature happens, the people who are usually left out in the cold are the ones who can't afford to stay in the system. Due to the increased cost of mortgages, rental prices in the lower mainland have soared, and many people find themselves evicted or forced out of their homes to make way for people who will pay higher rent.

The second part of the comic will be out in the next edition of Spiked!Punch in January 2008. I will be posting pages as I work through it as well.

For more information about Spiked!Punch, go here

The Sketchbook

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:36:00 +0000

I drew this image as a guide for a 5x3ft painting on doorskin. I'm not usually a painter, but painting like a cartoonist was interesting.

When I created this drawing, it was during a time when I was having a hard time working within my conceptual methodology. It's a static image, with very little movement or interest, but its a personal symbol for working through my stiff and rigid past practices.

The following pages are comic sketches and inkings that never really became anything, but entered into my practice repetoire.

I drove across town to see "Across the Universe"

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:23:00 +0000

I seriously thought about drawing a comic to detail my journey to the theatre and the experience of watching this mess of visual cliches, nostalgia, emo boy haircuts and Beatles music. Then I realised I'd be putting a lot of work into a movie that I just didn't care about.

It was predictable. It relied on imagery that we already know to iconify a cultural era that us young-uns never lived through, but are haunted by. Everytime that I thought this movie was going to push the limits, it held back. Halfway through I was so thoroughly frusterated with the shallow characters, obvious visual accompaniments to the music and glassy doe-eyed singing sequences that I was so near to walking out of the theatre. Then the movie got into some better stuff, though nonetheless wholly mediocre.

The last half of the film was more interesting (though much less cohesive) than its first counterpart. The Beatles music from this time is better as well, as it seems they obtained their critical edge. My criticism here is the same as above, however, as they didn't push it far enough. It could have been thoroughly psychadelic, tense and culturally interesting, but it just kept on missing the mark. All in all, this is a safe movie made to sell theatre tickets off of nostalgia, real, cultural or imaginary.

History is always viewed through our present context, and "Across the Universe" has nothing to add to my perspective on history nor that of the present. It's a well dressed typical musical sold on the fame of the Beatles.

Code 46

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:59:00 +0000

Set in an intemerminable future, Code 46 brings us the story of William Geld (Tim Robbins) and Maria Gonzales (Samantha Morton), two individuals who have a romance while Geld is in Shanghai investigating identity card fraud. This movie sets up the future unexpositionally, allowing the viewer to determine the world the two characters live in based on their actions, dialogue and interaction with other characters. It appears that Earth is suffering from over population and environmental destruction; living in a city requires the use of "cover", a permit that some people are given, while others are denied and forced to live on the "outside".

Gonzales works for the "Sphinx" creating permits for people to live within urban areas and for them to travel between countries. Geld is investigating the staff in Gonzales workplace for fraud. He knows that Gonzales is guilty, but does not turn her in.

Among the environmental problems (apparently the sun is so harmful that people work and live during night and sleep while the sun is up) and overpopulation, cloning and invitro fertilization have become popular methods of reproduction. As a result, it is legislated, under code 46, that individuals may not reproduce with another individual with more than 25% identical genetic information. People are regularly screened before they marry or have children, and a violation of code 46 is criminally punishable.

Code 46 presents its audience with an intelligent and layered science fiction film in the guise of a romance mystery. The chemistry between Robbins and Morton is electric, creating scenes that are so strong with sexual and romantic tension that they are difficult to watch. The dialogue in the film is almost poetic, with a colloquial combination of English, French, Spanish and Mandarin. I recommend this film to the same audience that would enjoy "Ever Since the World Ended", an audience that looks for narrative sensitivity, character driven plot and the intense thought that comes with well done science fiction.

Vancouver Comic Con - Pencil Stabbing Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:37:00 +0000

The Vancouver Comic Con was held on August 26 and September 9.

The next Comic Con is on November 4, 2007, 11:00AM-5:00PM at Heritage Hall 3102 Main Street (times tentative).

I went to talk to the artists. I don't know how many people claim this justification for geeking out all day with the medium epitome of ultimate geekdom, but it was my truthful reason. I draw comics, and to keep if fresh I talk with other artists.

August 26 was rather excellent for this. The dealer tables were minimal and set up in the middle of the room. The artists had arranged themselves around the edge (the room being quite small, there is space for barely 40 tables in Heritage Hall). My partner and I did the rounds and chatted with individuals from Vancouver, Toronto and Seattle.

As with most things, there was some good stuff, some mediocre stuff and some truly horrendous work. One guy made comics entirely about this misogynistic ninja a la White Ninja comics, but taking itself far too seriously. He sold his comics for about $1 each, but as I watched him during the day, he seemed to make most of his money off of buttons he had made.

