John K, of Ren and Stimpy and Spumco fame, is currently doing a very interesting series on his colours theories on his blog. Although he’s talking about colour in cartoons, the information could easily be applied to most artistic mediums.

UPDATE: He’s also now posting some great stuff from early Hanna Barbera colour stylist and background painter, Art Lozzi.

Colour Theories for Cartoons

1. Garish versus Warm
2. Pee and Poo colors versus Colorful Greys
3. Look at the sky before you paint a sunset
4. What’s wrong with these pictures?
5. Good color without a lot of money - Art Lozzi at Hanna Barbera
6. Does cost equal quality?
7. Will It Ever End?
8. Eye relief
9. Steal from anime if you can’t think of anything yourself
10. Neutral or natural colours
11. Art Lozzi: Early days at Hanna Barbera
12. Colour and Background painting reference: Old Golden Books
13. Art Lozzi: Bob Gentle and Skeeter Trouble
14. Art Lozzi: Scooter Looter, Paint Technique, BG Painting
15. Art Lozzi explains some technique
16. Color isolated from detailed technique: Yogi Bear ‘High Fly Guy’
17. Art Lozzi: Hanna Barbera starts to standardise

A superb BBC documentary on the history behind one of the world’s most played video games.

“This is the story behind the fiendishly addictive game, a tale of high stakes, intimidation and legal feuds set against the backdrop of Cold War tensions between East and West.”

Lik-Sang.com Out of Business due to Multiple Sony Lawsuits: “the popular gaming retailer from Hong Kong, has today announced that it is forced to close down due to multiple legal actions brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.”

I’ve just read about this on IGN, and I’ve got to say that Sony really aren’t doing themselves any favours. After yesterday’s news of them blocking imports of the Playstation 3 into Europe I honestly believe they’re digging their own grave. I certainly won’t be buying the vastly overpriced console when it’s released, and neither will many others.

If there’s a Sony boycott happening, I’m in.

Another favourite blog of mine is EPCOT Central. Like, the Re-Imagineering blog, it borders on the cynical “they don’t make them like they used to” side of critical journalism, but often raises some very important points on Epcot’s current lack of direction.

They also uncover some fantasic gems, like these brilliant videos from a more enthusiastic age. Sure they’re a bit cheesy now, but they only emphasise how revolutionary Epcot was back in the early days when Disney didn’t feel the need to pump the park full of Disney princesses, thrill rides and inappropriate merchandising.

Why EPCOT Center was so special.
Seeing into the future.
When enthusiasm was enthusiastic.

I’ve finally started playing Kingdom Hearts 2 on the PS2. It’s been out in the US for six months (and in Japan for almost a year) but for some reason Square kept Europe waiting. I have no right to complain, if I’m brutally honest, as I never actually got around to completing the first one and, as I never had a a Gameboy Advance, have only just got hold of Chain of Memories (a kind of portable Kingdom Hearts 1.5) to play now I’ve got a DS Lite to play it on.

Still, as a fan of the original that I never played properly, I *needed* to see KH2!

If you haven’t heard of the series, it’s kind of a mashup of characters from Disney and Final Fantasy (mostly the former) in a story lead by a number of characters unique to the plot. Wikipedia has much more information than I could ever care to provide, so I won’t bore you with all of that.

Anyway, to cut a long story short (and it *is* a long story, with many many cut-scenes), I’m loving the game so far. Yes, it’s rather easy (so far) in standard mode but this, to me, isn’t really a bad thing. The problem I have is that if I find a game too hard I’ll end up giving up. I never completed Devil May Cry because I just couldn’t get out of the castle within the time limit on the very last level! It’s not so easy as to be boring (and if you fancy more of a challenge, there’s always the harder mode), and the story and visuals are fascinating enough for me to see the game itself as almost secondary to the plot!

That said, I’m only eight hours into the game (we don’t meet the lead character, Sora, again until the titles kick in at around 3 1/2 hours into the game!) so my opinion could very well change.

One thing I realised, possibly too late, is that Jiminy counts the treasures you’ve discovered in each of the lands, and I don’t have all of them from the first, Twilight Town. This isn’t a problem with the others, but Twilight Town has disappeared and I can’t go back to it! I hope this doesn’t mean I’ll get the “bitch ending I deserve“.

My verdict? I love Disneyland and videogames with a plot, and I’m really enjoying it. Take from that what you will.

A bit late on this news. Following the Frank Gehry announcement a couple of weeks ago, planning permission has been approved for the i360 in Brighton at the foot of the derelict West Pier.

From the press release: “Designed by the award-winning London Eye architects, husband and wife team David Marks and Julia Barfield. At 183 metres high and with the observation pod rising to 139 metres, the i360 will be Britain’s highest observation tower, taller than the London Eye (at 135m).”

During contruction, the West Pier debris (inluding the collapsed centre section) will be removed but the shell of the main body will be kept intact. The attracton is scheduled to open in Summer 2008.

Sorry about the lack of posts of late. We had a rather nice break in the South of France, followed by a rather nice weekend in Amsterdam, followed immediately by redundancy. Consequently I’ve been spending a lot of time sorting out my portfolio and scouting for work.

If you need, or know anyone that needs, a designer do get in touch!