Operation: Miyazaki

Week one-fifty-six of Operation Graphite – theme: Miyazaki.

The films that Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have produced are among the greatest animated films ever made. Rumor has it that there are a few short films by Miyazaki, that are only able to be seen if you visit the Ghibli Museum in Japan. While not quite like Disney Land, there are several Ghibli themed attractions on site, including a massive Laputa Guardian displayed in the garden. For those of you who speak Spanish, that does not mean what you think it means. Blame Jonathan Swift for that one.

Contributing Miyazaki fans:

kalebschad – Miyazaki

Micah – To fat to fly

Shock – Nausicaä

Week 157: Whatever

The theme selected for week one-fifty-seven of Operation Graphite will be: Whatever.

Ok, I couldn’t think of a theme for this week. There was an empty slot, and I had hoped inspiration would visit me with a perfect theme that wouldn’t interfere with upcoming, or past themes. Instead, this week you can do whatever you choose. It’s an open theme week, show what you are working on, show what you’ve been doodling in the margins of your papers, this week is your chance to submit whatever you choose.

Please submit any drawing or painting, using traditional or digital media, that fits the theme: Whatever.

All art work is due on Thursday, 3.5.14 Submissions will be published the following Friday, 3.6.15

Operation: Year of the Goat

Week one-fifty-five of Operation Graphite – theme:  Year of the Goat.

Yesterday was officially the lunar new year, beginning the year of the Goat, or depending on the Chinese menu you are looking at, the sheep or ram. So maybe not as exclusive to the Capra genus, but to the entire Caprinae subfamily. The year of the green, wooden goat, is supposed to be a gentle prosperous year – so says some guy on the internet. Who’s gonna believe that? A mild and gentle, chaos free year would be nice all the same.

Shock – Goat Head

Week 156: Miyazaki

The theme selected for week one-fifty-six of Operation Graphite will be: Miyazaki.

Along with Walt Disney and Chuck Jones, Hayao Miyazaki is one of the greatest animators of all time. Nearly every film of his is a masterpiece. One of the hallmarks of Miyazaki stories include, female protagonists who are way cooler than any Disney princes will ever be. Another trademark is an obsession with flight, many of his films include or revolve around aircraft. The wind rises, about an aircraft designer, was the final film Hayao Miyazaki directed before retirement. Of course Hayao has retired before, we will see if this time is for good, if he gets sick of retirement again.

Please submit any drawing or painting, using traditional or digital media, that fits the theme: Miyazaki.

All art work is due on Thursday, 2.26.14 Submissions will be published the following Friday, 2.27.15

Operation: Duo

Week one-fifty-four of Operation Graphite – theme: Duo.

No one wants to go at things alone. While we can’t all have a team, or an entire army, to back us up, sometimes it just takes one more person to make all the difference. Be it your buddy, sibling, partner, spouse, band mate, or wingman, an extra hand is sometimes all you need to get though fight.

Duo of contributing duos:

kalebschad – Adam and Eve

Shock – Mario and Luigi

Week 155: Year of the Goat

The theme selected for week one-fifty-five of Operation Graphite will be: Year of the Goat.

Operation Graphite began in February of 2012. This is now going on the forth year of the site, which is long time for a site that nobody looks at. This m0nth is also Chinese New Year, and the animal for the Chinese Zodiac of 2015 is the Goat. For all their Satanic associations, or mental images of dirty farm animals, I am kind of fond of goats. Perhaps it is the mountaineering aspects of them I find admirable. Even some domesticated goats are nimble climbers, and as someone who was always climbing anything and everything, I could see the noble characteristics in the Capra genus. Goats also have really weird eyes, which are kind of creepy, but give them a much wider field of vision that humans do.

Please submit any drawing or painting, using traditional or digital media, that fits the theme: Year of the Goat.

All art work is due on Thursday, 2.19.14 Submissions will be published the following Friday, 2.20.15

Operation: Cyborg

Week one-fifty-three of Operation Graphite – theme: Cyborg.

There are two camps, one sees the exponential advancement of computer technology as the greatest threat to humanity, and then there are others who believe that advanced technology will enable mankind to reach a higher level of being. While Ray Kurzweil and his Transhumanism brethren believe man and machine must merge, there is still a great fear towards adding mechanical advancements to the human body, let a lone implanting computer chips in ones brain or uploading ones consciousness onto a computer. While this may illustrate a very advanced kind of cyborg, some of the prosthetic limbs available today are pretty incredible examples cybernetics in action. Will those limb replacements ever become so good we electively choose to replace out own parts with machine ones? If there were memory chips and instant mental enhancements, would you be interested in becoming a cyborg?

Contributing Cyborgs:

kalebschad – Mother Brain

Shock – Devatron

Week 154: Duo

The theme selected for week one-fifty-four of Operation Graphite will be: Duo.

There are certain ideas we assign to numbers, well beyond their mere numerical value. Seven is lucky, while thirteen is so unlucky, buildings skip from floor twelve to fourteen. In Japanese, shi (four) means death, and is replaced by the word, yon, for almost every use for the value of four. Of course, one is the loneliest number, but two has a much warmer feeling. A couple, a pair, that feeling of finding a match or the perfect partner in crime. From Beavis and Butt-head and Bill and Ted, to Thelma and Louise and Laverne and Shirley, there is something special about a duo, whether romantic like Romeo and Juliet, strictly platonic like Wayne and Garth, or a even a business venture like Hanna and Barbera, this week is all about the duo.

Please submit any drawing or painting, using traditional or digital media, that fits the theme: Duo.

All art work is due on Thursday, 2.12.14 Submissions will be published the following Friday, 2.13.15