New images of Sir Fong 3!

This month's post: MAN + MACHINE
These two images are direct from my new book. Since I miss teaching Science, I'm taking the Sir Fong characters into a brave new territory: Asian science comics.

The series is titled "Sir Fong's Adventures In Science". Book 1 is about Atoms, Molecules, Elements & Compounds.

Some of you might wish I'd stuck to the original focus of the comic: jokes. But I think Asians have been missing out on our share of Scientists and Researchers, and also that Singapore is the perfect platform for such a center for Science and Education. It is a worthy mission: how to make Science fun and enjoyable for the next generation. I hope all of you who have supported me previously will take a chance on this new book!

For those who did not get to own a copy of the original Sir Fong 1 and 2, I am also reprinting a limited number as a compilation. It will be titled "Sir Fong's Jokes From a Singapore School".

One major feature that really excites me when creating the book is that I'm using computer technology to completely create the contents! Every line is lovingly drawn and twisted to my exact liking in Macromedia Freehand.

The hard work and long nights paid off handsomely for myself. When the tutorials in the software didn't work for me, I'd call up friends for their expertise. Although the work is tough (don't think drawing in computers take any less time!), I know in my guts that THIS IS IT. I am finally becoming the kind of comic artist that I'd always dream of being!

I love drawing comics, but I never really liked the traditional paint and ink approach to drawing. I stuck to pencil and brush because, for the longest time, computers were quite clumsy. Now, Computer technology has advanced to such a stage that I no longer have to endure long processing minutes or unwieldy computer tablets.

For those who resist the transition from brush to machine, just stop and look around us.

Iron Man is about a fragile but gifted man who was just mucking about, misdirecting his talents until he got encased in a metallic suit. After that, his dream of protecting the innocent became reality. Obviously the audience loved the show: it is currently still number one in America.

The star of the show, Robert Downey Jr, never reached such commercial success until his acting talents got married to computer graphics.

Number Two in America now is Speed Racer. A movie that will give older viewers headaches, but I suspect my nephew in primary 6 will totally love. Again, it is about a man who didn't hit the heights until he got into his space-aged super car. The visuals alone are worth the admission ticket price! I won't miss it!

Pop Queen Madonna and pop prince Justin Timberlake, currently in the charts all over the world with the duet "4 Minutes", reigned by fusing their voices with computer-generated sounds. When synthesizers were first introduced into the world of music, the technology was not taken seriously, and traditional rock stars poo-pooed electronic music as soul-less.

But look at the chart now.

It really is inevitable. Man + Machine. You can do a lot of good, or you can do a lot of bad with computers. We can't stop progress, but we can steer it in the direction of benefitting mankind. We are the ones behind the wheels.

Something decidedly last century, but still enduring to me: Buddy Buddy. Enjoy!