Portfolio

THE Pack 

A poetic look at the packs of nature, what pack reigns supreme...

Rha The Destroyer
A clash of Persian/Egyptian cultures combining to create a powerful new breed of warrior

Yamato M12
A slashing, katana-wielding samurai warrior inspired by the Japanese legends of Yamato, with a merciless technologically weaponized upgrade

Makoma Neon

A deadly agile warrior hailing from Africa, inspired by the legends of Makoma, Shaka Zulu, Nike and raw speed

Maxiza

A warrior of classical antiquity, for honor, war and glory, a hybrid of Spartan/Gladiator descent

Week 11 Storytelling - Maxiza

Maxiza

He stands tall. A solid specimen. Six foot one inch. An athletic build. Not too heavy not too light. Two hundred and five pounds of muscle and legend. Like a lion amongst wolves. Surrounded by those wanting his neck. Brave and merciless. Glory conquering. Confusingly honorable and savage. A man only meant for battle and war. Scars throughout his body serve as trophies of combat. Marks of the trade. His skin light brown. Hardened and marked up. Scarred up, tatted up. They cover three fourths of his left arm. Stopping mid forearm. His descendancy of mixed blood. A mutt bathed in the war centric customs of Sparta. His two weapons a gladius sword and Spartan shield. Neither Spartan nor Gladiator. A hybrid. Allegiances to neither. Idolizing no man. Nor any God.

War Machine. A warrior beyond his time. Poetically skillfully. Fluid in movement. Classically elegant. In agility and power. The silver Spartan Shield. Offensive and defensive. Block the slash stab or launch. Bash with brute surface. Angles horizontally at a tilt for piercing brute force. Stuns by hits to the helmet. Concussion giving. Shortly incapacitating. Or acute shots to the unexposed throat. Collar bone crushing. Arm breaking. Femur cracking. The shield was too, offensive. His sword honored. Slashing and piercing. Spartan skill and expertise. Gladiatorial valor and savagery. A professional warrior. Are you not entertained.

He wore a unique helmet. A combination of the classic Spartan helmet. With the red horse hair top. Murmillo gladiator styled top flairs. But an open face so his victims could see his black eyes. An exposed chest challenging his victims to bring him death. Around his left shoulder set a great lion's head. Under it flew out the crimson cape of the Spartan. He had to wear a cape, he was epic. The left side was also his shield side. His left shin covered in metal armor as well. The left side was the guard side. On the right shoulder he wore the classic Murillo gladiator sleeve. A layered metal armor sleeve from the shoulder to the wrist. The right side the striking side. But as you know he could kill from all angles. Responsible for sending thousands to their end. Maxiza! Maxiza! Maxiza!

For Glory

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Author's Notes

Beowulf, Yamato, Makoma and constant reminders of Herculean-like legends and their labors has inspired me to make the most classic warrior of my bunch, and very well perhaps my last warrior of my mythology class writings. I am also inspired by two of my favorite movies in Gladiator and 300. I have taken many art history courses, particularly ones with heavy emphasis on classical antiquity, and the era of the Roman Empire, so I feel well informed by these past experiences, and my mental collection of classical visuals, style, and prestige, all with the possibility of my ability of adding that extra flair with my remixed creativity and modern references. The samurai and the Spartan are my favorite types of warriors ever, and the idea of the gladiator as a classical champion of the arena (some types of gladiators being based off Spartans) is an elegant romanticism of death, honor, glory, and beauty. I hope I captured even a hint of these elements with my classically based legend of a warrior Maxiza.

