25 February 2014

My latest issue of Colonial Times is out now.

23 February 2014

My latest issue of The Dragons of Britain is out now.


11 November 2013

My first 'for sale' product has gone up on drivethruRPG. If you like ROLE-playing it may be of use to you. 
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/121640/Character-Concepts-1?manufacturers_id=2834

24 October 2013

Stop Watching Us: The Video



As relevant here in the E.U. as much as in the U.S. Please share. If they can bug the German Chancellor... they'll bug anyone.

26 June 2013

Well, I've finished my commission for the 'Horror on the Orient Express' project. All my maps are off to the art director/Head honcho Mark Morrison and once they've been greenlit I only need to send the TIFF files. 

PHEW!

06 February 2013




17 December 2012

Arianrhod


05 September 2012

Ives Hovanessian

25 July 2012

A serious lack of Community


It appears that NBC is desperate to sink 'Community', the funniest TV programme on 'tv'. It will sadly mope along the lonely road to where Firefly, Pushing Daisies, Sarah Conner:TTC, Defying Gravity, Dollhouse, and many more reside. 


Britain has largely given up on US tv. We sell them tv now like Dr Who and Top Gear. Mainly because by the time we get a show, it's been cancelled. Programmes like Firefly, Community, Lie to Me, & Pushing Daisies are ideal for Europe but networks don't promote them or sell them abroad. It's like "We made this... but we don't care." US Networks need to start firing people who don't give a toss. 


THIS is how they think, and what they think is important to them.


Public -think- tv show
Nielsen -think- market share
Network -think- network loyalty

This disconnect is killing tv as we know it.

When was the last time you looked at a show and thought "Oh, it's on X network. It must be good!" Me? Never (except for porn channels). It's always been about the content.. and you can get that anywhere these days. NBC is the first in a long line of casualties as the world goes BBC or HBO and actually gets what they pay for. Other channels will start to crowd themselves with advertising that doesnt work in an effort to stay afloat. Like two tramps fighting over a rat








I'd love to watch these shows legally, ya know, like I'm in the 21st century or something and have the interwebs and not from the past... but all I get is 'This great funny show is not available in your area n' shit.". So, it's off to the hi-def streaming site I go.



The numbers that Firefly & Pushing Daisies used to get would put it in the top 20 shows in the US easily today.. but I haven't watched a tv for YEARS. I went to a mate's house recently and he put his lovely 60" LED on and I saw... (gulp) a commercial! I thought he'd switched channels! (and the standard of tv ads are now as good as radio ads and radio ads now seem like post apocalyptic warnings from the afterlife. Everytime I hear a radio ad now, I imagine it's coming out of a echo filled rusty car radio in a nuclear wasteland from Bioshock or 9 or Fallout). Post-irony tinged with tragedy. Conan O'Brien shouting out to an empty city that cannot hear him. Maybe we'll see Jay Leno stood on his own, waiting sycophantically for a bunch of zombies to rush up and shake his hand.


The Nielsen ratings, I think, are primarily to blame. Most of us who like good, well written programmes  watch tv shows online now because we're busy, or out, or roleplaying, or pretending we have girlfriends so we catch up on 4OD, or BBC iPlayer, download sites, or, God forbid... if we're really desperate, ITV Player. Nielsen ratings in the US are like shampoo or make-up ads, in that they ask a tiny amount of people what they watch and 'guesstimate' the results for the nation. You've seen those ads. '61% of 211 women thought it was the mutt's nuts.'
No idea why people cling to this Neilsen thing. At first I thought it was a Danish cop drama like 'The Killing', 'Borgen', or 'The Bridge'. But no, it's the death throes of tv. All that will be left is a smashed screen in an alley with chalk around it.


I'll miss Community. But in the scheme of things it just goes to the same place as Pushing Daisies & Firefly. A feeling of helplessness. 'There's no use in trying.' We've all become resigned to good tv dying which means there's no reason to invest in US tv anymore (in general). TV execs know sweet FA and, as yet, they have failed to realise that programming has spread to other devices and the tv is now the domain of those who watch big brother and (country)'s got talent. TV, by association, is for numb brained insaneonauts.


I have just discovered that Community IS shown in the UK. On a channel called Viva. Which I've never heard of. It looks like a cable channel and Community competes with shows like 'The Fresh Prince', 'Punk'd', and Teleshopping. I'd be surprised if it has a thousand viewers.

As a fan of MLS and US tv shows I think it's imperative that US networks cease their failing protectionism by making content global, throw out Nielsen ratings so they can gain accurate data, and fire half the staff who won't take a chance on tv.

If you think I'm wrong then ask other Browncoats (Firefly fans) how they feel. Joss Whedon was treated terribly by Fox. They ruined Firefly's run and cut it short... He recently directed The Avengers. How's that for vindication?

14 February 2012



Emerson Cod from 'Pushing Daisies'.

04 February 2012


'Lonely Tourist Charlotte "Chuck" Charles' (Anna Friel) from the much lamented tv series 'Pushing Daisies'.

24 December 2011


Welcome!

I'm available for commissions, and all the images below are available on canvas, giclee print, or poster in many sizes to order. Please e-mail here for enquiries.


Arianrhod


22 December 2011

Nolan

Geekgirl

Sunna

Silver Starlet

A Fine Fellow

Thoughts & whispers

Mistress

Little Black Dress

Memories of Summer

Lisa-Zoe

Gaga

Joanna

Jamiroquai

Hawaii Girl

Gaia

Any moment now

20 December 2011