Benjamin Drake's Art Blog

For the Love of Chiu and Moski

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:50:00 +0000

A tea ceremony gone horribly right with old friends Chiu and Moski.

Pinch and a Punch

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:39:00 +0000

"When you're feeling under pressure, do something different. Roll up your sleeves, or eat an orange."
- Manny,
after absorbing the Little Book of Calm.

There's so much more I could and would have done to this drawing but my longboat is stuck in the ice at the moment and you'll have to be content with this slap-dash Dot and the Kangaroo style euro kitsch. Those are real Norwegian mountains in the background though, ones I saw with my own eyeballs! The little girl is playing a bukkehorn, meaning "goat horn" (I'm guessing "horn" means "goat" in Norsk) I bet you've never heard one. It's a Viking instrument and incredibly beautiful. Hold your head infront of the air-con and dream of Narnia when you listen...

Sigh, alright folks let's meditate...

Now is the time to really study!
From the outside, creating animation probably seems very glamorous and rewarding. And it is true that there are some glamorous aspects to this work, and also that I find it rewarding. But the glamorous parts represent only a tiny fraction of the whole; most of the work we do - what people don't see - is actually very down-to-earth.
Quite a few of today's younger animators plunged directly into this line of work because they were fans. But if I were to ask them to draw a picture of what they think a chaika (a flying boat in Future Boy Conan) would look like in flight, they would only be able to imagine what they had previously seen on past TV anime shows. And I wouldn't be able to use their work as a result.
To graw a chaika flying in a truly original fashion, you would need to have read at least one book on the history of flying, and then be able to use your imagination to augment what you have read.
In delving into books on the history of airplanes, you would encounter the name of Igor Sikorsky. He is the man who in 1913 built the world's first four-engine bi-plane and flew it in the skies over Russia (later on he immigrated to the United States and in 1941 he invented the first single main-rotor helicopter). When Sikorsky flew his four-engine plane over Russia, he is known for having dined on board, and then, when an engine failed, for grabbing on to one of the struts supporting the wings and standing up, out of the cockpit. With the full blast of wind in his face, he personally and anxiously checked the condition of his engines. I personally think Sikorsky symbolizes the way men really fly. And it is from this image - of someone yearning to fly - that a good illustration emerges. It does not come from imitating something seen long ago on an animated TV series, from a plastic model kit, or even from the experience of having flown in one of today's hermetically sealed passenger planes.

Miyazaki, H. 'Starting Point: 1979-1996' (Studio Ghibli Inc., Japan, 1996)

Sous le Pump

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:06:00 +0000

Hard times ahead comrades! There's nothing for it but to grit your teeth. Getting late back from work has it's benefits though. Last night I got back at 1:30 to find on SBS this freakin' corker of a 50s movie called Innocents In Paris (1953). Amateur critics on IMDb skewered it for being a trite film created for the soul purpose of romanticising post-war Paris - one cheeky bugger even suggested 'Paris' is purely a cinematic invention (although that said, if you one day visit Le Sacre Coeur and expect Amelie, you'll be bitterly dissapointed, that's all I'm saying... *palms raised* don't get me wrong I adore Paris as much as the next Francophile... Quoi? Aurelie? Est-ce que c'est tu? A la la, je suis désolée, non non non, tout a fait j'adore Paris ... Quoi? Maintenant?! Tu est fou, nous pouvons - quoi? Oui, plus tard, s'tu plez. Si, si, bisous, ciao...) It was trite, I'm not gonna lie, but in one scene there was a Caucasian dancer - my favourite kind of dancer on the entire globe. Not a Georgian one I don't think, perhaps an Adyghe, at any rate I was chuffed. The actor's faces in this film were amazing. Just look at them! Clock-wise from the left we have *tugs at collar* Ahem, Claire Bloom, Claude Dauphin (he's French but I could've sworn his accent was fake in this film), Alastair Sim (he gets drunk with a Russian ambassador and they both watch the caucasian dancer briefly), Ronald Shiner (loved this guy, played a British officer named Dicky Bird), Margeret Rutherford (playing an adorable old lady named Gwladys, no typo) and finally Jimmy Edwards, whose Google Image Search revealed he has this moustache in every movie.

