Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all
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Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Mbira : The Fun and Interactive Game Inspired by Zimbabwe
On the 21st of May 2020 Zimbabwe celebrated the
beginning of their culture week. Google Doodle honoured this day with an
interactive game of Zimbabwe's 1000 year old musical instrument
called the Mbira. The creation of the Google Doodle was a collaboration of
different people in different fields, from writers to musicians, to visual
artists and game developers.
Every game has a
story and the Mbira Google Doodle is no exception.
This interactive
experience follows the story of a little girl from the day she first fell in
love with the Mbira to when she grows up and becomes a musician that plays the
Mbira in a band. I loved watching how her mother was supportive throughout her
creative journey.
The interactive
experience challenged the player to play 4 traditional and modern songs in 4
levels. The songs are titled Nhemamusasa, Bangiza, Taireva and Chemutengure.
They played by
simply hovering over a key on the Mbira at just the right time, following
instructions that were laid out at the very beginning of the game. What I found
special about this particular google doodle is that the Google team actually
took a trip to Zimbabwe and worked closely with the Shona
people so as to capture the authentic culture of the people in the game.
In this case, the
levels and chapters of the interactive experience are synonymous. This is unlike
in normal games where levels are strict and you have to finish one level to
proceed to another; I realized that did not apply here. On the final page of the
game, you can click on replay and choose a chapter you would like to play again
or create your own mbira songs in free play. The game's 4 levels went as
follows:
Level 1: It starts
with the little girl walking with her Mum who is carrying a baby on her back.
When the little girl hears an old Man play the Mbira, she stops right on her
tracks forcing her mother to do the same. She then pushes the mother towards the
old man's direction. The old Man notices her fascination with the instrument,
stops playing and let's her touch it for her very first time. After that we
continue listening to some beautiful Zimbabwean music as we are instructed on
how to play the first song Nhemamusasa.
Level 2: Here we see
a man making a tiny mbira. What's even more special about this particular moment
is that the little girl has also participated in making it. We are shown the
little girl picking bottle tops and handing them to the man for him to fix them
on the Mbira. Once it is ready, he hands it over to the little girl and joy is
written all over her face and we later see her hugging it dearly. After this
emotional moment the player is taught how to play the song Bangiza.
Level 3: Takes us to
the girl - now older - playing the Mbira with her peers who are dancing and
playing other instruments. Her mother is still by her side as she is the one who
brings her to this space. Before we proceed with the game play, we are taught
about how the large calabash gourds used to make Mbiras help amplify the sound
of the music. Playing the song Taivera is the next challenge in the game.
Level 4: The young
girl is now an adult and plays in a band with a large crowd watching. We are
taught that the Mbira can be featured with electric bands in Zimbabwe alongside
drums and guitars. Things go full circle when she hands down the instrument to a
young boy just the way it was handed down to her years ago.
This highlights how
the Shona people have managed to preserve the Mbira for 1000 years through
handing it down to the next generations. We then play the song Chemutengure and
just like the journey of the young girl our journey as players also goes full
circle.
It is a sweet story
and an amazing interactive experience that introduces us to the special
instrument of the Shona people. I'd like to urge you to try it out
yourself here.The music from the mbira is soothing and with the
current state of the World right now, the Mbira Google Doodle could not have
come at a better time.
Here are some wise
words to follow as we stay safe and healthy during this pandemic.
"Time is a healer,
pain is a teacher, music is a stress reliever, be a believer" - Sauti Sol. And
on that note I will leave you with these soothing sounds of the Mbira from Zimbabwe. Enjoy!
My Sketches
It just dawned on me that it has been ages since I
shared my artwork as a blog post. I have it all over my social media and I have
linked those posts to my Archives
page - but again I feel like it's time I shared some of
them here like I did on my very first post.
So here goes ☺ these are my artwork from quick sketches to illustrations
to animations and to pointillism pieces. Have a look and enjoy. Keep staying
safe, be kind to yourself and remember that everything that we go through good
or bad is just passing by. This too shall pass ❤
Can you guess
who the last 3 artists are.?Come on, take a guess ☺.
15 Uplifting Animations Guaranteed to Leave You Feeling Good
I am sharing this in a bid to send some positivity into the world and I invite
you to do the same in your own small way. I have arranged the trailers starting
with those of the animations made on the African continent. I am wishing you and
your loved ones good health and peace of mind as we all stay home, stay safe,
and keep our spirits high. Happy watching and rewatching!
