While I’m glad he’s concerned about this sort of thing [and I'm glad you think my stuff is cool :D], I want to take the time to explain a few things, especially if sometimes some people don’t stop to think about chains of influence and origin.

In some of my work, it has notable influence from Mirror’s Edge, and I don’t deny their origins [quite evidently since I do actually list Mirror's Edge as one of the influences for each of the inspired artworks.] For the following statements, I’m leaving [Being Alone] out, and I explain why in its description. For the other two artworks, [Now Arriving] and [Searching For] however, are original works — not Mirror’s Edge fan arts. They do contain influence from Mirror’s Edge in the form of minor color choices, but both images actually contain nothing from Mirror’s Edge itself. For some who aren’t aware, Mirror’s Edge does not actually contain a unique visual style, even its developers know this, as they’ve talked about where its visual style comes from in several interviews. Mirror’s Edge gets its main visual distinction by following basic color theory — the same color theory that you would be taught in your first year at any art college. Within the primary colors, blue recedes while red comes forward. That is, in essence, Mirror’s Edge’s entire design concept. [And believe me, N.C. Wyeth discovered the power of primary colors far before they did.]

Mirror’s Edge borrows influence from two other major sources: Swedish graphic design and Asian Architecture, [namely Tokyo and Hong Kong.] Mirror’s Edge is one HUGE reference to Tokyo, and if you weren’t aware I’d suggest to go look up some photos. Like… [this one], [this one], [this one], and [this one.] I’ve always been in love with Japanese urban development and mass transit, which is a big reason why it shows up in my work even before Mirror’s Edge’s release. One of the biggest influences Mirror’s Edge uses is the Sewers level, which is based nearly 100% on the Japanese G-CANS project. [See the G-CANS here,] and compare it to the Mirror’s Edge level seen [here], [here], and [here.] I first knew about the G-CANS before their appearance in Mirror’s Edge, so I was stoked that I’d get the chance to run around inside of them when it was released. The point is, if I were to do a picture involving the G-CANS, I’d reference the fact they’re influenced by the actual location in Tokyo rather than the level in Mirror’s Edge.

Swedish graphic design plays another huge role, as even my latest work colleague Kacper Antonius [editor in chief of Level magazine, Stockholm Sweden,] mentions by saying, “Compare the look of Mirror’s Edge to things like IKEA.” Such as [this] and [this.] “Swedish graphic design consists of solid high saturated colors with bold, white or colored solid text. Mirror’s Edge is a tour-de-force of Swedish Graphic Design.”

While I found Mirror’s Edge to be a fun and inspiring game, the truth behind the matter is that I’m not being influenced by Mirror’s Edge: the game itself. Mirror’s Edge did not invent these influences, it instead acted as a transporter to allow me to discover its own influences in greater detail.

A good example: the current design for Plastic Shards is entirely influenced off of Swedish graphic design. I can thank Mirror’s Edge for showing me how wonderful Swedish Design can be, but I’m not crediting Mirror’s Edge itself for infleuncing this design.

For people who say that my work is reminiscent of Mirror’s Edge, that’s fine, and you are accurate to say so :) However, if you say that my work IS Mirror’s Edge and I should credit Mirror’s Edge, then you’re vastly mistaken. Besides, my very most recent work barely even feels reminiscent of Mirror’s Edge anymore, hahaha. :) I think I’ve fallen in love with the color magenta lately.

However, with all of this new exposure comes a bit of the “telephone effect.” Basically, as some blogs pick up my work and publish it in a post, some facts can get skewed here and there. Most notably is some confusion about what I do, and the focus of my work.

I’d like to take the time to clarify that I do photography as a hobby. In the case of some blogs, they write that I “often use photography” in my work, when in fact I’ve only used it in two pictures within my gallery. [The "Series I" images.] All of my work is actually created from a more classic approach — that is, I start with a quick thumbnail of the scene, I bring the thumbnail to a rough sketch, the rouch sketch to a cleaned up sketch, then the cleaned up sketch to a final polished drawing. I have some supporting imagery to show the processes in a couple of my images.

