ArtsForge MultiMedia Project
	ArtsForge WordForge VisionForge MusicForge Galleries Poetry CyberCards Order Form								The Power of 10: Plot Outline Characters and Settings Storyboards Flatlanders Feng Shui Chins Illustrations
					© 1999 Tobin James Mueller, Steven Hägg Ståhlberg, John Spirko, Danny Falch, Ian Brand, Fred Simmons and Kim Vanderhyden.
						Collaborators

		Tobin James Mueller (USA) - story, art, editing, music; Dido's Temple / Portals, 5space; Hardware: Mac G3 8.5.1; Software: Photoshop 4, Lightwave 5.6, Bryce 4, Poser 3.0.1, Painter 5.5 (KPT 3/5); music software: MOTU Digital Performer 2.5, Peak 2.0 See below for bio... Steven Stahlberg (Hong Kong) - story, art, animation; Trixi, Ferd's Room; Silicon Graphics Indigo r4000; Alias Power Animator v7, Photoshop 4 on a PC. Danny Falch (Denmark) - art, characters, story; Brogdrog's Lab, Din the Robot; hardware: 450 mhz pll; software: 3D Studio Viz r2, Paint Shop Pro 5.1 for mapping. John Spirko (Canada) - art, story The Flatlanders: Old Guard, New Wave, Romeo/Juliet; Hardware: P120, 450 - P111, 256 megs memory, Windows 98, AMD K6-2 300 with Wacom Intuous stylus/tablet; Software: Bryce 4, Paint Shop Pro 5.1/with many Photoshop Filters/layers, Painter 5.5, Poser 3.1, sPatch; 3D Converters: 3DWin, Crossroads (convert sPatch DXF to OBJ format; UV Mapper (maps/templates from ordinary OBJ files created in sPatch) See below for bio... Fred Simmons (USA) - art, story Ferd's School, the Janitor's Basement Office, Cybernetic Bad Guys; Hardware: PII 300 with 288 RAM; 3D Software: Bryce 3.1, Lightwave 5.6. Poser 3, AnimationMaster 98; 2D: Photoshop 4, PhotoImpact 4. Ian Brand (USA) - art, representations of Dido, etc.; Hardware: Brushes, canvas, paper & airbrush (traditional); Mac G3 OS 8.5; Software: Softimage, Photoshop 4; Bryce 3D; Quicktime Pro. Tony Seymour (England) - art, story Turkish Bath; other scenes and figures; Hardware: A PIII 450 Mhz PC, 256mB Ram, 10 gig HDD, ATI Rage Fury 32mB graphics card and Iyama visionmaster pro 400 monitor networked via a 10Mb Ethernet hub to a P200pro PC with 64mB Ram, 20gB storage system with a Matrox Millenium 4mB Graphics Card; Kodak DC210 camera and Wacom Tablet; Software: Bryce 3D, Amapi 3D version 4.01, Autocad R14 (via my workplace) Corel Photopaint version 6, sPatch, Poser 3, Map Magic, UVmapper. See below for bio... Michael Allen (USA) - art Hardware: DELL, pentium I, 166/64; Software: 3d Studio Max r2. Kim Vanderhyden (USA) - story, photography Loannis Adonakis (Germany) - original Idd/Odd design Luca "Duo" Oleastri (Italy) - art

For Settings and Characters, click here!
For a detailed Plot Discussion, click here!
For discussion of Flatlanders, click here!
For discussion of Feng Shui Chins, click here!
For a verbal Storyboard of upcoming Illustrations, click here!

Information About and By Each Collaborator

* Tobin James Mueller * Tobin James Mueller is a composer, author, artist and founder of ArtsForge. As a member of the Dramatist Guild, he has written the music, lyrics and script to several shows staged Off Broadway. He's composed everything from ballets to symphonies to jazz, and has produced and recorded 13 albums at his studio, CenterStage Productions. He's authored 6 books of various kinds, from Indian history to contemporary fiction to political philosophy. He also has a library of youth musicals marketed through CenterStage-Musicals.com. Active in the worldwide youth environmental movement, Tobin was awarded the United Nations' Global 500 Laureate award in 1994, representing the USA. He founded an internationally recognized touring theatre troupe that presented his original shows from 1987-1997. In August, 1998, Tobin decided to take a year off of his manic music career and learn web design, founding the company NetForge. He posted some paintings, poetry and story starters on ArtsForge and immediately began collaborating with some of the best artists from around the globe. ArtsForge continues to evolve with each project, morphing with each new artist's ideas, input and projects... In his own words: "I wanted to found a website that could bring various friends and talent together, using the internet to do what it does best: Break down geographical boundries. But it wasn't until forming the Power of 10 Team that I felt like something great was happening here. These guys are not only talented, but infintely creative, energetic, and willing to communicate regularly and often for the good of the whole. Everyone is sharing ideas, files, techniques. And the story is wonderful - provocative, funny, action-packed, full of irony and insight, incorporating a little bit of each artists' perspective and locale. I am able to work on a story completely different than anything else I've written. It has been both exhilarating and liberating!" Tobin is currently organizing and writing 3 online illustrated novels, a Broadway musical about "Merlyn", and a cross-genre rock album, all using his "virtual canvas" website: ArtsForge. He and other ArtsForge participants are in the forefront of Net artists who are experimenting with the web as an artistic tool. Tobin's onsite complete bio, gallery, and poetry showcase.

