Back in March, I was contacted by a small publisher in Italy about the use of one of my drawings as a cover.
I don’t speak Italian, so here is what I know about the book from email with the publisher:
The book is a story of a lady who lived with breast disease. It is divided into three parts, one in which there is the discovery of the disease, the second with the intervention and treatment, the third with the complete healing. She tells of her emotions, feelings and the way that this disease has provided up to the recent healing. The publisher is ‘Apogeo Editore’ and the website is www.libreria-Apogeo.it.
I was very impressed with the production quality of the book and I’m really happy with how they used my drawing. Grateful for the opportunity to be involved, too.
My sister Sara Mackie has been nominated for a Cincinnati Entertainment Award (CEA) for “LOCAL ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A PLAY” for her performance as Izzy in Rabbit Hole (Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.)
Sara’s on the left.
Voting is open to anyone. If you’ve got the notion, cast your vote for Sara. I saw Rabbit Hole right before I moved out of Ohio and I’m very glad I did. (See the play, not move. Heh.) It was a very powerful play, great story and characters.
If you didn’t see Rabbit Hole, take my word that it was awesome. Or this reviewer’s word. He loved it, too.
Mackie’s Izzy becomes a startling voice of reason … This is a memorable production. Grade: A — Citybeat.com
Last day to vote is Monday, August 4.
What’s the point of living near the coast if you don’t go to the beach once in awhile? I ask you.
To do: figure out why, when settings are identical, one scanner produces the gritty, low-res scan on the left and the other produces a pretty close facsimile of the actual sketch.
The left-hand scanner is the big one, the 11X17. I got it because I work bigger than letter-size most of the time and I dislike piecing scans together. I usually have to do a lot of work with its scans to make them satisfactory.
The right-hand was a cheapie scanner I picked up on a whim maybe five years ago. It has been stepped on (trod upon, for my friends across the pond, and also Trev and eFlo,) knocked to the floor by the kitten; it definitely has rattling pieces inside it somewhere, but it still works terrifically. It’s just small.
“You can’t always get what you want,” said the man wiser than me.
I read an amusing article from my hometown newspaper today. The thought process behind this new … policy, I guess you’d call it, is unsettling, whether you mind this fashion fad or not.
“FLINT, Michigan — The city’s new police chief is saying no to crack.
Acting Flint Police Chief David R. Dicks announced Thursday that officers will begin arresting people wearing pants or shorts that sag too low exposing rear ends.” -Article in the Flint Journal.
Plumber arrested for crack
ink brush and photoshop, 06/27/08
“What about plumber’s crack?” said Keith Speer, president of the Flint Police Officers Association.“
Update:
But you know what? I don’t care. If it annoys me, it SHOULD be illegal. (Right, chief?) — Andrew Heller, Flint Journal
Something I have been meaning to do for awhile was to sit down and try to learn Google SketchUp. I was intimidated by it, having had some headaches and frustration with various other 3D programs, like Blender, 3DS and Maya. After working through the video tutorials, I found out that SketchUp is nowhere near as complicated, and is actually very fun to use. SketchUp is not a scary spider and will not throw me in the basement.
Here’s a couple of views of my first try, a fighter or maybe scout-class spaceship with varying degrees of detail.
A Little Spaceship
It took me a couple of hours to model this, but I think I could do it in half that now. Seriously, the tools in SketchUp make it that easy and fast.
Pew-Pew Vroom!
I’m working on a science fiction project right now and I intend to build some ships of various sizes, as well as a funky spaceport, to help with drawing various angles in perspective.
Update 06/27/08: Since this post, two companies have written to me about mentioning their Google SketchUp plugin or other product. I don’t mind at all, but it’s interesting that I’m getting this kind of response to one small post about SketchUp. Is there that little buzz about SketchUp right now that even the humble Glimbit blog gets some attention, or are these two different companies just actively and aggressively marketing their products anywhere and everywhere SketchUp is mentioned?
At any rate, I don’t intend to post much about SketchUp, but if I try out those plugins, I’ll post my thoughts.
