Disqus - Latest Comments for hamishmacdonald

Re: It Is May, But It Is Not Summer

hamishmacdonald — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 13:26:37 -0000

I haven't seen that program before.

I got so much use out of ClickBook; it was a crucial tool that allowed me to make my books. Alas, it seems to be abandonware now. I had trouble with it on the last PC I used, and when I moved back to a Mac, I couldn't get it to work properly at all, and the developers wouldn't respond to my messages.

After trying out a bunch of awkward semi-solutions, I found CreateBooklet 2 for the Mac, which has a very helpful and clean interface, and does an awesome job of creating imposed PDFs. It's not free, but it's not very expensive ($19.99).

All the best!

Re: It Is May, But It Is Not Summer

hamishmacdonald — Fri, 24 May 2019 18:57:07 -0000

I owe you a huge debt of gratitude: All this stuff was broken but I had no idea until you made me aware today. Everything should be fixed now (which is the start of a whole other job, as the UK-formatted files for all my novels need to be reworked a) for North American paper-sizes, and b) 'cuz I'm back on a Mac again, using different programs).

(Geez, so was everybody else giving up after finding things broken, or, worse, was there simply nobody else looking until now?!)

Technical stuff aside, thank you so much for your very kind words about the podcast. It was a real labour of love, for sure. Unfortunately, it, like my novels, just never got traction. Each of the novels was almost picked up by a publisher, but they all backed out in the end -- for which I'm kind of grateful in a sense, because that sent me on the journey of learning how to (and that I could) make books myself.

I received some really great comments from people about how the podcast changed their lives, yet as the free 'loss-leader' they're always telling us online creative people we need, it did diddly-squat for my career -- possibly not a single book sale.

Going to indie book fairs was exciting, and I enjoyed talking with creators and readers at them, but I left them with little more than my train fare and some pocket-money.

There was one, show in London, though, where I spoke with a fella who was selling his comics (http://www.thingsbydan.co.uk), and that led me back to drawing, which was my favourite pastime as a kid.

Something about making comics suddenly just worked. It wasn't the same kind of subjective 'ask' of a reader, and I could produce work and use it right away, versus the year-and-a-bit it took me to write a novel. Plus, as I'm sure you're well aware, everyone thinks they could write a novel -- and wants to criticize yours! -- whereas most people are pretty certain they can't draw (anymore).

Combine instant audience response with a very old yen for doodling, and... I left novels behind.

So that's my very long excuse for abandoning the novels about a decade ago. As for the podcast, it felt like it reached its natural conclusion, and since I wasn't practicing the craft, it felt like I had no basis for talking about it.

All that said, I'm so excited to hear that the series directed you back to your own work, and hopefully helped. I'm always happy to talk about story-structure, bookbinding, and whatever else, so if I can continue to be of any assistance, I'm here for you! And I'd love to see anything you might produce.

Thanks for making my day!

Re: It Is May, But It Is Not Summer

hamishmacdonald — Fri, 24 May 2019 14:07:06 -0000

Thanks so much for alerting me to this problem! I believe I've fixed it now, and dread the thought of all the fan mail I've missed. (What's that, Mom, you just called me on the phone instead? Then that probably accounts for all of it.)

Re: It Is May, But It Is Not Summer

hamishmacdonald — Fri, 24 May 2019 13:49:13 -0000

Oh, I haven’t received any of those, so I’ll go check what’s up with the [script? thingy? gubbins?] — I wasn’t being rude!

Re: It Is May, But It Is Not Summer

hamishmacdonald — Fri, 24 May 2019 06:41:02 -0000

Thank you — and thanks for stopping by! (Yours is the first blog comment I’ve received in years!)

Re: Modibots

hamishmacdonald — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 14:23:34 -0000

Ahh, that connects all the dots. All that experience and design sensibility definitely informs the end result.

I feel, at this point in my life, that the true sign of an mature artist is how much they can abstract *out*, rather than showing off how much they can reproduce real life. That's definitely at work with these figures.

OMG, Micronauts! Yes, I had those as a kid and loved them. Maybe that's why these have struck such a fond note for me. Except ModiBots are cuter! (The serious-looking heads never quite worked on those, and their poor little wrists were prone to breaking -- which I now have some

Marketing is a beast, and for all the miles of copy I've written over the years (when I was doing that), I have no idea why people notice one thing over another. At any rate, I wish everybody knew about ModiBots.

