io9 Blog Throws Some Love to my Retropolis Transit Authority

Filed under Found on the Web, Works in Progress

I don’t actually read the io9 blog every day, but I make up for it when I do. They’ve featured some great science fiction related topics and some entertaining silliness in the few months they’ve been up, and I enjoy it enough that I’ve been linking to it in the “Notable Blogs” blogroll over on the left column (well, on my main pages, that is).

So imagine my surprise and delight to find that they’ve chosen my Retropolis Transit Authority site as the only T-shirt vendor in yesterday’s Triviagasm feature, Scifi Clothing You Can Wear on the Street Without Fear of Reprisals. To wit:

So how do we pick just one? The answer is simple: we don’t. We just have a giant closet full of scifi shirts ready to go at a moment’s notice, and the flavor of the day is Retropolis. These awesome t-shirts have a steampunk/BioShock feeling to them, and the designs are retro-cool. Plus check out their entire vintage futurism t-shirts section as well for extra retro-style. The t-shirt really is the most widely used geek badge of honor out there, so make your selection esoteric and fun.

My vacuum tubes are glowing in appreciation!

Trees for Tomorrow – Retro Future Art Print at Celtic Art & Retro-Futuristic Design

Filed under Computer Graphics, Works in Progress

Here’s a public service poster from the Future That Never Was: the Retropolis Civilian Conservation Corps’ TREES FOR TOMORROW program endeavors to replace all the trees we foolishly chopped down before we realized that we needed them.

Under the watchful eye of a Corps member, even an inexperienced robot is able to plant a new, living sapling out in the wilds beyond the wind farms and thereby make his own investment in breathable air for Tomorrow. Which he won’t need to breathe, of course – being a robot – but that’s just proof of his selfless dedication to a good cause.

This sprung up (if anything that took this long can be said to have sprung) out of my thinking about how Retropolis can do better than we’ve done not only when it comes to flying cars and faithful robots, but in making sure our planet stays a nice place to fly our rockets around in. I’m ditching the worst mistakes of the retro future (highways? cars?) and trying to reimagine it into something that makes a lot more sense than what we’ve actually done. So far.

One of the things I like best about the future is that there’s still plenty of it, after all.

There’s an archival print and there will be a poster quality print – once a bug in my printer’s online system is resolved, so I can make it available.

Conceptships Blog: All the Spaceships You Could Want

Filed under Found on the Web

Conceptships is a blog that showcases concept art for spaceships, rockets, submarines and… well, just about any imaginary vehicle you may have ever wanted in your garage or hangar. Pictured: ship design by Ryan Church.

New Ceramic Rayguns from Muddy Mountain Pottery – Now With Vintage Glass Insulators

Filed under Found on the Web

I’ve written before about these highly cool raku-glazed ceramic rayguns from West Magoon at Muddy Mountain Pottery – but this week, hot on the heels of my post about art glass ray guns, I find that Muddy Mountain’s latest personal disintegration devices incorporate vintage glass insulators (the kind you’d once have seen on telephone and telegraph poles).

These work wonderfully well, as you can see, and there’s something really special about the way these retro ray guns have absorbed some genuinely retro technology. Great idea!

Shown above is the Rotwang Retrovivifier (named after the definitively mad scientist of Metropolis) and on the left you see the Lensman DeLameter, a nod to E. E.”Doc” Smith’s lantern-jawed Lensmen.

As you can see, this week marks that long awaited time when glass has become all the rage in ray guns. I think it’s pretty obvious that you’d better get one before the neighbors do. Since these are one-of-a-kind artifacts there’s no risk that Mrs. Nextdoor will accessorize with the same one you’re packing.

Art Glass Rayguns from Joe Blow Glassworks

Filed under Found on the Web

Joe Blow Glassworks of Vancouver, BC hosts this online gallery of blown glass rayguns by Jeff Burnette. The pieces are partly colored, and partly silvered, all during the glassblowing process. Once the parts are complete they’re assembled and then capped with a stainless steel finial.