Coming up with the name for my warrior was really hard. I went through a creative process of brainstorming, name listing, and inspiration. I wanted it to have the reminisce of a strong classical Roman name but also be totally made up and unique to this one character. I also wanted it to either have my name in it (Michael/Mike/Mikey) or at least begin with the letter 'M' as my name starts with an 'M' haha. I also tried a name with the dope letter 'Z' while adding the word dope in the name as well haha and I came up with 'Zadopemus'. I was also influenced by the name 'Maximus', Russell Crowe's character in the movie Gladiator. Mikimus, and Mikimias (inspired from Leonidas the Spartan king, reenacted in the movie 300 by Gerard Butler) also came to mind, but I really did not like those haha. Maxiza became my warrior's name. It sounds like a strong Roman name remixed and I like that feel. Inspired by Maximus, includes the letter 'Z' and still starts with an 'M' - therefore I was content with this totally unique and made up name choice.

I chose to do this style as I feel like it is my strongest and most unique. It is the Michael style haha, a blend of dramatic poetry like lines, fragmented, a little abstract, and bold. The style worked well for me in my previous story Yamato M12. But this time I kind of mixed the poetic/fragmented Yamato M12 writing style with the Makoma, detailed paragraphs style. I also try to add a little satirical slang or modern references as I like this unique mix. I also made the design choice of making the font Times instead my Helvetica like I have used for all of the other stories. Times New Roman is a classically driven font, I mean it even has the words time (timeless) and Roman in it haha. I would keep the title Helvetica bold however, and make the last line about glory italicized, to further unify themes of bold force, and elegant classicism. I just figured I'd try to finish this story off with a bang in all facets.

I almost did not want to include a picture as I wanted this to be my most perfect warrior ever and there just aren't pictures that embody what I aim for in Maxiza. But multiple depictions give a vibe (I do not own any of the pictures I just found and arranged these sources in a aesthetically organized manner) a sort of stylistic mood board for Maxiza, with literal textures, and weapons to visual abstractions; acting as an emotionally charged collection of motifs to help further visualize Maxiza the classic, Maxiza the elegant savage, Maxiza the great.

Week 7 Storytelling - Makoma Neon

Makoma Neon

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Makoma. Agile. Fast. Quick. The embodiment of fast. Speed kills. Nike would endorse this warrior on that alone. But speed actually killed with this one, not just a competitive slogan. Lightning trapped in his calves, falcon wings on his feet like Hermes, metaphorically speaking of course. This man was pace and quickness of the elite human. Zoom.
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Notches, more of slits produced by traditional methods of scarification, covered the entirety of his left arm, collar bone, and some of his shoulder blade. Probably around 5000 or so, a tic for every soul he has conquered, every man he has defeated, every viktory he has taken.
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His eyes pitch black. Like staring into an abyss of nothing. An infinity of blackness. Dark. No pupils. Just glistening blackness.
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His right arm covered from the wrist to the bicep like a basketball sleeve, but of dried, naturally reinforced king cobra skin, now a highlighter, Nike Sparq neon in tone. Its brightness would reflect, and blur any glance of his quick hands and feet for his enemy in combat, as he had the skin on his right wrist and both ankles to mid calves. The texture of the snake skin even more present in its hardened state but now vibrant and protective, like Kevlar.