1. Liyana
2. The Snail and the Whale
3. Home
4. The Emperors New Groove
5. Bolt
6. Despicable Me 1,2,3
7. Sing
8. Coco
9. Moana
10. Wonder Park
11. Smallfoot
12. Rio 1,2
13. The Crood 1,2
14. How to Train Your Dragon 1,2,3
15. Angry birds
8 Interesting Ways to Remind Yourself That Every Experience Counts.
How did yours start? I mean the journey to where you are in your life at this moment. It all makes sense when you look backward.
For me, it all started with my love for cartoons,
which led to my love for drawing said cartoons. This, in turn, led me to
take art classes in high school after which I took a detour and studied
Business IT in University. All the while doing commissioned portraits
for my classmates on the side.
The following is an account of my own experiences and how they have turned out well, in spite of me feeling like I had taken a wrong turn a couple of times such as in University. I know many of you have felt like this one time or another.
The following is an account of my own experiences and how they have turned out well, in spite of me feeling like I had taken a wrong turn a couple of times such as in University. I know many of you have felt like this one time or another.
1.) Look back and identify that thing you've loved doing since
childhood then pay attention to how life is nudging you to get
back.
My detour introduced me to the world of Technology and Business which
would then lead me back to the genesis, which was my love for
cartoons.
How? well, I always had a wanting attitude towards computers and had avoided taking computer classes in favor of my art in High School.
I came to realize that it was because we were mostly taught theoretically and did not get to interact with the computers as much. Why? well, we had just one computer lab in a boarding school with close to 1000 students.
Fortunately, I got to enroll for IT essentials and Cisco Certified Network Associate classes right after finishing High School. The courses had lots of fun visual aids and were hands-on so I fell in love with computers as a result.
Once I got over my funk with Technology, I went on to graduate with a degree in Information Systems Technology from USIU-Africa.
My Tech background came in handy when I finally got back on track by enrolling for a certificate course in 3D Animation at Shang Tao Media Art College. I later met a lady that would end up changing my life in ways unimagined.
How? well, I always had a wanting attitude towards computers and had avoided taking computer classes in favor of my art in High School.
I came to realize that it was because we were mostly taught theoretically and did not get to interact with the computers as much. Why? well, we had just one computer lab in a boarding school with close to 1000 students.
Fortunately, I got to enroll for IT essentials and Cisco Certified Network Associate classes right after finishing High School. The courses had lots of fun visual aids and were hands-on so I fell in love with computers as a result.
Source: Giphy
Once I got over my funk with Technology, I went on to graduate with a degree in Information Systems Technology from USIU-Africa.
My Tech background came in handy when I finally got back on track by enrolling for a certificate course in 3D Animation at Shang Tao Media Art College. I later met a lady that would end up changing my life in ways unimagined.
2.) Ask yourself who is doing the thing you love and succeeding at
it.
Her name is Ng'endo Mukii and she is an Independent Filmmaker and
Animator. I met her at a speed mentoring session called Match Mentor
organized by The Arena Kenya.
When I first saw her that day, she was on the panel dressed in a lovely
colorful African print jumpsuit. I loved her style, confidence, and I
was impressed by what she had accomplished so far.
After the panel discussion, a timer was set for us to go for our
rounds of speed mentorship. It was like an intricate dance: one step
forward, two steps back, turn to your left then go towards your right.
This is the way we moved around in groups of 4-7 from one mentor to the
next.
Maintaining a keen eye on her table, I continued with my dance around at the mentors stationed close to her. This continued until I eventually got the chance to go to her table. Our session felt super brief, but I remember leaving feeling so inspired, it had been worth the complicated dance.
3.) How can you be of help to them while in their presence as a
mentee?
I got her contacts and right before I left, I asked her if by any chance
she had an internship position in her company. She replied that she did
not have any at the moment but I should email her and remind her I was
the lady with a head wrap so that she could remember me.
I did as requested knowing too well that if I did not, she might not
have remembered who I was considering she had met dozens of new people
on that day. She was friendly in our conversations online and I kept
tabs with her thereafter for close to a year. She would later contact me
while I was
doing the internship I wrote about here in India.
doing the internship I wrote about here in India.
4.) Count your blessings and remember that everything is always working out for your good.
Funny thing is she was also in India at the time of contacting me, only in a different state. What are the odds?
The universe is truly interesting and I am in complete awe at how things
unfold in life. I told her I'd be delighted to intern for her when
I got back home.
This is how I was blessed with an opportunity to work closely with Ng'endo who is not only an amazing human but also a multiple award-winning Animator. I got to see how she goes about her daily activities and it was amazing how easy she made all of it seem.
5.) Cultivate a strong relationship with your mentor and be as
helpful as you can even after your period of working
together.
My internship with her was such a great experience. She would later
trust me with her extra work which I did remotely after the internship.
And since we had built a strong relationship, she knew about things I
was interested in and would send me links and email forwards on the
same.
