Studio Notes #72

Hello, Hypertext Penpals. Here's issue #72 of Studio Notes™—quick bits delivered to you each Friday.

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I ended up backing a new Kickstarter this week for Coin, a tiny “knife” that’s the size of a quarter. Fits on a keyring, has a bottle-opener. That cool-looking, swirly steel that make it look fancier than it probably is. I look forward to throwing it away at the airport because I forgot to leave it at home. Their pitch also reminded of a pet peeve of mine: When television and movies always show people using a pocket knife to cut and eat an apple in a very specific, lip-slice-avoiding way. I've never seen anyone do this in real life, nor have I ever thought to do it myself.

🖊️

Plotterpen is a Czech artist that built their own drawing robot that uses code to draw art with a regular Micron pen on paper. The results are stunning, and each piece is a 1/1 original—they draw the experiment once, then move on and work on another concept. It's worth checking their Instagram for process videos.

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Sometimes an absurd-sounding article title pays off with exactly what it promises. My latest example is The World Bog Snorkelling Championships through the lens of Callum O’Keefe. Yes, there really is a bog snorkeling competition every year since 1985 in South Wales, UK. With costumes. And a timed event actually snorkeling through a muddy, shallow peat bog.

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We went to see a matinee showing of Send Help on a cold, Monday afternoon. The theater was offering a discount and the movie had good reviews. It was a highly-entertaining dark comedy/thriller—very much in the classic Sam Raimi style (who I've long been a fan). Raimi has such a signature style in terms of camera work and POV—always with a sense of humor—that I love. Rachel McAdams completely nailed her unexpected role. Then there's “that scene” that you'll know when you see it that had me rolling and was worth the price of admission alone. ★★★★½

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What are you working on?

I rambled for about an hour about the various merch vendors I've come to use over the years. It's now an archived recording for Secret Club™ members. We also launched a new Ampersand Wool Cap and Fonts Tee in the shop this week (you can still get 15% off any hat or tee with code CAPSANDTEES at checkout).

Have a fantastic weekend, and we'll see you back here next week!

Cheers,