I doubt you could find this movie anywhere but if you do, buy or hire it for my sake and enjoy the Tin Tinesque characitures and the hammy, slightly racist, British humour. Not the angry pre-pube-noob-on-YouTube racist but the 'mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun' kind of racism, if that's even racism... The Japanese don't care to! The Chinese wouldn't dare to! In Rangoon the heat of noon is just what the natives shun, but Britishers detest a, fiesta... What? No I don't have that song memorised, I read it off these palmcards. I know what the Japanese would care to, though...

It is all well and good to love animation, but as I always counsel people, it is best not to think of entering this business lightly. Animation is still a very new field, and there are only a few works in existence that we can really call classics. But it is essential to watch as many of these classics as possible. And it is also essential to be interested in subjects that have traditions going back hundreds of years, and to broaden your own knowledge. In exerting yourself toward this end, you will find that you develop something truly your own.

Miyazaki, H. 'Starting Point: 1979-1996' (Studio Ghibli Inc, Japan, 1996).

From One Commonwealth to Another...

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:34:00 +0000

He's not meant to be Bob Marley but I'll tell you something interesting about him anyway. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a Jamaican of English descent. His mother Cedalla Booker was Afro-Jamaican. I had no idea Bob Marley had mixed heritage. Here is a brilliant quote I found on his wiki article.

I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.

As the article says: although Marley recognised his mixed ancestry, throughout his life and because of his beleifs, he self-identified as a black African. I think I'm going to go listen to Waiting in Vain now. I wonder if Miyazaki has ever listened to Marley. I wonder what Bob Marley would of thought of Miyazaki's animations? This is a weighty Miyazaki Meditation tonight, so pull your socks up.

Before speaking about the techniques of animation...
Sometimes high school students and others ask me whether they should first go to college, or start working as animators right away. When asked, I respond as follows: It doesn't matter, so just go to college. Go to college and, while enjoying four years of student life, study art if you really want to.
I give young people this advice because jumping into the industry four years early isn't going to help them become full animators any faster. Once you're in the industry, you will be overwhelmed with work and you won't have any time to study or learn for yourself.
One of the things about drawing is that, if you put in serious effort, you will become good at it, at least to a certain extent. But that's all the more reason to study a variety of things that interest you while you have time, before you enter the professional world, in order to develop and solidify such fundamentals as your own viewpoint and way of thinking.
If you don't do this, your life will be treated as just another disposable product. In the animation business, most people spend a long time working at the bottom of the organizational ladder. You usually have to endure a lengthy apprenticeship period, waiting patiently for the chance to someday demonstrate what you can do. But the opportunity to demonstrate what you can do only comes along once in a while, so unless you are extraordinarily lucky, you'll probably never make it.
To endure something is obviously exhausting and agonizing. But at the same time, you must also continue to hold what you regard as important close to your heart and nurture it. Should you ever relinquish what you truly hold dear, the only path left to you will be that of a pencil-pusher - the type of animator whose sense of self-worth is determined by the numerical amount of his earnings, or who cycles between joy and despair over the high or low raitings his work receives.

Shmi Bibi...

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:10:00 +0000

A comic about balls.

I love SBS. I've loved SBS since the days of Des Mangan and the Friday Night Cult Movie - I'll never forget the time I was watching TV with my parents and we flicked onto SBS to catch Asuka's cartoon boobies in Evangelion, casting sudden suspicion over my enthusiasm for anime, but I digress. SBS recently played two Israeli movies: Medurat Hashevet, The Campfire (2004) and Be'eineim Atsumot, Whatever it Takes (2004). I don't know if it's indicative of Israeli film or the clammy hand of Fate, but both movies were about single mothers raising troubled teens, and both starred an actress named Maya Maron.

I think she has a beautiful and fascinating face, but a still picture doesn't really cover what I'm trying to describe. If you're standing in the World Movie section of the DVD store and you see 'The Campfire' I recommend it. Maron aside, it's a lovely movie. And so anyway I made an ill-conceived and ill-executed attempt at drawing dear Maya. I nearly didn't upload it but I thought it would be educational to reveal how I might try to hide my inedaquecies using Photoshop.

