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I’m not sure how it was in the rest of the United States but today in Upstate NY it rained all day. Around 4:37 (or so the stove clock told me) the power at my cottage went out leaving me high and dry in regard to getting any online work done for my graduate program. Instead of pouting about it I decided to utilize caveman time to update my website.
Whereas most people require laptops and internet for their website updates I mostly rely on cheap printer paper and my glorious Pilot V7 pen. I hand drew every element that I knew I wanted on the background of my website from the letters welcoming people to my digital space to the caricature of myself holding a robot. Once the power came back on I quickly scanned my drawings, fiddled a bit in photoshop and then uploaded the background, and my new “face,” into cyber space. I figured since the website has been active for a little over a year it was time give it a revamp. Slowly but surely some other aspects of the site will be changing and perhaps even a new website or two is on the horizon. I bet all three of my devoted fans can’t wait to cue up some more RSS feeds with my name attached to them.
Stay Updated,
Ryan
P.S. If you notice any issues with the updates or feel there is anything that needs heavy maintenance please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at ryan@ryanzlomek.com. I always appreciate the feedback.
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Posted on 23 August '10 by zlorya, under New Work. No Comments.
I still have trouble grasping the concepts of basic anatomy, expressive anatomy, facial expressions, horizon lines, proper contrast, erasing, perspective, shading, patience, tool selection, steady hands, scaling, vanishing points, objects in space, shot composition, and a slew of other things.
BUT, I now have my studio set up so I can crank out images like this:
to satisfy my artistic cravings and perhaps even learn how to draw at the same time.
Expect more ridiculousness, more often, now that I have space to work and time to create!
Stay Excitable,
Ryan Zlomek
P.S. All drawings created in my studio space will occur while listening to vinyl (none of that there digital stuff). Give your record player some love and see if can help bring out your creative side. That Is An Order!
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Posted on 21 August '10 by zlorya, under New Work. No Comments.
I’ve always had issues with addiction. Not in the traditional sense (I’m still straight edge at 24 and that isn’t changing anytime soon) but more so in regard to a need for knowledge. It’s typically not an intellectual craving that holds any true value to society. I will never do the type of research that will determine different ways to cure cancer and win the lottery simultaneously but I don’t have a problem reading seventeen different “academic” essays about the correlation between adolescent comic book readers and enhanced media literacy capabilities.
My most recent addiction has related to the writings and performances of Harlan Ellison. He has been writing professionally in a variety of forms from political essays to science fictions short stories since 1955 and is still going strong at the age of 76.
Other than being a great writer, Harlan Ellison also is quite the unique personality. Similar to some of my other favorite artists he is also a negative unpredictable cynical old man. Notorious for saying things and acting in ways that make others uncomfortable he truly is a character. He mailed a dead gopher to his publisher when he felt they were trying to screw him financially (this end in a $35,000 fumigation bill), he successfully sued James Cameron for stealing some of his ideas for the famous movie The Terminator, and managed to obtain pneumonia while writing his story Pretty Maggie Money eyes naked sitting next to an air conditioner.
Last night I watched a documentary about Harlan entitled Dreams With Sharp Teeth for a second time. After the film’s completion we watched the extra features in which the director filmed Harlan Ellison and Neil Gaiman (writer of Sandman, American Gods, and Coraline) eating pizza together. At one point Neil Gaiman discusses the smile that appears on his face whenever Harlan does something absurd and antisocial. At that point my buddy turned to me said “Ryan, you’re my Harlan Ellison.” It’s good to know I have the power to make people as comfortably uncomfortable as an angry 76 year old yiddish man from Ohio.
When I first started absorbing his material a few weeks ago I sat down on my couch and started unconsciously sketching with my Pilot V7 as I often do. After the picture was completed it seemed to have the same type of gritty feel that Harlan Ellison’s work gives me.
If you’re interested in reading or listening to anything by Harlan Ellison I highly suggest his stories I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream, The Discarded, Pretty Maggie Money Eyes, and The Prowler In The City At The Edge Of The World. You can find an assortment of his short story collections and books at your local book store.
Stay Knowledgeable,
Ryan Zlomek
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Posted on 18 August '10 by zlorya, under New Work. No Comments.
Today I thought about a time
When I was proud of my accomplishments,
Even if they were objectives
No one
Truly considered worthwhile for
You.
For whatever reason this
One marks the year when I truly
Understand how to balance my hopes and relationships
Responsibly
Happy Birthday To Me!
Expect more absurd creations as my maturity pulls a Benjamin Button and decreases with age (that’s what the movie was about right?).
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Posted on 10 August '10 by zlorya, under New Work. No Comments.
One thing that I’ve noticed about myself is that the media pieces and figures that I have learned the most from were part of a much different generation than myself. Figures like Rod Serling (creator of The Twilight Zone), Paul Newman (actor in Cool Hand Luke), Will Eisner (creator of the graphic novel and The Spirit), Jack Kirby ( creator and penciler of Captain America and The X-Men), Otto Preminger (director of the film noir classic Laura), etc. taught me little lessons with every piece of theirs that I was able to experience over the years. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to connect with these creators and talk to them about the pieces they created and the effect they have had on me.
Today another one of my media idols has passed away. Harvey Pekar was a blue collar guy from Cleveland, OH that believed comic books could be more than men in tights and talking animals. In the 1970s, along with Robert Crumb, he created American Splendor which documented Harvey’s life in comic book form. These stories transformed the comics world and opened up new venues for independent comic artists to use their own lives as the main content for their sequential creations.
Harvey’s work helped shed light on the absurdity of daily routines. Simple conversations and observations he witnessed would be transformed on the comic page into humorous and sometimes melodramatic panels that helped readers better find humor in their own lives. I had always considered myself to be the king of the pessimists until I experienced my first Harvey Pekar comic.
The work Harvey created is something that we take for granted in modern comics. Creating comics that were cynical of daily living didn’t exist in the 1970s. Now, the paper boy/girl delivers Scott Adams commercial success Dilbert which draws parallels between Scott’s old white collar life and the way his mouth-less character views the working world. Every major book store in America carries the Eisner Award winning graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson which is the story of his qualms with religion as he was growing up in Wisconsin. Each of these creations can tip their hats to Harvey Pekar who truly paved the way for the slice-of-life mediums we are surrounded by today.
Unlike my other media idols, I had the pleasure of meeting Harvey Pekar at a speaking engagement he had in Buffalo, NY. After his talk I was able to ask him questions about his work and how he felt about the documentary, cleverly entitled American Splendor, that had been made about him. We had a nice chat and I mentioned a film project I was hoping to get going in which I’d have liked to interview him. He told me that he wouldn’t mind being interviewed and that all I had to do was contact him. I paused for a moment awaiting his preferred method of contact. When he never answered I simply asked “How should I contact you?” Without a hesitation he answered in a matter-of-fact tone by saying “I’m in the phone book.”
Rest In Peace Harvey. You may not have realized it, but you taught me a lot about being an artist.
Stay Matter-Of-Fact,
Ryan Zlomek
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Posted on 12 July '10 by zlorya, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Ryan Zlomek (That's Me!) is an independent filmmaker, unconscious animator, amateur illustrator, creative writer and professional educator from Chittenango, NY.
