Harrison Wheeler's Blog, page 2
December 12, 2013
Graphically Speaking (Pt. 1): Reading as a Writer Who Draws
Artists, like writers, are ‘reading’ the world all the time. Picturing potential scenes as we go about our lives. I’ve got my creative filter on every day. I see a guy at a bus stop having trouble lighting his cigarette. I squint and imagine him as a burnt out dragon. Could be a funny cartoon, I think. There’s a couple shopping for glasses at the mall that happen to have enormous noses. I squint and imagine them shopping for new noses. It’s not always funny stuff though, as designs also catch my eye easily. Here, a particular crack in the sidewalk. There, exotic henna tattoos. My smart phone is full of ideas on the fly.
My earliest memory is drawing. I’ve always self-identified as a cartoonist first, then a writer. Both writing and drawing are pure magic: strokes on a page to build ideas, tell stories, and light imaginations on fire? This will never cease to amaze me. And both can be read to inform the creation of either one. Let me break that down.
Reading Prose as a Person Who Draws
From personal experience, having a vivid mind’s eye is often as much a barrier to reading as it is inspirational. Why? Because all it takes is one word to set my own vision firing, and before I know it I’m itching for my sketchbook and pen. Reading can be overwhelming! I stop mid-sentence, stare into space, and then interpret passages in inspired doodles. Often I can’t get past a page! Here are things I sketched circa 1997 after inspired by just a few lines from ‘If On a Winter’s Night A Traveler’ by Italo Calvino.
I sketched a lot as I read that book, inspired by the quote and by the title of the book itself. New lines spilled from my pen as scenes I never would have considered before emerged in my mind. A traveler. Who? The proposition of a traveler enticed me as well. How bold to title your book as a dependant clause! If not a traveler, then who? Or what? I drew warped homes in a blurry distance, crosshatched and smudged for extra inky effect. Slowly a face revealed itself on my page, a suggestion of a profile only, non-descript but rich with potential.
Because of my active imagination, I often read like one samples appetizers at a party. A nibble here. A taste there. My library is full of dog-eared novels, underlined throughout, and many with entire pages torn out of them, transplanted into a sketchbook in flash eureka moments. I know others do this too, whether you are an artist or not, and while it can be frustrating (I’ve ready two novels this year…this YEAR!), I like to see it as a powerful tool for creation.
Suggestion: Try doodling while you read. Just make lines like you used to when you were bored in geography class. Drawing like this loosens the mind unlike writing ~ you might find yourself thinking, reflecting differently on the ideas at hand. And don’t say you can’t draw. We all did it as kids!
(Stay tuned for Pt. 2. Reading Pictures as a Person Who Writes)
Related articles
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities (onebookafteranother.wordpress.com)
August 28, 2013
TEMPORAL LOBE
There’s not much else to say than:Give it 2 years, and this will probably be X-Box’s next ‘thing’. Which is cool, because we’d be able to eat while playing vids, finally!
July 30, 2013
FORTUNE CEREAL
http://www.harrisonwheeler.ca
Author, Cartoonist, Speaker
I’ve been on this kick recently…well, more than recently…for quite a while now. I can’t help but shake the thought that every one of our actions cumulate to create the present circumstance. I know it’s obvious, but it’s also pretty mind-blowing. I’m in a very happy place in my life now, and so I am prone to reflect on all that has occurred for me to have arrived at this place. All the trillions of major and minor events that led me to NOW. Perhaps it’s common to have a heightened sense of self-awareness at certain ages, and pontificate on why my 7 years of childhood cello lessons somehow contribute to me wanting to draw cartoons about philosophical cereal. Which reminds me, I have eaten my share of cereal…
See an earlier post called RETROSPECULATION that talks more about this idea.
July 16, 2013
CHILL OX
Chill Ox
http://www.thehawblog.com
http://www.harrisonwheeler.ca
What? It’s just as arbitrary as Chill Axe. Never got that…;p.
Stay frosty people!
July 8, 2013
HOW I ROLL
HAW! http://www.harrisonwheeler.ca
Not much to say here! LOL. Absolutely no idea where this random brain dump comes from, but when it comes I just run with it! Imagine if I left it tumbling around in my head? Or…maybe that’d be better?
Related articles
Why Randomness May Not Mean What You Think It Means (supersci92.wordpress.com)
July 2, 2013
COMIC CON CONS
Comic Con Cons
http://www.harrisonwheeler.ca
What do I think of Comic Cons? Well. They are a surreal thrill. A collection of the awesome and the odd. I’d say they are the equivalent of being woken up at 2am by a clown slapping you in the face with a live penguin.