Oy-y-y, a failure, but maybe some Photoshop devil magick can save this sketch...

Alright, so it's in colour, but a quick Flip Horizontal will reveal that this face is wonky. It comes from drawing myopically like I do, i.e. focusing on minor details and failing to realise the drawing as a whole. In nature, short sighted artists like me are killed at birth or picked off by keener sighted artists with CINTIQs. Sadly, in lieu of natural selection, I must harshly analyze my mistakes so that I don't repeat them.

Here you can see where I've lasoo'ed the misaligned facial features and straightened her up somewhat. After a bit of clone-stamping, hey presto...

... a mediocre drawing, but a lesson learned. Phoo! Time for Miyazaki, and then time to go home to bed - I'm beginning to freak out when the hair over my ears creeps into my peripheral vision...

Before Speaking About the Techniques of Animation...

...Having said all this, if someone were to ask me what the most important thing is when creating a new animated work, my answer would be that you first have to know what you want to say with it. In other words, you have to have a theme. Surprisingly, perhaps, people sometimes overlook this basic fact of filmmaking and overemphasize technique instead. There are innumerable examples of people making films with a very high level of technique, but only a fuzzy idea of what they really want to say. And after watching their films, viewers are usually completely befuddled. Yet when people who know what they want to say make films with a low level of technique, we still greatly appreciate the films because there is really something to them.
So with that, for young people who are now dreaming of someday becoming animators, let me wrap up my thoughts:
When young, nearly all of us want to be taken seriously, as soon as possible. Perhaps because of this we tend to overemphasize technique. In fact, many of those who have not yet taken the plunge into the professional world of animation tend to speak endlessly about animation techniques, or concentrate on gaining as much knowledge as possible about the technical aspects of certain scenes. In reality, however, once you enter this industry, the techniques required to make animation can be mastered very quickly.

Miyazaki. H., 'Starting Point: 1976-1996' (Studio Ghibli Inc., Japan, 1996)

Graduation '09 Special

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:16:00 +0000

We interrupt usual the usual blog for this special announcement.

Whipcrack! Didgeridoo! Kookaburra! Julia Gillard! Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Please take a firm grip of yourselves and get ready for some good news from the world of Australian animation.

Firstly, last night was the Graduate Screening of the Queensland College of Art's Bachelor of Animation Course. In December, after an elaborate ceremony involving George Miller swinging the Griffith Mace over his head while screaming shrilly, the former third years of Level 5 will be holders of one of Australia's most infamous animation degrees. From the little I've seen and heard, I'm immensely excited by what has come out of QCA this year. I mean, just 'ave a Cappin' Cook at these ya mugs...

Trailer to Sam Lewis' short There Be Treasure.

Trailer to Knightmouse by Josh Anguix, Max Cowen and Josh Huf.

Defective Detective Theatrical Teaser from john grist on Vimeo.

The handy Vimeo hyperlinks say it all, except for mentioning Andy Copeland, Luke Mathers and Francis Stanton who also worked on this.

Also, I couldn't find them on YouTube or Vimeo but there is also Yao Guai by Wayne Chan, Nathan Ngo and Stevana Lee. I entreat you to visit their production blog. There are also many more projects which I couldn't find but are, I imagine, just as awesome.

It's work like this that really builds my confidence in the Australian animation industry and creates the kind of pressure which pushes Griffith alumni like me forward! Special thanks to John and Michael for making films in 2D. When I was in first-year a third-year poked his head through the door while we were animating and asked, 'what are you doing? 2D is dead.'

This brings me neatly to my second bit of good news. The PRA short, The Cat Piano, has been shortlisted for an Academy Award. That's not to say it's nominated, but it's on the list of potential nominees and is up against this years best shorts, including Pixar's Partly Cloudy. Freakin' sensational!! To think that American eyes enflamed with the glint of trophies will cast their noble gaze over frames that we drew with our own clawed hands!

And that's the news! I'd like to upload some more pictures but I'm afraid my browser will crash and I'll be left sobbing into my palms. Night night!

Il merit nos bravo-oh-oh-woah-oh!

