I’ll be broadcasting PCW TV live at 9AM eastern time this morning. Hope you can make it!
-Krishna
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Archive for ‘May, 2008’
66 results.
It’s still in Development Preview, but don’t let the status fool you – AppFresh by Metaquark is a very useful application. What does it do, you ask?
Think of AppFresh as a unified Software Update for all the third party applications you’ve installed. When you first launch AppFresh, you’ll get a window (see above) that lists all your current apps and their current version numbers. At a glance you can see whether the version you have is the most current or not. If your version of Skype, for example, is old, AppFresh lets you know that a newer version is available. Instead of having to launch each individual app, and run its own “Check for Update” menu, you can now, at a glance, see which versions are updated and which are not.
Another handy feature this program has is its ability to tell the user when a particular application was last used. It would be nice if it also included an Uninstall option for removing applications that aren’t being used anymore, but hey, this is the Development Preview version, so I’m going to cut the Metaquark crew some slack. :)
The best part of AppFresh (to me, anyway) is, upon your command, AppFresh will download and install the most recent version of the app and get rid of the older version of your app simultaneously. I’ve found this feature works as advertised 95% of the time, with the exception of applications that are delivered in the form of a package install. In that particular scenario, AppFresh will inform you that it has downloaded the installer into your Downloads folder for you to manually install.
There’s much more to this app than what I’ve briefly written, but I should add that AppFresh is a Mac OS X application only, and works under both Leopard and Tiger. It’s free (for now) so get it while you can. Highly Recommended
-Krishna
PCW guest-stars have been really popular anniversary gifts. PCW reader Jill Huchital wanted to do something special to surprise her beau of 15 years, Mike, and commissioned me to create her a custom PCW comic to give as a gift.
Both Jill and Mike appear on the PCW Guest-Star Wall of Fame, along with their fellow celebrities.
For her and her husband’s appearance, Jill wrote:
“Hi Krishna,
I was hoping to get a guest appearance for my husband and me, as a 15th-anniversary gift for my husband. Our anniversary is on the 30th of this month (is that too soon?). So far as tech themes go… …I once sent him a data file containing the control points and knot vector for a NuRBS heart. Not that we’ve actually done this, but he’d be more likely to build robots, and I’m more likely to decorate them with flashing lights, fringe, and beads.
Regards,
Jill”
Happy to oblige, Jill! …and Happy Anniversary to you and Mike!
-Krishna
Character design is something that has always fascinated me. It’s one of the first things I pick up on when I look at another artist’s work.
Yesterday afternoon I received two books that should appeal to folks interested in learning more about the realm of character design.
The first book on the list is “The Art of Silver” by Stephen Silver. Ever since I first discovered his work (via his Silvertoons website) a few years back, I’ve been a fan of Stephen.
The book clocks in at a whopping 160 pages in full-color. The book is in hard cover, and the paper quality is excellent. This is THE coffee table book for cartoonists or anyone who has an appreciation for character design. The book is not a “How To Draw” book – it never makes that claim – but I think an artist can glean a lot from the body of work that’s presented within.
Now, onto the contents:
What impresses me most about this book is Stephen’s dynamic range. His character design skills are, well, nothing short of AMAZING, but so are his skills in rendering caricatures and drawings from life.
The first few introductory pages of the book touch upon Stephen’s biography (he was born two days before me!) and how he got his start in the business. The book also provides a nice glimpse of Stephen’s earliest pieces of art. This section is meant to convince the reader of the fact that, yes, Stephen is mortal, just like the rest of us. Or maybe he just wants us to let us know that if we pursue our cartooning dreams with passion, we’ll get there, too. (Maybe) :)
Peppered between his gorgeous artwork are Stephen’s tips and insights into his design process. Many of the drawings list the media used to create the work. Having thumbed through the book, this much is clear: Stephen is not afraid to work with various media – whether it’s pencil, charcoal, digital inks, water color. He commands each tool like it was an extension of his hand.
I’m still picking my jaw off the ground. This book is GREAT, and well worth the $40 I spent. The only niggle I can find with the book is the binding – I’m a little concerned that it may come apart after I’ve flipped through it umpteen times.
I bought my copy via Amazon, but I wish I’d gotten mine from Stephen’s site instead – he will draw a little sketch in your book if you get it directly from him. Be sure to check out his other books (already on my wish list!) while you’re there.
I’ll make a write-up of the Mattessi book soon.
-Krishna
Two of my favorite single panel PC Weenies comics feature today, before our surprise guest-star’s debut tomorrow. Guest-starring is super easy, and…. as a bonus… if you sign up between now and August 31st, you get a really nifty, limited edition PC Weenies fridge magnet. Guaranteed to be the envy of all your other fridge magnets, and perfect for tacking up your favorite PCW comic on the food box, too. :)
Only 50 of these magnets were made, and once they’re gone (or August 31st rolls by) this design will never be available again. You can only get ‘em by signing up as a guest-star, so sign up today!
-Krishna
To commemorate their anniversary, Gauri Shah contacted me about creating a PCW guest-star comic to surprise her husband, Mayur. Gauri received the pencilled sketch, an autographed color print!
Thank you, Gauri! and a Happy Anniversary to you both! :-)
-Krishna
P.S. Gauri and Mayur have now joined the ranks with the other esteemed guest-star celebrities on the PCW Guest-Star Wall of Fame!
