MUSIC+COMICs

 

I made quite a few MUSIC+COMICs last year, and started 2025 with one too. See above.

I haven't seen anyone else do the same thing. An under 60 second (to directly post to Bluesky and previously X) "animation" with music as a soundtrack and a Newspaper strip-ish comic with animated speech balloons and other images. BUT it isn't an animation and there is no voice over.

Just combined my own interests of mostly "slice of life type comics" and "original music".  The music doesn't support the comic, and the comic doesn't support the comic, but gives me an outlet for both.

The 48second music track of the above in Reaper looks like this:

I like repeated old style RIFFs and melodic phrases. If there is singing, it needs to be real singing you can understand. Watching grandson start dancing to simple kids animations with songs, shows this is a rather basic instinct. to me. Most Jazz leaves me cold, as does Dream Theater and Steve Via. Joe Satriani is wonderful, as is Mattias IA Eklundh and Freak Kitchen. 

I have made some these in the YOUTUBE SHORT format too, but they aren't something Google shows to anyone (unless you make and post one daily, or something close to that to appease the algorithm) , so no one sees them unless I post to Social Media, where the chances really aren't any better. 😂 

Such as these single digit view counts, that are probably just me

I see these all as experiments, and some work better than others. Most of the time the subject of the comic is something I come up with "off the cuff" as I see how a music clip sounds as a movie with the waveform in MOHO Pro12.

I discovered years ago actually doing an animation is just too time consuming, with a similar amount of views, so the ROI of my time is just much worse.

MOHO Pro12 makes these very simple to do. Moving images around and text balloons synced to the soundtrack is fast and easy to do.

MUSIC+COMICs has the right amount of satisfaction to me against time taken to do, to make them an interesting creative outlet.  Often I will then extend the music to a 3 or 4 minute piece of music, if I like the ideas in it enough, and release it on Bandcamp, where again, no one plays it except me.

And we extended the track, and is now on Bandcamp in a collection here: CAT HOPES 2025 EXTENDED.  

And this version on YouTube showing the very minimal production. Few tracks and no automation in this case:

Making and releasing these things keeps me "a happy camper". At the moment anyway.

Over the last 5 years I have done more of one of my interests than others each year. I have yet to find the "thing" I will focus on this year.

For the next week at THE MUSEUM OF KYOTO till next Monday there is a display of art from young Kyoto artists I plan to go have a look at. Sanjo is a pleasant place to visit for me and even though it has tourists, it isn't crowded like the other places downtown, and I get to go to my fav café and restaurant.

For another month there is also the wood block print works of UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI  in Osaka that I have already got my ticket for.

These things may inspire me somehow, or at least I do a comic on something about my trip and impressions.  Way more than anything on that time wasting, infinitely scrolling, Social Media platform of any flavor.

We can be found at ArtAndTechnology