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21

Mar

Creative Inspiration from 365 Superheroes

by Meredith Mullins on March 21, 2013

Mulch, overgrown and green, serves as creative inspiration for one of 365 superheroes.

Superhero #68, Mulch, takes on the world.
© Everett Downing

Getting Inspired . . . The Superhero Way

When I was eight, I thought I could fly. Turns out I couldn’t. (One of the more brutal “Oh, I see” Moments of my life.)

I jumped joyously from the top railing of our porch steps, waiting for my arms to become wings. But soon after liftoff, I found myself in a crumpled heap at the bottom of my launch pad.

I had been so sure. So sure I could fly. After all, I had role models like Superman, Peter Pan and Wendy, Captain Marvel, the Flying Nun, and Dumbo.

The creative inspiration was there. But, regrettably, superpowers don’t come easily.

Limelight, neon green flying superhero, serves as creative inspiration for 365 superheroes

Limelight—Superhero #162

Superpowers and Superheroes

We all wish for superpowers. Flight. Invisibility. X-Ray Vision. Extraordinary Strength. Mind Control. Ability to Time Travel. Healing Prowess.

And sometimes we just wish for superheroes to come along and save the day.

Maybe the key is this:

If we need them, they will come.

Civil Liberty—female superhero in red, white, and blue—serves as creative inspiration for 365 superheroes

Civil Liberty, Superhero #79, fights for justice.
© Everett Downing

Imagining the Supers

Superpowers and superheroes give us hope, especially in the face of overwhelming odds or even just the everyday problems of living life.

For Pixar Story Artist Everett Downing, the supers were the creative inspiration he needed.

He was ready for an artistic self-kick in the pants. He felt he was in a rut and needed to shake things up a bit.

So, he made a New Year’s Resolution to draw a superhero every day—a way to set his right brain free. 365 supers. He would let creativity and imagination (and his childhood love of weird and wild heroes) take over.

His only guideline was not to overthink. The drawing could not take more than an hour.

Whipper/Snapper, lobster claws and whips, creative inspiration for 365 superheroes

Partners Whipper and Snapper, Superheroes #132 and 133
© Everett Downing

He found it easiest sometimes to be inspired by the name—one he had thought of or an offer from friends, fans, or family. A cool name like Vibe or Apex or a pun or word play like Arm and Hammer, Alpha Romeo, Giga-bite, Red Cross and Blue Shield.

Sometimes an origin story came first, like Pandorceress, and the character grew from the story he wove. (She found Pandora’s box and opened it. Then paid with her eyesight but was given dark wisdom in return.)

Think Tank, a tank with a brain, creative inspiration for 365 superheroes

Think Tank, Superhero #282—brute force and brain power.
© Everett Downing

From Impulse to LOL—Just Have Fun

Creating the whole cast of characters took him a bit longer than he expected, but he stayed with it. He just finished #365 last week, with his blog fans (365 Supers) and Facebook friends cheering him across the finish line.

“I won’t say it wasn’t tough,” he says. “I wanted to quit plenty of times. But getting encouragement from people can be extremely powerful.”  When he got stuck, his supercommunity would give him a gentle push and remind him to “just have fun.”

Everett Downing, artist who drew 365 superheroes for creative inspiration

Everett Downing keeps his resolution—
365 superheroes . . . done!
© Michael B. Johnson

From Howler to Cacophony to Emoticon to Morph Fiend—these supers can do everything from “creating crushing decibles at will” to “morphing into whatever form suits the moment.”

Sometimes they are partners (Shock and Awesome, Ball and Chain, Whipper/Snapper), sometimes dread enemies, and sometimes even adversaries and lovers (Deal Breaker and Heart Breaker).

Auntie Matter, pink and black female superhero, creative inspiration for 365 superheroes

Auntie Matter, Superhero #95
© Everett Downing

Oh, I See

These heroes (and villains) are full of power and creative inspiration. “Everyone wants to believe that we can be larger than life,” Everett says of the superhero phenomenon, “and that one person can make a big difference.”