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:51:00 +0000

These clips make me deliriously happy every time - I love how things become new when translated. Astro Boy is as familiar to me as the silhouette of Oz but watching the opening and closing of the show in French is like watching it for the first time - experiencing again a childhood joy in adulthood.

And now here's my amateurish attempt at drawing the first born son of the kami-no-manga. Drawing in the Tezuka style was fun and more of a challenge than I expected, due to dear Astro's little subtleties and my lousy line work. "Tezuka-san, it took me all day, but I drew three off-model key frames..." McFRY, YOU ARE FIRED.

Chotto matte, nobody leave Japan just yet because according to my biological clock, it's time for...

At the core, there must be a sense of realism...

"Everyone is attracted to power and strength. This was true even in ancient Japanese tales in which superheroes - such as Kurama Tengu - appeared. People were able to identify with these heroes and to enjoy imagining themselves as superheroes. But todays supermen also have machines and technology at their disposal. And even if only one person operates a specific machine, that machine presumably required multiple designers and mechanics to reach the point of being operational. In the world of fiction, I believe that we have to depict this background to give the machines an air of reality. I despise shows that fail to do so.
As a result, I don't watch your typical action anime films. And it's also the reason why, when I worked on Future Boy Conan, I did not try to make "animation" as we usually think of it, but a manga, or a cartoon film. Anime may depict fictional worlds, but I nonetheless believe that at its core it must have a certain realism. Even if the world depicted is a lie, the trick is to make it seem as real as possible. Stated another way, the animator must fabricate a lie that seems so real viewers will think the world depicted might possibly exist...
For example, say one makes an animated film depicting the world of a bug from the viewpoint of the bug. Such a film shouldn't show the world from the perspective of a human using a magnifying glass, but a world where each blade of grass becomes a giant tree, where the ground is not flat, but bumpy and rough, and where water - whether in the form of rain or droplets - has a completely different character than we humans normally think of it as having. It's in depicting the world this way that the story becomes interesting and starts to seems real.
...In my view, this is one of the hallmarks of animation in general, and one of its most wonderful qualities.

Miyazaki, H. 'Starting Point: 1979-1996' Trans. Cary, B., Schodt, F.L., Studio Ghibli Inc., Japan, 1996)

If spoke slang to orangutangs, the advantages! Any fool on earth could plainly see...

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:36:00 +0000

... If I could parley with pachyderms, it's a fairy tale! Worthy of Hans Andersen or Grimm! God... I'd stop if I could.

Here's the results of a bit of sketching I did on the weekend with new friends Nori Tominaga, Michael Manalac, and old friends Peter Yong and Adele K. Thomas. In order of appearance, the Giant Otter, the Guar, the Okapi and the Lion. Sounds like material for a children's poem...

The Okapi and the Lion

went out to sea one day,

and ploughed the waves till they could smell

the spice of Mandalay.

T'was the shore they were well met

by old friends Otter and the Guar,

and soon were laughing till they wept

while eating Persian caviar.

If someone said to me, "Can you speak Rhinocerous?" I'd say, "Of courcerous" and then give them a comfortable seat for some splendid...

Carrying on with the essay 'Nostalgia for a Lost World', p. 20 of 'Starting Point: 1979 - 1996'.

"Today I rarely watch any animation that amazes me or makes my heart pound with excitement. I'd of course love to see works that do, even if only once a year; for most people - and not just professionals like myself - it's probably the way real animation is supposed to be, after all. But creating animation of that caliber requires a huge amount of concentration, even when drawing the individual illustrations, and the animated film won't come to life unless the animators themselves pour their hearts and souls into their work. In reality, we rarely have the luxury of doing that. And even if we do throw ourselves into our work, in this industry we can never expect commensurate rewards or treatment.
As a result, the sort of work I am describing cannot be created without the help of people who are truly willing to go hungry. I'm not talking about people who make experimental animation, but something completely different. I'm talking about those who create animation designed for a wide audience that includes children - the type of animation that cannot be made by a single individual. Commercial animation almost by definition requires group effort. Even if the animated images ultimately move as a result of the efforts of each individual member of the group, the final product can never be from one person alone. It must belong to everyone, as well as to each individual. For us, the ultimate dream is to create works this way and have as many people as possible view them."

