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(Bio last updated 10/11/2019) Hello! My name is David C. Lovelace, and I'm an artist. That word means meany different things, but in all contexts, it means that I am appreciative that you are here, looking at all of the things I've created over the past twenty (or more) years. Creating art is very easy, but getting anyone interested in it feels impossible. But the fact that you're here is completely miraculous, and that you're even attempting to learn about the creator of all this stuff is nothing short of humbling. So thank you. Having said that, you are more than welcome to change your mind. :-) |
| THE BASICS:
The pic to the left here was taken back in 2006, taken with two vintage Roland Jupiter-8 keyboards. Although I used to be a real packrat-level collector, I've lately tapered off, not only due to having less money & space than I did a few years ago, but also because I've realized how little joy there is watching cool stuff sit around not getting used. There is nothing sadder than something shiny collecting dust. The same can certainly be said about people. Some of you, after reading this, might think that about me! But trust me, although I don't dabble in many of the internet-famous things that brought you here, I am keeping sharp and always preparing for the "next big thing." With that, what now follows is a list of "big things" that I have accomplished over the past few years, with at least one of them the probable reason for your visit to umop.com! |
I was born 2:05 AM on January 9th, 1970. I missed having the same birthday as
Elvis by one day, only to have Richard Nixon's instead. I've had a hunger-free childhood growing up in suburban neighborhoods in outlying areas of North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, and most often and recently, Connecticut. I'm scraping a tiny living together near Hartford, living in a condo that I bought at a terrible price a dozen years ago, dating my best friend, and running trivia games five nights per week to make ends meet. For a career I work 9-5 as a freelance designer, artist & animator of one kind or another, meeting deadlines, making my
| BIG THING #1: FLASH ANIMATOR From 1999 to around 2011, I created around fifty animations in an archaic format once widely regarded as the Future of Animation: FLASH. Now it's like telling people I sold typewriters for a living, despite the fact that I still use it from time to time either as a basic vector drawing tool or for a variety of motion graphics, because I haven't been able to fully grapple the nuances of AfterEffects (despite many tries). Most of those old films have been converted to browser-friendly MP4 consumables and still hosted by the one-time Flash flagship animation site, Newgrounds. The most-watched series I have created is called "Retarded Animal Babies," started up in April, 2003. It was quite a gratifying claim to fame, for which I can no longer discuss in mixed circles, since the title has become unspeakably offensive in most circles. In contrast, it was really just barely edgy enough to garner a few extra eyeballs in the early '00s. The animations themselves were obviously very immature and downright gross, which of course meant they were HUGE fun to work on. Everything done from 1999-2006 was put to print on two DVDs, still available for sale (about 10%-20% of my original stock is still hanging around in my closet somewhere), with more recent films only available online, since there was never a budget (or large enough audience) to merit the production of a third DVD (let alone Blu-Ray). There was also a little matter of music video I made for "Weird Al" Yankovic (for a song called "Virus Alert") in 2006 which got me a little more notoriety, not to mention an RIAA gold record! After this peak year, my career as a vanguard, pseudo-famous "Flash animator" entered its denouement, and while I never say never, this very rewarding chapter is now what I usually consider closed. |
| BIG THING #2: MUSICIAN What was once a storied, ever-complexifying GEAR LIST (a page that will probably never be truly updated since it's too depressing and I seriously doubt anyone cares anyway) is now more of a nostalgic photo album. The short version is that I have bought and sold enough synthesizers to clog up a landfill. Ever since 1984 I've been an avid keyboard player, both on my own as Parallax and in local bands, with 1980s cover band The Future Heavies being the most recent. With 2020 around the corner, I am now all but retired from lugging equipment around until 2AM, but I'm sure I'll bust out a few tunes with old friends once in a while. There's an old picture of my synth-tastic studio off to the right (click on it for a large view). |
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| BIG THING #3: CARTOONING
I also made periodic toons for one-time local radio station 106.9 WCCC. Some really lewd drawings appeared on a few noisemaking Metasonix products, an 80-installment run of Hamsterdunce featuring Hamster from "Retarded Animal Babies." My most recent comic strip is The Packrat (shown here) which appeared monthly in Keyboard Magazine from 2005-2012, long enough to merit a book release for which you can still order a copy. This book is also for sale at the MOOGSEUM in Asheville, NC, a really cool synth museum run by the daughter of Bob Moog himself, for which I designed a few installments. |
Any amount of time spent on my
| SUMMARY |
| I have been, in my life, a radio air talent, a video store owner, a LEGO parts salesman, the inventor of a 101-gesture version of Rock, Paper, Scissors and countless other games, a font designer, a TV graphics guy, a keyboardist for at least a dozen bands, a surf drummer for one band, a single guy, a married guy, and even a Cat Photoshopper. I used to have long hair but had to cut it in August of 2004 due to the logistics surrounding a near-fatal car accident. I've owned no fewer than four Camaros since 1989, yet no one ever calls me "bro," nor I them. I know no foreign languages. I have seen thousands of films, drunk thousands of beers, played over 100 different synthesizers new and vintage, been seen millions of times on YouTube, and my characters around 100 million times on the other computer tubes. I love all kinds of music but very rarely listen to any of it, except when my girlfriend Tricia and I sing karaoke together in her tiki bar. Speaking of which, I play daddy to a gorgeous Bengal cat named Tiki, and in my time I've also raised five hamsters, a mouse, a rat, a rabbit, tons of cats and dogs, but never a donkey. I don't take nearly enough vacations, but I have been to all 48 contiguous states, inasmuch as I plan to return to all of them with Tricia in an RV when we're older, visiting as many covered bridges as possible (we keep a list of over 300 bridges we've visited, and the list keeps on growing!). My favorite drinks are Mai Tais, Manhattans, and Aviations, and Tricia and I make them better than anyone. When you see me in public, probably hosting one of my trivia games, I'll be wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, an old checkered Vans watch & sneakers to match my armband tattoo. I like ice cream, sushi, and lobster. And I like YOU or I wouldn't have shared all this personal info! Thanks again for enjoying all my cool artistic accomplishments over the years. I can't wait to share my next one with everyone; I have been working on it for a very long time. See you in the 2020s... |
Copyright © 2019 David C. Lovelace