A little send-up of the Microsoft Surface Team, and the Surface Pro / wintab debacle:
(click HERE to read a larger version)
I hope that Microsoft has learned a lesson from the design community at large here. Mostly the fact, that unless Microsoft embraces wintab, and doesn’t force the use of their pressure API, thereby forcing everyone to A) Buy new software or B) Wait for updates from software makers whose software already works perfectly well with wintab.. No one will buy your future Surface Pro.
It looks like people are taking to twitter in droves to complain, and it made Microsoft reverse direction and work with Wacom after only a TWO DAY turnaround. Awesome!
I returned my Surface Pro, because I don’t appreciate shipped products that are incomplete, or feature locked. I won’t stand for it. It’s terribly BETA of Microsoft to have done, ( and / or plainly pigheaded and cheap, not wanting to pay a wintab licensing fee ) and it was a waste of an entire day and a half of my life checking out and returning the thing. I won’t be buying Microsoft made tablets unless they’re advertising the digitizer tech up front, and refrain from hardware feature lockout / strongarm tactics like these. Oh, and today.. Steam is available for Linux. A sign of things to come.
I now own the Samsung Ativ 700T which absolutely destroys the Surface Pro in every way. The Wacom driver for it installs right away and still works with palm blocking AND ink in journal.
I’ll be doing a full review of it shortly. Stay tuned..
Recent-ish work..
Done before the giant media storm.. thought I’d post some new stuff on occasion while I work.. work.. work!
The Hinterland – Sneak Peek
Here is a sneak peek at the cover image for my upcoming graphic novel “The Hinterland”, along with a few sample panels.
The cover image was done in a large spiral bound sketchbook, the day that I accompanied John on a sort of peace talk with a major columbian drug lord, who flew into San Pedro. The details of which will be revealed in my graphic novel. Needless to say I was a bit frightened. I was told that I could come along, or stay back at the villa, when the meeting took place.
I was so nervous, I didn’t get a good drawing of this man, but I did manage this portrait of John, which everyone knew would instantly be the cover of the book. It isn’t spot on, but it captures the feeling and steel eyed intensity of the man in that very moment, months ago in July of 2012.
(Click for a larger image)
It’s a bit unlike anything I’ve done before, style wise, and it’s taken some time to dial in the look as far as the characters go.
I mostly draw using a brush pen, using Pelikan 4001 ink. I’m approaching the panels in a few different ways.
Either drawing rough artwork on a Cintiq, printing that out and then using a light table to trace my computer ‘pencils’ .. or just drawing each frame flat out, with no planning beforehand using the brush pen.
Often, I get far better drawings this way.
I’ve left some of the notes I leave for myself on the paper in the top frame featuring an older man giving the young woman pictured a gift. Note to self. Redraw breast! Move that line in the computer!
(Click for a larger image)
More to come as I finish the book that I started many months ago. I’m picking up the pace, as I didn’t expect to be in the eye of a media storm over my association with Mr McAfee.
Aside from that, part of the narrative I was using, was stolen from a private message board, along with my original photographs, and sold to Gizmodo by a party whose name I will not bother to mention.
This made me have to re-tool the book considerably and between managing the blog, and drawing.. not much time for anything else.
Thanks for taking a look! I hope the book is as entertaining as the adventure was, and continues to be in real life.
-Chad Essley
whoismcafee.com
Update!
I’ve been receiving questions as to whether or not the website whoismcafee.com is a legitimate one, and if it is indeed written by John McAfee himself.
It is, and he is updating it daily. I maintain the site, John writes, creates and updates all content on the site.
Here is a recent photo of John McAfee and I together.
Any other questions may be answered through the contact form on my website.
Chad Essley
