What is Justice By Knight?

Even if I don't get to watch live I'm still pretty stoked about tonight's premiere of my ‪‎chainmaille‬ interview for Eastlink Cable's Talk Nerdy at 8pm on Channel 10. I'm working on some raw footage of the interview to share on social media, but in the meantime please check out our latest Whytes.tv production commemorating Whytes last night at the Gore Bay Harbour Centre entitled ‪Justice By Knight‬....

Making the chain?

Busy week carried into weekend with responsive site design upgrades for The Art of Chainmail and Whytes Online both going live after much polishing.

Had a funny giggle upon discovering that Sudbury's Talent North Magazine (which some of you may remember from my Zombie adventures in Espanola last summer) choose to feature none other than yours truly for the cover of their April edition. Check out the widget below - something awesome about this publication is that it is completely free-to-read online via international digital publishing service Issuu. (In retrospect I wish we'd had something this slick for the digital edition of Scrapbook.)

All around Talent North is definitely an innovative publication and even includes an awesome editorial this month on self-confidence!

IT has been too long?

Seems like forever and a day since I've had a chance to catch my breath in the midst of immense change for all of Whytes. Our first task started before x-mas with switching apartments - a month-long event of hauling hundreds of loads up and down two flights of stairs that my groin is still recovering front. Completely loving the new space which is a major upgrade - especially with fresh Jack Whyte art on the walls.

Once settled we ended up diving directly into learning "Responsive Site Design" in order to ensure our content remains current and compatible. This kind of dynamic designing has been an ongoing self-education like none other and still hasn't ended - with final edits for both Art of Chainmail and Whytes Online yet to be completed.

Although I'm totally in love with the first draft of the new RSD Art of Chainmail - a resource sure to grow. Something cool about this design is that (like Scrapbook: a story of art) we worked with nothing other than materials we already had on hand and although we later purchased RSD software, the original RSD AOC draft was created for a budget of exactly $0. Yay frugality!

Of course all of this is just build up to working on our free Manitoulin Island Colouring Book and some other secret art projects that we still have in the works.

In the memetime I managed to complete a new introduction banner for my blog and social media network in my "spare time" (see above.)

Chain on!

Dylon

Would you like to know more about this history of art?

A topic that the western world of today is sorely lacking in is art education. So this year - as a holiday gift for everyone - I put together a little educational video on the topic of art history. This was a "spare time" project for me at about 50 hours of labour over the past two months to produce a whopping 1 minute and 5 seconds of sound and images - so let me know what you think - Dylon

Have you ever had so much to do that you wished you could experience multiplicity like Jamie Madrox?

Today's Chainman Banner is brought to you by Scrapbook: a story of art and Birdman with special thanks to Multiplicity and Jamie Madrox!

Wow! What a week! With Scrapbook updates in motion across the board it feels like our Kickstarter campaign never ended and somehow we still have miles to go!

Today's good news is that the Scrapbook files are now officially in the hands of the printer - which means the hardcover edition of Scrapbook should be shipping on schedule some time in the later half of October!

Upgrades for Scrapbook pre-orders via Whytes Online will also be complete very soon!

Next up - a full renovation makeover for the free-to-read Scrapbook site!

Will the fun ever end? I sure hope not!

Food for thought?

Today's Chainman Banner brought to you by Gandalf the Whyte and Scrapbook: a story of art - hardcover successfully funded on Kickstarter - pre-orders via Whytes Online coming soon!

You know, when I was young back in the 1980's I used to play chess with my grandfather using a set of hand-carved pieces from around the time of the first great war. One day I remember him explaining to me how in only 25 years we would be living in the 21st century - a time of profound technology change.

Well, the millennium may have turned, but the first decade of the 21st century, affectionately known as 'the naughties', was actually pretty dismal in technological terms. Sure, we saw the rise of instantaneous global communication which is ostensibly available to everyone, but the real meat of innovation seemed somehow stifled.

Then something really interesting came along - crowdfunding - the real game-changing and democratizing platform required not just for innovation, but also revolution and maybe even a real second Renaissance. Not like in the past with many lives lost in rebellion, but a future where many lives come together to ensure that ideas, inventions, and great works of art aren't lost.

It wasn't until I started browsing current and successful campaigns on Kickstarter that I truly realized the power of the crowd to decide and I can't help but wonder how different familiar turning points of history might have been had there been such a platform for inventors like Charles Babbage with his Difference Engine or the Avro Arrow or a million other things that could have been.

And finally, just maybe, with crowdfunded success it is starting to feel like the 21st century might be alright after all...

What do you think? What projects would you must like to see funded by the crowd?

Fighting for our right party?

Today's Chainman Banner brought to you by the world of Scrapbook: a story of art - hardcover officially 32% funded with only 63 hours to go on Kickstarter - and today's Scrapbook Party!

Come on down to Whytes on the second floor of the Gore Bay Harbour Centre for your once in a lifetime behind the pages peak at how we put Scrapbook together! Plus meet the artist! Live readings! Refreshments! and much, much more!

The Scrapbook Party will also be simulcast live on YouNow!