Sampo

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:23:00 +0000

Hai~ Yai~ FORCES!

Didst thou call down the thunder?

Nay milord...

Art thou prepar'ed to reap the whirlwind?

Nay milord...

Then verily I havest thou mistaken - OR HAVEST I? - *thokk*

Has anybody read the Once and Future King by T.H. White? The Arthurian fantasy? I am sure I remember a part in it where Arthur or someone shouts "you've called down the thunder, now prepare to reap the whirlwind" before he jousts some fool with his picard. Love it. Boys and girls who played StarCraft in highschool might remember the Ghost unit saying the same thing when you clicked him enough. Google can't help me on the Arthur context but revealed the origin of the quote is from the Book of Hosea 8:7, and goes like this:

"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yeild no meal: if so be it yeild, the strangers shall swallow it up."

So there you go! Whoever said StarCraft didn't have Biblical roots! Not a soul, I'm sure, but if the argument ever arises I'll be all over it like zerg rush^^. Moving on, I have something to share with you! A couple weeks back I bought a book called 'Starting Point: 1979-1996' (Studio Ghibli Inc., Japan, 1996) translated by Beth Cary, Frederik L. Schodt and written by the wonderful Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. In it is a collection of essays and lectures given by Miyazaki to various publications. It's brilliant. Every paragraph is inspirational, clarifying and interesting. This book pulled me out of a dark patch I tell you, and so I'll share it with you post by post - It'll be like Julie & Julia except instead of cooking French cuisine I'm going to make a two hour feature length animation each chapter. Please join me for what I would now like to call the...

Look at his wonderful face for God's sake! For theme music let's have 'Sampo' from the Totoro Soundtrack. Wasting no time, the first chapter is an essay called 'Nostalgia for a Lost World' which was printed in Gekkan ehon bessatsu: Animeshon (Animation: Monthly Picture Book Special) by Subaru Shobo, March 1979. In it Miyazaki discusses what 'animation' is to him, boiling it down to 'whatever [he] wants to create.' '...if it isn't something I really want to work on, it isn't animation to me.' He goes on to explain his theory as to why anime is so popular with teenagers. To him it is a case of needing to have a private world in a period of oppression. He 'was never more passionate about manga than when preparing for [his] college entrance exams.' But what about when we grow up?

The word nostalgia comes to mind. Adults, fondly recalling something from their childhood, often speak of nostalgia. But even three-, four-, and five-year-olds feel a similar sentiment. It's something that all of us, regardless of age, actually experience. And as we get older, the breadth - or depth - of our nostalgia definately increases. I believe, in fact, that nostalgia is one of the fundamental starting points for most people involved in creating animation.
Human history exists in a continuum encompassing both the past and the future, but the moment someone is born into this present instant, into 1978, he or she has already lost certain opportunities or possibilities, including the chance to be born in other ages. Yet we can still enjoy ourselves in different fantasy worlds. And this yearning for other, lost possibilities may also be a major motivator in creating animation.

You see what I mean? The whole book reads like that! Please share your thoughts and join me next time for more Miyazaki Meditations. Ja mata ne!

HUITTT - HERE BLUEY!

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:30:00 +0000

E-a-a-asy tiger...

Sorry that drawing is a bit scrappy, I was dealing with muscles and perspectives out of my league. Drawing the Blue Cattle Dog was fun though as they are the greatest breed of any living thing that has ever drawn breath. Draws to my mind a ruler I had in primary school with the names of all the English Kings and Queens running down it chronologically. I often think of that ruler but with the names of our dogs running down it. It'd look something like this:

*This list does not include those other animals who were themselves integral parts of the Drake family, or the Dogs of the Other Families.