[Click the image below to see a larger version.]

I also have a video recording of one of my one-hour speed paintings, start to finish, compressed into about 10 minutes. You can see how I work directly!

So I like to use photography as a method to improve my visual memory, composition, and value, however photography is actually RARELY present within my work :) This would make me a Matte Painter if I did use photography — but the truth is that I’m not a matte painter. I like to be a conceptual designer and illustrator. I like to sketch and draw things from my head, quickly, and then embellish the sketches after the initial speed sketch. [Much like the video above.] Of course if anyone has any questions, feel free to drop me a comment here!

Just wanted to clear that up, and hope you found those examples interesting!

Thanks again!

1) How do I turn off the zoomed in grid [the pixel grid] in CS4?

In Photoshop CS4, when you zoom in beyond 500%, a grid appears outlining the pixels. This can be great when working in big fields of solid colors, but not so useful when doing something like pixel art or spot-photo-retouching. To turn off this grid, go to View > Show > Pixel Grid. If checked, clicking it will uncheck it and the grid will not appear when zoomed in beyond 500%. Similarly you can find many other things in this menu like guides and 3D axes.

2) How do I get anti-aliased rendering when zoomed out in Photoshop CS4? Why do my open pictures still look jagged when zoomed out in Photoshop CS4?

In CS4, Adobe finally addressed the issue of open documents looking jagged and partially unreadable at non standard zoom levels. [like 33.33%, 66.66% etc.] Using hardware acceleration, CS4 renders the images with filtering, anti-aliasing the pixels to appear smooth at any zoom level. Unfortunately, this rendering requires graphic acceleration. On some Mac computers, this can be tricky, as it uses the Mac OS OpenGL acceleration to render open documents. Sometimes the graphics acceleration will break because you have a secondary monitor attached to your system. This is rare, but it does happen, especially on MacBook Pros. Detach your second monitor, open Photoshop, then plug your second monitor back in again. You should find that the graphics acceleration works all of the sudden. Also be advised that the acceleration does not always work in some releases of the Windows 7 Beta, and under normal Windows [Xp/Vista] releases, having your absolute most recently updated graphics drivers can help.

If you’re not sure if your Photoshop CS4 graphics acceleration is working, you can check it in the preferences. Open the Photoshop CS4 preferences, [Photoshop > Preferences > Performance for mac. Edit > Preferences, go to Performance for Windows.] There’s a box that will list your currently active video card and rendering method [DirectX, OpenGL.] If this box displays empty with  no information, then something isn’t working correctly. The best troubleshooting methods are
1) updaing your OS
2) updating Photoshop CS4
3) Updating your graphics drivers
4) Hardware issues like an attached secondary monitor, Cintiq Tablet, or your computer just may need a restart.

It’s a two page spread for SYNTHESIS.

Click the thumbnail to the left to go there now! ]]> http://plasticshards.com/blog/archives/90/feed 1 http://plasticshards.com/blog/archives/38 http://plasticshards.com/blog/archives/38#comments Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:00:48 +0000 Matt Laskowski http://plasticshards.com/blog/?p=38

As any self-proclaimed Audiophile will tell you, Bose is the worst audio company in existence. They will say Bose is a company that makes grossly overpriced products where $20 counterparts could perform better. Bose haters plague the internet and phase through the woodwork to bark at any man daring to proclaim Bose having superior sound. To people not aware of the anti-Bose activists, it can be very confusing when interested buyers wish to make a Bose purchase. Reading reviews of Bose products will either lead you to believe that you are doing yourself a favor or that your friends and loved ones will ditch you the moment you place the order. There’s some annoying bullshit going on here with pro-Bose and anti-Bose consumers alike, and it doesn’t help people who are Bose-ignorant.