Re: Modibots

hamishmacdonald — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 14:22:51 -0000

Ahh, this fills in the blanks perfectly. All that experience and design sensibility definitely informs the end result.

Re: Modibots

hamishmacdonald — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 07:24:54 -0000

I'm curious about your design background, because these are not just neat little pieces of engineering, they're also beautifully *designed*. They have so much life and expression to them -- which is surprising, given how little detail is actually there.

P.S. I bleated all over Facebook about these, too, and the general reaction was "OH, NEAT!"

Re: Modibots

hamishmacdonald — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 16:48:49 -0000

I figured, looking at the cool metal accessories, that the ball-joints on the figures wouldn't work with a hard material. The university printer in question apparently uses some kind of flowing, two-part plastic compound as opposed to the home desktop 'string'-type. Not sure how hard or strong the result is.

(BTW, the twist-out frame for the figures is ingenious. And fun.)

I can see how releasing a model into the wild opens you up to endless tech-support questions. And the Shapeways service seems to be a great way to fulfill on orders.

Re: Modibots

hamishmacdonald — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 16:05:26 -0000

My pleasure! The challenge now will be to resist the urge to buy an army of these guys. Will the Myke model be available for purchase at some point? Apparently the local university, where a friend works, has some kind of fancy liquid printer thingumy.

Re: We’re giving away a brand new Intel Core i5 Surface Book

hamishmacdonald — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 10:45:36 -0000

I'm a cartoonist living in Toronto, Canada, and the Surface Pro 3 changed my life. No kidding: it gave me the creative tools to make the leap to becoming a full-time illustrator. Finally, I could draw on a real computer with a dedicated stylus in full programs like Manga Studio.

The Surface Book -- well, that would be even better. The SP3 pen is good, but not perfect. (I have to work faster than I do on paper in order to not see squiggles in my lines). I have hopes the SP4/Book pen will be an improvement.

Fingers crossed!

Re: Our Future, Wunderlist Joins Microsoft

hamishmacdonald — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:18:36 -0000

To my mind, this just seems like an opportunity for better, deeper integration.

True, Microsoft don't make the prettiest or most straightforward software (and, as in the case with Metro apps, when they try 'pretty' they often strip out 'useful'), but the Surface Pro 3 changed everything for me, and gives me great hope for the company's willingness to listen and respond to users' needs.

As an illustrator, I struggled with every sort of kludgey pen for iOS, and had to bounce between multiple sandboxed apps; with the Surface, I have a full computer than I can, for the first time, just *draw* on. It's completely changed my career.

Likewise, I'm sure Microsoft didn't sink all kinds of money in Wunderlist so they could ruin it. Maybe, just maybe, they're noticing who's doing things right and trying to incorporate those better ideas, as opposed to staunchly insisting that they know best, which was the feeling I got with... those other products.

So, you Wonder Kids you, congratulations, thanks for a very helpful and attractive to-do system, and best of luck in achieving even bigger and better things!

Re: Can't install Windows 10 build 10122 on your Surface Pro 3? Try this

hamishmacdonald — Fri, 22 May 2015 07:53:31 -0000

Yay: Turning off BitLocker did the trick! (I then ran the command listed above as an Administrator.)

Re: Can't install Windows 10 build 10122 on your Surface Pro 3? Try this

hamishmacdonald — Fri, 22 May 2015 04:28:52 -0000

Nope, didn't work for me, either. Still failed at the same point (black screen with progress circle, just after it reached 16%).

Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator X Steam Edition now 80% off on Steam for a limited time

hamishmacdonald — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 11:27:28 -0000

Yeesh! Could be the most ill-timed promotion ever. ("How do I unlock the door?")

Re: Microsoft targets Apples MacBook Air with 3 new Surface ads

hamishmacdonald — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 11:50:41 -0000

While waiting for my Surface Pro 3 to arrive, I ordered a 128GB MicroSD card -- for £9, effectively doubling the memory on the device.

I can't imagine what an extra 128GB would have cost me on an iDevice.

Horses for courses -- I only made the switch because I need to be able to draw properly on the screen, which no capacitative stylus has been able to deliver, and because I need to make several types of edits in one file, and bouncing back and forth between single-purpose apps was making me tear my hair out.