Ben - 1970s-80s, Legendary First Blue Cattle Dog of the O'Briens.
Sally - 1980s-90s, Legendary First Blue Cattle Dog Bitch of the Drake Pack, Bore Witness to the Births of Three Human Pups and Guarded Them Valiantly Unto Her Noble Death.
Minty - 90s, First Miniature Fox Terrier, Died Tragically by Car in only the First Month of Her Reign.
Sam - 90s, Second Cattle Dog of the Drake Pack. Was Bitten by a Tick and Found by the Alpha Male of Drake Pack Under a Tree, Awaiting his Death with Dignity.
Pipi and Bluebell - 1990s-00s, This Miniature Fox Terrier and Cattle Dog Cross Staffie Shared Stewardship of the Drake Pack for Nearly Two Decades and Lived Simultaneously with nearly every other Dog of the Drakes, O'Briens and McCullagh's Combined. Both Their Visages May be Viewed on the Right Hand Bar of this Blog.
Flossy - 2009 - The Beautiful and Current Dog of the Drake Pack.

Hoo... It's getting closer to Christmas. Thoughts turning back towards Queensland! I'll be seeing Brisbane's waters soon enough.

Cousins in the Cages

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:42:00 +0000

Drawings? What?

A Dutch gentleman and Korean lady on a plane.

Baboons.

Silverback Gorillas and some baby Mandrills.

The young Mandrill I was drawing was such a good sport. He sat facing me for a long time with his hands neatly folded in his lap, his legs stretched out and crossed.

"I also thought, "As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; the man has no advantage over the animal... ...Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down to the earth?"
-קֹהֶלֶת Qoheleth,
or the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:18-21

Ou~!

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:03:00 +0000

So I was shuffling through files and I found some things I think I've never posted. Are, are those planets in the alignment I think they're in? Yes they certainly are - Must be time for:

"BENTROSPECTIVE DEUX-MILLE-NEUF."

I drew this samurai when I worked at Liquid.

I know I missed an 'e' but this is before I got Franced. A going-away card for my old guitar teacher Gucki Reissenberger. She played gypsy jazz, or jazz manouche, like Django here:

God, look at these heroes would you!? Reinhardt! Grappelli! I'm sure in heaven smoking makes your lungs go better and improves your health as God intended.

A freakin' mind blowing collaborative effort with the incomparable Qiu, Xin and Moski.

Drawings of Folks on Trains

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:31:00 +0000

Here's some drawings of folks on the buses and trains on the way to and out of Box Hill, where I lived for three weeks back in August. I miss those drowsy times already! I was so worn out from life back then I fell asleep at my table in the restaurant the first night there. Both my legs were so paralyzed when I woke up I had to zombie-strut out of there, Thriller-styles. Nice anecdote Ben. Thanks. Here are more more drawings this time closer to the present.

My Box Hill Uncle to the left and an Er-Hu player who you can see outside the National Gallery on a weekend. He was going to finish up but kept playing just for me when he saw what I was up to, i.e. a crafty mime. I drew him from memory later.

Xue Yi in consultation with Wein who is using the Ba Gua (bā guà) to make some predictions for her. He looked at my fortune too once. Interestingly he accurately divined that I had two siblings and one was finishing school. He also told me my luck was bad but will improve next year. Astrology aside, here are some fantastic lines from the Tao Te Ching (dào dé jīng), the fundamental classic of Taoism:

We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel; But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the wheel depends.
We turn clay to make a vessel; But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the vessel depends.
We pierce doors and windows to make a house; And it is on these spaces where there is nothing that the usefulness of the house depends.
Therefore just as we take advantage of what is, we should recognize the usefulness of what is not. (chap. 11, tr. Waley)

Mum once told me that if Jesus was never born she probably would have become a Taoist. An odd thing to tell a young pilgrim? Nansensu. It's a brilliant thing. I'll tell you something. I was talking to a Chinese Christian at the house one day and he told me that in the Mandarin translation of the New Testament the English word 'way', as in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life..." is translated as Tao, as in Taoism. I wish I could show you the Chinese characters to illustrate the point! It seems to me that in the West the 'truth' of the other world religions poses a dilemma, but for the Chinese Christians it's simply a given! I would like to write a lengthy essay on Christianity's relationship to other religions but it's late and too many words is a bad thing and Hans Küng has written about all of this already. Let's have some more refreshing Taoist wisdom.

The Way that can be told of is not an unvarying way;
The names that can be named are not unvarying names.
It was from the Nameless
that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten
thousand creatures, each after its kind. (chap. 1, tr. Waley)

May I See a Crucifix Level with my Eyes?