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His ambidextrous capabilities make 'em deadly from both sides, and an Assassin's Creed-like blade sheathed under his right wrist, only a handful of high-tech weaponry he possessed for as the most part he used natural tools of destruction. The blade shoot from his wrist when triggered so by a flick of it, a 11inch steel blade be the effect, sharper than volcanic rock. The technology like Cyborg of DC Comics Titans, but black and neon fluorescent highlight. This weapon was one of his favorite. Great for close range. His quick hands and the light blade made his thrusts silently lethal, and his stabs powerful. As Ali could jab he could slash. Light on his feat. The floating butterfly. A striking cobra. Multiple stabs to the side of the neck, ribs, and thighs in a blink of an eye. Death in an instant, quicker than instant rice. Slow mo cams have a hard time capturing him, Makoma too nice.
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Black neon tipped, explosive tipped skinny spears were on his back at all times. The technology of the engineered death poles were so advanced that these spears were heavy duty metal, but still so light and slender of sticks that he could have 10 easily on his back in a bundle ready to be rocketed from Makoma's cannon of an arm, like Michael Vick throwing touchdown bullets, or the great Achilles hurling spears through the battle of Troy. However, Makoma's be faster and quicker than both. Like previously stated, speed kills.
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He wore a snapback, flat bill hat into battle. He wore a snapback everywhere. Snap-backs and tattoos were a motto he relished. Style was important just as much as deadly accuracy or viktory. His hat was black with a neon logo that said "uh oh!?" in a scripty font. He switched that one out with his "dope" one of the same style. Just depended on how he felt at the time. He firmly believed in look good, feel good, kill good. Another important motto he lived by. Speaking of, he even had a part in the left side of his dead with a 5 o'clock shadow of a beard. All warriors look good too right? Past his pitch black eyes, over his mouth was a half mask that wrapped from under his nose below. This was one of the last pieces of tech he utilized. It was mechanical looking, like a Bane from the Dark Knight Rises but with more depth and parts and all black. All black with the exception of two neon circles evenly spaced around the middle of where his lips would be, about a dime in size. These were his cobra torches. His dragon breath. His spitters. They propelled acidic venom at a high pressure. Venom that would erode material and skin in minutes. Needless to say, if caught in the eyes instant blindness. This weaponry paid homage to traditional African warfare, as some tribes carried small vials of venom on the battlefield and put it in their mouth to spit in opponent's eyes from close range, rendering the enemy blind, in pain, stinging, and fucked. Makoma's mask was that x10.
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Makoma Neon. Enough said.

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Author's Notes

Inspired by the African legends of Makoma, athleticism, Shaka Zulu, speed, nature, new wave culture, slang, and myself. The first exposure I had ever got to an African type warrior was through a show called Deadliest warriors, in which it would do a scientific/poetic analysis of historical warriors paired together in statistically-driven, live action battles to the death. It was great historical entertainment, and pure gold for a boy like me. One episode featured Shaka Zulu, a legendary African war lord of the Zulu tribe. This whole show and specifically how they informed me of Shaka, inspired this story. That and the likes of Nike and their dope athletic design, along with many other sources. But I just became fond of Shaka and his speed and ruthlessness, and I noticed how there weren't many black heroes or warriors to be inspired by through history, mostly because we are not taught much about them in history and the educational system and also because most of the time these types of figures are seen of more in a negative light, being America and Europe take most of the heroism. It's a flawed system and way of thinking we have all been brought up by. Native Americans have the same struggle. For example, Black Panther is the only prevalent super hero in the comic world. But anyway, I wanted to add another warrior to the list. After reading the legends of Makoma I was primely inspired. He is the equivalent of the African Hercules. He fought and defeated many behemoths and even absorbed their powers. He eventually fought a giant mountain sprit and ascended into the sky as a legend (read more here in one of my previous studies/summaries of the legends of Makoma). Makoma and Shaka were just plain dope to me, Shaka the Achilles of Africa, and Makoma the Hercules of Africa. This goes to all the little brown boys who never grew up with a famous brown super hero warrior.

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Sources/Inspiration for a Makoma Metaphor/Style Guide.
Just an overall vibe and feel.

MJTrends: Snakeskin Fabric: Black // Oregon Ducks Rose Bowl Uniforms / Nike Pro Combat / The Superslice // SPARQ Drills submited images. // Evolution of Nike college football uniforms - Land-Grant Holy Land // Black Oregon Ducks Helmet | Helmets | Pinterest // The Need for Speed with Big Data - Businessweek // XLin Architectural and Experimental Photography // Sketchbook Part 2 // MAA EUROPEAN SPEAR // Muscle Man At Rest by Val Black Russian Tourchin // Omer Fast: 5000 Feet is the Best | Exhibitions | Rose Art Museum ... // National Geographic' Celebrates 125 Years Of Photography | Public ... // The World's most recently posted photos of nightscape - Flickr ... // Bat Tumbler Related Keywords & Suggestions - Bat Tumbler Long Tail ... // o-BLACK-SKINHEAD-570.jpg?4