When buying a pair of speakers, especially controversial speakers like Bose, there are some simple things that you can do to shield yourself from the intense opinions of others and think for yourself. You may find alot to like or hate.

First, don’t care about what other people think. If a set of speakers make your ears, brain, and body happy when the sound hits you, why should you give a single care to an Audiophile telling you that what you’re listening to is actually complete crap? The last time you checked, these opinionated people don’t have your particular ears or hearing sense. [A classic example are experts who say Bose speakers are bad because they’re “Bright,” meaning the sound is rather intensely upfront. What does that matter to you? You could actually enjoy bright sound.] What I’m saying is — what an Audiophile may say sounds good may actually sound worse to you, and even more likely sound worse to your wallet. An optometrist doesn’t tell you “This lens strength is best for you because it’s what I like.” You pick the lenses you find are best for your eyes by comparing one strength to another. “Is A or B better?” He doesn’t have your eyes, so he can’t tell you. You even pick the glasses frames yourself because you know what’s best for your face. Your ears are no different. You know what’s best for them. In terms of Bose related purchases, anti-Bose crusaders will throw facts, propaganda, and numbers at you, most of which you wouldn’t understand or care to understand because the points being made are near irrelevant to anyone but themselves. However, with all this new negative information, how can’t you help but feel badly toward Bose now? By the same token, Bose lovers will praise their products with sensationalist claims, that they’re so good the cost virtually disappears. That sounds too good to be true, so what are you waiting for? —- No, for your best interest ignore both sides of that coin and approach a Bose product with complete neutral feelings. You are smart enough to formulate your own opinion.

Second, The price isn’t always right. The higher the price doesn’t ensure higher sound quality. Bose speakers are not the most expensive out there, nor are they the cheapest. If the price of a set of speakers doesn’t initially shock you, then it’s a safe bet they’re within your price range if you really become attached to them. Sometimes the price may actually make speakers sound better or worse for you, which is why cost should be considered until after you’ve given them a thorough listening. To an average listener like you or myself, most speaker systems will sound just great when you bring them home. Your ears will become used to the way they sound and you will be satisfied with your choice. Your senses neutralize abnormalities when exposed to them for a long enough period. Things like lingering smells, lighting temperatures, ambient white noise, and constant vibrations can become normal to us after a while and we won’t notice anything until after they’ve gone. Speakers work much in the same way that if you were to suddenly switch to a different set of speakers, the difference in sound would be quite jarring. Even if you dislike the sound at first, keep listening and chances are you’ll become used to them, even being able to pull out their sweeter strengths.

Third, Bring your own music or audio source to test. In-store music samples are often not the kind of music you listen to and are usually too unvaried to form an accurate opinion of their quality. Some music samples may also be equalized to enhance the speakers output, much in the way retailers put HDTV’s settings to make the picture appear intense and punchy in the store. How untrustworthy. Any audio showroom should have no problem letting you use your iPod or Notebook computer to test a speaker set, that way you know that what you’re listening to is familiar to you. You’ll be able to listen more closely to the finer details and differences between sets since you know what to be listening for.

Fourth, ignore marketing. You are buying SPEAKERS first and foremost. You are buying something that emits sound. You shouldn’t care about the small phrases and special proprietary technologies each brand individually offers. All of those specs are useless to you. All that you need to care about is the sound and whether or not they sound good to your own unique ears.

Now comes the part where, if you did, you become interested in a pair of Bose speakers. Did they sound good to you? Is the price fine for you? Do they meet your standards of build quality and are aesthetically pleasing and/or add to your home decor?

If you answered YES to all of the above, then all the power to you. This means you’ll be happy with your purchase no one has the right to tell you otherwise. […less they want to be assholes and get in your face about it. Then you’ll have to either tell them that it’s a decision you made and to just deal with it, or listen to the other persons opinion and let it change you.

However, if you answered NO to one of those questions, chances are buying the speakers [Bose or not,] will probably afflict you in some way and eventually cause you to return them.

