Chris Rahmeh's Wiki Page:

About: My name is Chris Rahmeh. I'm an art major and media minor here at Austin College. I am interested in this class because I am curious about different online media and the creative potential it holds. As a kid I was very into cartoons. I loved reading the newspaper comics like Calvin and Hobbes, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, among others. I also love online comics such as Axe Cop, Bearmagedon, and the Oatmeal as well as graphic novels like Scott Pilgrim. I also enjoy making my own comics and graphic novels and have created a variety of them over the years.  Besides comics I am also an avid film junkie and enjoy going to see current movies at the movie theater with my like-minded movie nut dad. Other types of media I enjoy are video games and music. Although I have such a passion for more analog media types such as cartoons I would consider myself a primarily digital based person on a day to day basis.

Essential Narratives:

1. Get Fuzzy (comic by Darby Conley): Get Fuzzy is kind of like your typical roommates in an apartment drama only catch is one of them is a cat, one is a dog, and the other is their befuddled owner. The cat named Bucky Katt is a sociopathic nutjob who loves to irritate his other roomies as well as come up with insane schemes to become famous and inflate his large ego. Satchel Pooch the dog is sweet and dimwitted and is the main object of Bucky's hostility. Rob the human tries the best to keep the chaos in control and provide for the dysfunctional family. This comic strip is a huge reason why I got into cartooning and has always been a constant inspiration to me. On a more strange note I also worshipped Bucky Katt and tried to get him elected class president of my middle school in seventh grade. Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Fuzzy, http://www.gocomics.com/getfuzzy,http://www.universaluclick.com/comics/getfuzzy/.  

2. Anthony Green (musician/singer):  Anthony Green is one of my favorite artists and is a hugely inspirational figure for me. He has been in many different bands including Audience of One, Zolof The Rock and Roll Destroyer, Saosin, The Sound of Animals Fighting, and he is most widely known for being in Circa Survive and his solo work. Anthony Greens voice is very unique and has a very beautiful and resonant quality to it along with being very high pitched. His music is also generally very odd with spacey sounds, weird time signatures, and sometimes strange sounds or instruments. He sings about a variety of different subjects and his views on religion, drug abuse, depression, and other heavy handed subjects are very powerful and resonant to me. Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Green_%28musician%29, http://anthonygreenmusic.com/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfbnSb8kFkI&list=PLH22-xSMERQqUX3ogTqRNTqgzOZbdoxeW

3. Scott Pilgrim (graphic novel by Brain Lee O'Malley): Scott Pilgrim is a series of graphic novels by Canadian artist Brian Lee O'Malley centering around Scott, a lovable dimwitted loser who is in a band called Sex Bob Omb with his equally eccentric friends. Scott meets the girl of his dreams one day named Ramona Flowers and proceeds to dump his girlfriend, 17 year old Knives Chau, to pursue this enchanting woman. Unfortunately for Scott Ramona comes with quite a bit of baggage in the form of seven evil ex boyfriends hellbent on fighting Scott for Ramona's love. Scott Pilgrim is one of the most unique and surrealistic things I've ever read blending together comics, video games, kung fu, and drama for a intriguing read.  I love the art style, the mish mash of genres, and quirky humor in Scott Pilgrim. It is a constant source of inspiration for me when I am drawing my own cartoons or graphic novels. Scott Pilgrim was also made into an epic movie!

Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pilgrim, http://www.comicvine.com/scott-pilgrim/4050-25478/, http://scottpilgrim.wikia.com/wiki/Scott_Pilgrim

4. Harry Potter (Novels by J.K. Rowling): Harry Potter is a series of novels centering around a boy wizard prodigy who attends a school for magic instruction called Hogwarts. Throughout the series Harry makes a variety of magical friends and learns about his connection to a dark wizard named Lord Voldemort. Harry must grow as a wizard and uncover Voldemort's darkest secrets in order to have any hope of defeating him. Harry Potter's excellent characters and the world which they inhabit is enchanting and exceptionally realized. It's one of those series that is easy to get lost in and obsess over. Whenever I read/re-read them I feel like I am a student at Hogwarts. Few media pieces have managed to suck me in so much. Harry Potter is a great series and excellent example of exceptional storytelling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter, http://harrypotter.scholastic.com/, http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Harry_Potter

A GIF I Made

50 Ways to Tell a Story Ideas:

FiveFrameFlickr

Frame 1. Scorching hot sun

2. Very unhappy looking little kid

3. Melting snowman or ice cream cone

4. Picture of House

5. Kid in bed watching Netflix looking very happy 

Workshop 1:

Thunder Road 5 Photo Story

1. A woman exiting from a screen door her dress gently waving. (Represents first stanza of the song with Mary slamming the screen door her dress waving.)

2. A man sitting on his porch by the screen door looking sad and lonely. (Represents the rest of the first stanza. Man singing about how lonely he is and how he wants the girl back.)

3.  The woman hiding beneath her covers also looking sad and depressed. (Represents second stanza with the girl hiding in the covers in pain and reminiscing on past lovers.)

4. The man and the woman holding hands by a car, most likely a Chevrolet. (Represents third stanza with the man and woman taking hands and getting ready to ride down Thunder Road.)

5. The car/Chevy driving off down a road with thunder in the background. (Represents the rest of the third stanza and the fourth stanza with the man and woman going down Thunder Road together.)

I feel like the song Thunder Road deals with a relationship between a man and a women that is falling apart. The first stanza/picture is about the woman leaving. The door slamming indicates that things are not going well between them. The second and third pictures represent the man and woman's disdain at being apart. The man feels lonely and wants the woman back and the woman is depressed, hiding behind her emotions and reminiscing on past failed relationships. The fourth picture is the man and the woman getting back together after a fair bit of pleading. Sure things are rocky but the two feel like it might work. The fifth picture is them riding down the metaphorical thunder road. The man and the woman are back together and trying again at their relationship. The road ahead of them might be rough and filled with "thunder" but they are determined to make things work and leave all the negative stuff behind.

Idea for a Portfolio Project For 2/20 class

I started making a game on twine that centers around a person waking up and getting out of bed and out the door. The catch here is that getting out of bed and out the door proves trickier than it seems. Your alarm clock punches you back when you try to turn it off, remember the "the floor is made of lava game you played as a kid" ....the floor might actually be made of lava, your toothpaste is filled with ants, your shower sprays spaghetti instead of water. These and other dastardly happenings that hinder your progress from getting out the door and on with your life...whatever that is. Do you have a life? Maybe you should just stay in bed and watch TV, it might be easier? That and you might also be the pancake overlord... Some possible statistics to track would be, deaths, laziness, number of times you went back to sleep, things you've eaten that you maybe shouldn't have eaten, ect.