Mythology Reading Evaluation

I was all about Aesop's fables. Those short stories and poetry are my favorite. Especially the haiku. But I especially love how Aesop's fables are like Disney before Disney, and have many morals and settings and animals and randomness that is just great. Makoma was cool to read as well, as Americans aren't really taught a lot about African stories. We of course know all the classic stories like Beowulf, Alice in Wonderland, The Odyssey, Arabian Nights (Aladdin), or Hercules, but our educational institutions seem to rob us of the knowledge of African, Native Americans, and Asia just to name a couple major few.

I thought there was kind of an excessive amount of commenting when it went to 7 per weekend, but more particularly with the 150 words. 60 is very doable though. But it does force the student to think more critically so keep the structure the way it is!

Reflections

I have greatly enjoyed this class, online mythology, at the University of Oklahoma, curated by the lovely Laura Gibbs. Honestly, reading is not a thing I enjoy, unless snippets, poetry, short facts, or short stories. I love that type of reading but anything past three pages and I usually get disinterested. Its a intellectual/creative romanticism thing with poetry I think haha. With this class however, there are so many options in each week-by-week unit that I did not have to read long things that I would hate. I had the choice. The freedom of this class within the system is probably the best thing about it tied with the push for creative writing and imagination. It's a beautiful class.

My project kept me interested the whole semester. I really got the chance to dive in to a subject matter I liked and wanted to do. That is how you keep a student engaged, by letting them have the freedom to express their passions or interest, while still staying inside the instructors class structure. My project was about warriors, and the class's set up went great with it, as each week or two weeks we would study stories or mythology from a different culture from around the world and throughout history. This lent itself for a wide variety of characters, influences, and styles. A nursing pool for creativity and idea. It gave my stories and warriors vastly different influential elements to pull from, making each one versatile and unique.

Reading and commenting on others student's projects was a good thing. It kind of gently forced you to learn more and interact, but while not knowing you were doing these things. It's good learning about other students and seeing how they express themselves. It was also cool to keep up with a writing blog with such content in the end. Something we could show people after we were done. A collection or diary of our writings.

I am most proud of how crazy, creative, violent, and descriptive I have become with my writings. Sometimes I jam too much into sentences, but I think this has kinda become my style and people have appreciated it. Even with critiques people still praise my unique diction and style. I am a fragment writer. I try to be poetic and dramatic. I jump from tenses and from slang to proper english. I am an abstract writer. I also love detail. Overkill detail. I always intend to paint a graphic picture with my words. So I am proud of blossoming as a unique creative writer with a distinct, yet versatile style. 

Reading Diary B - British // Alice

British Stories

Author's Notes

So a lot of great classical stories hail from Europe. King Arthur, Robin Hood, and especially Alice in Wonderland (at one point competing with Lion King for the spot as my favorite childhood Disney movie). I just loved the adventure of Alice more  than Robin Hood or King Arthur. And maybe because the depictions of the other two in their movies, Disney or live action, doesn't compare to the dope trippy randomness of Alice's many encounters and adventure.

My portfolio being about warriors it made me think of an combo Alice in Wonderland warrior comprised of the many characters and traits of them all into a mega Alice warrior haha. The random thoughts of Michael's crazy head, oh my haha. Just for a quick example: like a little blonde girls with blue eyes, many arms like the caterpillar, extra quickness from the white rabbit - almost like being faster than normal time and a giant clock shield, invisibility from the cheshire cat - along with purple and lavender horizontal war-paint streaks on her face, extra great hearing and from the crazy march hare, berserk rage ability from the crazy mad hatter, a crown and heart tipped spear from the queen of hearts, and super strength from the twins tweedledee and tweedledum haha. What a crazy character.

