SheWalksSoftly

The Mighty Mimic Octopus

June 28th, 2008

It was only a matter of time until I paid tribute to the GREATEST CREATURE ON THE PLANET!

This octopus is able to copy the physical likeness and movement of more than fifteen different species, including sea snakes, lionfish, flatfish, brittle stars, giant crabs, sea shells, stingrays, jellyfish, sea anemones, and mantis shrimp. It accomplishes this by contorting its body and arms, and changing color. -Wiki

As if I needed another reason to be awestruck by this magical creature, it’s probably smart enough to mercilessly beat me in various spatial thinking tasks.
Asaf Hanuka

June 26th, 2008

Asaf Hanuka has a great collection of editorial illustrations that gently (or in many cases NOT so gently) expose the seedy underbelly of modern corporate culture. Marketing, corruption, ignorance, bribery, thievery, greed, self-interest, lies, apathy, depression, prejudice, predators…and children’s stories.

My favorite, for personal reasons:
Cracking the Cute Code

June 26th, 2008

I don’t get out much, therefore the existence of Hasbro’s The Littlest Pet Shop had thus far escaped me. Last night my wonderful friend Louisa left this in my mailbox:

Now I’m at the mercy of my own biology, reluctantly infatuated with these creatures who manage to exploit maternal instinct to the hilt. I KNOW I’m being manipulated, hypnotized by their big shiny eyes and wobbly heads…yet I can’t look away. I went so far as to seek Flickr pools.

Someone may be getting dragged to the toy store this weekend.

Animators and designers must possess a bit of scientific savvy these days, considering the ways in which the human brain responds to certain physical characteristics. NY times article highlights:

The greater the number of cute cues that an animal or object happens to possess, or the more exaggerated the signals may be, the louder and more italicized are the squeals provoked.

Cuteness is distinct from beauty, researchers say, emphasizing rounded over sculptured, soft over refined, clumsy over quick. Beauty attracts admiration and demands a pedestal; cuteness attracts affection and demands a lap. Beauty is rare and brutal, despoiled by a single pimple. Cuteness is commonplace and generous, content on occasion to cosegregate with homeliness.

Human babies have unusually large heads because humans have unusually large brains. Their heads are round because their brains continue to grow throughout the first months of life, and the plates of the skull stay flexible and unfused to accommodate the development. Baby eyes and ears are situated comparatively far down the face and skull, and only later migrate upward in proportion to the development of bones in the cheek and jaw areas. The cartilage tissue in an infant’s nose is comparatively soft and undeveloped, which is why most babies have button noses. Baby skin sits relatively loose on the body, rather than being taut, the better to stretch for growth spurts to come; that lax packaging accentuates the overall roundness of form.

As John K. has pointed out in his incredible blog, this formula is nothing new:

I’m excited to see this concept translate into robot animation. Can anyone resist this face? If so, report for psychiatric evaluation immediately.

Yep, this fellow actually makes me want to see a Disney Pixar film for the first time in…in…years? Resistance to *The Cute* is futile…at least for me.
PeepS Show II

June 25th, 2008

Check out the collection of finalists from Peeps Show II. Dioramas of iconic scenes, characters and memes abound!

I have two boxes of Peeps that are now over a year old, and I’ve been meaning to arrange them in a clever scenario and take pictures. Ideas? Thus far, my most creative Peeps endeavor has been to let them melt in hot cocoa while wailing “Oh, what a world…what a world!” (Do people still get Wizard of Oz references?)
Robot Marine Life

June 24th, 2008

Two of my favorite things, beautifully combined!

Festo has developed a graceful robot inspired by a creature of the sea. In fact, they have developed two versions, both based on the common jellyfish: the AquaJelly and the AirJelly. According to Festo, the AquaJelly is “an artificial autonomous jellyfish with an electric drive and an intelligent, adaptive mechanical system.” As for the AirJelly, this remote controlled device can glide through the air using a helium-filled ballonet, a central electric drive and an intelligent, adaptive mechanical system.

This video reminded me of other robot fish making recent news:

The movement is rather well done, though if the creators were aiming for realism the fish could have been a bit less “bedazzled.” Perhaps I just balk at anything too closely resembling this.
Naoto Hattori

June 24th, 2008

I came across Naoto Hattori’s work in Juxtapoz magazine back in the 90’s, and have periodically checked up on his latest creations ever since.

He makes swirling amalgams of humans, animals, aliens, dolls, plants…intertwining like a grand mad scientist DNA experiment.

And one that is oddly reminiscent of my toy shelf…
Google Image Odyssey: Jello Dreams

June 23rd, 2008

I love google image searches more than I can possibly explain. I often entertain myself by typing a random combination of words and seeing what comes up. Today: “Jello Dreams.” Here are some highlights:

I wish all of my dreams looked like this…

Perfect at parties!

And my favorite:
My Pet Neuron

June 22nd, 2008

Meet Sparky. He’s a Motor Neuron, and my first foray into crafting plush brain cells.

He’ll be a nice companion as I journey through the next few years of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychophysiology studies.

Note: I haven’t posted my own arts and crafts until now. Let me know if you’d be interested in seeing more. I make…everything. Almost. And I love project requests.
Mike Brown

June 22nd, 2008

Mike Brown’s dragon bunny looks like it will not only kill you…it will consume your very soul. This is evil on a quantum level; the evil of possibilities.

Only slightly less menacing are his sea creatures, which still seem to harbor dark and dangerous secrets.

Brown even infuses a disquieting sense of life into a tree stump.

I couldn’t find an official wesbite (I stumbled upon these long ago), but will update if I do.
Space Biscuits

June 22nd, 2008

This is undoubtedly the first of MANY posts that will feature prints from my favorite retro art/ad site, Plan 59.

If space were indeed filled with floating, fluffy biscuits, I would become an astronaut without hesitation.

(Why they fail to equip this little girl with a proper space helmet is beyond me…don’t girls need to breathe too? Oh wait…it was the 50’s).

And here’s what it’s like in space (Mars, to be exact) WITHOUT biscuits. Not so blissful anymore, eh? My guess is that the Methane and Argon in the Martian atmosphere do not support biscuit life. Biscuits thrive only in monochromatic sky blue dimensions of outer space, clearly.

Ah, Plan 59, you brighten my days.