These are some really nice pieces. Now I understand that out there in the field you may prefer a retro hand blaster that’s made of more durable materials. But honestly, expand your horizons a little. These things are chock-full of awesome.

Klaatu Barada Nikto T-Shirt. It’s Your Civic Duty to Wear One.

Filed under Works in Progress

I’m at work on another high resolution picture for posters and prints, but today I just felt moved to do a t-shirt design that’s been in the Idea Closet for, you know, ages.

Because it’s important. Because you really can’t afford the risk of forgetting exactly what to say when the giant robots get their cue to destroy the Earth, can you? And with this on your chest there’s a good chance that at the critical moment, when Gort’s turning his nasty laser on the Capitol, somebody is going to be distracted enough by this t-shirt that they’ll say “Klaatu Barada Nikto?” And thereby save the Earth.

A little The Day the Earth Stood Still. At the critical juncture. Or, really, any other time at all. You need one.

Rik Allen’s Retro Rocket Sculptures in Blown Glass & Metal

Filed under Found on the Web

Thanks to io9 for this wonderful link to the retro science fiction, blown glass rocket sculptures of Rik Allen.

They’re currently on exhibit at Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum (through April 27). Just fantastic stuff; try not to look at the prices if you’d rather not ruin your day.

Basil Wolverton’s 1939 Meteor Morgan Comic at Golden Age Comic Book Stories

Filed under Found on the Web

Mr. Door Tree’s Golden Age Comic Book Stories has posted the first two parts of a 1939 Meteor Morgan story which didn’t see print until 1975. Love the inking. Love the rockets.

The story’s by Basil Woverton, who had a long career in comics, but who’s not well represented in print collections – at least at the moment.

Meteor Morgan, Page One Meteor Morgan, Page Two Meteor Morgan, Page Three Meteor Morgan, Page Four Meteor Morgan, Page Five Meteor Morgan, Page Six

Andy Murdoch’s Automatron Character Animation System, Now on Sale

Filed under Computer Graphics

Big-brained Andy Murdock has gone mad, I tell you, mad! with a deep discount on Automatron, his enormously powerful character animation system for 3DS Max (version 8 or later). It’s a system he designed based on what he needed for his ongoing film project Lots of Robots and it’s chock full of useful features and subtle enhancements.

I was one of the beta testers for the system and although I’m not the smartest tester in the world I was excited by the way it works.

Automatron uses a custom character rig that’s controlled through Maxscript. Once you’ve skinned your character to the rig you can use the Automatron controls to create custom walk and run cycles, pose all or part of a character, load and save any of those settings, and apply post-processing adjustments (like “Harryhausen”, a simulated stop motion effect). There are loads of options for additional IK targets and IK blending.

But wait! There’s more!

Automatron also has a crowd control system that’s been tested with up to 500 characters, and can animate characters moving across surfaces that are also animated. Now how much would you pay?

Normally you’d pay $149.00, which isn’t a bad deal, but through April 30th Andy’s dropped this to the low, low price of $49 – and although Automatron doesn’t require a license on a render farm’s nodes, the program can be licensed on two separate machines.

And if you haven’t seen Lots of Robots, well, you should, you slacker. The DVDs include Max tutorials for many of the techniques and effects he uses.

Time Travel Mart Opens in Los Angeles

Filed under Found on the Web

Not long ago – right after my region’s worst ice storm in 18 years, followed by a blizzard that dumped 20″ of snow on our heads, a friend of mine asked if I wasn’t missing Southern California. And I wasn’t. But today, I wish I were back there – and it’s all because of Echo Park’s Time Travel Mart.

Yep. Whenever you’re going, the goods you need are right here in this handy convenience store for time travellers: Robot Milk, “Golden Horde” powdered mare’s milk, Barbarian Repellent, Anti-Robot Fluid… the list goes on and on. And bargains! I mean, even at Amazon you won’t find a better deal on anything that’s guaranteed to Satisfy Cavemen’s Chewing Needs!

So yes, Jean, today I do wish I was back in the old neighborhood.