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Tag: biodiversity
June 17, 2014
Darwin Phylo deck in progress: Part 2. In which we show more graphical awesomeness! #darwindeck
So, we have a few more pieces of Darwinian art to show, continuing from our first look see. As mentioned before, all of this art is in preparation of a Phylo trading card game that revolves around the many species that Darwin took note of during his “Voyage of the Beagle.”
Above is a mock up of one of the “Event Cards.” This was drawn by Rachel Ignotofsky (website, instagram), which also came with the 3 new images shown below (to add to the 4 shown previously).
As well, here is another card mock up below, with another iconic inclusion, the HMS Beagle itself:
Here, the artwork was created by Robert M. Ball (website, instagram, twitter). Not sure if you remember from the previous “work in progress” post, but Rob has made his 8 commissions into this epic panoramic image. This you can take closer look at below (you can also click to get to a larger version), but essentially, re-imagine this lovely piece as 8 separate cards coming together.
(Click it, click it, click it… you won’t be disappointed!)
Anyway, the Phylo deck project is really starting to come together. Final artwork is coming in, (I’ve even personally bought some of the originals from Diana Sudyka as you can see below), and we’ve finally hired our last artist. This would be Simon Gurr, which is all the more special because this is the individual responsible for the Darwin graphic novel. With his addition, the Darwinian deck should have a total of 40 lovely pieces of art.
All in all, I expect the “Voyage of the Beagle” Deck to be ready around October or November of this year, where it will be launched by the UK Nonprofit, The HMS Beagle Trust, for their science outreach and advocacy programs. Game on!
(Note, you can see the rest of Diana’s pieces at this post).
June 12, 2014
When Vulpes vulpes is skeptical. I challenge you not to smile when you see this picture.
By Michael O’Neal (winner of the iPhone Photography Awards – animal category), via My Modern Met.
May 9, 2014
Phylo game: Voyage of the Beagle deck update. #darwindeck #wip #whoa #soawesome
As many of you know, one of my stranger science education projects is a biodiversity themed card game called Phylo. This project has been especially interesting of late, with a variety of new elements being launched via a number of great open collaborations (AMNH, GSA, Muse, Keeling Lab, etc – see the Phylo blog for more details).
But there is also this “Voyage of the Beagle” deck (or just the “Darwin Deck, #darwindeck” as some have been calling it), that was talked about a couple months back. This is still a work in progress, but we have a list of cards (beta deck with commons images can be seen here), and most of the art has already been commissioned. It actually looks like we’ll need one more commission* (of about 8 images at $200 each), but I thought it would be cool to show you what the other amazing artists have done so far.
* If you’re interested, leave a link of your portfolio in the comments.
Robert Ball: website | instagram | twitter
Robert I actually came across by way of his very cool work on superhero drawings (I actually have his Avengers print on my home office wall). His first two pieces are below, but he’s also planing to link his 8 pieces into a final panoramic montage.
(click the below to enlarge)
Golly Bard: website | instagram
Diana (see below) did a great job of referring Golly to the project. These are Golly’s first drafts, but you can already tell that they’re going to look extraordinary.
Rachel Ignotofsky: website | instagram
Rachel has this great whimsical style (and some of her art has been shown here previously). She’s actually completed a couple already as you can see below!
Diana Sudyka: website | instagram | twitter
And finally, we have Diana. I’ve been a big fan of Diana’s work for a while now, especially since she worked on a picture for a piece at the SCQ. In any event, her lovely artworks (which were just finished) are shown below.
Anyway, I hope you are all as excited as I am for this #darwindeck. I’m thinking that it should be ready by late 2014 or early 2015. And don’t forget, it looks like we will need one more artist in the mix, so leave a link to your portfolio if you’re interested!
April 17, 2014
Surfboards via biomimicry. What if you design a board based on aquatic life shapes?
It might look like this…
Otherwise known as the Surfph-o-Morph. There’s three designs by Giulio Iacchetti which you can check out here.
April 8, 2014
Check this out. Cyborg creepy crawlies: Machine and entomological or arachnid forms merged as intricate art pieces.
This is breathtaking in a steam punk kind of way…
“Using the bodies of tarantulas, crabs, winged insects, and more, she adds gears, springs, and other mechanics to their fragile forms.”
By Gaby Wormann, text and h/t via My Modern Met.
April 3, 2014
WHOA… Slow Life: Who needs timelapse sunsets and night skies when you have timelapse invertebrate awesomeness?!
I recommend watching this on full screen in HD mode, preferably in a dark place with head phones. It’ll feel so intimate, you’ll blush…
Slow Life from Daniel Stoupin on Vimeo.
By Daniel Stoupin, via Colossal
March 31, 2014
Who wants to design a genetics themed card game? Summer positions for UBC students available at my lab.
So, first things first – you have to be a UBC student (undergrad or grad) to be eligible for these (two) positions. As well, I’d be keen to extend the positions beyond the 20 hours per week to a more full time scenario if that works for the successful candidates.
Anyway, the link you need (and you’ll also need to enter via UBC’s CWL system) is:
Full details are as follows:
Title: WL (Work Learn) S14 Science Literacy Lab Assistant
Salary/Wage: $16.10 per hour. Minimum 20 hours per week. Approximately 15 weeks during summer months.
Anticipated Start Date: May 5th, 2014
Contact Details/Employer: Dr. David Ng, Michael Smith Labs – more details about his lab at http://bioteach.ubc.ca
Apply by: Appointment paperwork needs to go in by April 19th, and I’ll definitely want to be interviewing the best candidates – so maybe by around April 11th is best.
Description: The AMBL science education facility within the Michael Smith Laboratories is looking to hire a senior undergraduate student or junior graduate student who is both passionate about biodiversity research and science education. In short, this student will be part of a team tasked to design an educational card game that focuses on a variety of learning objectives aimed to explore the science and genetics of model organisms (i.e. e. coli, yeast, drosophila, xenopus, zebrafish ,mouse).
This will be built around existing trading card culture mechanics from the PHYLO project (http://phylogame.org), and slated to be offered as both a freely accessible online resource, as well as stand alone product for physical printing and distribution within educational contexts.
For this stage of the project, the student hired will have a significant role in both the design, and the play testing of the final card game, which is slated for a late 2015/early 2016 launch.
Qualifications: Life science background (particularly in molecular genetics) is a plus, though not necessary. Interest in societal and historical issues that encompass science and technology topics is beneficial. Given that the project uses a variety of digital avenues for card design and production, comfort around various blogging platforms and graphic design software is also beneficial. Interest in game development, and general engagement with “games” is also a plus.
Learning Outcomes: Students will receive a variety of training on science literacy advocacy, game development, science pedagogy, as well as skills related to use of online tools, and some graphic design.
Students will be asked to work in both collaborative and independent contexts, with frequent meetings to assess needs and progress. Mentorship would likely involve contact with relevant experts in both the science education sector, as well as those in model organism research (many of which can be found at the Michael Smith Laboratories). One of the learning objectives examined in the project, will be to see if these cards can be used in both public school setting (high school in particular), but also whether this resource can play a role in undergraduate teaching as well.
In terms of expanding networks, the Phylo card game project has a number of collaborations in the mix (including those with major natural history museums, such as the American Museum of Natural History, and London’s Natural History Museum). This particular model organism deck will be aligned with the Genetics Society of America.
For further details, please feel free to email me at db at mail dot ubc dot ca. You can also apply via this route (I’ll need your CV and a cover letter).
Game on!
cheers
dave
popperfont.net 