6.) Heed to their advice and be open to trying out the new things they recommend. After all, you have to be willing to change the way you do things in order to be like the people you admire.
All the same, it ended up being a pleasant experience. I was sent to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on a one-week workshop and then to Munich, Germany to be a panelist for my very first time representing Enter Africa Nairobi.
7.) Request for help from your mentor when called to do something they have done numerous times.
6.) Heed to their advice and be open to trying out the new things they recommend. After all, you have to be willing to change the way you do things in order to be like the people you admire.
In one of our many conversations, I had mentioned my interest in
games. One day she sent me an email about a workshop happening at
the Goethe Institute on gamifying African cities. I was intrigued by
the whole concept and so I applied and got in.
I had attended one-week workshops before so I was eager to absorb the knowledge and simply move on with my life. This particular workshop was different; it introduced us to a project called Enter Africa.
So when we were told about the magnitude of the project that is, it's running in 14 other African countries concurrently and the requirement to commit for the next two years, it all came as a surprise to me.
It was during this workshop and subsequent meet-ups while working on the project, that I started
getting acquainted with concepts such as gamification.
I had attended one-week workshops before so I was eager to absorb the knowledge and simply move on with my life. This particular workshop was different; it introduced us to a project called Enter Africa.
So when we were told about the magnitude of the project that is, it's running in 14 other African countries concurrently and the requirement to commit for the next two years, it all came as a surprise to me.
It was during this workshop and subsequent meet-ups while working on the project, that I started
getting acquainted with concepts such as gamification.
All the same, it ended up being a pleasant experience. I was sent to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on a one-week workshop and then to Munich, Germany to be a panelist for my very first time representing Enter Africa Nairobi.
7.) Request for help from your mentor when called to do something they have done numerous times.
I remember how ecstatic I was when I read the email that I had been
chosen to represent the Enter Africa network as a panelist in
Germany. Once all the excitement had died down and some normalcy
kicked in, I realized that I would need some help preparing for the
panel discussion.
So I called Ng'endo to share the good news with her as well as to ask her what she would advise me to do in preparation. I did as I was told and I remember being super calm and confident on D-day. Her advice had been of great help.
8.) Be open to change the trajectory of your life when you stumble upon new things that align with your interest and that compliment your passion.
So I called Ng'endo to share the good news with her as well as to ask her what she would advise me to do in preparation. I did as I was told and I remember being super calm and confident on D-day. Her advice had been of great help.
8.) Be open to change the trajectory of your life when you stumble upon new things that align with your interest and that compliment your passion.
We finished our 2 years as members of the Enter Africa project last
year. I even compiled a list of gratitude messages from the team members
below.
During my stay in Germany, which I was fortunate enough to extend to one month, I got to meet a Kenyan doing his PhD there. I first met him at the Munich Media Days Conference where I was speaking and later on we set a meet up with him, my father and myself a couple of weeks later.
Coincidentally, he had already met my father a year before. When I informed him of what my father does for a living in Germany, he asked me for his name. And when I mentioned "Mutisya", he retrieved my father's contacts from his phone like magic.
Thanks to this meeting, I am currently preparing to pursue a Master's degree in Game Development and Animation for Film. My first love Animation has found herself a new partner and I'm totally fine with that.
I am currently studying German on Duolingo
and looking forward to enrolling for German classes later this year. All the while reminding myself that whichever way it goes, all is well. After all, at the end of the day, I will have a new language added to my arsenal. And every experience counts. Now it's your turn to look back at your own life and remind yourself how every experience in your journey counts.
How to Use Gamification to Impact Special Needs Lives.
Alistair was born without his sense of hearing. Doctors diagnosed him deaf
but there was something else. He was different from the other
hearing-impaired children; hyperactive and unable to grasp sign language.
His caregiver Angela, felt like she had failed him.
One day, his teacher planned a trip to the mall and Angela panicked, but the
teacher was sure her method would work. So 3 days before the trip, she
realized that in order to penetrate Alistair's "defences", she needed to
give him information. Information on what was going to happen to him.
They showed him images of the things he would experience on that day: an
image of getting into the car, driving to the mall, arriving at the mall,
browsing through the stores, getting back to the car, driving back to school
and then going back home.
Alistair was unusually calm on the day they went to the mall...Click this link to read the
rest of this piece
Inside Clever Art Gallery's Unique Outdoor Exhibition in Nairobi
Nairobi's 3rd edition of the biggest outdoor exhibition in the Visual Arts
happened in Nairobi Railways Museum on the 4th and 5th of May 2019 courtesy
of Clever Art Gallery. And I was there to see it.
I attended the exhibition on the 4th and it was one of the most unique art
exhibitions I have been to so far with art pieces displayed on top of the
beautiful old trains. The art and the trains complemented each other so well
you could not help but appreciate both even more.