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:32:00 +0000

Now with French Grammar Corrections!

Quick sketches of people and things on the grass.

Two studies of the statue 'Jeanne d'Arc' by sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet.

On the lawn of the State Library of Victoria there are two statues, one of St. George slaying the dragon and another of my favourite saint, Joan of Arc. Let it be known that j'adore Jeanne d'Arc! I've loved her since that cheesy telemovie in 1999 that starred Leelee Sobieski and Peter O'Toole. Follow that link and see if you can spot the blaringly obvious sewing machine work on medieval peasant hoods and, while you're at it, enjoy the incredibly evocative musical score. I remember playing Joan of Arc missions in Age of Empires II as well, that's where I learned the French word 'embuscade' meaning 'ambush'. Cut a long story short it's a beautiful statue and Joan's face is sculpted with a stern beauty that makes me pause every time. You can see my two attempts at drawing it. One day I'll get it. As I was drawing though I had the funny feeling I'd seen her leg before. Like in a dream. I shrugged off the feeling at first but, as I was going through some photos later on I realised that I had seen it before! In a place that might as well have been in a dream, anyway.

These are two photos I took in France earlier this year. As it turns out the Joan of Arc statue in Melbourne is a replica of this statue in Paris, which was created by a man called Emmanuel Frémiet, who also created the elephant statue at the Musée d'Orsay for anyone who has the know to care.

Here is our Jeanne d'Australie looking over Swanston Street. If you live in Melbourne, or are ever in Melbourne in the future, make sure you say salut to her.

Fleet Foxes Scare

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:13:00 +0000

So I'm on Yay! Everyday, like I am every day, and I see what you're seeing right up top. Is this a new Fleet Foxes album cover!? As it turns out, no, it's the work of Japanese-lady-based-in-the-UK Yuko Michishita, but according to dear Robin Pecknold's MySpace they have stopped touring and are working on their second album. Oh man I love these guys. I was in a prison of my own musical taste until, bathed in light, they took me by the hand and lead me away to the plead paradise of the happy bearded nu-folkster-folk. Because the Foxes have a print of Arthur pulling the sword out of the anvil as their MySpace background, I always associate their music with that legend. So I drew an Arthur, and some other things.

Some saucy rogue is trying to axe him.

Our woolly minotaur friend Baqara.

Some more vikingsfolk.

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:07:00 +0000

Hei hei! Hvordan går det! Because it was the 20th Anniversary of the Berlin Wall collapsing I was in the mood for Beethoven, then I listened to Wagner, then I wiki'd Valkyries, then I joined hands with C.S. Lewis and sung the praises of the North. The wiki article on the Valkyries has to be one of the most interesting on the whole website, with many fascinating links to other pages. For instance, from Valkyries you can leap to 'flyting' which is a contest of insults. Take the Flyting of Dumbar and Kennedy for example.

"Kennedy states that while he ascends Mount Parnassus to drink of the insiprational waters of the Castalian Spring, Dunbar goes "in Marche or Februere" to a farm pond and drinks the frogspawn." - SNAP!

On the Valkyrie page there is a fantastic paragraph from the Old Norse poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana I which is part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. Goes a little somethin' like this:

Helmeted valkyries came down from the sky
—the noise of spears grew loud—they protected the prince;
then said Sigrun—the wound-giving valkyries flew,
the troll-woman's mount was feasting on the fodder of ravens.

"The troll-woman's mount was feasting on the fodder of ravens." Meaning, wolves were eating the corpses! God! What an image! Maybe on the Christmas holidays, if I'm still enthusiastic enough, I'll read the rest. In conclusion, here's a Valkyrie!

Solveig, you have that crazy look in your eye...

2B pencil, Photoshop.

Whatever Blows Your Hair Back...

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:36:00 +0000

It's getting a bit warm in old Melbourne. After sticking my head infront of the airconditioner's vent and imagining myself on a misty mountaintop in New Zealand I drew this.

Ma chérie fille de la ciel, Pepela!

2B pencil on a notepad with the lines colour-adjusted away in yon Photoshoppe.