If you haven’t been to one before, I recommend it. Whether you are interested in comics, cartoons, horror, film, video games, toys, celebrity culture or not, comic cons should be on your bucket list simply because their ‘weird’ factor will shake up your blah routine and get your imagination, and your creativity, juiced. Furthermore, Comic Cons celebrate some exceptionally talented people who are the premier storytellers living today.
I love comics as an art form, but don’t consider myself a ‘true’ fan. Of the superhero genre, at least. Groo the Wanderer was the only one I read when I was young, and it is still awesome! Then in my 20s I discovered graphic novels and indie comics, which were more my speed. Some of my inspirations include Flight, Crumb, Zoot, Moebius, Scud, The Maxx, Miller…the storytelling is out-of-the-box expressive, and the otherworldly vibe they carry is their charm.
Do yourself the favour. Spend the coin you’d normally lay down for your humdrum entertainment and get a decent fix of weird at a Comic Con. They’re a blast.
Cover of Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, 2nd edition (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Groo the Wanderer v2 Issue #1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
fantagraphics.com
June 24, 2013
BRAIN TEASERS
Brain Teasers
http://www.harrisonwheeler.ca
Dearest weirdos and lollygaggers,
My interest in zombies is peripheral. While I LOVED 28 DAYS LATER (excellent soundtrack by GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR ~ what happened to that Montreal band, anyway?), I haven’t jumped on the many new zombie waves for some reason. Our collective fascination with them is entertaining, and I like waxing philosophical on what zombies really represent. What is the brain-eating undead social commentary, I mean REALLY? Aren’t we ourselves the zombies, feeding on each other’s life energy and mutually sucking passion out of every possible moment through greed, over analyzation, and self-centeredness? Maybe that’s why I haven’t tried The Walking Dead. I’m too busy running away from the real life zombies here in reality. Suburbanite Zombies. (I jest, I’m surrounded by lovely people.)
Asking myself the ‘what if” question on what else they could crave, here’s my take on zombies. Enjoy!
June 18, 2013
SOUND EFFECT FIGHTERS!
The strength of one’s imagination impresses me much more than one’s physical strength. Having never been a fighter, but having been beat up, I came up with the idea of an alternative to altercations: a more creative battle wherein the punches, kicks, throttles, and other smack downs are implied through sound effect.
Boys like to make sound effects, that’s a worldwide truth right there. My friend Liam is no exception. He and I have done sound effect battle on a number of occasions, all of which ended peacefully, with giggles. Liam is a true champion, going through some pretty hardcore preventative cancer treatments at Sick Kids in Toronto. For a 10 year old, he’s battling it out like a man! Keep up the great attitude buddy, and keep fighting back!
I drew this cartoon for him recently, eternalizing our sound effect fights forevermore. Try it with your friends!
Sound Effect Fighters by HAW!
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Sound Clips (pbltech.wordpress.com)
June 12, 2013
HIDE N’ GO GEEK!
I love Mario Bros. There, I said it. It speaks to my cartoony soul. And let’s face it, there is a TON of imagination packed in those games, a true pioneer for many wannabe replicas to follow. This week I splurged and bought myself a Wii console with the original Mario Bros. 25th anniversary collection, and boom, I’m young again. Level Up!
I struggled a bit at first, battling pangs of guilt at indulging in vids at my age…whatever that means. A couple rounds of Mario 2 (my favourite!) put those concerns to rest quickly! My motto of measured distraction = playful construction stands firm. I aim to use it as a tool, you see. At junctures of creative blocks when the ideas won’t flow, when words get stuck or my drawing sucks, video games are as effective a recalibration device as washing the dishes or going for a walk. Also, there’s plenty of educational theory to support the playing of video games with purpose, including this interesting piece on Interest Driven Learning with Video Games. As long as video games can be used and not abused, for relaxation or education, ideas beget ideas, regardless of how we digest them. Hell, they can even be a portal to learning!
So ya, this jester is out of the video game closet. If you need me, I’ll be dipping into my Mario worlds with giddy abandon. Here’s some hilarious sidebars I had to include:
Super Mario Bros. 2 features enemies and items different from the preceding game. The playable characters can pick up and throw objects at opponents to defeat them. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Related articles
Super Mario Bros. Characters Reimagined as Hipsters (laughingsquid.com)
Super Mario Bros.: The Movie – 20 most ludicrous moments, 20 years later (gamesradar.com)
June 8, 2013
YES! DIGITAL JESTS ARE REAL!
Check out this one-of-a-kind creative idea that totally blows my mind. Live photoshopping at a bus stop ~ the quintessential meeting place for strangers ~ and a logical place to create surprise.
