Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides!

Exciting times!! I watched the new Pirates of the Caribbean film last night, or The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

I'm pleased to announce that it is an EXCELLENT film and I'm really excited to see the next one!

I love these films, not just because they're about Pirates, but also because they're produced SO well - everything from the film sets, the actors, and the costumes, to the script and the dialogue.

It's certainly very different to the first three - for a start it has an almost completely new cast of characters, characters nonetheless that are refreshing and interesting. It also taps into the previous three films' wonderful imaginative concepts, such as a moment between Jack and Barbosa inside a wrecked ship stuffed full of enchanted treasure, balancing precariously on a cliff edge! We also see for the first time some Mermaids, Voodoo Zombies and also get to meet the absolute Pirate legend, Blackbeard!

This is also probably the darkest film of the quartet, but still doesn't lack in it's frequent comedy moments from the much loved Captain Jack, around whom the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is mostly famous for.

Here is a trailer to whet your appetite!!



Watch it, get a big bag of popcorn and watch it now!!

xLouisax

Dissertation - Lara proves popular

I recently found out that I got an A for my Dissertation! Pleased as punch!

The title of my essay was:

"To what extent does Lara Croft reflect a negative portrayal of women, and how closely does this relate to other Female Video Game characters?"

It was actually a really interesting subject to research and write about and I'm so glad that I chose Lara Croft as my case study. Here are a couple of quotes so you can get the gist of it:

"Not only does Lara Croft provide the perfect balance between beauty and strength, she also provides the gamer with a perfect representational fantasy. Video games should be discussed involving theories about visual representations, however, the nature of the video game is also so much more than just something to watch. The gamer does not simply watch the characters; they control them entirely. "

"The idea of living out a fantasy is completely encapsulated within the world of Lara Croft and is entirely the point of playing video games. In the same way that we can take on the role as an invincible criminal, gamers playing as Lara Croft can take on the body of a beautiful, fit, brave adventurer, fulfilling their fantasies of power. Using Lara as an extension of ourselves within a believable virtual world we can do impossible leaps across bottomless voids, and take risk after risk in order to complete the dangerous level. If we fall and perish, we can simply try again and again until we reach our goal; through Lara we become invincible, and through the world of gaming, we can fulfil ultimate fantasies."

xLouisax

Eat Me Magazine - Issue #5 April - Charles Darwin

Fancy reading a bit about food culture? Why not try Eat Me magazine, volume 5!

Haha, I'm sorry, I'm not actually being sponsored by Eat Me, I just really want you all to buy this magazine, flick to this page and be like:

"OMG that's amazing! It's definitely the best drawing I've ever see on Charles Darwin EVER!! I'm so proud of Louisa for drawing for this article, she's so talented!... Wait a sec, he's that bloke on the tenners, my life suddenly makes sense!"

It is quite a good mag actually, and it's got a nice picture of Ainsley Harriott on the cover.

Oh Charles, you were fun to draw. You have one of those cute old man faces. Plus you went on a five year voyage which technically makes you a pirate - pirates are COOL!

xLouisax

Geek Game for Girls - when History met Zombies

Maidens, Pirates, Steampunks & Zombies
Dress up Game!



Maidens, Pirates, Steampunks & Zombies is a quirky new Dress up Game, featuring the option to ‘Mashup’ some of the more boyish and overlooked genres.

I challenged myself to make this game as the Final Major Project of my Graphic Design degree at The University of the Creative Arts, Epsom. A true labour of love, it gave me the excuse to study not only the gorgeous aesthetics of 18th and 19th century fashions, but also the culture and ideas behind some of the coolest fantasy genres on the planet.

The majority of Dress up Games at the moment only tend to feature modern fashion, Justin Bieber, or Unicorn-riding Princesses, vomiting rainbows. Though we can all enjoy such frivolities at times, for just one moment, come over to the dark side. Bring out the geek within and make your own Pirate-Steampunk-Zombie-Lady!

Click HERE to play the game!

Let me know what you all think!

xLouisax

Zombies Zombies Zombies!

Recently I've been making the zombie graphics for my Dress-Up game, which have been fun! I read a book about zombies and drew and analysed a few zombie features.

The zombies glorified by Hollywood films are called 'Romero' zombies which are the ones that are viscious and hungry for human flesh. Because 'Romero' Zombies are essentially a fairly modern idea based on the Zombies created in George Romero films, I wanted to create modern zombified clothes (because they are the true zombies) but also have zombified versions of the other costumes, because it mashes everything up which is the theme of the game.



I learnt that zombies look best with sunken in eyes, torn off lips and pale faces and they don't usually wear shoes? Oh yeah, and their clothes are ripped or in the least covered with blood (from their own wounds or from their victims).

So here are my zombies, complete with complimentary Zombie head (which you can select in the game. :) Also a couple more accessories:









I am just about to put the zombie stuff into the game but here is my game so far, you can now select different backgrounds and turn the music off if it shivers your timbers.

xLouisax