Re: Microsoft targets Apples MacBook Air with 3 new Surface ads

hamishmacdonald — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:10:21 -0000

Thanks for the perspective! The adverts above made a pretty compelling case -- in spite of Microsoft's perpetual lack of nuance or originality. It's good to balance that with some real-world perspective.

Meanwhile, I've been colouring some illustrations in Procreate using an Adonit Jot Pixelpoint stylus, which is okay, but a) I had to draw the actual illustrations on paper because the stylus is sadly incapable of producing a reliable mark anything like a pen or pencil, and b) now I've got to do a whole bunch of juggling to handle the result as actual files, since Apple imagine we all deal with clouds, whereas we actually have to send things to clients.

Re: Microsoft targets Apples MacBook Air with 3 new Surface ads

hamishmacdonald — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 10:06:35 -0000

I'm very tempted by the Surface Pro, and in spite of being deep down the Apple hole (in terms of apps, files, cables, cases, etc.), Microsoft have moved where I want to go.

I don't want a hobbled consumption device, I want to work and create wherever I am. Right now, I have to move between my iPad and MacBook because neither device can do all of what the other one does.

I remember the nuisance of the Windows world, with constant updates and viruses and ugly, ugly programs, so I hesitate to go back there. Still...

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's using the Surface Pro, especially for illustration or other creative work.

Re: This is Saturday

hamishmacdonald — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 05:19:57 -0000

Whenever I use that word, I always think about my theatre-school character "Conjur Man" and forget about the proper spelling.

Yes, I've shovelled together a trove of holiday pictures, trying to find the ones where we're obviously abroad (Eiffel Tower, etc.) or with family members who are evidently aware and supporting of our relationship. I did a lot more of the paperwork after my drawing session, and it's all starting to come together. I mean, we *do* have a legitimate relationship spanning several years, formally recognized by the Canadian government, and I'm still a Canadian citizen, so it would be supremely stupid if we *couldn't* pass the immigration requirements.

Re: Apple Updates iWork For iCloud To Remember Your Last Used Document Settings

hamishmacdonald — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 03:46:41 -0000

I *did* love them, but then they gutted several DTP-level features from the products in order to make them the same across all devices.

I had the covers and innards of several novels laid out in Pages, but now their formatting is ruined because Apple removed the "facing pages" margins option. That's just one example, and I keep bumping into more.

I see what they were doing, but the desktop apps have taken a large step backwards, and criticisms that they're not programs for "serious" users now have some validity.

Re: More practice

hamishmacdonald — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 04:49:39 -0000

My condolences to you!

Maybe for Christmas I should make a T-shirt with the rough part of Velco on the back so the wearer will have to sleep on his front or his side.

Now would that be a gift for you or for him?!

Re: Today’s Apps Gone Free: Globo, Twin Moons, Contra: Evolution And More

hamishmacdonald — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:17:25 -0000

My beef with Amazon Instant Video (aside from the scant content) is that I have to turn off my proxy, which I rely on to filter out ads. (I don't need to do this with Netflix.)

Re: Long live dead trees

hamishmacdonald — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:24:30 -0000

Well, the sanding didn't require sea-legs. And the yard-arm wasn't actually attached to anything, so the dangers were minimal, unlike the last time!

Re: Protect Yourself from Negativity

hamishmacdonald — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 18:27:24 -0000

Hear hear! I'm sick of the artistic trope that mental illness, alcoholism, and miserableism make for "worthy" entertainment.

As a self-professed "culture worker", I resent the heavy weighting given to films and novels in which nothing happens (and takes a long time to *not* do it), and the characters finish the story equally unchanged, learning nothing.

Why does this cynical narrative keep winning gongs? What's so wrong with fun, joy, and growth? Anyone who says that's not "realistic" has a crap view of reality.

Re: Digital practice

hamishmacdonald — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 07:30:26 -0000

Yeah, Paper's great, and some of its copycats like Flipink are making improvements on it by adding features that the Paper folks are refusing to, citing simplicity as more important to them than bloatware features.

Whatever the case, it's great that it's now so quick and easy to render visualisations people can immediately get -- although I find paper still has a power to move and captivate people in ways that on-screen stuff often can't.