Last week I had the pleasure of chatting with Shawn Smith, former video game journalist for EGM Magazine, and creator of the character design studio Shawnimals.

In the world of Shawnimals lies Ninjatown, featuring a wide selection of ninjas with their own unique story and design. Ninjatown has been everything from toys to videogames. You can even read about Ninjatown on your various Apple devices thanks to the Ninjatown: Adventures of Wee Ninja comic book App available in the iOS store.

I had the chance to talk to Shawn about his background, how Ninjatown came to be, and some of his favorite games from the past year.

For those not familiar with the world of Shawnimals or Ninjatown, could you tell me a little about its creation, as well as a little background information about yourself?

Shawn: Sure thing, Shawnimals is a character design studio that believes in the power of unbridled, astonishing, ridiculous joy. Each Shawnimal comes with its own story that starts in the Shawnimaland universe, but is then given over to you to continue each unique creature’s adventure in your own universe.

Our huggable friends appear as designer toys, lifestyle accessories, apparel, comic books, video games, and as anything that fosters companionship. We believe that the best artistic experiences are participatory and affordable, and that – with an open heart – friendship can happen between you and just about anything. Even facial hair.

We have a staff of four: Myself, my wife and biz partner Jen, Monte and Eric. And two rotating intern positions.

As for me: I’m the creative force behind Shawnimals, and started the company before I even knew it by watching cartoons, drawing pictures and playing video games as a kid.

Fast forward to my job at EGM magazine as a game reviewer (1996 – 2000), I made the difficult decision to leave and focus on my first love: Art and design. I had the opportunity to explore my various characters and the countless sketchbooks on my shelf filled with hundreds of unused characters. In a way, Shawnimals were born shortly after. Without a doubt I have pop culturally-inspired aesthetic: Simple, compelling character designs, strong narratives, and a healthy dose of humor. All of the stuff that makes great pop culture great.

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Ben Heck, esteemed modding and hacking hobbyist and fine source of geeky quotes and references, has been in the game for a decade since this this October. And in honor of that milestone, Ben has teamed up with element14 to hack together the Ben Heck Show. (Think of anything on the DIY Network with more circuit boards and less boredom.)

We got the chance to chat with Ben on his lunch break to find out less about the show, which you can watch here, and more about the scatterbrained man behind some of coolest tech creations out there. Well, I guess you have to be that way to make a rowing machine that plays Xbox 360 games, but more on that behind the break. (more…)

It’s a craft event named after Rocky. Awesome.

Our city is full of incredibly talented artisans that wield crochet hooks with unbelievable skill, and ever since I met Philadelphia’s crafting jewel, Ms. Sara Selepouchin, I’ve always made it a point to attend local craft markets. Buying handmade gifts (there’s even a website dedicated to that movement) trumps the traditional present. Why buy someone a DVD, when you could hire an artist to whip up your friend’s favorite film character, out of yarn and buttons? Handmade gifts can be infinitely more thoughtful, and this weekend, you have your chance to shop for plenty of ‘em.

This year’s Crafty Balboa Holiday takes place this Saturday, December 4th, and runs from 11am to 5pm. It’s at the usual spot, the Broad Street Ministry (315 South Broad St), right across from the Kimmel Center. This is the second annual Balboa Holiday event, and the fifth event in the collective’s history. Visitors can look forward to over 40 crafters at the church, dishing out one-of-a-kind screenprints, handmade toys, and other crafts that will appeal to your geeky sweetheart.

First 50 folks to show up will score a gift bag chock full of free swag.

To scope out a full list of the vendors and to preview a lot of the merch for sale, visit Crafty Balboa’s official website. Happy shopping! Oh, and best of all? Sara Selepouchin will be there. Say hi and swoon. I know I will.

Crafty Balboa Holiday
Saturday, December 4, 2010 11am – 5pm (FREE)
Broad Street Ministry (315 South Broad Street)

Image stolen from Make:Online

Back by popular demand, The Hacktory is once again hosting their Recycled Electronics Jewelry workshop. For those of you who aren’t swayed by cute hand-stitched owls (which are a staple of craft fairs like this week’s Crafty Balboa), this might just be the event for you. Retro-inspired techie jewelry for your beloved? Perfect holiday gift. Here are some of the details from the Hacktory’s website / official press release.

The Hacktory promotes the combining of art, technology & recycling–so we created the Recycled Electronic Jewelry Workshop. You can add beauty and interest to the world by reusing electronic components that would needlessly end up in our growing landfills. It’s great fun and sparks creativity. Previous workshops were sold out–everyone loved making and taking home their amazing creations!

You’ll learn basic jewelry-making skills including design ideas, basic soldering and assembly skills, and how to choose materials for creating your own jewelry and small sculpture. You’ll also learn fun stuff about new & old electronic parts so you can talk about your creations. No experience necessary, all ages 8 and up.

Cost to participate is only $20, which includes all supplies and materials including basic jewelry parts, supplies, and a great selection of awesome-looking retro electronic components for your creations. You’ll have enough time to make several pieces to take home for yourself or for gifts.

And there you have it. $20 for all the materials you’ll need to craft one-of-a-kind scrap electronic jewelry. These workshops tend to tell out, so reserve your spot. It all goes down this Sunday, December 5th, from 1pm to 5pm.

Hack on!

Recycled Electronics Jewelry Workshop @ The Hacktory
Sunday December 5th 1:00-5:00
www.thehacktory.org

Gamer, crafter, photographer, YouTube superstar, and Geekadelphia megacrush FullMetalPiglet (known off of YouTube as Nikki), has combined her love of crafts and online video to create a wonderful tutorial on how to crochet your own Sackboy.

Along with the tutorial on how to make the actual doll, she’ll teach you how to dress it up proper. She talks about creating her King Leonidas Sackboy, as well as an Ico (what!) Sackboy. Check those videos out as well.

