The Cintiq 20WSX arrived at my doorstep last week and I have had an enjoyable weekend giving Wacom’s latest screen tablet a run for its money. The 20WSX is the widescreen middle child of the Cintiq family, not as big and 4:3 as its big brother 21UX and yet much more applicable than its little 12WX kid brother. It was just launched in December 2007 along with the 12WX, so it is a brand new product. With its 1680 x 1080 resolution, 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and fully 180 degree rotational surface, we are talking the magic stuff of illustrator dreams here.

Hit the jump for my full review & pics. Read the rest of this entry »

Vinylpulse’s Proto Monday shows off Nathan Jurevicius’ new toy for Munky King, and was based on a short he did with MTV. Comes with a removable crown, bendy tail and his very own floating cloud. Vinylpulse write that he will come in three editions; Earth Monkey (600 pcs), Fire Monkey (150 pcs) and SDCC ‘08 Exclusive Metal Monkey (150 pcs). It looks truly amazing, hop on over to VinylPulse to see more pics. 

 Original Fake is a shop / brand collaboration between graffiti artist legend Kaws and Medicom Toy in which his double-x eyed character art is the main theme. Their site doesn’t seem to feature most of the products, so head over to Commonwealth to get a decent overview of what you can get your scrawny designer ass into. Provided you can cough up the dough that is… $65 t-shirts? Remind me to become a legend.

Check out Kaws’ blog too for interesting stuff from his life and studio.  

So you thought the Ultrasquid was some ignoramus that does not read… Wrong!

Our first book in this series is Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics - The Invisible Art” . You would think that it is merely a book for people interested in drawing their own comics, however it is so much more than that.  In fact, it is actually a historical and almost philosophical overview of comics in general. He dissects the subject’s nature down to its core functions, and explains how and why it works so well as a narrative medium. This could sound like dry material, but Scott McClouds ingenius method of telling the story via cartoon form and his excellent way of portraying his message makes it a delightful read. 

The squid had a great time reading this one, it threw all of its tentacles high in the air after it finished reading it, so I think it is safe to say it is highly recommended read both for comic writers and enthusiasts.