It was just the perfect time of the year to have this artsy event because of
the cool but sunny weather and the glossy green grass thanks to the recent
rain. That must be the reason why I spotted numerous insta moments going on
inside and outside the trains, on the beautiful green grass and next to the
artwork.
Glossy Green
Being an outdoors event, it goes without saying there was plenty of space to
interact with the brilliant artists behind the beautiful art pieces
exhibited. On that note, I'd like to share with you a bit about the Visual
Artists I met.
I'll start with two ladies Dee and Rey who also happen to be classmates.
They are both students at Kenyatta University and they had displayed their
work next to each other.
Dee does unique mixed-media pieces with
paper on canvas such as the one below and thanks to her Instagram, I
also found out that she also sings. It's always encouraging to meet
people who are bravely pursuing all their artistic talents.
Dee's mixed media piece
Rey's
pieces, on the other hand, are inspired by animals and children - like the
ones below.
Artistic Rey's pieces
llewxam is a student at BIFA (Buruburu Institute of
Fine Arts). I found his name so interesting that I had to mention it and he
made me laugh when he said it was Maxwell spelled the other way round.
He also shared how he got that name from his friends a while ago as they
were talking about their dreams of succeeding in their artistic
careers. He is interested in doing live portraits at events. And he
sent me the video below of a piece he completed in 6 minutes at an event in
school.
Llewxam painting a live portrait
Gideon and I discovered that we share something in
common. We both studied art in high school but for one reason or the other,
we could not pursue it in Uni.
Gideon is currently doing Graphic Design at Talanta Institute. I found his
portraits very interesting to look at, especially the one below done using a
biro pen. There is a nice flowy vibe to the unique patterns he used on them.
Gideon's portrait
I then met three friends Dennow, Jimmy and Mwesh from Sketchmaster Art
Studio, an Art school in Kasarani.
Dennow
is a really cool guy and I immediately fell in love with a piece he had done
of a lady with some fly dreadlocks. I quizzed him further about it and he
told me it was a piece he had done for a competition on drawing
dreadlocks.
Dennow's dreadlock piece
Jimmy,
also based in Kasarani, has been in the industry for 6 years now. His art
piece of an old guy winking made me smile.
Jimmy's portrait
Mwesh
and I instantly broke into conversation after I mentioned that I have a
sister called Mwende. It was a sweet ice breaker and she told me that many
people ask her what Mwesh stands for so it's good to meet people who already
know.
Mwesh next to her artwork
Speaking of good things, it was also good to see a good number of female
Visual Artists present.
Ms. Ndunge made my day with her flower pots made out of reused fabric and
concrete. It is always refreshing to see art that contributes positively to
the environment. I spotted a really pretty one made out of a towel. She did
Fashion Design at Kenyatta University and is the owner of the fashion brand
Zaqara
Kenya
Ms. Ndunge's unique flower pot
Damaris is a self-taught artist. YouTube University is her jam. She had
displayed her intricately made string art and I could not help but think of
the amount of time she put into learning and creating this type of art. She
is super talented and patient.
Damaris' string art
Steve
Rotino is another patient, self-taught artist I met. He creates his
pieces using millet and sorghum. He is based in Rongai and is also
interested in string art.
Steve's millet and sorghum art
Ochi's story is quite a unique one. He did
not go to high school so he is self-taught. He also told me there's a
period in his artistic career he took a break for a decade. In spite of
all these adversities, his pieces were the most unique and intricately
done in the exhibition. He etches on wood and there's this piece he did
of a lion that kept on calling people to his display section. Yes, his
work is eye-catching.
Ochi's beautifully etched wood
Emanuel Kariuki was super helpful. I met him through Ochi and he linked me
to an art expert I was really looking for. He learnt his craft at
Sketchmaster Art Studio and is currently mentoring the new artists coming
in.
Emanuel's monkey drawing
Wambui's pieces are the ones that welcomed us to the
event. However, I could not trace her so I decided I'll try and meet her on
my way out. Which I did. I marvelled at her beautiful mixed media piece of a
peacock. It shone in the Saturday sun and brought out the lovely essence of
the peacock impeccably. She is from Kenyatta University and is currently
based at Dust Depo Art Studio in Nairobi Railways Museum.
Wambui's art display
And just like that after meeting Wambui, my time at Clever Art Gallery's
unique outdoor exhibition came to an end. I left the exhibition with new
artsy friends and inspiration to continue working on my craft. By the way,
this is the first article I have written this year so it tells you a lot.
I'd like to thank all you brilliant artists for sharing a bit about
yourselves with me and for inspiring me through your art.
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