Some of highlights of the day were, of course, The Radar Friends and the Sonar Gang (I am quite biased about this being a highlight, my partner's best friend is one of the artists in the Sonar Gang). I bought myself a DnD/Adventure themed c ompilation of theirs and giggled girlishly while reading it.

I spent a bit of time chatting with the creater of Cinema Sewer, a zine/comic about the history of some of the dregs of pornography. Now, I'm not the kind of person who shies away from these topics, sex and pornography are a huge part of western culture and need to be discussed, analysed and enjoyed. I picked up the latest issue of Cinema Sewer, which has a fantastic article about a porn star in the 90's turning neo nazi "white trash". Another favourite article was the short illustrated history of Western themed pornography.

My next stop was to a rather shy comic book artist who wrote a variety of short stories and graphic novels. He told us of his recent life in Toronto (he being a Vancouver native) and that he has a habit of rolling 2D6 (for the non-DnD players, two regular six sided dice) at the start of every day to see how it would go. I asked him what he would do if he crited (rolled 2 sixes) and he laughed at the possibility. At the end of his laughter, he said he would go and try to pick up girls in the most serious voice ever. That, of course made me laugh. On the flip-side, if he critically missed (rolled 2 ones), he would call in sick to work and crawl back into bed.

The Vancouver Comic Con had the effect on me that I hoped it would. Seeing other artists doing what they like to do and offering the results for other people to enjoy got me off my ass and drawing. After spending a year sitting on the fence of my artistic desires, it's nice to jump back in full tilt and create something new. My perspective is completely different now than it was a year ago, and I find myself being particularly engaged in short story comics rather than long, epic narratives. There will definitely be some images to show in the near future.

Come on out to the next Con on November 4, I bet you'll see me there!

Our Corporate Overlord is Reading this Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:57:00 +0000

The only way to beat terrorism is to be happy about what we have and enjoy our lives despite the constant threat of randomly being blown apart limb from limb by Mr. Bat-Shit insane Mohammed.
So, good people of the west, we have an obligation to those who have perished in the chaotic rapid fire of Islamic extremism to smile, hug our kids, eat some Big Macs together and enjoy a cosy evening of Prision Break. When our sons casually ask for their 30 gig ipods, we should smile and provide, because you know the terrorists wouldn't. Terrorists beat their sons within an inch of their lives for looking at them funny.
It's not a good idea to ask who these terrorists are. The government is doing that for you, so you are at minimal risk for limb losery. We all take measures to help the government against our enemies everyday with little to no risk to ourselves or our families. CCTV was an ingenious invention that has made back its worth 100 times over with no drawbacks. There have even been some unintended upsides: catching bank robbers, clearing those suspicious Muslims that live next door and peeking at Jenny's thong when she bends over to pick up her groceries. All in all, it's been quite enjoyable.
I really feel no need to disagree with my fellow westerner, that's the terrorists' job. Our world and way of life is the greatest, and the terrorists hate that. I simply have to keep on living it up, and they will eventually self destruct in their own evilness and hatred. I don't know why those protesting young people have to keep on giving them power, but I don't roll like that.

Ultimate GeekOut I - Adventures in Eberron

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 19:18:00 +0000

In Eberron, breasts are a commodity

An email lands in my work inbox entitled "Welcome to Eberron!" and I know I am utterly and totally screwed. There's no way out of this geekdom investment except by pain of death. Character death at the very least.

My Kalashtar Psychic Warrior was but a thread of preconception and game lust at the time this email materialised out of cyberspace. Fortunately she's now full bodied (although at 6 feet and 110 lbs, she ain't got the necessary jiggliness) and historied in a way that would make Tolkein proud. She had her first experience jump attacking some slime, thus popping the perverbial cherry. Or slime. Whateves.

One day down, 1999 more to go. I believe I will be around 32 years old when I finish with Eberron, and potentially geekdom altogether. Until then, exploring the Magic University for information on sewage disposal and bluffing to the minister of some sort of waste disposal position about our 20 barrels of magical experimentation waste in order to kill some poop eating monsters seems eventful enough for my twenties. I could always go the socially acceptable way into the bottom of a JD bottle and then eventually a toilet so that I can reminisce about "the fun times" when I'm forced to work and procreate. In Eberron, I have a GREAT SWORD and +6/+1 base attack with jump attack and shock trooper feats. These are "the fun times".

PS- Druids are fucking awesome.

