I must admit that the older i get, the more i love animated gifs. This Totoro one spotted here. I’ve been saving a few. At some point soon i’ll do an animated gif special ;) There’s something a bit cheeky about a gif. They are having a bit of a renaissance - and i’m enjoying it.

Matt W. Moore’s first solo-exhibition in Paris, all the works of which were created during his visit to the city. Have a look at the exhibition and the rest of the vibrant collection here. He actually uses spray paint to create almost digital looking canvases, which i was surprised at. The use of colour is extremely tasty, creating optical illusions and facets that remind you of crystal shards, glass buildings, and feel like bursts of excitement. Really interesting looking at the part made works in progress, his piles of stencil papers, and tables of paints. A very optimistic and inspiring feel that makes you want to go home and get your colours out.

His exhibition is still on until March 12th so if you fancy a trip over on the Eurostar be sure to take your camera.

Continuing the theme of geometric shapes, and 3d forms this time, here’s a collection of work by Lenancker Romain. From Lyon this time, his works are a mixture of still life photography and scene creation. ( What’s the work for that ? ! ). Love the ominous ‘invasion’ feel of the black pyramids/cubes.

And finally the gaggle of white cones, cylinders and cubes was spotted over at Ffffound and is in facts a photomontage, enhanced with gouache, airbrush and papercut created in 1936! Titled ‘Metamorphosis’ the artist is  Herbert Bayer. You can find out more here.

I was in Amsterdam the other weekend with Cookie. We wondered the streets looking in shop windows and stopping for beer and steaks. The occasional snowflake added to the atmosphere. But my favourite find was a hot tip off from @whatkatiedoes - The Cat Museum! There are real live cats in there. I counted 4 but there may be more…. Filled with vintage posters and painting of cats, cat sculptures, and toys. And a shop of prints to take home.

My favourite by far was the discovery of Zwicky! A charismatic cat drawn by artist Donald Brun. There were several more works by Donald i hope to buy prints of. I’ll let you know when i find them ;)

Alex sent these round this week. Beautiful posters for this year’s Baftas illustrated by Tavis Coburn. I’ve blogged about Tavis’s work right back in the first days of Monster Munch with his mixture of collage and comic style - great richness of texture and colour. The Bafta’s are on on Saturday night in the UK, but you can join in on the banter, live online with comedian Peter Serefenowicz on the Orange Bafta Night Live site.

A mixture of interesting work on Sarah’s site including wonderfully stylised, food and household objects. Vibrant colour, and unusual combinations of objects and textures show up throughout her work, as well as diagrammatic shots of everyday objects - But all with the same sense of curiosity and imagination about them. Lots to look through here on her portfolio site.

Technical hitches here at Monster-Munch! The internet has decided not to play ball. Apparently to fix it i need an old fashioned ‘land line’ telephone to test the line. Wha ? Who has one of those for gods sake! :) Well, i’ve dug one up ( thanks to Chris ), and we should be back online soon. Till then, i’ll try and pop you up some juicy bits at lunchtimes ;)

PS - I broke my email too - sorry all yous i’ve not got back to yet. I’m coming!

Image above - Manipulador del sistema Breguet, nuevo modelo - from a great gallery of vintage etchings of chaps, ancient science and technology diagrams, illuminated letters, and more.

Lots more great finds, articles, thoughts and commentary over at Nathan’s Rubbish Corp. Always a good read.

Detailed line work and sweeping curves create the rich texture in Micah’s work. With a strong eye for form, type, and pattern, there’s some great hand drawn lettering in his portfolio. There’s a few jungle pieces that have a touch of Where The Wild Things Are ( the book ), which i love. Definitely worth spending a few minutes going through as you never know what to expect on the next page. Look out for monsters, dinosaurs,  forest, more forest, ghosts, and lots more hidden behind the trees. Also - here’s a quick vid of some sketches he drew for his friends of their favourite things.

Nice! Lovely illustration and sweet ideas on this range of hand screen printed limited edition stockings. Loving them! I’ve never seen designs like these on legs before. I didn’t even know you could screen print on tights. There’s bunches on there - the rain drops are a favourite, as are the bloody veins at the top here. Reminds me very much of the Blood and Guts chairs and cushions by Akel Creations. Anyway, the range is Les Queues De Sardines, by M + O, and are available from Fortnum and Mason ( and lots of places in France and Europe ). Check out the rest here!

Getting in the Christmas spirit here in Monster Munch watching Yann le Coroller’s Xmas Monster Animation. You can watch the video here and check out the rest of his fantastic monster illustration here.

Update: Yann got in contact and apparently you can get hold of this little fella in ticklable iPhone App format! He does a bit of shouting and screaming when you accost him. Lovely :)

It’s our very first Hack Day here at Poke. And we have 24hrs to come up with an idea and build it into a real ’something’ on the interweb.

It’s a touch challenge. And i hope that Team #1 can live up to it’s name. We battle valiantly against some of the best in the industry today. The theme has been set: FOOD…… read the rules etc here :)

Our thoughts turn to the ( very disturbing ) slippage of standards, of Cappuccino making we been experiencing recently! We will stand no more for these ropey Lattes passing themselves off as Cappuccinos. What’s with all the milk ?? It’s diluting the caffeine! An overly milky coffee plainly isn’t good enough to keep our hard working brains afloat. It’s simply a dangerous predicament. So we’re standing up and shouting about it.

Introducing “That’s a Cappuccino”. The campaign to seek out and highlight the best and the worst of the offenders who shun ‘The Golden Rule’ of 1:1:1 Espresso to steamed milk, to froth. We will expect no more, no less. And we will be coming to a coffee shop near you very soon ……

X-Ray vs the Little People. Both fascinating thoughts :)

I want to hug him and run away screaming all at the same time.

What a fine example of a proper old school City Rampaging monster. Big teeth and wide eyes - he’s a beauty! This cute, yet fangy, furry friend is the creation of Mate Steinforth - designer, illustration, animator, and creative director. He was due to pop into Poke today to do a little talk, but hopefully he can make it in another day. I’m excited to get the lowdown on the 3D modeling work below, and see what else he has up his sleeve. I will report back if i hear more …

Some gorgeous shots taken by Mr.Lomo ( with his Lomo of course ) of some street art by Sheffield rapper Kid Acne. He’s sniffed out a whole bunch here around the streets of East London, against a variety of lush colours and roughed up textures. Our heroine swordsman seems to be a little accident prone, as she’s featured many a time with a plaster-cast arm, a few drips of blood, and the occasional gimp mask ( as you do ). You can buy a shirt featuring one of Kid Acne’s ‘Stabby Women’ over at Concrete Hermit.

A couple of things i’ve added to my Ffffound page recently. Great colours and line work in the Ant Eater illustration by Jörn Kaspuhl. Love the screen print offset, and the slight green tint to the ink rather than a darker black. And the second astonishing image of what looks like a Victorian era fella up to his chest in squirming crocodiles! Is this some kind of circus or crocodile transportation ? Is he taking them out or putting them in ? NO idea. It’s hard to tell what he’s trying to do. But after being quite close to a crocodile myself once, i have to say he’s got balls. For more oddness, captured moments, and cartoons pop over to HeyOkay.