But the real “Oh, I see” moment is that we don’t need to be a superhero to do right and might. We mortals may not be able to fly or have x-ray vision, but we can heal and help, find extraordinary strength, and champion causes with dogged determination (like Dober-Man and the Pincher) when we need to.

And we can give ourselves creative challenges (and meet them!) just to keep life interesting. That’s a superpower of the best kind.

Thank you, Everett Downing, for the creative inspiration . . . and a whole new world of superheroes.

Silent Knight, creative inspiration for 365 superheroes

Silent Knight, Superhero #284
© Everett Downing

 

Stay tuned for Everett’s next projects on Mr. Scribbles’ Sketchblog. We just might see a reunion of this awe-inspiring cast of characters.

VIA National Public Radio and Wired Magazine

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

 

The World's Art & Design

28

Feb

Apps for Apes Point the Way to a Happier Life

by Meredith Mullins on February 28, 2013

Three orangutans making choices about apps for apes to live a happier life

What should we do today?
© Thinkstock

Making Choices Count

“What do you want to do today?”

“Dunno. How about you?”

“We could hang around for a while, then get something to eat.”

“That sounds good. But we do that everyday.”

“We could try that virtual drum app on the iPad.”

“Yeah, I like that one. Awesome rhythms.”

“Or the koi pond app. I love those shimmering fish swimming in the turquoise water. It’s relaxing. Even when I’m calm, though, I like to tap that screen and watch those koi scatter.”

“Bring on the iPads!”

This conversation could be among any group of friends. In fact, however, it’s how I imagine Bonnie, Kyle, and Iris start their day at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington D.C.

They’re orangutans. And, like many others in 13 zoos around the world, they are part of the Apps for Apes program.

Orangutan paints with apps for apes to live a happier life

Orangutan artist at work
© Orangutan Outreach/Engel

Apps for Apes (sponsored by Orangutan Outreach) offers a variety of technology choices for orangutans to enrich their lives. It’s well known that orangutans are intelligent, but who knew they also have a geek streak?

When I first saw stories about this program, I sensed there were some valuable lessons to be learned. The apps provide a daily dose of mental and physical stimulation and that little dash of spice to keep things interesting. Isn’t that a good idea for all of us?

Oh, I see. A little spice can make us happier.

Thoughtful Orangutan ponders making choices to live a happier life with apps for apes

Hmmm. Life is full of interesting choices.
© Thinkstock

Lively Life Adventures

What else can I learn from my orangutan friends? With a 97% overlap in DNA between orangutans and us humans, I imagine that they have trouble, just like us, deciding what to do each day.

If there are free hours, why not have access to some entertainment, some digital stimulation, some new sights and sounds? Why not enrich life with new adventures?

Oh I see. Everyone’s life can be a little happier by making energizing and creative choices—and that includes the lives of our friends in the primate world.

Variety is Vital

Great ape keepers know how important it is to vary the daily lives of orangutans to keep them from getting bored or depressed. The caregivers provide variety in food, toys, and social interactions—all geared toward a happier life.

Now, they can also add technology—and give the animals a choice of interactive books, cameras, and apps that offer even more variety for stimulation and creative challenge.

Orangutan with iPad making choices to live a happier life with apps for apes

Orangutan studies his animal friends
© Orangutan Outreach/Center for Great Apes

Freedom of Choice

The Apps for Apes program puts iPads at the fingertips of these intelligent creatures and gives them freedom of choice to select what appeals to them.

The animals are never forced to play with an iPad. They have to show interest. And they do!

They love painting, playing the piano or xylophone, pounding out a percussive riff on the drums, or just watching koi swim. Take a look in the video below.

If video does not display, watch it here.

They also like looking at themselves (not unlike the most vain of us humans). When Mahal, an orangutan in Milwaukee, first saw himself on camera, he raised his hands and clapped. With all due humility, he gave himself a standing ovation.

Orangutans also like seeing other folks in the animal world. Soon, they’ll be skyping each other from one zoo to the next or friending one another to keep in touch. Can Angry Birds’ competitions be far behind?

Oh, I see. Choosing our own activities frees us to be who we really are.

Kindred Spirits

Every time I watch a video of a great ape or see photographs like those posted here, I feel we are kindred spirits.

