“When I was a kid, there are two things I wanted badly and never got… A real dog and a Kenner AT-AT Walker”

A cracking piece of digital media from Patrick Boivin has allowed his childhood dreams to come true. It’s hard to believe this amazing short film isn’t produced solely using CGI.

Watch out for the hilarious guest appearance from “Jabba the Poo”.  The stop animation and use of green screen is first class, if you are wondering how this piece of video wizardry was created, Boivin also created the making of this video.

Digital Graffiti – Lazer tagging

An aerospace engineer and designer of some of NASA’s latest projects has jacked in his day job to explore the space between new media art and “super genius” technology. Based from Eyebeam, a US based creative technology center, James Powderly and partner in pixel crime, Evan Roth are creating some very clever experiments in modern digital technology and urban creativity.

The video below shows their impressive lazer tagging technique, which allows these digital vandals to  slap their tags on the world’s famous landmarks and cities, and all with out any risk of being arrested.

But the most impressive part of this story is what the duo managed to achieve with leading LA graffiti artist, Tony Quan, AKA Tempt. A pioneer of the 80′s LA graffiti scene, Quan has suffered from a rare disease which has left him largely paralyzed since 2003, but he retains full mental capability and eye movement. The frustration he must feel at not being able to express his highly creative mind is unimaginable.

But within just a few day, Powderly and Roth adapted the lazer tagging system to create the Eye Writer system specifically for Quan, so he can once again make his mark on the urban landscape.   Truly inspiring stuff !

Check out more digital vandalism and even a robo-tagger over at Temptone.

Harmony online sketching tool

Harmony developer Mr Doob has used canvass and JavaScript with HTML5′s ability to create bitmap images. The result is possibly one of the most mesmerising creative toys on the web.

Usually drawing with your mouse is inherently clumsy and messy, but Harmony’s sketching brushes create exquisitely smooth strokes and seems to know where to apply shading and texture.

These brushes seem to lend themselves particularly well to Anime type creations, urban/graffiti style lettering and charcoal. The squares,  grid and circles tools allow you to create more geometric type imagery.

Still very much in it’s infancy, the open source code is not without its faults, (there is currently no delete or undo function so go carefully!) but we are bound to see improved releases of this exciting medium soon.

Check out more HTML egg head wizardry over at Chrome Experiments or go straight to Harmony and start sketching!

I came across a cracking article by  Johan Ronnestam on Douglas Atkin’s – ‘The Culting of Brands. But  real world examples are neglected, and I could see every one of Johan’s points at work in  Gorillaz cult marketing experience:

Difference – Distance your cult from the establishment

The idea for Gorillaz was formed by Jamie Hewlett and Daman Albarn in protest to the cartoony images of the Pop Idol establishment coming into prominence at the time.   Gorillaz are the twisted reflections of Simon Cowell’s creations,  the antidote to the current epidemic of meaningless empty drivel in in popular music. Pop, yes, but they are about as far out on the fringe as they can get. They hammer home their exclusivity with claims of “the world’s first virtual hip hop band”

Connectors – Recruit successful, attractive and respectable souls

Gorillaz have nailed this requirement hands down.  Not many cartoon bands can count the likes Madonna, Bruce Willis, Snoop Dog, Sean Ryder and Lou Reed among their entourage.

Exclusivity – Not anyone can join

We always want what we can’t have.  The power of fear of loss and exclusion wasn’t ignored  with Google’s  Gmail invites. In the literal sense, if you do not have membership to the Gorillaz club (£26 fee), or an 02 mobile contract or a Glastonbury ticket – then the chances are you won’t be even be getting a look in at tickets to any live performances.

In the not so literal sense, you either “get” Gorillaz, their eclectic collaborations and musical style or you do not.

Solidarity, a clear sense of belonging to a group & the paradox of making joiners feel that they become more individual

The Gorillaz’ edgy, dark  image and sub plot is far too challenging and edgy for mainstream to buy  into. This is also reenforced with Gorillaz club and whether your in the “we get it” gang.

Ideology – A clear belief system

When Gorillaz were nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize award, it was politely turned down. Taking part in a hyped industry publicity event would have gone against  Gorillaz ideology. They create an intense buzz just fine on their own,  and don’t need any noise from the “finger on the pulse” gang.

An Enemy – To define what you are not

Every cult brand needs an enemy. Challenger brand Apple’s (technology  of the liberal arts….apparently) enemy is Microsoft (big, bad monopolistic capitalism). Gorillaz’ enemy are the plastic, manufactured pop characters of the mainstream media, they’re not fans of the Mercury Music award panel either.

Contact – Splash your ideas onto the right people

Gorillaz hijacked the homepage  Guardian music for the album launch, ensuring exposure to their fringe culture loving core audience.

With the likelihood of Gorillaz replacing U2  heading lining this year’s Glastonbury, Murdoch and his animated band  can expect yet another jet boost into super stardom.

Donkey Kong taking out skyscrapers, Arkanoid smashes down bridges and Pacman runs riot on the subway, Pixels is an ambitious short film from parisean outfit One More Production.

Hewlett and Albarn cooked up the idea for the band in protest at the cartoon images of the popular commercial acts at the time, and the result was an ironic backfire as their popularity exploded. In 2006, a rumours of a rare live performance in Harlem led to tickets being sold in less than an hour from release. Their last release, Demon Days was the 5th biggest selling album of 2005, so this has a lot to live up to.

And they’ve returned with guns blazing. As ever, the collaborations are as eclectic as the musical style it’s self. Mark E Smith of post punkers The Fall, Snoop, Lou Reed and Bobby Womack all lend vocals to chunky hip hop beats, and bass lines so solid you could build a skyscraper on them. You can listen to the entire album at the Guardian.

Mixed Appeal

The art and characters of Jamie Hewlett account for a massive part of the appeal of the Gorillaz experience, and this hasn’t been ignored with the supporting release media. The new website allows you  explore the  Gorlliaz’ new home  for yourself and fully immerse yourself in the lives of band members 2D, Russell, Murdoch and Noodle.

This time round, visual media is playing a more predominant role. Idents focusing on characters stories have been released, along with an orchestral introduction to the Plastic Beach environment. They’ve even recruited a demented Bruce Willis hit man for the video  for the debut single Stylo.

Doing what most bands so after momentousness success, for the past few years they’ve been living somewhere on the south Pacific on their own island. Unfortunately for the Gorillaz, the island is made up of the washed up debris of humanity -  visit the Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach

You may well be a wondering what an art toy is doing in a digital marketing site. Brian Donnelly, the guy behind Kaws and the OriginalFake brand has made it into Fast’s 100 Most Creative people in business.

I have been  a massive fan if urban vinyl art since my time in Asia, and lucky enough to own a few gems from Michael Lau and Eric So. Urban vinyl artists have big brands queuing up to be considered for a collaboration pieces. Both Nike and Adidas were quick to recognize the potential to gain institutional art and street credibility in one swoop.  Donnely’s roots lie in graffiti and street art but now enjoys courtships with the likes of Levi and Nike mega-brands.

Check out the Kaws site, but you won’t find much…we always want want we can’t have.