Nikki also has a video that teaches you how to make your own Totoro. Check that out here.

Enjoy, and happy crafting.

Ico Sackboy [ Link ]
300 Sackboy [ Link ]
Sackboy Tutorial [ Link ]
Totoro Tutorial [ Link ]

What do you buy the gamer girl in your life that has everything? Well this classic Gameboy hoodie is a great start. Produced by LowRez.de this great design is an awesome throwback to one of the greatest portable consoles of all time; and super cute on your girlfriend and/or wife.

For the low price $29.40 (I wonder if there is a significance with the price) you too can be the owner of this awesome hoodie. I think the only thing that would have made it just a bit more awesome is possibly putting a Tetris cartridge on the back of the hoodie, as if it was inserted in the Gameboy.  So get it while you can here.

Classic Gameboy Hoodie
http://bit.ly/bnQcu1

Geekadelphia mega-crush Sara Selepouchin presented at Pecha Kucha 5 at Studio 34 this past Saturday, and spoke to a rather large audience about pursuing what makes you happy. Currently the owner of Girls Can Tell printery, Sara creates some of my favorite handmade crafts here in Philadelphia.

Attendees had 20 seconds to go over 20 slides. The video is a bit long, but totally worth it.

Expect another video (or two!) over the next few days, as I slowly upload them. Great job, Sara!

Sara Selepouchin
www.girlscantell.com

Sara Selepouchin @ Pecha Kucha [ Link ]

Our good friends Johnny Zito and Tony Trov, creators of the online Zuda comic  Black Cherry Bombshells and quite possibly the hardest working duo in the universe, are at it again.  Starting April 5th, The BCB universe will become a bit more crowded when it is revealed that Sheldon Vella’s comic SUPERTRON exists within the same established continuity. While that is awesome enough, the fun doesn’t stop there as Vella will also illustrate five Black Cherry Bombshells stories. Below is a bit more on this exciting endeavor:

“We’re really excited to finally team up with Shelly.  For the longest time we’ve thought of the Bombshells as the prequel to SuperTron,” says Tony Trov [BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS' Co-creator].

“We’ve been dropping hints in both strips for a while.  Last year The Bombshells appeared in SuperTron’s dream and recently connections between the King and MOM Bot were discovered.”  Johnny Zito [BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS' Co-creator] elaborates.

Black Cherry Bombshells is about ultra-violent girl gangs fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas where every man is a Zombie.  The King, a cross-dressing kung-fu warlord, rules the land with mysterious, evil powers.  SuperTron is about a distant future where robots struggle to find their humanity in a world devoid of life.  MOM Bot, the first sentient robot, enslaves her mechanical offspring in a meaningless existence.

Sheldon’s stint at guest penciler will connect the Armageddon events between both series and catapult the web comics into their final chapters, beginning this year.

If you haven’t read either of these series yet, please take some time out of your twittering  schedule and give them both a look. You won’t be disappointed.

Image by Sheldon Vella

Today in epic wants, we’re featuring this Day of the Tentacle tie.

You might recognize Maya’s work from her absolutely incredible Monkey Island converse shoes. She’s also created Day of the Tentacle inspired kicks. She’s also stolen my heart, and I’m moving to Madrid at the end of the month. It’s been real, Philadelphia.

For more information on Maya and her wonderful work, you can visit her blog. She’s selling a couple of her pieces on eBay, so bid away friends.

Maya Pixelskaya
maya-pixelskaya.blogspot.com

If you live in Philly and have been looking for art classes that focus on making comics, you may be in luck with Pterodactyl Philadelphia. Beginning with their Spring 2010 session, you can take their “Making Comics From Idea to Print” course, as well as many other classes ranging from the basics of sewing, to animal sculpture. The comics class will be taught by Pat Aulisio whose work you can view here. Now these classes are scheduled to start April 12th beginning at 6:00pm and ending at 8:00pm.  Some additional information below:

In this course students will learn how to write, draw, and self publish their own mini comic. Students will create their own characters and story to illustrate in different dynamic comic book techniques . At the end of the course all comics will be collected into a class anthology.  Aside from the basics writing and drawing skills for comics there will be daily drawings games to pique the interests of the students like comic jams, drawing from a written description, and parody comics. Guest comic  creators will make appearances talking about individual techniques and comic skills. Students will also learn various comic book formats that will fit to each students personal choice, as well as different folding and bookmaking techniques for their final product.

Check out the Pterodactyl site for any additional info on course fees, cost of materials, or to find contact information if you have any additional questions.

I have to admit when I first saw this I thought it might have been a bit of a hoax, but a very crafty Star Trek fan using parts from a Blu-ray player and old playmates Phaser toy has made a working (albeit not very powerful) Phaser. While the unit may not be strong enough to seriously injure someone, you could probably give a person a nasty little burn from across the room.

In the video below you can see him use it on some very threatening looking balloons, and make extremely short work of them. You can also check out here where you can see exactly how he created the mod. I have to say I really want one of my own, oh imagine the fun at children’s birthday parties.

Via: Gamma Squad

Geeks love robots. It’s true. We like building them, playing with them, living in fear of them, and allowing them to make us cry in the movies. Tattooed Mom knows this, and as one of the best geek hangouts in Philadelphia, they’re catering to this robot love with a Make Your Own Robot event this Sunday.

As you can see on the flyer, from 1PM until 11PM, you can score a 16oz Pabst for $1, and then, create your own Pabst Robot at their craft table. Sounds like a good time to me. I wonder if the Pabst Robots will rise up, and battle their creators? It’s possible. Watch out, folks.

Make Your Own Robot @ T-Moms
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
www.yelp.com/biz/tattooed-mom-philadelphia