And, as with any kindred spirit, there is much to be learned—the vitality of variety, the importance of making creative selections, and the need for freedom of choice.  Going ape for apps is just a plot line. This story is really about making good everyday choices for an adventurous, rewarding, and happier life.

Baby orangutan looks hopeful about making choices to live a happier life with apps for apes

Kindred spirits
© Thinkstock

To support Orangutan Outreach, you can donate an old iPad (or send a check). Orangutans are critically endangered in the wild because of rapid deforestation and the expansion of palm oil plantations into their rainforest home. If nothing is done to protect them, they will be extinct in just a few years. 

VIA Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

 

Innovations/Secrets to Life

21

Feb

Life Changing Moments: One Billion Rising in Paris

by Meredith Mullins on February 21, 2013

Women Dancing at One Billion Rising in Paris in a Life Changing Moment to Stop Violence Against Women

One Billion Rising in Paris
© Meredith Mullins

Stop Violence Against Women

A convergence of forces.

Start with  . . .

An ongoing annual event on Valentine’s Day to stop violence against women and girls (organized since 1998 by Eve Ensler, women’s rights activist and creator of “The Vagina Monologues”).

Fuel it with . . .

Recent brutalities, including the gang rape of Jyoti Singh in India, the shooting of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, and the alledged gang rape of a young woman in Steubenville, Ohio, by members of the high school football team.

Punctuate it with . . .

A world cry that enough is enough.

Decide . . .

To make this year’s Valentine’s Day a global day of action.

Add . . .

Media momentum and star power (Jane Fonda, Anne Hathaway, Anoushka Shankar, Rosario Dawson, the prime ministers of Australia and Croatia, the Queen Mother of Bhutan)

The result: One Billion Rising—Life Changing Moments for the World

Flash Mob at One Billion Rising, a life changing moment to stop violence against women

Flash Mob at One Billion Rising in Paris
© Meredith Mullins

Valentine’s Day: One Billion Rising

What were the goals of One Billion Rising as it staged a global flash mob, dance, and revolution on Valentine’s Day 2013?

  • To raise awareness
  • To bring people around the world together with one voice, in one act of solidarity
  • To demand an end to violence against women and girls

And, indeed, One Billion Rising met its goals.

We delivered facts to raise awareness: One in every three women in the world will be raped or beaten—one billion women. This is an atrocity.

We came together, in countries all over the world. We danced. We talked. We smiled as if we’d known each other for a lifetime. We grew stronger with numbers.

We, in Paris, felt a bond with those who “rose up” in India, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Somalia, the U.K., Nepal, South Africa, the Philippines, the U.S. and every other country in the world, all of which had group action set for the day.

With our voices strong, we asked for an end to violence against women and girls.

Dancer at One Billion Rising, a life changing moment to stop violence against women

Rise up and dance
© Meredith Mullins

Oh, I See

It is possible to raise awareness with a global event. It is possible to feel a unity, a bond, across vast physical and cultural distances, with song and dance and justified cause. The reward was a joyful OIC moment, but there was need for more.

Oh, I Wonder

At the Paris gathering, I asked people why they were there and what would come next. I was relieved to hear that most had a plan.

Many were already a part of organizations active in women’s rights issues. Many vowed to continue the fight for strong legislation. Many said they would take action every day to transform the world. All were committed to justice, equality, and respect.

Who wouldn’t be, you ask? Too many. That’s why we have to make our voices heard.

Participant in One Billion Rising raises the one billion sign in a life changing moment to stop violence against women.

One World; One Billion Rising
© Meredith Mullins

Oh, I Hope

The V-Day roar was loud and clear. For one brief shining moment our voices amplified the message. An energy emerged—worldwide—and it was powerful. Life changing moments occurred. But the news cycle is short.

Now, one week later, the voices are a little fainter. Where will they be one month from now . . . one year from now?

Was One Billion Rising enough?

No.

But it’s a start.

Now . . . it’s time to change the world.

 

Others involved in the movement to stop violence against women:  One Billion Rising, Eve Ensler, RAINN, Amnesty International, The Advocates for Human Rights.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

 

France (Paris)/Making a Difference

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