* John Spirko * I believe that everyone is creative. An exploration of your own inner and outer worlds, seeking the media that best serves you and your expression. Any media. Whether it's 'traditional', digital, or the way a person lives. There's a media for every person - find it and it will alter your life! My earliest recollection of drawing was when I was about three and half years old. Since that time, I've shifted through various media, like pastels, painting, jewelry, photography, woodcarving, etc. My interest in computers since the early 80's did include attempts at digital art. But it was short lived - a computer 'mouse' was not a natural creative tool for me. This changed dramatically, when surfing on the Internet. in April 1998. I discovered other artists using a software program called Bryce 3D, made by MetaCreations. I tried the demo program and purchased the program shortly after. I was mesmerized by the possibilities of this program and the mouse suddenly became creatively useful. Several months later, I decided to purchase a Wacom drawing tablet and stylus. With the drawing tablet came MetaCreation's software program Painter Classic. Again I was hooked, finally finding a tool and another software program that together, would allow me to easily draw and paint digitally. Another 'electronic' tool soon followed - a flat bed scanner. This allowed me to use photographs, small drawings and objects in my artwork. Between the latest version of Bryce, Painter 5.5, Paint Shop Pro 5, the Wacom Tablet, and the scanner I've devoted most of my free time towards exploring this new digital world. A journey just begun! John's offsite Gallery: http://www.iaw.on.ca/~jspirko/

* Tony Seymour * I am 36 years of age, single, no kids and live in South London, England. I work as a Design Manager for a mechanical engineering company. I play the drums and guitar in what is left of my spare time. My favorite colour is peuce and I like good hot curries, my vital statistics are 34 24 34 and my ambitions are to help others and make the world a better place to live in..... oh !"£$% I got carried away there:) I have painted and drawn in traditional media for as long as I can remember and consequently feel that my latest foray into digital imaging is a natural progression. I have used solid modelling software in a professional role for some years now although as you may guess this has been primarily in designing mechanical components. I find the more natural forms which are required for my new hobby quite challenging and am still very much learning how to do it effectively. I really discovered rendering when I found a demo copy of Bryce3D on a magazine cover disk in November of last year and was instantly hooked. Initially I loved the original interface which Bryce has and spent hours rendering the usual chrome balls over becalmed seas. It was only when I started pushing Bryce a little further that I started to discover the gems which are imbedded in its fabulous rendering engine and then started to produce images which I was happy to put my name to. Since this start, things have snow-balled rather and in the last few months I have spent an absolute fortune (for me) on new software and hardware, I can't remember the last time that I sat down to watch a bit of telly and to be honest, my work and homelife is beginning to suffer a bit due to all the late nights I spend playing with my "big boys toys", as someone who shall remain nameless puts it. I would love to get my hands on some of the more esoteric packages which are out there but this will probably never happen due to their somewhat inflated prices. Ultimately I would love to do this sort of stuff for a living but I guess I will have to learn a little more before this could become a reality. The chance to work with other guys in the "Power of Ten" project is something that I am very excited about. The opportunity to contribute to, and feed from, other individuals creativity is something that is rarley experienced in this way and is using the internet in the best possible way. If you look at any of my images, you will probably notice a proliferation of ancient historical images. I have been fascinated with the subject for ages and it seemed an ideal subject to put my energies into. This must be one of the only ways which you can "transport" people to times gone by and try to convey a sense of what it may have been like. I am begining to think that I have bitten off more than I can chew here, there are so many geographical regions and eras to choose from, at least I'll never get stuck for inspiration (although people may get fed up at looking at similar subjects!). Tony's offsite gallery: Aesthetic Progression

See VisionForge for more collaborative visual arts projects.
See WordForge for more collaborative writing projects.
See MusicForge for more collaborative music projects.

All words and images appearing in VisionForge Projects are the property of the creating artists. All rights reserved. ArtsForge reserves the right to edited, crop, abridge or display all submissions as they see fit in the context of each collaborative project or ArtsForge Gallery.