Alice In Wonderland

Week 6 Storytelling - Yamato M12

Yamato M12
based off of the Japanese legends of
Yamato the Great Samurai


Author's Foreword:

Yamato is a great Samurai warrior legend, compared

to the prestige of say, Hercules. There are actually a lot of similarities between the two, both being very

different styles of warriors however. They both undergo their respective labors, with both having slain great dragons, beast boars, and sirens. Yamato is the greatest samurai in Japanese legend. Here is my rendition of this legendary warrior:

Black steel and titanium shine
His metal be his life now
His four swords had always been metal
Four feet of hardened Japanese steel
But now most his body metal
His heart half metal
None know what his face appears anymore
For he bore a tech helmet full of circular sensors
More technology and metal than human anymore
He still retain his legendary skill
The skill with the samurai sword
His acute quickness that win him continuous life
And deadly blow after deadly blow to his enemy
Now he was heightened with hydraulic systems
Armor of metal and sensors
Weapons of a new age with weapons of the old
Mechanized for undeniable victory
A reminiscence of his old armor still vaguely there
Layered metal pads over his thighs and shoulders
A fierce scowl over the bottom half of his face
His demonic samurai mask
His second favorite piece behind his katanas
The mask set like a samurai gas mask
Like the jowls of snarling wolf
A scary beastly look
His enemies think him roaring with a still face
Raising the skin of the victims he rushed
The cheeks and canines of a dark lion
They know not if he be man animal or demon
They only know he be their death
A swoosh of black on black steel
A swift blunt gash of deep invisible cuts
Too fast for the human eye
At least too fast to react for most
Only the greatest warriors would last minutes
Built for effectiveness in combat
Homage to the traditional
The new Yamato would be more legendary
More unique
More savage than the old
His brain now mostly technology
His programming be elegant swift force
For a new glory
If one could call it so
A new breed of samurai
A new breed of warrior
Metal and man combined
Technology and human interwoven
All black everything
Black steel and blood
Beauty in the samurai code
For there now not be one in this upgrade
Yamato M12

Author's Notes:
I was heavily inspired by Yamato and his labors and it rekindled my love for the samurai. I have liked this warrior most (with only challenge from Spartans since the eve of the beautiful movie 300). I tried a purely descriptive, non-narrative style to write my 'story' for Yamato. I just really wanted to describe a dope warrior that could become my own, derived from the Japanese legends of Yamato the great samurai.

The honor and strict profession of a samurai is so respectable to me. They even kill themselves as a warrior's code if they are defeated fairly in battle showing no pain or fear. They fight for honor. I compete for glory. There is a crossover between those I am sure. At least that is what I tell myself haha. The Samurai way of life inspires me.

I used his original name but added M12 to indicate a version upgrade of sorts. M because of my name Michael, and 12 because it's my rugby jersey and favorite number. I did not want him to be merely mortal anymore, but a mechanized half human, mostly robotic samurai warrior. Being only human is a drag. So why not? I actually spent a good two hours some change trying to find the right photos. I am picky. I use photos to show the viewer a glimpse of what I think, and though never exact and always somewhat abstract, and for the most part the idea comes across vividly I think. I try to make words and the imagery one in the same. They feed off one another. And hopefully my assembled thumbnails of detail and idea show you somewhat of a Yamato I envision and describe.

The sources I used to compose a mood board for my ideal
Yamato M12 Tech-Weapon Samurai Beast!

Daiichi Picture by Hasan Bajramovic hbajramovic
Samurai Armor Wallpaper High Quality Resolution #xc50 ~ EasyOffer.net
Sweyda, Typography, type, custom lettering, hand lettering, vector, vector illustration, action sports |
Samurai Stock II by PhelanDavion on DeviantArt
M/R] Angelic Sentinels: F&S | OOC
MaqNox — #dope #swag #fashion #style #adidas #y3...