Now for two personal accounts with Bose…

I’ve never bought a Bose product before up until a couple of weeks ago when I decided to test two Bose products for myself out of sheer curiosity for the brand. I had read countless online reviews from people rabidly condemning and gushing about the brand alike, so my initial knowledge about Bose remained unchanged since neither side was trustworthy. What better way to put my wonder to rest than to actually buy a system?

I came home with a pair of Bose Companion 3 (Series II) desktop speakers. They cost me a swift $250 from a local retailer. My first impression while setting the speakers up were quite positive. The build quality was good, using metal casings for the speakers and metal stands. The subwoofer, (what Bose calls an “Acoustimass” module,) was attractive and considerably small yet sturdy. Setup was as easy as plugging in a couple RCA jacks and I was ready to go for a first listen.

During my tests, I was actually pleased with their output. I wouldn’t describe them as being anywhere close to the best speakers I’ve heard in my life, but they were certainly impressive considering their small aesthetic which took up such little room on my desk. I wasn’t sitting in my chair outright thinking “This is complete and utter shit, god damn I can’t stand this!” as Audiophiles or bashers would convince you of thinking. However, I did end up returning them, reluctantly I might add. Remember my questions up above? While I said YES to them sounding good enough and looking good enough and being built well, my wallet just couldn’t agree with their price tag. I knew that I wouldn’t keep them to begin with because of their price — but for my own curiosity I couldn’t help but bring them home to test for about a week. [I couldn’t justify their price as I was looking at myself in the mirror thinking “You know, $250 can buy you those new glasses you need…”] It was too bad, really. I was growing a small attachment to them, but back they went. Gotta love Best Buy’s rather easy return policies, at least the ones around Boston anyway.

A month or so later, I was finding myself to be in the market for some new headphones. I was looking for a pair that had extremely good comfort, great sound, compact size, and not extremely expensive. Alot of pairs I found from Sennheiser and AKG sounded pretty good and weren’t that expensive, but they were uncomfortable as sin. AKG’s compact headphones especially placing so much pretty against my ears, I could feel my heartbeat through my earlobes. I eventually found the Bose On-Ear Headphones. After giving them a trial run at a local store, I came to the conclusion that these were probably the most comfortable headphones ever created. They sounded pretty ridiculously good, too — producing bassy sounds that I swear I’ve not heard even from subwoofers. The price tag was steep, though, at about $140, but not outside of my alotted budget. The comfort level provided by these headphones was too good, though, so I bit the bullet and bought them. The On-Ear headphones really surpassed my expectations in every way — producing absolutely deep, rich sound, never tiring my ears out even after hours of straight use. I also have an iPhone, so as an added bonus these headphones had a special plug that was made to fit perfectly into its recessed jack. I still use the Bose On-Ear headphones even after a full year of purchasing them — and they still look like brand new, they’re built quite well for a Bose product. I have to admit there’s no denying Bose did something very right with these headphones.

I will leave you with this last bit of information, however: If you find a pair of speakers you like, try/test a different pair a friend may own just for kicks. Sometimes testing a second pair can open you up to a completely new opinion about the first pair, and depending on your opinion of the second pair, can end up saving you some money. It can be fun to try a blind test of two or three speaker sets. Have a friend change between the speakers while you remain blindfolded [or preferred method of blinding] so you remain unbiased by not knowing which speaker set is currently being used. I did a blind test of the Bose Companion 3’s versus a set of Altec Lansing MX-502’s [a THX-certified system.] I ended up blindly choosing the Altec Lansings each time due to very minute differences that my ears just preferred better. Likewise, my room mate chose the Bose speakers every time on listening due to his preferences in sound. Try it yourself, you’d be surprised what you can find out about how different speakers can sound when tested in your own home. But as I also mentioned earlier, be sure to listen to them long enough to make sure your senses aren’t just playing games with you.