Other than that, check out this performance by Japanese folk-singer Kazuki Tomokawa. The first performance is a beautiful solo ballad, the second is a duet I'm not even going to bother to describe. It has to be seen to be believed. It's a visceral - oh wait I'm trying to describe it...

Kazuki Tomokawa - A Take Away Show #98 - Part 3 from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

If you've never been to La Blogotheque you're really in for a treat. Click 'Tous les Concerts de Emporter' and see if it blows your hair back. Nu-Folk! Best genre ever. Thank-you France.

With Our Thoughts We Make The World...

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:03:00 +0000

Special drawings! When I first arrived in Melbourne I was lucky enough to stay with this particular family until I found a place. Every night the father and sons meditate and recite the mantras 'ohm mani padme hum' and 'hum taray tutaray turay soha'. Say them out loud and enjoy the lingering syllabic flavour of Sanskrit! Thinking back to the three weeks I spent with them I can feel again the drowsy anxiety of leaving home, the smell of incense and the comforting weight of a thick doonah cold at the extremities.

My friend Senji, playing Sony.

Topical Blog Entry

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:04:00 +0000

So I watched two Catherine Zeta-Jones movies on Sunday evening, No Reservation (2007) and Mask of Zorro (1998). I threw-up down my front through No Reservation but Zorro has an epic fencing scene in the beginning with Anthony Hopkins. It's brilliant! I'm putting it on my list of Best Movie Sword-Fights.

Best Movie Sword Fights:

1. Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

2. Don Diego de la Vega vs. Don Rafael Montero, The Mask of Zorro (1998)

3. Etc.

After watching this clip I'm sure you'll agree there is not enough fencing in today's society. Thankyou, Catherine Zeta-Jones for co-starring with Hopkins.

Saints and Sinners.

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:27:00 +0000

Hey blogniks, here's two more sketches from my moleskine which I'm posting bit by little bit. I figure there's no fun in uploading everything in one go, gotta keep things episodic n'est pas? To the left we have a pencil study of St. Sebastian Being Cured by Irene by Luca Giordano (1692 - 1702) which hangs in the Victorian National Gallery's European Collection. To the right is a detail study of John the Baptist from Parmigianino's The Madonna and Child with Saints which hangs in England's National Gallery.

Drawing in English museums and galleries is the greatest pleasure. All the treasures of the world plundered by our glorious pirate motherland and at your disposal with free use of fold-out stools.

In other news here are some interesting, if morbid, book covers I discovered while researching a Medieval French bard named François Villon.

Notepad Adventures

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:46:00 +0000

Here are some examples of me ruling neat blue lines over someone else's drawings.

Drunk she stumbles down by a river, screams calling...

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:07:00 +0000

... London.

A few drawings I made while in the UK.
Drawn with ballpoint pens, blue, red and 2B lead pencils.

Allons-y!

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:48:00 +0000

Without further ado, my new showreel:

The 2009 Show Reel of Benjamin Drake from Benjamin Drake on Vimeo.

Star Trek Special

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:04:00 +0000

ben_chow_fat@hotmail.com (Sarasarasarato) — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:11:00 +0000

(Ben Ji Mine, in Chinese!)

What's this Benny, some kind of blog-update?

Yes, that's right. Here's a bunch of drawings from my moleskine sketchbook documenting my adventures. There are one or two colour water-colour (tortological statement) drawings in there but the only scanner I could find was a lousy black and white one. These are the breaks.

Oh well. Say, have you seen the...

...Abram's Star Trek movie? Yes! Twice! There'll be more Trek related goodness on this blog in the future I can promise you that so stay tuned. With my handy ClustrMap gadget I can actually tell whose watching this blog and where from! That said I would like to shout out a hearty:

GREETING TO ALL VISITORS TO THIS BLOG FROM ABROAD!

Your little red dot on the map means a lot to me! Especially that big red dot on what I think is Alice Springs! No idea who you guys/guy/girl/girls are but I warmly receive you my rural brother and sisters unto my digital breast. Also, the current Benjamin Drake International Viewer Award goes to the United States of America which is currently ahead with 28 hits, followed by Japan with 10 and Canada with 6. The United Kingdom and the Russian Federation are neck and neck for fourth place. Australia maintains a strong lead by unfair advantage.