Ever Since the World Ended

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:12:00 +0000

Roger Ebert likes to say, "Good movies aren't for everybody, only mediocre ones are." Ever Since the World Ended can be filed into the former category. It's a good movie, and it's not for everybody.

The movie opens with a young man speaking into the camera, filmed on a rather poetic PAL digital. He explains that he's going to go out and talk to people, many who have not spoken about their experiences in over 10 years.

Ever Since the World Ended takes the mockumentary film genre and gently places it within Science Fiction. Two documentarians are talking to people in the city of San Francisco, all 186 left after a major plague destroys civilization. The movie is paced and talkative, with only a few apocalyptic scenes, all of them quiet examinations of carnage that could be missed by a passive viewer. The film makes an early and subtle distinction between two groups of people: the adults who remember the world the way it was before the plague and teenagers who have only vague memories of the former great civilization.

The adults in the film are almost completely handicapped by their knowledge of the past, at least from the perspective of the children and teenagers. They lament the situation they are currently in and desperately try to get close to the living conditions they had before. Many people in the community in San Francisco live in homes with electricity and running water. Logically, individuals have set up their lives in ways that reflect their ideologies. One particular person gathers goods from the abandoned homes and trades them for other goods and services. In contrast with the other commune-style households in the area, he's questioned on his morality of such actions in the context everyone is living in. The rest of the people have attempted an egalitarian community, where individuals perform different functions for the sake of the community rather than any form of bartering or remuneration.

This film inspired long and creative discussion between my partner and I after we finished. We discussed hypothetical (as most science fiction inspires) and our plan to immediately jack some farmland and start the agricultural cycle before we're forced nomadic due to procrastination or post-traumatic stress. My partner had an extreme concern for knowledge, as a great deal of modern knowledge is institutionalized, and a small community would not be able to continue that project. I identified with the perspective of the many teenagers in the film: we as humans can not dwell in the past and must adjust ourselves with our context. We can't lament over video games, expedient transportation and the internet, we must become knowledgeable about the skills that will help us become sustainable. We must maintain the past through literature, art and architecture, but exercise our culture in the present.

Of course, all my banterings are totally hypothetical. This film didn't feel that way, however, as the documentary format gave the story an immediacy without spectacle. The viewer experiences the layers and conflicts within the experiences of each character as the film subtley touches on a variety of important themes. There are no moral or concrete messages that are pushed on you, every theme is delicately strung within the relationships of the community members and the detached experiences of the documentary makers.

Imagination Station: The Next Train's for You.

noreply@blogger.com (Anise Shaw) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:42:00 +0000

Under the blazing summer sun of last Saturday, I coordinated my first Art Outreach event of the summer. The municipal government I work for decided to put their big summer kick off event on the same weekend a every other major event in the province, and expected at 15,000 person turn out. Needless to say, this did not happen and all of those materials I prepped ended up back in storage for another sunny day.

Monday: I'm nicely toasted from not having a tent at the event, and I'm quite tired from not having a full weekend. I spent my Sunday sleeping, my new babe woke me up around 8:30 to feed her, followed by a good ear scratching, some Sunday morning IHOP sugar and fat, and a nap from 12:00 until 6:00. Lastly, a little bit of Harry Potter on the big screen.

I don't know why, but I always hold such high standards for popular culture. Then when said selection of media falls backon old cliches and tired tricks used to separate me from my disposable income, I actually become disappointed in them. They've let me down and, most likely, took my $10.95 in the process. I dislike being

Give us your lunch money, bitch.

disappointed, but I dislike paying for my disappointment much like I hate being burned with an iron. It's annoying and painful, but once it happens there's not much you can do besides put on some ointment and learn from your mistakes.

Did I enjoy Harry Potter? Of course, but only because this 5th installment was a necessary stepping stone for the 6th and 7th installments. The original imagination and wonder was gone from this movie, and everything played out like a tired and dirty dishrag. The Umbridge plot arch was not nearly as sinister as it could have been, but I also give Rowling criticism for that as well. She did not write that character very well, and the movie stuck to her descriptions out of faith.

One aspect of Harry Potter I'm not looking forward to in the next couple of years is the cliched love scenes that are sure to pop up. It won't deal with teenage attraction and sexuality in the telling and refreshing ways like it did in Billy Elliot or 12 and Holding. Teenage love is one of exploration, confusion and naivity, not one with soaring orchestral ballads. If anything, teenage love is silent, with all parties holding their breath until all conditions have been thrusted beyond control. Of course, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has not been shot yet, and the director and writers could very well come out and knock my socks off, but this would be another instance of me holding high standards to a medium that is most likely going to disappoint me and rip my $10.95 from my stone cold fingers.